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Health Care Law Requires Secure E-Mails and Attachments
April 26, 2010A new law that took effect in February calls for substantial new penalties on doctors for something they are doing every day, sending e-mails that include patient information, without encrypting the e-mail. So, the doctor who answers a patient's e-mail asking for medical advice, and does it without encryption, is breaking the law, and is potentially subject to penalties and fines that can go as high as $1.5 million in a single year! Many medical professionals remain unaware of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. According to this law, answering a patient's request for a test result, by unsecured e-mail, is a violation. Full release.