Secure Mail

Encrypted Email       User Guide:
    Internal (UCD)
    External

Secure Mail

As part of the University of Colorado Denver's Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance initiatives, a system is now available that allows you to communicate securely via e-mail with outside parties including patients, subjects research associates, partners, vendors, and other healthcare professionals.

It is a UCD Campus policy that you use the secure e-mail system if you are sending any PHI (Protected Health Information) to a recipient who has an e-mail account outside of the protected affiliate network. Affiliates that are within our protected affiliate network include UCD, UCH, UPI, TCH, DH and NJH. The VA Hospital and all other healthcare organizations fall outside our protected affiliate network. E-mail communications regarding protected health information with individuals outside our protected affiliate network must be secured. E-mail communication to patients and/or subjects that in includes their PHI must also be secured even if the patient/subjects has indicated that it is okay to e-mail in an insecure manner. The UCD secure e-mail system is an appropriate method for handling these communications.

Please refer to the FAQ section of this web page if you have any questions. The FAQ web page also contains contact information, and other general information about secure mail at UCD. For more information about HIPAA, PHI, and related UCD HIPAA Policies, please see our HIPAA web site at www.uchsc.edu/hipaa or one of the campus HIPAA contacts which may be found at www.uchsc.edu/hipaa/contacts.htm.

For clinicians practicing at the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) please refer to the patient-physician e-mail policy and consent form developed by University of Colorado Hospital which would protect both you and your patients from misunderstanding and possible misuse of e-mail, available at:
http://www2.uch.edu/pnpdocs/infomgmt%5Fi/i030305.htm.

For policies related to the handling of protected health information at health care organizations other than UCD or UCH, please refer to the HIPAA policies of those organizations. UCD HIPAA policies pertain to activities related to UCD business only.

Finally, for questions about secure e-mail please see contact information.