At Darkhorse Tech, it’s up to us and our clients, the owners of dental practices, to protect patient data as governed by HIPAA. We do everything in our power to cover our clients’ HIPAA compliance proactively. Many of the systems we rely on are non-negotiable, while others are our clients’ decision. Email encryption can take many forms, and not all of it is created equal. You may already know the cumbersome options that aren’t intuitive, add steps for sender and recipient, and get expensive. This article focuses on why email encryption matters; to discuss the option we recommend to all our clients (intuitive, no added steps, HIPAA compliant, affordable), please reach out.

01What is email encryption?

In the simplest terms (aside from a six-syllable word coming up), email encryption takes an email and renders it indecipherable to any unintended recipient.

02Which emails should my office encrypt?

The short answer is all of them. Encrypting every message ensures nothing slips through the cracks, protecting ePHI even when the sender doesn’t realize they’re sending it. It also creates an SOP with the greatest likelihood of success. Decryption isn’t impossible, but it’s much harder when an attacker doesn’t know what to look for, and encrypting everything means you aren’t pointing out which messages contain sensitive data.

03Protect your patients and your practice

Attacks on the healthcare sector, including dental practices, have been growing at an exponential rate, and government warnings suggest they won’t slow down anytime soon. Cyber criminals look for vulnerabilities in dental practices that give them access to sensitive data, including personally identifiable information, passwords, payment information, and dental and medical records. Any of it in the wrong hands can harm your patients and your practice.

If you lose data to an attack, you risk extortion, HIPAA fines, patient mistrust, downtime, lost revenue, and lost reputation, and the list goes on. Email encryption probably wasn’t on your mind when you got into dentistry, but if you don’t take it seriously, you risk thinking about it on your way out.

About Darkhorse Tech

Whether you’re just starting out or a well-established organization, Darkhorse Tech has the experience and technology to help get you moving, cut costs, and streamline your operations with unlimited IT support. We help you do what you do best: provide top-notch care and service for patients, not deal with IT problems, time spent on hold with technical support, or complicated technical mishaps. Our additional security services include:

• Unlimited remote and/or on-site IT support of all your hardware and software
• Improved network performance and security
• HIPAA-compliant off-site and local backup service (Darkhorse Secure Backup)
• Managed antivirus, anti-malware, and anti-ransomware (Darkhorse Security Products)
• Compliance and security law standards
• Microsoft security patch management
• Vendor management: we will be on the phone, not your employees
• Secure, remote access to your office
• Firewall management
• Network management
• Long-term planning and budgeting

Contact us anytime to learn more about our dental-specific solutions and unlimited support packages. Read our reviews or call us today at 800.868.4504.