CollaborateMD acknowledges our duty and responsibility to protect the privacy and security of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“IIHI”) generally, and Protected Health Information (“PHI”) as defined in the HIPAA Regulations, under the regulations implementing HIPAA, other federal and state laws protecting the confidentiality of personal information, and under principles of general and professional ethics. We also acknowledge our duty and responsibility to support and facilitate the timely and unimpeded flow of health information for lawful and appropriate purposes.
All email attachment files containing PHI (Protected Health Information) will need a form of encryption to be in compliance with HIPAA.
Windows (7-zip)
Follow these steps to encrypt a file:
1. If 7-zip is already installed on your computer, go to Step 3.
2. Click 7-Zip (www.7-zip.org) to download the open source archiver and install it on your computer. Please note that you might need Admin Rights on the computer to properly install 7-Zip.
3. Right click on the file(s) and mouse over 7-Zip to view the list of options.
4. Select "Add to archive..." and leave all the values at their default(s).
5. Under the Encryption section, enter and re-enter your password.
6. Change the Encryption Method to "AES-256 (Stronger Encryption)".
7. Click OK.
Macs (Keka)
Follow these steps to encrypt a file:
1. If Keka is already installed on your computer, go to Step 3.
2. Click Kekaosx (www.kekaosx.com/en/) to download the open source archiver and install it on your Mac.
3. Open Keka.
4. Select 7z and leave all the values at their default(s).
5. Enter and re-enter your password.
6. Drag and drop your desired files to Keka.
7. Keka progress window will appear.
8. Once the file is created, a Compression Complete message will appear.
9. Your compressed file will appear at the same location as the file you dropped to Keka for compression.
Sending Encrypted PHI Data to CollaborateMD
Attach the encrypted data file to your email. The password associated with the encrypted data MUST be shared with the CollaborateMD Representative over the phone (see phone options below).