Frank Ruelas (francisco.ruelas@dignityhealth.org) is a Facility Compliance Professional with Dignity Health in Phoenix.
Recent changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule allow an individual to direct a covered entity to send protected health information (PHI) using email in an unsecure manner. Basically, if the covered entity has the capability of sending PHI by email, it must follow through with the request from the individual, as long as the covered entity educates the individual about the risks of sending PHI by email.