HIPAA Alert: Think Before Forwarding Emails

REMINDER: Before forwarding an email chain — especially when emailing to outside parties — remember to follow HIPAA privacy rules and to maintain confidentiality of proprietary information. 

All Methodist Health System employees are expected to maintain a level of confidentiality, both internally and externally, when dealing with customers, clients and business partners. Forwarding internal email chains to outside parties is an easy way to accidentally share confidential or proprietary information, even protected health information (PHI), because the information may be buried within the email chain.  

Internal confidentiality includes maintaining proprietary information related to inter-department communication, as well as communication between managers and employees. Departments sometimes work on projects that are proprietary, and forwarding a chain of emails to outside parties can easily compromise the confidentiality of the information.

Questions About HIPAA?

Contact HIPAA Privacy Officer Zorana Vojnovic at (402) 354-6863 or @email.