How to Send an Encrypted Email

Summary

There are times when you need to send an email that contains sensitive information either in the body of the email or in an attachment. Examples of sensitive information would be any ePHI, - patient names, social security numbers, diagnoses, etc - billing information, etc. Standard email is an insecure way to send this information as it could be captured en route to the recipient and the contents read.

By encrypting the email, it is impossible for the contents to be read while en route. The recipient will be required to authenticate themselves before the message or attachments can be read. Instructions on how to do this will be included with the email itself you send.

Instructions

Using Outlook or Outlook on the Web

In Outlook, click the New Email button.
The new message window will open.
Click the Options tab in the ribbon at the top of the window.
Click the Encrypt button.

A new mail-tip message will appear letting you know that the message is now encrypted and that recipients cannot remove the encryption.

-- OR --

Use a Keyword in the Subject to Encrypt an Email from Any Email Client

This method will work whether you are composing an email on your mobile device, Outlook on your computer or Outlook on the Web.

When composing an email, include the keyword Encrypt in the subject line. You can still include other words or phrases in the subject line, the keyword Encrypt just has to be included somewhere in the subject line.