HIPAA-compliant e-mail

Tumbleweed, which develops Internet communications software, has formed a strategic partnership with the Tunitas Group, a healthcare consulting firm that helps clients plan and implement their electronic business and communications initiatives. The agreement calls for Tunitas to offer the HIPAA Accelerator for Secure Redirect to help Tumbleweed customers develop their enterprisewide strategy for securing e-mail channels with covered entities, business associates and plan members/patients.

Tumbleweed explains its secure e-mail product, Tumbleweed Secure Redirect, allows healthcare organizations to automatically identify, encrypt and deliver e-mail containing protected health information regardless of what e-mail client users have on their desktops. The Tunitas HIPAA Accelerator Program offers Tumbleweed Secure Redirect customers a practical, hands-on workshop for developing the policy and procedures that encapsulate the customer's secure e-mail strategy.

The HIPAA Accelerator for Secure Redirect program includes the following activities:

• review existing e-mail policies, with recommendations to bring them into compliance with HIPAA privacy and security regulations, trading partner requirements and patient/physician expectations;

• establish trading partners profiles describing their capabilities and requirements for secure communications; and

• train client staff on procedures for translating organizational e-mail privacy and security policy into Tumbleweed configurations.