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Hospice & Palliative CareCenter Adds Email Encryption to Ensure Patient Privacy and HIPAA ComplianceMar 24, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Hospice & Palliative CareCenter has expanded confidentiality and security by adding email encryption throughout their organization. Installed and managed by security specialist Secure Designs (SDI), the security of the network allows clinicians to access electronic medical records in the field and provides the total organization secure email encryption. As a result, the CareCenter has been able to make substantial advances in patient satisfaction levels and achieve considerable savings. "Every day, every member of our 315-strong staff sends confidential information around our network, which is protected by the perimeter, remote network security systems that SDI installed," said Troy Chappell, Network Administrator at the CareCenter. "We decided to add email encryption to enhance HIPAA compliance." The CareCenter provides care for some 500 terminally ill patients across 13 counties. The organization maintains close ties with local communities and offers grief counseling to any resident in the area, frequently working with children struggling to cope with bereavement. Currently the largest end of life care organization in North Carolina, it enjoys community support and continues to expand. Chappell recently oversaw the build-out of a new 9,000 square foot administrative building and 8,000 square feet of new patient facilities, bringing the total number of beds to 40. Based on SonicWall's network security offerings, the SDI Red Solution provides a complete network perimeter defense plan, including firewall, unified threat management, Intrusion prevention, VPN, secure wireless and more, plus ongoing monitoring, management and reporting on the client's security system. The White solution comprises managed email encryption services from ZixCorp, while the Blue solution adds managed data backup solutions based on Backblaze and PGP offerings to the suite. The CareCenter has used SDI's 'Red' perimeter security solution for almost three years. Secure Designs (SDI), has been Hospice CareCenter's managed security services provider for more than seven years. Hospice undertook the email encryption installation as an add-on to its secure remote network. SDI monitors and manages the entire system from the SDI network operations center. Secure Designs is an Internet security provider for small and midsize businesses. Secure Designs remotely manages and monitors firewalls throughout the country from its Network Operation Center. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |