Comment by rwalle
4 years ago
Are you located in the US? If so, I would be really concerned, not in this context but about potential violation of HIPPA. All my communication with a doctor's office goes through the "private message" of the office/hospital's website because there are regulations around that. Think about it -- what if she lost her phone and for some reason the phone is unlocked or decrypted by other means?
And even if you are not located in the US, I would recommend that your wife looks up local regulation and considers alternative methods to communicate with patients.
Not in the US, but her patients, friends or acquaintances sometimes send stuff like this out of the blue. Can't really be avoided since it's unsolicited.
I doubt a doctor as the recipient would get in trouble--they have legitimate needs to look at things. And it's not a HIPAA violation if the patient sends it. It's only a HIPAA violation if the doctor sends it insecurely.