What is recommended for securing emails that contain protected health information?

Encrypting emails that contain protected health information (PHI) is crucial for ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive patient data. When emails are encrypted, the information contained within them is transformed into a secure format that can only be accessed by the intended recipient, who has the decryption key. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches, which is paramount in healthcare settings governed by regulations like HIPAA.

Encryption also helps organizations maintain compliance with these regulations, as they require that PHI be protected at rest and in transit. By using encryption, healthcare organizations can demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding patient information and can potentially avoid legal repercussions associated with data leaks.

The other options—archiving, compressing, and password protecting—do not provide the same level of security for PHI. Archiving is primarily about data storage and does not address transmission security. Compressing data is more about reducing file size than securing it. While password protecting can add a layer of security, it is often less effective than encryption because passwords can be shared or compromised, whereas encrypted data is significantly more secure against unauthorized access.