Please refer to these frequently asked questions for guidance on your security questions. If you are unable to find the answer to your question here, contact UW Medicine Security or submit a ticket to the service desk.
Protected Health Information (PHI)
Can I discuss PHI in Microsoft Teams or Zoom?
Microsoft Teams is part of the Microsoft O365 application suite licensed for use across the University of Washington and UW Medicine. Per UW-IT, Microsoft Teams is HIPAA-aligned; however, UW Medicine staff should strive to use the HIPAA-Compliant version of Zoom for any video-conferencing needs that involves PHI.
Can I upload files with PHI to OneDrive?
UW Medicine’s OneDrive for Business is part of the Microsoft O365 application suite licensed for use across the University of Washington and UW Medicine. Per UW-IT, OneDrive for Business is HIPAA-aligned; however, UW Medicine staff should ensure that:
- Any UW Medicine confidential information, including PHI, is not stored in OneDrive repositories that are overly-permissioned
- Only the minimum necessary amount of PHI is stored in OneDrive repositories
- All PHI should be removed from OneDrive repositories once no longer in use
Encryption
How do I safely send or receive files or text containing PHI?
There are two options to transmit files containing PHI, the first is to see our guidance below regarding encrypting emails with Outlook.
The second is to send the file or text through the chat feature, while using the HIPAA-Compliant version of Zoom, as anything sent in the chat is encrypted using AES:
UW Zoom Portal
How do I encrypt an email with Outlook?
You can easily encrypt email using Outlook on the web.
- Navigate to Outlook by typing this URL in your browser: https://outlook.office.com
- When you open a new message, at the top, there is a button that looks like this:
- Simply click on that button and that message will be encrypted when you send it to the recipient.
How do I encrypt files in Microsoft Office?
The answer to this question can be found under Encryption > File Encryption under Microsoft Office Encryption.
How do I encrypt files in Adobe Acrobat?
The answer to this question can be found on our Encryption > File Encryption under Adobe PDF Encryption.
How do I encrypt zip files?
The answer to this question can be found on our Encryption > File Encryption under Zip Files and Encrypting Zip Files.
How do I encrypt my device?
The answer to this question can be found on our Encryption page under Storage Encryption.
How do I request a new approved email domain?
See our approved email domains page here.
Phishing and Spam
What do I do if I think I received a phishing or spam email?
If you suspect you have received a phishing email message via your UW email account or you receive an email in which someone is trying to get you to download an attachment or enter your UW NetID and password onto a fake web page, send the email as an attachment to help@uw.edu.
If you receive an email in which someone tries to sell you a product (such as cheap medication), forward the message to reportedspam@cac.washington.edu.
For more information visit our Phishing and Spam Email Guidance page.
What do I do if I think my UW NetID has been compromised?
If you think your UW NetID has been compromised i.e., someone other than yourself has access to your account or emails are being sent from your address that you did not administer, please submit a ticket to the service desk and it will be investigated.
Accounts and Passwords
I'm having trouble logging in or need to change my password.
For any questions regarding Accounts and Passwords, we have set up a dedicated web page here.
VPN and Remote Connections
I'm having trouble logging in or need to change my password.
For any questions regarding VPN Usage and Remote Connections, we have set up a dedicated web page here.
Approved eSignature Products
What approved products exist for electronically signed documents (eSignatures)?
There are no “Approved” products for producing electronically signed documents (eSignatures). You are free to choose from any eSignature options that are available to you.
However, regardless of what platform is chosen to handle eSignatures, an understood and consistent workflow for all users of this ‘eSignature’ tool should be well documented. We recommend checking with Compliance for legality concerns – which our team does not address.
As an option, the free version of Adobe DC offers the ability to sign PDF documents. For official purposes, we would suggest users obtain a digital signature from a 3rd party Certificate Authority (CA) to use with Adobe DC.
Standards and Procedures
I need to reference our Information Technology standards - where can I find them?
If transmitting these standards to an entity outside of UW Medicine, never transmit the entire standard, as they are restricted to members within UW Medicine.
UW Medicine’s IT standards can be found Here.