When sending information of a confidential or sensitive nature (i.e. Federal Tax Information (FTI), Protected Health Information (PHI), Personal Identifying Information (PII) such as SSN or DCN, etc.) via facsimile to authorized persons, staff must:
- Notify the recipient that protected information is being faxed, and
- Include a fax cover sheet that provides:
- Notice to the fax recipient of the data’s sensitivity and the need to safeguard the data; and
- Notice to unintended fax recipients to telephone the sender immediately to report the disclosure of confidential information and confirm that the unintended recipient destroyed the information.
When faxing FTI you must take the following actions in addition to the above:
- Have a trusted staff member at both the sending and receiving fax machines
- Maintain a broadcast list and other preset numbers of frequent recipients of FTI; and
- Place the fax machine in a secured area