Secure E-Mail Help
The Health Science Center's secure e-mail product provides a solution for University members who must communicate securely with organizations, companies, or individuals outside of the University. This solution meets state and federal requirements that prohibit transmitting sensitive information (patient data, student records, Social Security Numbers, credit card information, etc.) in an unprotected format. The primary users of this product will be physicians, clinicians, researchers, billing agents, etc., but it can be used by anyone needing to communicate securely with those outside our organization. When used as described below, the secure e-mail product transmits encrypted messages that only the authorized recipients can read.
To send a secure message:
Place two (2) plus signs (++) at the beginning of the message’s subject line. This tells the University’s e-mail system to transmit this message securely.
To read your secure message, follow these directions:
- Open the message in your inbox, and then open the file called "securedoc.html" attached to the message.
- You will be prompted to open (view) the file or save (download) it to your computer. For best results, save the file first, then open it from the location where you saved it. For instance, if you saved the file to your My Documents folder, go to your My Documents folder and double click the file "securedoc.htm". This should open it in your web browser. Note that on some e-mail clients, the attachment may be opened automatically for you. If so, skip to the next step.
- If you receive any JavaScript warnings while attempting to open the file, click to allow the application to run.
- In most cases, your message should open automatically after a few seconds. However, on some e-mail clients you may be prompted for a password to open the message. If this happens, leave the password blank and click the "Open" button.
If you experience problems while trying to open your message, click the "Open Online" link at the lower right corner of the envelope if it's present. Then click the "Open Online" button. The message is sent to our server for decryption, and then is displayed securely on your local computer. (The message is not stored on our server once it is decrypted.)
If you still cannot open your message, follow the directions for mobile users below.
Mobile users:
If you are attempting to open this message on a mobile device (e.g. a BlackBerry), forward this entire message to mobile@uthscsa.edu. Within a minute or so, you should receive an e-mail message back from our system with a link to open your message. Click the link, leave the password field blank, and click the "Open" button to view your message. If you use this method, your message will be stored on our server for 8 hours to allow you time to view it.
Still can't open your message? If you cannot open your message after trying all of the steps above, please contact the secure e-mail administrator at postmaster@uthscsa.edu.
Visit Frequently Asked Questions
Questions or problems?
- UTHSCSA users contact the IMS Service Desk at 210-567-7777 option 1 or IMS Service Desk
- Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (Central Time)
- Other users contact the UT Health Science Center e-mail administrator at postmaster@uthscsa.edu