Emailing Health Information

You can send your doctor or other health care provider a Health Profile Report in PDF format via email.

This section does not teach you how to send emails. That is best covered by the instructions contained with the Email Client Software that you use (such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, etc.). Please consult the help file with the software you use for more details on sending emails with attachments. You can use the eXPert PDF Reader program included to prepare to send your email, click HERE for Email Instructions.

Things to Consider When Emailing A Health Profile PDF Report
The PDF file you send will be sent as an attachment to an email message you will be sending. The PDF file will contain private information so you must make a decision.

Your decision is this: Should you send a password protected PDF file or an unprotected PDF file?

To Password Protect or UnProtect

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If you send a protected PDF file, you will need to divulge your password to the recipient of the file. If you do not tell them the password, then they will be unable to read the file. In most cases, you can trust your direct health care provider, such as your doctor and his/her immediate staff. After all, they already have access to your private information.

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On the other hand, if you are sending the information to unknown parties such as a hospital administration office, you may want to alert a specific person by phone that you are emailing a sensitive PDF. Then you should make arrangements with a named individual in that office to receive the password via a separate email.

·	Some guidelines for safety:

1.

Send the document first, and DO NOT include the password in the same email. That is like sending an unprotected document.

2.

Send the password in the second email to a named individual, after the PDF has already been sent. If you cannot hold someone accountable by name, perhaps you should not be sending the file.

Other Protection Option - Using Compressed Files
Let's say you do not wish to divulge your PDF password, but you do wish to send it with some form of protection. Here is another option for protection.

Obtain a copy of a compression program if you don't already have one.

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A compression program such as WinZIP, PKZIP, or many other programs will do. You can search for "free compression software" in Google on the Internet, and you will get millions of listings. One very important quality of the compression program is that you can password protect the "archive" or "zip file" that you make. You are bound to find a free compression program that you like.

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Once you have decided on the compression software, simply create a compressed version of an unprotected PDF file. Be sure to password protect the "archive" file that you make. Use a different password than the PDF password. Email the password-protected-compressed-version of the unprotected-PDF-file to your recipient. Then send a second email with the password that decompresses the PDF file. In short, what you have done is "wrap" the unprotected PDF file, in a safe secure passworded compressed format. Once the file is decompressed by someone who is given the password, they do not need a password to view the PDF file.

Note: Why can't you upload a password compressed PDF file to our site for later viewing?
If you did that, there is no way to decompress the file with an Internet browser. PDF files that are password protected by themselves can be viewed via a browser (after the password has been entered), but a compressed file cannot be decompressed the same way.
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