In our continuing effort to better serve our patients and their families, we have set up an e-mail address through which you may communicate your child’s protected health information with our office. 

PLEASE NOTE: Our account only receives e-mails sent through our secure e-mail service.  See below for more information on how to sign up and for a link to our secure login website.

All parents and families wishing to use our e-mail system must also sign and submit our Secure E-mail Agreement (PDF, Microsoft Word).  This information can be viewed below.

Subjects appropriate for e-mail

Prescription refills

Lab results

Appointment requests

Referral requests

Billing questions

Requests to have forms or immunization records completed

Non-urgent, chronic disease management questions

General feedback (positive or negative comments regarding

      office policies or staff)

Subjects not appropriate for e-mail

Urgent questions regarding your child’s health

Sensitive topics such as:

     HIV-related issues

     Other sexually transmitted diseases

     Mental health issues

     Substance abuse issues

(These topics should be discussed with your child’s physician in person.)

What are the benefits of using e-mail?

      E-mail allows quick and detailed communication with our office for non-urgent matters.

      E-mail allows retention and clarification of advice provided in clinic.

      E-mail is useful for information you would have to commit to writing if it were given to you orally.

What are the risks of using e-mail?

      E-mail is not appropriate for urgent matters or emergency situations.  E-mail, by its very nature, is a delayed communication.  Our e-mail is not accessed and read continuously (see “Office policies regarding e-mail”).  We cannot guarantee that any particular e-mail will be read and responded to within any particular period of time.

      E-mail is sent at the touch of a button. Once sent, an e-mail message cannot be recalled or cancelled.  Errors in transmission, regardless of the sender’s caution, can occur.

What are the benefits of the secure e-mail service known as SecureSend used by St. Clair Pediatrics?

      To comply with the guidelines regarding patient and medical records privacy set forth by HIPAA, we have engaged a third-party provider to manage our secure e-mail system: Lux Scientiae (for more information on the company, please visit www.LuxSci.com).  The company uses HIPAA-compliant encrypting technology (SecureSend) to ensure security of messages sent using its system.  To access these messages, the User will be required to enter two passwords.  The first is a User-specific password created by each User during the on-line registration of his/her e-mail address.  The second is a randomly-generated password included in each e-mail.  This ensures that only the person registering a valid e-mail address has access to a child’s PHI.

      Everyone may use this service regardless of the type of e-mail program they have (i.e., Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, etc.).  Message links embedded in the body of each e-mail direct you to a secure internet website.  NOTE: You do need internet access to view secure e-mail messages.

      In general, e-mail can be circulated, forwarded, and broadcast to unintended recipients.  Using the SecureSend web portal, you can only send an email to those accounts set up through Lux Scientiae’s SecureSend (which, for us, is mydocs@stclairpediatrics.com).

Office policies regarding e-mail

      Response time: E-mail will be checked only during normal office hours, 4 times per day (or more).  We will make every effort to respond to e-mails within 24 hours.  An e-mail sent after 12:00 PM on Friday will not receive a response until the following Monday.

      E-mail access: E-mail will be managed primarily by the clinical and nursing staff.  All staff members will have password-protected access to the general e-mail service.  Pertinent questions and concerns will be discussed with your child’s physician before the staff responds.

      E-mail responses:  If the question you submit can be responded to in a short and concise manner, the staff will reply via e-mail.  However, for questions that require a more detailed response, the staff will contact you via telephone.  Please make sure to include your phone number on all e-mails you send to us.

      Office security: All desktop workstations in the office are equipped with password-protected screen savers.

      E-mail security: We will not forward patient-identifiable information to a third party without your express permission.  We will not use registered e-mail addresses in marketing schemes or give out your address to third parties.

      Your teenager will also be allowed to use this service:  Any child over the age of 13 may sign himself/herself up for the e-mail service.  This allows your child to continue to communicate with his/her physician openly, honestly, and confidentially about all subject matters.

E-mail directions

      E-mail must be concise:  Please limit each e-mail message to one issue.  This allows us to maximize message triage efficiency.  Please schedule an appointment for your child if the issue is too complex or sensitive to discuss via e-mail.

     All e-mails must include: The e-mail’s subject line should include the reason for your e-mail followed by your child’s name (i.e. “Refill Request, Joe Smith”).  The body of the e-mail should include all information pertinent to your request, as well as the phone  number(s) where you can be reached in case the office staff needs to speak with you. 

      Before transmitting the e-mail: Please double-check the message and any attachments to verify that no unintended information is included.

      E-mail communications will become a part of your child’s medical record: All pertinent e-mails will be printed and/or filed in your child’s medical record.

Signing up and using the Service

      Step 1: Download the Secure E-mail Agreement and complete page 3.  This Agreement will only be accepted in person at our office.

      IMPORTANT: We will only reply to e-mails from Users that have submitted this Agreement in person.

      Step 2: Log on to securesend.stclairpediatrics.com

      Step 3: Set up your account by clicking on “Register your email address for secure sending.”  Enter your name, e-mail address and password.  This password is the one you will use to log onto securesend.stclairpediatrics.com with your e-mail address.  You then need to create a security question and password.  These will be used to access a secure e-mail sent you by mydocs@stclairpediatrics.com. 

      To send an e-mail: Log onto securesend.stclairpediatrics.com with your e-mail address and password. You can then “Send a New Secure Message” to mydocs@stclairpediatrics.com by clicking “Compose.” 

      To access an e-mail from mydocs@stclairpediatrics.com:  The e-mail you receive will contain the line: “Click here to access your message.”  After clicking the link, you will be taken to a web portal, which will request two passwords.  The first is the correct response to the security question you created during account registration.  The second is specific to the e-mail sent to you and can be located in the body of the e-mail.  You will then be taken to the actual e-mail sent to you by mydocs@stclairpediatrics.com.

      IMPORTANT: The only way to ensure the information you send is secure is by logging onto securesend.stclairpediatrics.com.  We have set up our account so that we only receive e-mails sent through this website.

Disclaimers

      We are not liable for breaches of confidentiality caused by the User or any third party or for any information lost due to technical failures.

      It is your responsibility to inform us of changes to your e-mail address.

      This agreement describes procedures that govern an individual’s use of our secure e-mail system and defines the steps that must be taken by patients or their representatives who wish to correspond via e-mail with St. Clair Pediatrics.  This policy applies to the informational uses of e-mail and does not cover the ethical, legal, and regulatory issues associated with e-mail consultations.

      We reserve the right to deny a User’s request to communicate with him/her via e-mail.

Our secure login website: http://securesend.stclairpediatrics.com   (Don't forget to create a bookmark for future use.)