Client Email Privacy
How PracticeRunner sends client emails separately to reduce accidental disclosure of recipient relationships.
PracticeRunner sends client-facing emails to one recipient at a time. Client emails do not use multiple To recipients, CC, or BCC.
This applies to emails such as appointment reminders, intake requests, billing emails, statements, superbills, calendar links, appointment confirmations, and inquiry responses.
Why client emails are sent separately
An email recipient list can reveal sensitive information even when the message itself is brief. For example, seeing another address on the same email can disclose that two people are connected to the same appointment, bill, inquiry, family, couple, or care episode.
Sending one email per recipient helps reduce that risk. It also makes the delivery record clearer because each email has its own recipient, delivery log, and Conversations record when the message is part of client communication history.
This policy is based on the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s minimum necessary principle and HHS guidance on communications with family members and other people involved in a person’s care or payment. HIPAA can allow those communications in appropriate circumstances, but disclosures should be limited to information directly relevant to that person’s involvement. In practice, a shared recipient list can disclose more than the message requires.
HHS also permits email communication with clients when appropriate safeguards are used. Sending client emails separately is one of those safeguards because it reduces unintended disclosure of another person’s email address or relationship to the client.
Family and couple communication
Family, couple, and representative workflows can involve more than one person. PracticeRunner still sends each person’s email separately.
This means:
- one client or contact does not see another person’s email address
- each recipient gets their own copy of the message
- sent messages can be reviewed in Conversations without relying on a shared email thread
- billing, scheduling, and forms communication can stay focused on the recipient who needs to receive it
Secure messages and email notifications
When a message uses secure delivery, PracticeRunner saves it in the portal and sends the client a generic email notification when notifications are available. Separately, clinicians can choose whether their own inbox receives a notification or a full copy of incoming messages in Settings → Profile → Messaging Preferences.
Secure message notifications and secure sign-in links are delivery notices. They are not the message itself, so they are not saved as sent Conversations messages.
In new messages, conversation replies, and inquiry responses that offer a delivery choice, click the Email or Secure message badge to switch methods before sending. (default) marks the starting method; switching affects only the message you are composing. Portal-only restrictions still apply. See Choose email or secure delivery before sending.
A Sent as email label in Conversations means the message used ordinary email. Saving a copy in PracticeRunner does not make its email delivery secure. History labels cannot be toggled, and changing the next reply’s method does not change earlier messages.
What clinicians should avoid
Avoid copying client email addresses into a shared email outside PracticeRunner. In ordinary email, do not place multiple clients, family members, partners, or representatives on the same message.
Use PracticeRunner’s client communication tools so each recipient receives a separate message and the communication history stays easier to review.
Where replies go
In Settings → Profile → Messaging Preferences, choose Replies to emails you send:
- Save replies in PracticeRunner (default) keeps accepted client replies in Conversations.
- Send replies directly to my inbox sends replies to your verified message email address, or your account email if no custom address is verified. The original email sent from PracticeRunner is saved, but replies and follow-up emails exchanged in the outside mailbox are not imported.
The separate Email copies of messages received in PracticeRunner setting controls notifications and full-message copies sent to your inbox. Those messages remain saved in PracticeRunner. You can choose direct replies for ordinary email and still receive copies of secure messages. No email turns off PracticeRunner message notifications; it does not stop direct client replies to your mailbox.
Secure-message notifications retain PracticeRunner reply routing. When email replies are available, an accepted reply from the receiving address appears in its conversation. These replies travel through ordinary email; use the portal for sensitive content.
See Choose your email routing preferences for setup steps, address verification, and examples of how the choices work together.
If an email is missing or shows a warning
Ask the recipient to check Spam and, in Gmail, the Updates category, as well as any folders their mailbox rules use. A delivered status means their mail server accepted the email. It does not confirm that the email appeared in the main inbox or was read. Check these places before sending it again.
When you choose Send replies directly to my inbox, outgoing emails still use a PracticeRunner sender address, while replies go to your receiving mailbox. Gmail or another email service may warn that the reply address differs from the sender. That warning alone does not mean delivery failed or that the message failed checks confirming who sent it. If a recipient is unsure, they should confirm the reply address with your practice using a contact method they already trust.
Forwarding and catch-all rules, which redirect mail for otherwise unused addresses into another mailbox, can affect those sender checks. A message may pass when it first arrives and fail after it is redirected. This does not happen with every catch-all rule. If the problem occurs only on redirected mail, ask your email administrator to compare it with a message sent directly to an existing mailbox. In Gmail, More → Show original displays the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC results that your administrator or support can review.
Choose your reply destination based on where you want replies received and saved. Neither reply setting guarantees that an email service will omit warnings or place messages in the main inbox. See Google’s guidance on forwarded email for more detail.