Does the Security Rule apply to written and oral communications?

Answer:

No. The standards and specifications of the Security Rule are specific to electronic protected health information (e-PHI). It should be noted however that e-PHI also includes telephone voice response and fax back systems because they can be used as input and output devices for electronic information systems. E-PHI does not include paper-to-paper faxes or video teleconferencing or messages left on voice mail, because the information being exchanged did not exist in electronic form before the transmission. In contrast, the requirements of the Privacy Rule apply to all forms of PHI, including written and oral.