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Tim Perkins, Psy. D.
President and Director of IT
When you're handling sensitive mental health information across multiple locations, there's no room for compromise on security. Just ask Tim Perkins, Psy. D., the President and Director of IT at Cornerstone Clinical Services, who knows firsthand the delicate balance between protecting patient data and maintaining efficient clinical operations.
In a recent conversation, Cornerstone's leader shared how their mental health practice found the sweet spot between rigorous HIPAA compliance and practical usability - a journey that led them to a lasting partnership with Virtru.
Back in 2005, the HIPAA Security Rule presented a new challenge for Cornerstone Clinical Services. As an outpatient mental health clinic serving the greater Portland area, they needed a way to protect sensitive patient communications across their two locations and 30-person team.
"We were looking for a solution that did not require a lot of IT sophistication, that was easy to scale to an ever-moving list of employees, and that was affordable," explains Dr. Perkins. "Virtru fit these criteria nicely."
The impact was immediate, particularly for internal communications. "Most of our protected communication occurs in house and Virtru allows for decryption at the in-box for within-organization emails," the Dr. Perkins notes. "This is a huge time saver for our staff."
This efficiency boost didn't come at the expense of security. For a mental health practice handling protected health information daily, Virtru for Outlook ensures that sensitive patient data remains secure whether it's traveling between offices or to external partners.
Managing security across multiple locations can be a headache, but Cornerstone found Virtru's approach refreshingly straightforward. "Set up and license reallocation is easy and straightforward," says the Director. This simplicity has proven invaluable as the practice manages communications across their two locations, and among a diversity of tech experience and capability.
Since 2006, Cornerstone Clinical Services has relied on Virtru to protect their sensitive communications - a testament to the platform's reliability and evolution alongside changing healthcare security requirements.
"I would highly recommend the use of Virtru for clinics of my size," the Director emphasizes. This endorsement carries special weight coming from a practice that has successfully balanced security requirements with clinical efficiency for over a decade.
Today, Cornerstone Clinical Services continues to demonstrate that robust security doesn't have to mean sacrificing efficiency. Their experience shows that with the right partner, mental health practices can achieve both ironclad protection for patient information and smooth clinical operations.
Through their partnership with Virtru, Cornerstone has created a security framework that adapts to their growing practice while maintaining the high standards of privacy their patients deserve.
"When you're handling mental health data, there's no room for 'good enough,'" states Dr. Perkins. "Virtru gives us the confidence to say we're doing everything possible to protect our patients' privacy."
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