In today’s digital-first healthcare environment, organizations face growing pressure to ensure that patient communications are not only timely and efficient, but also secure, compliant, and trustworthy. A significant number of these messages—ranging from appointment reminders to billing statements and care plans—are sent from electronic health record (EHR) systems, like Epic, which is widely adopted across the industry.
Other sources of high-volume, transactional emails are hospital foundations that send donation requests and receipts, and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) that deliver lab notifications and reports. These use cases add to the scale and complexity of managing healthcare email traffic.
Modern email requirements are raising the bar
Email service providers such as Google, Yahoo, Apple, and Microsoft have tightened email authentication requirements since 2024 for senders. These changes include stricter enforcement of email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, along with mandates for features such as one-click unsubscribe.
As a result, healthcare organizations must ensure that Epic-generated emails meet these modern standards. Failure to comply increases the risk that critical patient messages will be filtered, delayed, or blocked—compromising trust, care coordination, and regulatory obligations.
The stakes are high
These emails often carry essential care and scheduling information. Large healthcare systems may send millions of messages each week.
That's why it's crucial to minimize any factors that could lead to non-delivery. Unfortunately, some healthcare organizations face deliverability challenges due to non-compliance with DMARC or one-click unsubscribe requirements. As a result, important messages, including those from Epic MyChart, are being completely blocked from reaching their intended recipients.
It's critical to ensure their safe and reliable delivery. Not only does this help with maintaining patient trust, but it’s also important for supporting clinical and operational efficiency.
And to avoid the potential of having an organizations main sending addresses blocklisted, it is a recognized best practice to separate transactional application emails—like those generated by Epic—from user-driven email traffic. This improves deliverability and reduces both security and compliance risks.
Outdated systems can’t keep up
Yet, many healthcare providers still rely on outdated or inadequate solutions to handle this critical volume of communication. Legacy on-premises email relays, such as Microsoft Exchange and Cisco IronPort, often struggle to meet modern requirements.
These systems often struggle to scale and lack modern authentication protocols. They also require ongoing, costly maintenance from IT teams.
Why healthcare needs a better solution for Epic-generated email
Healthcare organizations need a modern, secure email relay that’s purpose-built for the demands of patient communications. The right solution should:
- Reliably and securely handle millions of Epic-generated emails
- Meet evolving email authentication requirements (like those from Google, Yahoo, Apple, and Microsoft)
- Provide support for one-click unsubscribe capabilities to ensure critical Epic messages are not being blocked
- Support regulatory-compliant encryption and authentication
- Deliver messages quickly and accurately at scale
- Reduce IT overhead by offloading email routing and policy enforcement
- Build patient trust by ensuring every message is authenticated, protected, and properly branded
- Keep transactional traffic segmented from user-driven messages for better control and deliverability
Proofpoint Secure Email Relay: built for healthcare scale and criticality
Proofpoint Secure Email Relay (SER) gives healthcare organizations the ability to securely and efficiently deliver high-volume, transactional emails generated by Epic. Available as a standalone solution or as part of the Proofpoint Prime Threat Protection suite, SER is purpose-built for the unique requirements of healthcare communications.
Securing transactional/application email with Proofpoint SER.
With Proofpoint SER, healthcare providers get:
- Regulatory-compliant encryption to protect patient data in transit when configured appropriately
- Robust email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to prevent spoofing and impersonation
- One-click unsubscribe to enhance patient experience and trust
- Easy integration with existing Epic infrastructure—no disruption to clinical workflows
- Delivery transparency with detailed logs, metrics, and insights for IT and compliance teams
- Reduced operational burden compared to legacy relay systems
- Separation of application and user traffic for improved control and risk mitigation
By modernizing Epic email delivery with Proofpoint SER, healthcare providers can safeguard sensitive communications, ensure deliverability, and streamline IT operations—while reinforcing patient trust with every digital interaction.
Learn more
Find out how Proofpoint SER can help your organization deliver secure, reliable patient communications at scale. Also visit Proofpoint Secure Email Relay on the Epic Showroom – Connection Hub to explore integration options and real-world applications.
