Protect PHI in notifications and exports

Marking fields as PHI lets Formesign apply sensitive-field handling in supported notifications and exports. Review the exact fields, recipients and destinations involved. A field flag is one control in the collection process; the message subject, attachments and external copies also need attention.

Review the selected fields

Open the form's HIPAA setup. In PHI, inspect the detected fields and continue to Select fields that contain PHI. Correct the checkboxes and select Next to save them.

Use the content of each question to make the selection. Automatic detection can help locate candidates, but a generic field title or a newly added question can need review. Recheck the choices after changing the form.

Inspect notifications

Review the Email step and the form's notification configuration. Check the recipient, subject, body, response links and attachment choices separately.

1. Submit a synthetic response with easily recognizable fictional values.
2. Open the actual delivered message in the test recipient's mailbox.
3. Confirm which answers are masked or omitted.
4. Inspect attachments and links with the access intended for that recipient.
5. Correct the configuration before collecting real information.

A manually written value in a subject or body is not made safe simply by marking the original question. Similarly, a signed PDF can contain sensitive answers even when its covering email is brief.

Review export destinations

Report-to-Sheets configuration can ask whether PHI should be included; its default handling excludes marked fields unless the relevant include option is enabled. Confirm your specific output with a test and review the spreadsheet's access.

There can be more than one Sheets path. A Google Form's linked response Sheet and a Formesign report connection are distinct. Do not assume a choice made in one export dialog changes every external copy. See Google data connections.

Give staff the access they need

An email alert can tell staff that a response is ready while the detailed answers remain in the permitted record view. Configure collaborator permissions and Drive sharing separately, and check how the recipient opens the record.

If a field is missing from a report or visible unexpectedly in email, use privacy and email troubleshooting. Keep synthetic examples for these checks so the verification itself does not create additional patient-data copies.