The messages may be read by many persons and stored on many different systems prior to delivery, and the recipient may make copies and forward the message to any number of people. The message may be delivered in minutes or it may take several days. Communicating with patients via e-mail poses risks to the patient's privacy. Policies governing the use of e-mail should be developed and communicated to all users of the Internet in the organization. Mailing lists provide a special e-mail capability very similar to a discussion group or bulletin board.
Internet users subscribe to mailing lists for special interest groups.
Sending an e-mail message to the list makes it available to all subscribers. Although this is a valuable source of information, these groups may also be used inadvertently or even intentionally by staff members to disclose proprietary or confidential information. A typical message to a mailing list might be a request for copies of another organization's policies or training material that could be used to develop policies in preparation for a Joint Commission survey. Staff members should be informed about the organization's policy for participating in mailing lists, the type of information subscribers can post, and whether or not they are permitted to provide comments on behalf of the organization. Patient identifiable information should never be posted to these lists in order to illustrate procedures or methods.