E-mail and Privacy

LETTER IN THE NEW YORK TIMES 3/7/05

     Only those who don't care if their medical information is public should presently risk using e-mail for private medical data.

     As a licensed health care professional, who designs Web sites for health care professionals and is trained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, I have seen many encryption products promising security. They may be satisfactory for information kept on secure servers, but are inadequate for e-mail. Passwords and encryption can be cracked, especially in patients' underprotected, hackable computers.

     If you think identity theft and spam e-mail are bad now, don't let convenience and price lure you into a false sense of security.

     Until really secure e-mail becomes available, e-mailed medical information is just waiting to be stolen by telemarketers, blackmailers and others interested in your personal information.

Carol Goldberg