On Thu, 1 May 2003, William Schults wrote:

>--- "Paul E. Prusakowski" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I own a listserv primarily for healthcare providers who use the forum to
>discuss clinical issues to help determine the best course of treatment for
>the individuals that we serve.  Recently there have been federal guidelines
>for privacy and personal health information security and privacy enacted.
>
>I was wondering if anyone else on this list has to deal with this issue, and
>I am curious as to how it was addressed.
>--- end of quote ---

I am dealing with HIPAA issues now, but not in terms of Listserv. Your
best course of action is to talk with your organization's legal counsel
and/or data security manager in order to see what types of guidelines you
need to follow. I tried looking at the HIPAA regulations on some web site
somewhere and the legaleze caused my eyes to glaze over.

In the context of a Listserv list, I would assume that patient names and
other identifying information should not be disclosed via the list. There
might also be some guidelines that restrict availability and accessibility
to the list's postings, which is why you should seek the guideness of your
organizations legal authorities on this matter.