An analysis of the security and privacy of email messages used in e-mentoring

Abstract

We analysed the content of email messages exchanged in a pilot mentoring scheme. The e-mentoring study was conducted for clinicians involved in the delivery of residential home care nursing, midwifery and allied health therapies. A classification score was assigned to each message, using an 8–point scale (1 = breach of patient confidentiality to 8 = no need for either security or privacy). For 108 messages examined, the mean score was 6.3 (SD 1.1), range 3–8. The analysis showed that no patient identifiable data had been divulged during the mentoring. This suggests that email systems used in e-mentoring do not need to use encryption techniques to meet legislative or administrative requirements. However, the success of e-mentoring is enhanced by the participants’ ability to discuss sensitive topics. We recommend the use of an email system unconnected to the employer's email system. This will improve the privacy of mentoring correspondence by placing it outside the bounds of employer scrutiny.