COMMUNICATING BY ELECTRONIC MAIL (EMAIL), VOICEMAIL MESSAGE, AND TEXT MESSAGE
The Student Wellness Centre may communicate personal health information it deems appropriate via the email address you provide. Similarly, the Student Wellness Centre may communicate personal health information it deems appropriate via voicemail and text message to the telephone number you provide.
Communication of personal health information by email, voicemail, and text message will be at the discretion of the Student Wellness Centre staff members involved in your care. Email messages may contain (but are not limited to) laboratory requisitions, test results, and appointment information. Voicemail messages may contain (but are not limited to) test results, questions about your medical condition(s), and appointment information. Information communicated by text message will be minimal and brief, limited to appointment information and notification of missed telephone calls and emails. You shall immediately inform the Student Wellness Centre of changes to your telephone number.
The Student Wellness Centre email, voicemail and text messaging service are general accounts, accessible by Student Wellness Centre nurses and receptionists. Emails, voicemail messages, and text messages are only monitored periodically. Significant time may pass without Student Wellness Centre staff viewing or responding to voicemail and text messages. Health care providers can make no guarantee of a response, or a response within a certain time frame. Email, voicemail, and text messages are not appropriate for communication about all health issues, particularly those of an urgent or sensitive nature. If you have a serious psychological or medical emergency, you will use other means to seek help, whether or not that includes contacting the Student Wellness Centre. You understand that professional services will not be provided via email. Email communication or a summary of it will be retained as part of your health record and becomes property of McMaster University. As a result, that information, including your email address and telephone number, may be disseminated as part of an authorized release of a copy of your medical record.
The Student Wellness Centre will use reasonable means to protect the privacy of your personal health information. Email, voicemail, and text messaging are not secure methods of communication; therefore, McMaster University cannot guarantee the security of messages that you send to or receive from the Student Wellness Centre. Emails, voicemail messages, and text messages are not encrypted. Email is not as confidential as mail or telephone communication. Voicemail is not as confidential as mail or direct telephone communication. It is possible for an unauthorized third party to intercept or listen to a voicemail message without the knowledge of either the sender or recipient of the message. It is possible for an unauthorized third party to intercept or read an email or text message without the knowledge of either the sender or recipient of the mail. Because of the ease and informality with which email can be used and because email may be easily forwarded to multiple addresses, the potential loss of confidentiality associated with its use may be of greater consequence than that suffered with written or telephone communication. You accept the risk of loss of privacy or confidential health information associated with communication by email, voicemail, and text message and nonetheless agree to its use. You also agree that any regulated healthcare professional and/or McMaster University shall not be liable for any type of damage or liability arising from or associated with loss of confidentiality due to communication by email, voicemail message, or text message. Since McMaster University does not operate or control any service on the internet, you understand that McMaster University cannot and does not guarantee that use of this means of communication will be free from technological difficulties, including, but not limited to, loss of messages.
This authorization is valid until you notify the Student Wellness Centre in writing that you no longer consent to the use of email, voicemail message, or text message to communicate personal health information. McMaster University also retains the right to terminate email, voicemail message, and text message as a means of communication at any time if, in the healthcare provider’s judgement, it becomes appropriate to do so.