As the use of e-mail has increased, so has employer monitoring of e-mail messages. But what a health care employer deems its right to protect a vast amount of confidential patient information from improper use, employees may view as a privacy violation. If employees are violating a health care organization's confidentiality or other workplace policies, the health care provider can be held liable for their actions and the e-mail communication could be the proverbial smoking gun. Health care institutions that monitor employee e-mail must have a monitoring policy in place and communicate it to employees.