CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Cookies on Kaiser Web Site
Activation Code
Cookies

0806 -
0806 -    ..
0807 - Summary/Objective
0808 -
080801 - Follow up ref SDS 1 6935.
080802 -
080803 - Received a response, ref DRT 1 0001, from Kaiser on objection to
080804 - requirement for using cookies to access medical information on
080805 - Kaiser's web site.
080806 -
080807 -
080808 -                 http://www.kponline.org
080809 -
080810 -
080811 - A week or so ago, Millie advised that Kaiser has a web site.
080812 -
080813 - A few days ago, I found the site.
080814 -
080815 - Got an error message saying that cookies need to be "on" in the web
080816 - browser, so I sent a letter to Kaiser objecting.
080817 -
080818 - The response from Kaiser is from...
080819 -
080820 -
080821 -                     Bryan Merrill
080822 -                     Bryan.Merrill@KP.ORG
080823 -
080824 - ...so there must be an...
080825 -
080826 -
080827 -                 http://www.kp.org
080828 -
080829 -
080830 -
080831 - ...but it also says...
080832 -
080833 -                     John Lengacher
080834 -                     Kaiser Permanente Online Support
080835 -                     http://www.kponline.org
080836 -
080837 - ..
080838 - I signed up to access medical records online, and was required
080839 - to get a web activation number.  Today Millie said it came in the
080840 - mail, and gave it to me over the phone....
080841 -
080842 -
080843 -                        35979
080844 -
080845 -
080846 - Evidently this number only needs to be used once.
080847 -
080848 - We have to enter the Kaiser Account number:  05519189
080849 -
080850 - After using this thing, we have to create another number.  I think I
080851 - tried...
080852 -
080853 -                        1222
080854 -
080855 -
080856 - Selected screen name for discussion group...
080857 -
080858 -                     Rod
080859 -
080860 -
080861 - Today, Bryon and John make the following comment about cookies...
080862 -
080863 -     Cookies are a necessary authentication tool for our site, and if
080864 -     our site did not use cookies, we would have to require members to
080865 -     enter their Kaiser Medical Record Number, PIN, and Region to
080866 -     download each page of the site. ref DRT 1 7844
080867 -
080868 -  1.  What authority establishes this "necessity."
080869 -
080870 -      Is there a regulation or statute that requires Kaiser to use
080871 -      cookies?
080872 -
080873 -      Is there a policy or marketing objective that makes cookies an
080874 -      attractive method?
080875 -
080876 -  2.  If the software was written to avoid cookies, why would members
080877 -      have to enter a lot of separate ID to download each page of the
080878 -      site.  Other sites permit downloading without this process. There
080879 -      is a single ID for Social Security, and for DMV.  Why can't
080880 -      Kaiser point to a member record with all of the stuff you want to
080881 -      maintain based on access by a single entry?
080882 -
080883 -  3.  How does Kaiser's necessity to access seruptitiously a member's
080884 -      records in their home or office, balance against the member's
080885 -      necessity to manage what is added to and extracted from the
080886 -      members records on the members computer?
080887 -
080888 -
080889 - They further advise...
080890 -
080891 -     It is not necessary to set your browser to accept all cookies. You
080892 -     can accept each cookie as it comes and the site will work fine.
080893 -     The one exception is the discussion group area where it may be
080894 -     annoying because of the high number of cookies set in that area.
080895 -     ref DRT 1 2646
080896 -
080897 - Netscape provides following options....
080898 -
080899 -         •  Accept all cookies
080900 -
080901 -         •  Accept only cookies that get sent back to the original
080902 -            server.
080903 -
080904 -         •  Disable cookies
080905 -
080906 -         •  Warn before accepting cookies
080907 -
080908 -
080909 -     The last choice seems most likely to align with the idea Bryon and
080910 -     John present in their letter.
080911 -
080912 -     Warning per se does not disclose what is being added or drawn
080913 -     from the computer.
080914 -
080915 -     If the warning says something like... we are thinking of adding
080916 -     the following stuff to your computer.  We will put in the
080917 -     following directory.  It will accomplish the following purpose,
080918 -     and occupy so much space.  It will be automatically deleted in a
080919 -     few mintues or after we do thus and so.
080920 -
080921 -     Can we proceed?
080922 -
080923 -
080924 - Will now experiment with this option set to see what actually
080925 - happens.
080926 -
080927 - We got a bunch of arcane strings that someboby thinks is fun, one
080928 - leading into a discussion group says...
080929 -
080930 -       rulesOfRoad=""
080931 -
080932 -       This cookie will persist until Wed Dec 31 16:00:01 1969
080933 -
080934 - So, clearly "Something wrong!"  As they said in the OJ trial
080935 -
080936 -
080937 -
080938 -
080939 -
080940 -
080941 -
0810 -