Paper-based privacy policies fail to resolve the new changes posed by electronic healthcare. Protecting patient privacy through electronic systems has become a serious concern and is the subject of several recent studies. The shift towards an electronic privacy policy introduces new ethical challenges that cannot be solved merely by technical measures. Structured Patient Privacy Policy (S3P) is a software tool assuming an automated electronic privacy policy in an electronic healthcare setting. It is designed to simulate different access levels and rights (...) of various professionals involved in healthcare in order to assess the emerging ethical problems. The authors discuss ethical issues concerning electronic patient privacy policies that have become apparent during the development and application of S3P. (shrink)