Step 1. Look into HIPPA Step 2. Decide to NOT EVEN CONSIDER A HOSTED SOLUTION Step 3. Decide it's not worth it.
Oh, btw, if this were a good idea you just gave it away. Good Job, jebus you're not much of an anti-christ. > -----Original Message----- > From: Damien McKenna [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2006 3:02 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Legalities for doing an open-access medical site? > > I've got an idea for a site and wanted to bounce the idea off > some knowledgeable folk before I pursued it further. > > > The Plan: > > The idea is to have a website for users to track their data > regarding a specific medical condition. This data is of a > medical nature therefore subject to specific laws therefore I > want to cover my posterior before I get myself lynched. > > There would be two types of users, practitioners and regular users. > Practitioners would be trained health specialists who are > certified by an international organization, it's a small > group therefore easily verifiable. Regular users would > primarily be people who have taken a class with one of the > practitioners and so there would be a practitioner-client > relationship between users (one-to-many). Access to the site > would be free, there would never be any fees to join as a user. > > The data would be specific statistics tailored towards this > specific medical issue - specific stats corresponding with a > timestamp and an optional note. Users would enter and keep > track of their own stats and be able to chart their progress > over time. > > In addition to the basic stats they would be able to submit > questions to the practitioner they attended a class of to > seek advice or just feedback on their progress; questions > could have specific datasets attached for viewing. Another > idea would be for the user to flag their data as openly > viewable by their practitioner so the practitioner could keep > track of their progress. These are two sides of the same > coin, the difference is how the data is accessed, on one hand > the user submits a specific set of data (push) whereas on the > other hand the practitioner could see all of a user's data (pull). > > Lastly, one thing I was considering was an optional blog. To > be allowed to have a blog either your practitioner would give > you permission to do so, or you would have to be an active > user for a specific period of time (e.g. 6 months). This > would avoid the possible problem of someone setting up an > account to use as a general blog and keep it topic-specific. > With their blog users would be able to attach specific > datasets (boasting rights, "look what I did") but on the > whole it would be to keep a public textual record of their progress. > > In addition to the user-specific information, there would be: > > * a FAQ / knowledge base section of common tips and tricks on > how to deal with the medical condition. This would also be > available via a regular email newsletter. > > * general contact information for all practitioners along > with details for what geographical areas they cover. > > * a store to purchase books, booklets, flip-charts, etc. > There would be no medical devices or drugs available, it > would specifically be informational data. > > The site would be paid for through sales of the media plus > donations, there would be no advertisements of any sort. > > > The Questions: > > The questions I have are: > > * Are the legalities for something like this so strict that > its foolish for Joe Soap (i.e. me) to get involved? > > * Any recommendations on where I should look to find > specifics on the US laws for something like this? > > * Has anyone got suggestions for me based on my ideas above? > > * The site would be US-based, due to how some > countries/regions have gone a little funny regarding data > (EU, UK), should I be best to keep it exclusive to US users only? > > * I'm presuming that if I do go ahead with it that at the > very least I'll need a dedicated server, to remove the > possibilities of someone obtaining the data. Do you think > the laws would allow me (presuming I set up an LLC) to have > other sites (e.g. my personal site) on the server or would it > have to be exclusively for that one site? > > > If it would be too legally questionable to do this as a > hosted service I may reduce my plan a bit and do it as a > per-user install, but I see a greater use for this as a > hosted, openly accessible service. > > Any feedback would be appreciated. > > -- > Damien McKenna - Web Developer - > [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Limu Company - > http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include <stdjoke.h> > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:197061 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
