Healtheon To Follow Norms Of Hi-Ethics
Healtheon/WebMD India yesterday announced its support for the ethical operating principles developed by Hi-Ethics, a coalition of 20 most widely used Internet health sites and content providers.
The operating norms will help consumers realise the benefits of the Internet as a way to improve health. Healtheon/WebMD and other Hi-Ethics member companies commit to be fully compliant with the principles by November 1.
Healtheon/WebMD, along with other healthcare websites, will be among the first companies to develop industry-led ethical standards and privacy protections for users of popular health sites.
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The Hi-Ethics group is using a `chain of trust' policy to bind all third parties and advertisers to each company's privacy agreements.
According to Lav Nigam, director, Healtheon/WebMD: "Strong, enforceable privacy policies that bind everyone who does business with that site will go a long way towards bolstering consumer trust."
Without trust, patients would stay away, doctors will not recommend the online services and regulators will keep them under close oversight, he said.
Healtheon/WebMD India is part of the Atlanta-based Healtheon/WebMD, the first end-to-end Internet healthcare company connecting physicians and consumers to the entire healthcare industry.