And avoid any kind of exclusive advertising arrangement with a particular pharmacy, pharmaceutical company or group of subspecialists. Analysts say that in the eyes of HHS Office of Inspector General, exclusive relationships imply some sort of referral. This is not to say that physicians can't accept Web site ads. That's the type of advertising that a physician can get paid for. Like all business on the Internet, physician Web sites are governed by a hodgepodge of federal and state privacy statutes.
Privacy is of particular concern to physicians as they forge new types of online partnerships.
According to Janlori Goldman, JD, director of Georgetown University's Health Privacy Project, physicians must develop and post privacy policies on their sites. Those policies should address such issues as whether site partners or sponsors can collect information or conduct online profiling of site users. Physicians should also make sure that sponsors or advertisers don't violate their policies. Experts say that agreements to extend a practice's privacy policy to a linked site should be made in writing. If you decide to allow some information to be disclosed from your site, give users the ability to exclude themselves or limit those disclosures.