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• Is shiftMD a HIPAA Business Associate?
  Yes. As a practitioner, you deal with sensitive patient information and privacy concerns on a daily basis. We, too, have a legal responsibility to protect and secure the data we collect on shiftMD under the HIPAA and HITECH legislation as a “Business Associate” of the practitioners who use our platform. shiftMD’s entire team is trained on its responsibility to follow internal policies in implementing HIPAA compliance. We’ve implemented several technical safeguards to protect Electronic Protected Health Information and other pertinent data on shiftMD — this includes SSL encryption, secure data handling, data redaction, destruction policies, and personal identification procedures for releasing data. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us and our HIPAA Compliance Officer will gladly field your questions.
• Does shiftMD have to report to CMS any transfers of value under the Sunshine Law?
  No. The federal Sunshine Law requires certain drug and device manufacturers to publicly report certain transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals. shiftMD is not the manufacturer of any FDA-approved prescription drugs reimbursed under Medicare or Medicaid. Therefore, shiftMD is not required to make reports under the Sunshine Law.
• Is it legal for me to profit from the sale of the products I recommend?
  As you know, shiftMD is an innovative way for patients to order a product you recommend to them via the shiftMD platform. Patient purchases on the shiftMD platform are self-pay, out of pocket transactions. shiftMD does not file with insurance and the patients making purchases must likewise certify that they will not seek reimbursement for the products. All shiftMD patient transactions are “outside of” insurance and no claims are ever filed with a government healthcare program for products purchased through shiftMD.
• Do I need to tell my patients that I make a profit from the products I recommend?
  Patients always have the option to purchase products through other pharmacies or merchants. Patients should be informed of this fact and should be given freedom of choice. Many patients will choose to use the shiftMD platform for convenience and cost savings, but other patients may wish to purchase the products elsewhere in order to use their insurance benefits. Patients should never be pressured to use the shiftMD platform; use of shiftMD is always optional and we ask that you take care to communicate such to your patients.
• Is my data secure?
  You bet. shiftMD uses a 128-bit SSL certificate to keep your information secure — the same level of encryption used by large banks around the world. Your information is private and secure.
• Is my patient’s data secure?
  Just as it’s used for provider data, shiftMD uses a 128-bit SSL certificate to keep patient information private and secure — the same level of encryption used by large banks around the world.
• Is it ethical to sell non-prescription healthcare products to my patients?
  shiftMD — and the providers who use the app — stand by the ethics of recommending expertly vetted, high quality non-prescription healthcare products to patients. But don’t just take our word for it. Check out what the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists have to say about it.

  Here’s a snippet on the subject from The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists’ website:

  “[When] medically indicated products are not covered by insurance, direct-to-patient sales may be permissible. When offering the sale of medical goods or services to patients in the clinical setting, obstetrician-gynecologists should ensure the following:

  First, the offered product should be clinically indicated and its use should be consistent with current medical practice.

  Second, if access to equally effective alternative products exists, obstetrician-gynecologists should not restrict patients’ access to alternatives or misleadingly imply that products sold in the office are the best or only available treatment options.

  Third, obstetrician-gynecologists should not coercively suggest that continued care is contingent upon purchasing medical products directly from the physician or the clinic.

  Finally, the selling price of all products should not exceed the fair market value. If these safeguards are not in place, the therapeutic focus of the patient-physician relationship may be significantly weakened.”

  The shiftMD team is in complete agreement!

Got a question that’s not answered here? Feel free to contact us!