Legal Center / Doctors Ethical Code of Conduct
submitted by Dr. Gary Farr - Contact the author here. Last Updated March, 20, 2002	Save Money! Check out our special offers here.

We rely on professionally trained doctors and health care practitioners to help you. They have rules of conduct just as our patients do. See how they're supposed to behave.
Often problems that arise between doctors and patients are the result of a misunderstanding and/or a lack of effective communication. If you have a problem with your doctor or have a concern about the care provided or the conduct of the doctor, a frank discussion between you and the doctor may resolve the matter. However, if that is not possible or successful, the following may be of great help.

Qualified Consultants

All doctors and consultants for BecomeHealthyNow.com are registered medical practitioners with current practicing certificates. Other staff such as dieticians, nurses, physiotherapists and scientists are board certified and have the relevant tertiary qualification and extensive clinical experience. All staff are required to follow strict ethical guidelines as promulgated by their countries of registration professional body. Doctors who provide services for BecomeHealthyNow.com are screened for expertise in their field. Prior to the doctors' appointment, independent referees are consulted to further ascertain the doctors' expertise and good standing within the medical community. Quality assurance programs such as regular clinical audits by Clinic Directors are an integral component of our activities.

Patient Confidentiality

Patient confidentiality is paramount and no clinical information or identifying data is passed onto a third party without the express permission of the client. To ensure that data is stored and transferred safely and securely, hardware and technical solutions that meet international standards have been implemented. BecomeHealthyNow.com records all medical transactions in the form of client owned and controlled, electronic health records. These records are stored and read from central computer servers endowed with the highest standards of physical and electronic data security. Medical information is not sent by email nor stored on peripheral computers. The patient or client has exclusive control over access to information in the medical record. These security provisions far exceed those possible with conventional paper based records or office based electronic health records. We abide by the provisions of other relevant international privacy legislation. Credit card payment are processed by a secure payment gateway provider, Worldpay. BecomeHealthyNow.com does not store credit card details on its non-secure server. BecomeHealthyNow.com complies with the standards of recognized accreditation organizations such as "Health on the Net".

Quality Assurance

BecomeHealthyNow.com consultants follow current "best practice" guidelines. These are based on the highest ethical standards of medical practice and have been adapted and developed where necessary for e-health by the Clinic Directors and the Continuing Medical Education and Quality Assurance Committees of BecomeHealthyNow.com. In addition BecomeHealthyNow.com and its consultants follow the guidelines promulgated by professional bodies of which they are members. The fundamental principles on which all guidelines are based are for consultants to promote the health and well being of patients and to practice the science and art of medicine to the best of their ability and within the limits of their expertise.

Supplement Prescription

Supplements and vitamins are not prescribed unless the patient has had a consultation with one of our health care practitioners or has been seen by a medical practitioner who can verify physical data and identity. While consideration is given to direct requests by patients for particular investigations, these are not provided unless in the opinion of the consultant, they would be of benefit to the patient's health. Drugs are not prescribed or supplied through our Internet site.

Complaints Mechanism

Any complaints regarding our service will be directed to our Quality Assurance Committee and replied to within seven days. If a dispute is not settled to the satisfaction of both parties, the matter will be referred to an independent medical arbitrator or the Board of Registration of the medical practitioner involved.

Medical Ethics

BecomeHealthyNow.com guarantees that you are dealing with a qualified health professional and ensure that your communication and medical records remain confidential. BecomeHealthyNow.com Clinicians bring to online consultations the same medical ethics that they use in conventional practice. Clinicians consider the interests and well being of our patients as their prime responsibility, exercise the highest ethical standards in all their dealings and activities, commit to an environment of continual improvement and are sensitive and responsive to the needs and values of the communities and countries in which they work.

BecomeHealthyNow.com consultants follow current "best practice" guidelines. These are based on the highest ethical standards of medical practice and have been adapted and developed where necessary for e-health by the Clinic Directors and the Continuing Medical Education and Quality Assurance Committees of BecomeHealthyNow.com. In addition BecomeHealthyNow.com and its consultants follow the guidelines promulgated by professional bodies of which they are members. The fundamental principles on which all guidelines are based are for consultants to promote the health and well being of patients and to practice the science and art of medicine to the best of their ability and within the limits of their expertise.

Last Updated August 13, 2002