FAQ

ViOS, Inc is a Delaware C-Corporation incorporated on:

June 29th 2020

Our headquarters are registered at:

651 N Broad St, Suite 206,

Zip 19709, New Castle,

Middletown

Delaware

United States of America

The VIOS Clinic is a Global Management Services Organization (MSO) that partners with certified independent physician practices in the United States and abroad. We provide the necessary non-clinical business-related admin and managerial support infrastructure.

Select the monthly plan to get unlimited virtual visits with your preferred Doctor, if you really want to get better value, jump into our annual plan for amazing savings.

Healthcare should be this simple.

When you join a plan, you are entitled to unlimited scheduled visits to the doctor of your choice.

Ideally each persons unique health needs can be best served with their own specialist in individual plans.

If you would like a holistic cost-effective coverage for your family, you may consider signing up for the platinum membership with your choice of a family medicine doctor.

You may get twice-a-month sessions with your preferred physician to guide your whole family for the entire year.

Imagine having a personal concierge family doctor who can serve you wherever you are!

Click here to visit our Plans & Pricing page

We wish to empower patients to make an informed payer choice, in selecting the right specialist and completing the direct payment process without unnecessary approval paperwork and other hassles to effective telecommunication.

An essential task that we do here in the platform s to provide digital marketing services for all the providers.

On behalf of the doctors, we are actively investing in online paid ads using Google ads, and creating value-added content marketing by frequently publishing original blogs, often curated by the doctors, to provide some much-needed helpful information for our website visitors.

Yes, it is possible for a physician to integrate their own regular patients into their virtual practice, however there are some important points to consider:

• The memberships are cash-based monthly plans which are not billed to the insurance providers, therefore the patients must understand that they will be paying out of pocket.
• Not all medical services are possible nor permitted in this virtual setting
• The Physician should consult wth their insurance stand a healthcare lawyer to ascertain that they are not inadvertantly in violation of any laws regarding acepting patients in a particular plan such as Medicare, or if either party is in a different state that the Doctor is not licensed to practice.

Our coverage plan has a blanket additional indemnity protection for independent contractors as well.

This additional protection is applicable to independent contractors who have their own private practice indemnity protection in their country as well.

Contact us for more details:

[email protected]

Patients from around the globe may access and view the appropriate content from the Company website. However US-resident patients (from any state) may only view, select and interact with specialists licensed to practice medicine in their particular states. Overseas patients may view, select and interact with any of the contracted specialists including US-based physicians (from any state).

Our platform is purely a ‘cash-based’ out-of-pocket virtual setting, without the need for third-party insurance providers.

Patients will have the opportunity to choose their virtual provider by selecting the appropriate specialty and pay online via VISA or Mastercard options

Patients will have the opportunity to choose their virtual provider by selecting the appropriate speciality and pay online via VISA or Mastercard options

Click on this link to view our concierge membership plans, to see which of our curated plans will be of the greatest benefit for your long-term care.

Click on this link to view our concierge membership plans, to see which of our curated plans will be of the greatest benefit for your long-term care.

ViOS, Inc is not affiliated with any entity bearing a close or approximate resemblance with the labels vios, VIOS, viosapp, VIOS clinic or any other derivative, in any shape or form.

Any resemblance or assumed affiliation is entirely coincidental.

The VIOS platform including the official website www.viosapp.com will only collect specific data when requested for a transaction under full expression of compliance of GDPR as displayed (eg. when downloading content).

For the purposes of the telemedicine booking function, users will be interacting with third party service providers to enable effective automation and integration into the VIOS workflow. The details of their GDP compliance processes and status can be viewed in the links provided below.

The user is obligated to sign the VIOS waiver and disclaimer popup prompts prior to proceeding with the VIOS workflow. The user is within their rights to refuse to aknowledge the waiver and seek services from elsewhere as desired.

HUBSPOT

CALENDLY

STRIPE

ZOOM

Best Practices Guidelines to Ensure HIPAA/GDPR Compliance in Global Telemedicine

INFORMED CONSENT

An informed consent/waiver from every patient is taken digitally prior to selecting the calendly link of each provider.

A link to the legal documents of ViOS, Inc. which displays terms of use, compliance, diligence and related materials are provided to the patient via email prior to and upon confirmation of appointment booking.

DATA 

Patient may request to delete any stored data in the mailing list of ViOS, Inc 

Patients have been communicated that their personal data (eg. email addresses) may be used for providing billing invoices and/or digital marketing materials from time to time.

Providers who have undergone the initial virtual orientation training session will be permitted to be a part of the VIOS Provider Platform.

LOCATION SETTING

The scheduled session should take place in a private room such as the Provider’s study room or bedroom (that has been designated as a home office space)

There should be an obstructed view of screen i.e. not facing a door or window

Use of headphones during sessions may allow for added privacy during the scheduled sessions.

Laptop/PC that is being used should have separate user login and logout functions.

PROFILE ACCOUNTS

Personal mobile device (smartphone/tablet) with personal pincode/biometric access with auto screen lock features enabled when not in use.

The Providers’ Gmail/Calendly/Zoom account must have a separate user login and logout feature.

The Provider must practice due diligence when utilising their devices for personal web browsing and downloading media.

The Provider must ensure timely software security upgrades of their devices as and when such security patches are made available

Provider’s full name and designation should be displayed on the Zoom profile as per their description in their provider bio page – Patient may choose to display their username as they wish.

Recommended reset of unique alphanumeric password every 30 days

RECORDING

No recording app/device must be activated in the background – patients and their chosen providers will receive a recorded zoom link after the session by their emails. This will ensure data localisation and portability to the geographic location of either party.

DATA

Patient health data can be shared only from the Patient’s side – using the zoom chat box. This may take the form of a typed note, image file, PDF or a shareable link (eg. google drive/dropbox folder) from the Patient’s side.

Providers are not to share any such data with any third party during or after a session is concluded.

Providers must discard any health data (PDF, data sharing links, image files) that has been shared to them, by shifting the data set into the recycle bin and immediately erase it within a period of 7 days has elapsed since the last communication with the patient.

NOTES

Providers may keep a handwritten journal during or after the session, for record keeping or further analysis if they choose to, this document should be written either during the session or immediately afterwards. The journal must be stored securely in the Provider’s own desk space (under lock and key) or in a safe deposit box (you may treat this document as a bank cheque book). 

The Patient may request for a copy of any notes that may have been taken by the Provider during the course of a session. The Patient should request a verbal request towards the end of the scheduled video session (prior to 30min duration) that they would like a photo scan of the Provider’s notes. 

The Provider can take a photo scan of any handwritten notes and upload via the Zoom chat box if the scheduled time permits, however if not possible, the Patient must book a follow up appointment to receive the previous session notes via the upload image function of the Zoom chat box

This image file must be discarded by the Provider within 7 days from the device memory in entirety (i.e. permanent delete)  

This professional journal may be maintained for a maximum duration of 6 Months, after which the provider is requested to discard the document in entirety by complete paper shredding, safely burning it or soaking in water until the ink is dissolved.

EXTERNAL COUNSEL

Providers are not to discuss VIOS Patient cases with any other healthcare provider, unless patient confidentiality is maintained by altering/omitting any personally identifiable data (using initials, synonyms etc) while seeking appropriate counsel.

Providers are requested to not accept or open any email correspondence from VIOS Patients with regards to medical/health data – only the ZOOM infrastructure has the appropriate HIPAA compliance via signed BAA (business associate agreement) with ViOS, Inc.

BREACH

Any incident of a data breach (eg. email hack) of any form should be communicated with ViOS, Inc via suitable means eg. secondary email or linkedin message with a representative of ViOS, Inc i.e. Dr. Ismail Sayeed within 72 hours of detection. An appropriate data breach communication will be undertaken by ViOS, Inc to concerned parties.

Any voluntary data breach by a Provider will require a disciplinary action to be taken on the offending party, related to ceasing all associations or legal repercussions as appropriate.

AUDIT

A data privacy audit will be carried out by ViOS, Inc by contracting out to a third party firm on an annual basis.

UPDATES

An annual privacy policy update will be made available to all parties as required.

A copy of the VIOS Privacy policy can be downloaded here

That will not be necessary, but we prefer if you could share some basic heath data so that your chosen doctor gets an idea about your issues prior to the meeting.

We prefer if you prepare the scanned copies of all relevant and recent medical reports, scans and your local doctors’ records in your computer prior to your scheduled appointment.

We have set up our processes to allow ample time for your chosen provider to go through the data during your session, so that all pertinent information can be relayed to you in a easy to understand manner.

During your appointment, you may upload the files in the Zoom chat box (in the form of images or a google drive/dropbox link) to your provider. Or you may enable screen sharing and simply display the scanned records without actually sharing any files.

Although the patient has willingly selected the booking and is free to utilise the access as they please, the value of the scheduled session may not be appreciated if there is a larger audience interacting at the same time.

Additionally the private conversation between the patient and specialist is fully protected by the terms and conditions of the VIOS Platform. Any alteration in the process, by sharing the appointment to other parties, will nullify the terms and conditions mentioned before.

If the Patient decides to involve other parties in the scheduled session (eg. by inviting their local doctor or another party), this arrangement should be communicated and made apparent to the VIOS Provider as soon as they enter the meeting.

It is within their professional rights to agree and proceed accordingly, or they may choose to end the session as per their choice. Provider and Patient may file an incident/complaint report to [email protected] regarding this matter – bear in mind shared session will not be refunded nor rescheduled in any form.

An oral description by the patient is a better alternative to discuss the prior diagnosis made, to allow the provider to assess the information provided.

ViOS, Inc and affiliated entities do not condone nor allow for unnecessary exposure and visual examination of patient party by the provider, regardless of initial medical issue.

• Confirm the identity of either party
• Ensure that a minor is not alone during a session, even if it is for a Pediatric review (an adult caregiver should be present)
• You can assess if a third person who is acting as a translator is able to convey the message properly
• You can demonstrate a bodily function such as joint movement or gait
• You can confirm correct use of device such as nebuliser
• You can view the packaging details of a medication, including its generic name
• The face-to-face interaction adds depth and richness to a conversation
• The Provider is able to assess non-verbal cues in the discussion
• There is a healing effect in seeing an empathic facial expression, of a dedicated Provider

All information provided by the Patient will be directly communicated with their preferred provider only during the scheduled Zoom session (whereby a post-session recorded link will be provided to either party).

Oral history generated as part of standard patient health interviews will be assessed, inquired and analysed by their preferred provider only.

Any other form of patient health data such as previous medical records/reports/prescription labels etc may be communicated via oral transcripts by the patient,  displayed from the Patient’s camera or be uploaded into the document upload function in the Zoom app.

The Provider may view the shared data either by direct preview (if possible) or may be downloaded temporarily for better viewing. After the session is completed, the Provider is instructed to discard/erase any digital information communicated by the patient using the Zoom chat function.

If the scanned data is corrupted, of low quality or the Provider is unable to assess the details properly, the Patient is  obligated to either cease further data sharing or provide  a better quality scan if they choose to (in the same session or at a follow up scheduled appointment).

The Patient party is discouraged from sharing any personal data of any form via email to the Company or Provider in any form, prior to, during or after a session.

The Providers are not obliged to create, maintain nor submit any official documents to any party after their scheduled session is completed satisfactorily.

If you, as a patient, would like the Provider to orally summarise or conclude the information that was discussed, you may ask the provider to do so before the session time is complete (within the 30min mark).

As mentioned before, if you would like a scanned copy of any handwritten notes the Provider may have taken during your interaction, you may politely ask them to take a picture of the notes (pertaining to your discussion only) and upload via the Zoom chat box.

If the scheduled time is about to conclude, and the Provider does not have enough time to take a picture of the notes and then forward it to you, you must book a follow up session at a convenient time in order to receive the scanned notes.

Alternatively, the provider may email their second opinion/consult review to ViOS, Inc. via our official email – [email protected], and. we will forward to the requesting patient party in due time.

-Allergies

-Obesity

-Speech concerns

-Growth and development concerns. Please have an up-to- date weight and height for your child prior to the session

-Feeding and Nutrition questions. Please have an up-to-date weight and height for your child prior to the session

-Questions about Infectious diseases

-Breastfeeding

-Childhood Vaccines

-Mild acne

-Eczema

-Questions relating to long term asthma management, causes of acute exacerbations, and its triggers in stable patients

-Behavior concerns

For a comfortable experience for both Patients and Providers, it is best to experience the session on the desktop so that either party can stabilise the live video, have a larger screen to view each other and any documents and will not have to worry about device batteries running out during a session.

If you are not able to locate the email, perhaps have a look at your SPAM folder.

If you have accidently deleted the email, you may be able to find it in the deleted messages section in your inbox.

On the day of your scheduled event and few minutes beforehand, you will receive a reminder email and SMS with the same Zoom link.

However, as you the informed patient, have selected and purchased the booking at your own discretion, you may decide what is the best way to experience the virtual session – even if you think that means allowing a third party (eg. an adult care-giver from another location) to participate in the private session.

Such an action may alter the doctor-patient relationship, therefore altering the privacy status of the virtual care session.

If you wish to proceed in inviting a third party on your behalf, it is recommeneded to communicate this to the provider as soon as the scheduled event is initiated, so as to clarify your direct decision in doing so.

No matter which plan you have signed up for, you are free to change your membership tier anytime you wish.

Simply contact us with this link or by emailing us at: [email protected] and we can walk you through the process.

The remaining dues for the coming months will be adjusted accordingly if you are downgrading a plan.

There will be a processing fee of 20% to be incurred.

To cancel a subscription, you may visit the Patient Portal in the Menu section. Login with your details and you may alter your membership to your needs.

After diligent review, if a particular service is deemed not to align with our professional ideals, we will consider removing any further contractual obligations with the entity.

This policy extends to the network of independent contractors who are not providing the expected quality services under agreement or their services are no longer required by the company stakeholders.

After a professional review, pending dues will be compensated and their agreement shall be officially nullified. With appropriate documentation of ceased agreements.

That suggestion may be communicated with the patient during the session or in the zoom chat box.

The patient may voluntarily undergo those tests at their originating site for a later followup, at their discretion

1) If possible the provider may communicate to the patient to immediately shut down the sessions (by closing the zoom window), and instruct the affected person to seek urgent help near them

2) The Provider should shut down the session by leaving the zoom meeting

3) Note down the approximate date and time of the adverse event and communicate the details and nature of the event to ViOS, Inc via [email protected] – for the sake of appropriate documentation

4) Automatically both parties will receive the recorded meeting (up until the end of the meeting) via a recorded video link. It is advisable for the provider to keep the email in their inbox till further requirement if the need arises.

The Patient has been clearly communicated the nature and practicalities of the VIOS Platform via official content, social media messages and multiple points of engagement of official dosclaimer policies prior to initiating an online booking appointment with the provider.

Either partiers are not responsible nor obligated to pursue any communications, actions nor legal responsibilities in any form upon completion of each and every virtual session.

The Provider is instructed to provide only consulting, counselling and second opinions (eg. differential diagnosis) in an educational format to the Patient party.

The Patient is not obligated to follow through with any advice communicated during a scheduled session in entirety, or partially as they choose not to. Actions taken or not taken by the Patient is solely done voluntarily and through no culpability of any other third party – Providers, ViOS, Inc or any affiliated partners.

However, a valid medical license in addition to the appropriate postgraduate training, is a prerequisite to assess the superior clinical expertise and skills capacity that is part of the Provider Network

Providers who have specific license-based regulations may not be permitted to provide services to certain populations – to preserve their liability coverage.

We are in close communications with various regulatory bodies and industry experts, to change our policies in response to any changes in legislations at home and abroad.

It is recommended that every healthcare professional who wishes to pursue a career or a supplemental service in Telemedicine, be educated about the diverse regulations and licensing stipulations of their practicing state or country of residence.

ViOS, Inc and its assets are covered by corporate insurance coverage pertaining to activities and transactions that occur within our platform i.e. interactions within our website, social media pages, email and/or scheduled appointments with the founding team.

We provide an additional blanket coverage to our independent contractors under the same indemnity clause (provided they too possess a liability coverage from their country of practice or have undergone a comprehensive background check process).

Any and all transactions that occur on third-party platforms in any form may fall under separate jurisdictions that are independent from the aforementioned coverage.

The Provider is free to choose any supplemental professional coverage that they feel will confer an additional layer of professional security, separate and/or complimentary to existing coverage within our platform.

It is recommended that appropriate professionals with legal expertise be contacted for counsel prior to any decision on the part of the applicant.

For US and UK licensed physicians, you may contact us at [email protected] to receive a referral to our trusted brokerage firms who may be able to provide the appropriate coverage to meet your needs

Smartphone device that has a functioning camera, microphone, latest updates, ability to get push notifications from apps (eg. email) and be able to download the Zoom app

A desk and chair situated in a quiet, well-lit (preferable facing a window) private area of your residence

A laptop/PC can be used as well which has a good quality webcam, microphone, wifi connection and necessary security updates.

Earphones or Airpods may be used to enhance the audio signal

Adequate front facing lighting from a desk lamp or facing a window during daylight may suffice

The Provider may wear a labcoat during a session to impart a sense of professionalism

A pen and notepad may be useful to make some handwritten notes, if the provider chooses, to help conceptualise the data communicated by the patient

Additional tips may be found in our blog post here:

16 Recommended Tips to Providing Expert Telemedicine Consultations

Healthcare professionals who would like to apply for our open positions are doing so under their own volition. Any conflict which may or may not exist as per the individual perception of the applicant is subject to their own responsibilities to proceed.

The Company provacy policy and best use guidelines do not approve for a business entity to interact on the patient’s behalf, unless a clear communication and documentation of the aftore-mentioned interaction is completed and forwarded to the chosen provider via an clearly expressed intent in the comments section of their Calendly scheduler.

Final decision to proceed with this scheduled interaction is on the choice of the independently contracted provider. If the Provider chooses not to proceed then the interaction shall be cancelled – without any refund.

If the Provider chooses to proceed with the scheduled event, the business entity must ensure that the Zoom session is adequately secured from the Patient’s side, any third party party present and/or visible during the session i.e. primary porivder/translator understands that this is a breach of usual patient privacy – and expressed and documented waivers have been signed accordingly.

The third party business entity must also ensure that the Zoom session recording is only sent to the patient’s (or adult caregivers) personal email address. No recording is permitted to be stored on the entities email address or any other data storage solution.

Any final consultation fee billed to the Patient as a service for providing the remote second opinion consult with a VIOS Provider will not be the responsibility of ViOS, Inc. or the Provider.

At VIOS we believe in gainful reimbursement and payment parity ie. the ability to earn a sustainable income based on the market value of their specialised skills.

All of our Providers will be reimbursed at rates above most market standards, to ensure the highest quality for their valuable time spent with our stakeholders.

Digital payments are the primary mode of transactions between users and the platform, and the methods of fast secure payouts to the Providers.

Our Global Payment Partner, Stripe has been instrumental in providing their robust financial infrastructure. to make the professional experience as safe and seamless as possible.

This link will clearly highlight the secure payment process that our payment partner Stripe has provided for our network

Click here

The one-time onboarding fee is a token fee suggested by a healthcare law firm to consolidate the MSO-Provider relationship in return for the ongoing administrative and managerial tasks required for each provider.

This token fee may change to a higher amount or a monthly platform fee for future appplications.

All VIOS Providers are independant contractors representing themselves directly or via their own legal entities (eg. S-Corp/PLLC).

US-based Providers will be sent a W9 Request Form in order to process their Form 1099-NEC (Stripe will provide Form 1099-K to ViOS, Inc and providers respectively). As Independent Contractor, each Provider is subject to comply with individual tax obligations independently to ViOS, Inc for any and all income from the platform.

Overseas-based Providers will be given Form W8 BEN or W8 BEN-E (individual or entity respectively) in order to qualify for non-witholding of income.

Overseas providers are subject to tax obligations in their own country of residence as per their understanding and compliance.

Any transactions that occur beyond our platform is discouraged

People may contact you via messenger apps or on social media for services outside of the regulated infrastructure of the VIOS Platform.

As an Indepenedent Contractor it is within your rights to decide on how to proceed, however one must bear in mind:

• Such interactions are not covered by any indemnity policy
• Providing healthcare services beyond a scheduled and consented environoment may have risks
• VIOS does not have a Business Associate Agrement (BAA) with any third party except Stripe and Zoom, therefore either party may be exposed to third party risks

The Providers are not obliged to maintain any digital records (in any form) of the scheduled sessions. Any data (either through oral history, displayed on the patient’s camera or digital scans uploaded into the Zoom chat box) provided by the Patient, is by their own volition, relevant to the context of the session and is understood to be necessary for the expert assessment by the Provider.

Providers are obligated to discard/erase any form of digital data shared by the Patient party upon conclusion of the session.

Some Providers may take down handwritten notes to conceptualise the full patient history if they choose to. The contents of the notes may be discarded after the session.

This means that each and every approved provider is free to set their duty timings as they wish, and also to come and go as they please.

For more information about the official Provider Agreement with ViOS, Inc, click here

The validity of the Providers’ skills and capacity will not be affected by a change of address or geography.

The provider is instructed to alter their availability and timezones in the Setmore account accordingly

For select situations, terms and conditions may apply

You will still have a valid zoom meeting link in your email, for thet scheduled time period.

If your technical difficulties persist for much longer, or if the other party member is no longer present. You may submit an ‘incident report’ to [email protected] with some details of your suboptimal experience. For patients, we may be able to provide a partial refund so that you may be able to book another session to complete the consult.

Both parties are required to have updated Zoom apps in their respective devices for optimal virtual experiences.

If you do not have Zoom downloaded or registered, you may do so from this link

The VIOS Platform is a global access digital solution, for easy access to any user with adequate technical literacy, stable IT infrastructure and appropriate personal mobile device, regardless of location of either party.

Non-US residents may avail VIOS Provider services as an expatriate in their current locality.

Residents outside the US are welcome to choose their Provider based on current terms and conditions

We are glad to give you this amazing opportunity to join us. Starting a telehealth practice in our platform will not even cost you a dime!

All you have to do is to apply in our job portal and we can assess if we can be of value to each other

Good luck!

Our online EMR provider AeroDPC has an awesome software product that will allow you to easily select which days and timings you would like to be available for online booking.

The best thing about the calendar is that it syncs with your Google Calendar so that your preferred duty timings will not conflict or overlap with any prior engagements you may have.

Would you like to know more? Click here

Stripe is the offical payment processing partner for VIOS, so it is important for our providers to open a Stripe account in order to receive digital payments from anywhere and anytime.

Just click here to view the easy step-by-step guide to creating your own Strip account