Collaborate is a peer-to-peer professional space for the eye care community. These rules exist to keep it safe, useful, and legally defensible for everyone who participates.
Last updated: May 19, 2026
Patient privacy is the line you cannot cross.
Never post Protected Health Information (PHI). When in doubt, don't post. A single careless message can trigger HIPAA liability for you, your employer, and your patient — even if no harm was intended.
1. Patient Privacy & HIPAA Compliance
Collaborate is a public discussion space among professionals. The HIPAA Privacy Rule applies any time you discuss a patient — including when speaking informally to peers outside your covered entity. B-Seen is not your HIPAA Business Associate and cannot accept or shield PHI on your behalf.
Never post any of the following:
Patient names, initials, or nicknames
Dates more specific than year (no DOB, exam date, surgery date, visit date, etc.)
Addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media handles, URLs that identify a patient
Medical record numbers (MRN), insurance subscriber IDs, account numbers, NPI of the patient's other providers, license plates, device serial numbers
Full-face photographs (an explicit Safe Harbor identifier under 45 CFR § 164.514(b)(2)(i)(S)) or any image with identifying features still visible — identifying tattoos, scars, jewelry, distinctive periocular landmarks, recognizable surroundings, or pediatric facial detail.
EHR screenshots,even with the patient name Sharpied out. EHR exports embed metadata in headers and footers that text redaction won't scrub.
Combinations that re-identify in a small population ("the only 8-year-old keratoconus patient in our small town" is PHI even without a name attached)
Direct quotes from a patient that include identifiers, or any detail unique enough to be traced back to the individual
Clinical images: what's welcome and what isn't
The medical literature is built on shared scans — fundus photos, OCT, visual fields, topography, slit lamp shots, ERG/EOG/mfERG traces, anterior-segment photos limited to the eye itself, pathology, meibography. De-identified clinical imaging is welcome on Collaborate and is the heart of meaningful peer case discussion. Treat the bar the same way you would for a Grand Rounds slide or a poster at AAO/AAOpt: scrub everything that points back to the patient, and post.
Before you upload any clinical image:
Crop or mask any embedded header / footer the imaging device stamps on — patient name, DOB, MRN, exam date, facility logo. These ride in burned-in pixels on most OCT, fundus, and VF exports.
Strip EXIF metadata before upload if the image came from a phone camera (timestamps, GPS, camera serial all leak).
Limit anterior-segment photos to the eye itself — no full face, no jewelry, no identifying skin features.
Round any timing reference: "~6 months post-op" not "March 14th."
If a case is unique enough that the scan could be re-identifiable in a small population, reconsider whether a public peer forum is the right venue. Grand Rounds, a CME case presentation, or a private peer consult may be more appropriate.
How to discuss cases safely (in text):
Generalize the demographics: "a middle-aged adult" rather than "a 47-year-old."
Round dates and durations: "earlier this year," "~6 months post-op."
Strip clinic identifiers from anything you upload — including EHR header bars, watermarks, logos, and printed labels.
Obtain written patient authorization for any content where re-identification is even plausible.
Non-clinical images (GIFs, memes, reaction pics)
Reaction GIFs, memes, photos of conferences/equipment/your office's holiday party, screenshots of journal articles (within fair use) — all welcome. The point of this section is patient privacy, not aesthetic policing. Keep it on-topic for the space and keep it work-appropriate.
Violations of this section result in immediate post removal and may trigger a permanent ban. Repeated or willful PHI exposure may be reported to your state licensing board and HHS Office for Civil Rights as required by law.
2. Professional Conduct
Collaborate exists for ODs, MDs, opticians, technicians, residents, students, sales/industry partners, and the staff who support them. Every one of those roles is welcome, and every one of those members is to be treated with the same respect you would extend face-to-face at a professional meeting.
Disagree on substance, not on the person. Critique an idea, a citation, or a clinical approach — not the intelligence, training, or worth of the person presenting it.
Zero tolerance for harassment, discrimination, or slurs. No content targeting race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, body, or appearance.
No scope-of-practice gatekeeping.OD/MD/optician turf wars are tedious and unproductive; comment on the clinical substance, not on who is "allowed" to weigh in.
No pile-ons. Mass-quoting, brigading, or coordinated downvoting of a single user is not allowed.
No doxxing. Do not post real-world identifying information about another user, their family, their employer, or their patients.
No NSFW / off-topic shock content. Clinical imagery is permitted where relevant to the discussion and de-identified; gratuitous gore, sexual content, or shock posts are not.
3. Identifying Coworkers, Employers, and Patients
Naming people you work with — or work for — comes with elevated risk. Use restraint and prefer generalities.
Don't name specific coworkers, supervisors, or patients in a critical context. Vent in private; on Collaborate, generalize the situation enough that no individual is identifiable.
Discussing employers (corporate optometry chains, health systems, private equity owners, manufacturers, etc.) is permitted when it is factually accurate, in good faith, and does not disclose confidential information you obtained as an employee. Compensation reporting, working-conditions discussions, and reviews of public conduct are fair. Specific accusations of fraud, abuse, or licensure violations should be reported to the appropriate authority — not litigated in a forum.
Privileged or NDA-covered information stays off the platform.If your employer would have grounds to terminate or sue you for posting it, don't post it.
4. Clinical Content Standards
Collaborate is peer education, not a medical consult.Discussions here do not establish a doctor–patient relationship, and posts must not be relied on as medical advice. Members may not solicit or provide treatment recommendations for a specific patient's case in lieu of a proper consult.
Cite where you can.When you make a clinical claim, reference a study, guideline, or product literature when possible. "I've seen this in my chair" is fine as experience; presented as evidence, it needs context.
Off-label discussion is permitted for professional education.It is not permitted as promotion. If you have a commercial relationship with a product you're discussing, see Section 5.
No advice to laypeople. If a patient or family member finds their way into the forum and asks for medical guidance, direct them to seek care, not to a thread reply.
Outdated or harmful clinical content(anti-vax, bleach cures, unproven "myopia reversal" scams, etc.) will be removed regardless of how it's framed.
5. Commercial Activity & Self-Promotion
Disclose every relevant financial relationship. Consulting fees, equity, advisory boards, paid speakerships, research funding, ownership in a discussed company or technology — disclose at the top of the post, every time.
No spam.Unsolicited promotional posts, MLM pitches, "buy my course" recruitment, and copy-pasted ads are not allowed.
Industry partners are welcome — as themselves. Sales reps, manufacturer scientific liaisons, and lab partners may participate, but must identify their affiliation in their profile and not pose as practicing clinicians.
Practice promotion belongs in designated spaces. If a clinical-specialty space exists, that's for case discussion, not for marketing your services. Use Marketplace for equipment, Jobs for hiring, and your own website for marketing copy.
No recruiting candidates inside clinical threads. Open positions go on the Jobs board.
6. Credentials & Identity
One person, one account. Multi-accounting, ban-evasion accounts, and shared logins are prohibited.
Use your real professional identity. Anonymous or pseudonymous accounts are not permitted in clinical spaces. Display names should be your real first/last name or a clear, non-deceptive variant.
Don't misrepresent your credentials — your degree, your specialty, your board status, your residency, or your employer. B-Seen may verify your NPI, state license, or school of record at any time. Discrepancies result in suspension pending review.
No impersonation of another clinician, a public figure, a manufacturer, a regulator, or B-Seen staff.
7. Legal & Employment Boundaries
Do not post material you obtained under a duty of confidentiality (employer-confidential, NDA-covered, attorney-client privileged, trade secret, etc.).
Whistleblowing has proper channels. Suspected Medicare fraud → HHS-OIG Hotline. Patient harm → your state board / Joint Commission. Workplace safety → OSHA. Collaborate is not the venue for actionable allegations of misconduct.
Active employment disputes belong with HR, your attorney, or the EEOC — not in public threads. Posts that name individuals in a live legal dispute will be removed pending resolution.
Treat content posted by others as professional correspondence. Don't screenshot and republish off-platform, especially with identifying detail attached.
8. AI-Generated Content
Disclose substantial AI assistance.If a post, literature summary, or response is materially generated by an LLM, label it ("AI-assisted" or "LLM summary").
Never paste patient information into an external AI tool and bring the output back here. Most consumer LLMs are not HIPAA-compliant and the original prompt is a disclosure of PHI in its own right.
LLM hallucinations of citations, dosages, and clinical guidance are common; verify before posting. You are responsible for the accuracy of what you share regardless of the tool that drafted it.
9. Reporting & Enforcement
How to report
Every post and reply has a Report action. Use it for anything that violates these rules — especially suspected PHI exposure, harassment, or impersonation. Reports are confidential; the reported user does not see who reported them.
How we respond
Routine reports are triaged within 48 hours.
Suspected PHI exposure, threats, harassment, or impersonation are handled immediately, including provisional removal of the content pending review.
Enforcement is typically progressive: warning → temporary suspension → permanent ban, scaled to severity. Severe violations (PHI exposure, doxxing, credential fraud, targeted harassment) skip directly to suspension or ban.
Appeals
Email support@b-seen.io to appeal a moderation decision. Appeals are reviewed by a different moderator than the one who issued the action. Decisions on PHI/credential-fraud violations are final.
10. Limitations & Disclaimers
B-Seen does not pre-screen or verify the clinical accuracy of user posts. Content on Collaborate is peer commentary, not medical advice, and is not a substitute for individualized professional consultation.
Members are individually responsible for compliance with HIPAA, state-board rules, employer policies, and any other obligation that governs how they discuss patients or their employment.
B-Seen reserves the right to remove content, suspend accounts, and update these rules without prior notice when necessary to protect the safety, privacy, or legal standing of the community.
