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I think your biggest concern may be data. If you download/store any data on your computers that contains sensitive information and that data gets out, you are really in trouble. Best advice, don't download any live data.
I had a friend that stored a backup of a customers data on a USB drive, the same one with his music, and he lost it. THAT cost not only money, but the customer as well. We still don't know if that will surface in the future.
A good umbrella policy is always a good idea...
Don't mind me, I'm just watching
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Wow OK ya, this particular project wouldn't particularly be storing any data about patients/providers so much as it would be meta-data about those who are handling it...
Good advice that I'm taking to heart, thanks so much
"... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet." - Henry Minute
"Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!" - gavindon
Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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I would (if you haven't already) form an LLC to protect you and your assets. It's cheap, really. And just acts as a pass through for your work.
Then have the LLC buy General Liability insurance, and possibly Professional Liability insurance. General covers things like spilling your coffee in the client's new laptop, professional liability would cover program errors etc.
I carry both. It sucks, but so does buying auto insurance and health insurance.
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I was going to say the same thing, get an LLC, it will protect your personal assets. It cost me $110 to file in my state. Since you are just an indie and don't employ anyone, and your "company" doesn't own any significant assets (property, vehicles, stocks, etc), you might consider skipping the insurance altogether and simply file corporate bankruptcy and close up shop if you ever get sued. Since the chances of an indie developer getting sued are less than winning the lottery, personally I would just keep that insurance money in my pocket. And once you file bankruptcy the chances are very high that the lawsuit will just get dropped.
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codefabricator wrote: Since you are just an indie and don't employ anyone, and your "company" doesn't own any significant assets (property, vehicles, stocks, etc), you might consider skipping the insurance altogether and simply file corporate bankruptcy and close up shop if you ever get sued.
Good point, but sounds a little too iffy for HIPAA stuff... Thanks for your post!
"... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet." - Henry Minute
"Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!" - gavindon
Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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I also agree, form and LLC or incorporate yourself. Your company will be contracted to do the software development. Should something go wrong and a possible bug cause a problem where the employer or customer sues you, they can only sue the company and not you. By incorporating yourself, you will protect your personal assets and your company will suffer only. It would be wise to get insurance for your company and of course, you are new to this legal arena, consult a lawyer. If any of you CPers know a good attorney that you have a positive experience with, please reply for clientSurfer.
Second, find out what regulatory requirements the software must satisfy. Your employer should have most of this in place and give you an idea of what is expected. Since I have had to write software to satisfy CE/IVD and FDA regulations, I have had several documents to write up, mostly for corporate compliance. One of the worst (most painful) to deal with was risks outline and explanations document. What are the risks, from external and internal. If anything is going over the internet, then there are several pages of risks you can add. There are risks from the operating system that you interact with (even simple file reads and writes). How secure is the file system? How can the user/customer screw up your software? How good are the disk drives you store your data on? A good place to start is using the old data flow diagraming techniques. Start with a context diagram where your system is at the middle and everything else you interact with are surrounding it. All drawings and thoughts will be useful for these documents.
Finally, document everything. This includes all decisions you make and what the alternatives were (and their potential outcomes). You may think that the code is good enough documentation, but don't count on it. This documenting will also save your butt as well as provide your employer (or yourself) with copyright and patent protection. Also, can be used by your employer for copyright and patent litigation (if you feel that a patent is doable). Get a hardbound notebook where the pages cannot be removed with page #s. For each entry, give it a title (at the top), a date, your signature at the bottom of your entry and date and time signed.
Whew, that's a lot. You will work a lot of hours and most of what you do will not be coding, but architecting/designing and documenting. That will expand your resume. If you feel prepared for this job, having all this in mind will help you at the interview. Be sure to ask them about their regulatory requirements and expectations. And mention to them that you are prepared to do the necessary documenting and that you have a good comprehension of English (written and spoken).
Good luck with your endeavor.
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Whew that is a lot and I sure do appreciate your post - that was a wealth of well-taken advice and just good practice reminders in general for all of us coders... Thanks so much
"... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet." - Henry Minute
"Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!" - gavindon
Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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Unfortunately the LLC bit doesn't technically protect you in the case of a HIPAA violation. The ACA changed the rules so that hospitals could go after individual developers instead of the company they worked for in the event of a breach*. One of the reasons I got out of medical development.
Too often there was a breach costing the hospital huge sums of money and they would go after the software vendor who provided the software for said sum of money. The vendor found it cheaper to close shop and open up again. Same people, different name.
*At least in the initial language allowed it. As I mentioned in a previous post, they changed some rules for the better and I haven't kept up to date.
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RJOberg wrote: One of the reasons I got out of medical development.
Wow man thanks again; sounds like you have indeed been in the trenches with ACA stuff so I sure do appreciate the "realism"...
"... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet." - Henry Minute
"Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!" - gavindon
Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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wapiti64 wrote: It sucks
Only until the day you need to make a claim.
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Yes, and then the fun starts as Insurance companies are in the business of collecting payments and denying claims... so you find out what you've been paying for in a contentious environment!
I subcontract through companies who have required both General and Professional liability insurance. And generally I have had to name those 'parent' companies as co-insured on my policy.
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Richard MacCutchan wrote: Only until the day you need to make a claim.
Amen to that shite
"... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet." - Henry Minute
"Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!" - gavindon
Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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Definitely have that LLC on the front burner; thanks for your advice about having it buy the General and Pro Liability... Good stuff
"... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet." - Henry Minute
"Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!" - gavindon
Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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Errors and Omissions insurance runs about $400-$500 per year for about $1MM. Been 1099 in banking application where some, not all, require E&O.
A lawyer will tell you the to get E&O and charge you $500.
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sqlserverprogrammer.com wrote: A lawyer will tell you the to get E&O and charge you $500.
heheh yeah luckily I do know a "good" lawyer (though he has yet to call me back LOL) who, if/when he does call back would probably just say E & O like most folks on here have as well.. Thanks
"... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet." - Henry Minute
"Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!" - gavindon
Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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Get a lawyer. I'm not a lawyer. But...
It depends very much on what state you live in. Some states make you more strictly liable than others, so totally get a lawyer.
Probably you want to incorporate yourself as an LLC, and have the contract made out to the LLC. Being an LLC limits your liability to company assets. They can't take your home and your retirement funds. Probably. But they can still sue you, and you still have to pay for a lawyer, even if your defense is successful.
Insurers offer a general liability coverage that pays for lawyers and damage awards. You probably have some liability coverage as part of your homeowners insurance right now, but it probably isn't enough for a professional who is a sole proprietor. This insurance is quite inexpensive because despite what you hear, not all that many individuals get sued. Individuals are not big enough targets to pay for million-dollar legal fights. Call your homeowners insurer or auto insurer. After you talk to the lawyer. Beware of a "doughnut hole", a range of costs below which you are covered, and above which you are covered, but inbetween which you are responsible. Insurers like to put the doughnut hole right in the most likely range of liability awards. They have 50 actuaries working tirelessly to find this point. Get a policy with no doughnut hole.
Don't worry too much. It has historically been hard to tag software engineers with liability for coding bugs because it is well understood that all software contains bugs, and the standard of competent practice does not deliver bug-free code. Your liability would be greater if you left a back-door in the code, deliberately did not heed warnings from competent and well-informed people, or actually threw paper copies of medical records into the municipal waste stream.
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OK thanks for the sound advice, esp about that doughnut hole; never heard of that before and I sure am glad you brought it up... Thanks
"... having only that moment finished a vigorous game of Wiff-Waff and eaten a tartiflet." - Henry Minute
"Let's face it, after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says WTF!" - gavindon
Programming is a race between programmers trying to build bigger and better idiot proof programs, and the universe trying to build bigger and better idiots, so far... the universe is winning. - gavindon
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When did that
Happen ?
hmm???
Huh, always wondered how to get the "quote" thingy to work!
I must be behind the times. 
Marc
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OriginalGriff wrote: Last month.
Or "three months ago today", as it's known in the rest of the world. 
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
modified 30-Jun-15 14:17pm.
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I live in Wales.
We are in a different time zone.
(Mostly, the 1950's)
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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So, like Scarfolk[^], but with more sheep?
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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That's rather bigotted of you. 
#SupportHeForShe If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
Only 2 things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein
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I'm trying to upgrade jQuery in our app and received this message from a plugin:
Quote: blockUI requires jQuery v1.2.3 or later! You are using v1.11.3
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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