The network is free to all users, and all information provided is governed by the privacy and security rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Joan DiPietro, R.N., who has experience implementing a surgical information system in a hospital, participated in the beta testing for IAN and said that it satisfied her concerns about privacy. She admits being cautious about providing any information on her son and on his diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome, and she was curious about what questions would be asked and how the information would be passed back and forth.
Still, she felt it was safe, easy to use, and provided a variety of content in the margins, such as frequently asked questions, that moves a parent through the process.
Ultimately, IAN may help sharpen the public's focus on the reality that there is no magic cure for autism spectrum disorders but rather a course of scientific discovery that must be followed. “If there is anything that we can eventually find that is causing all these children to have autism, it's going to happen through research as opposed to someone saying they have the magic answer,” Ms. DiPietro said in an interview.