HIPAA Icon: Wrong medical symbol on forms

  • Sonko_Lee
    Asked on September 17, 2021 at 2:03 PM

    I see that Jotform uses the wrong medical symbol in many places. For example, on your HIPAA Homepage and on the Patient Surveys that I receive from my ophthalmologist, West Coast Retina. This is a problem that erodes confidence in your brand!

    The symbol I see on those pages is a staff with wings and two snakes coiled around it. That symbol is called the Caduceus and it is the symbol for the Greek god Hermes; it is used today as a symbol of commerce and messengers, and a few other purposes including shepherds, the dead, liars, gamblers, and thieves.

    Instead, you almost definitely should be using a symbol with one snake wrapped around a rod, known as the Rod of Asclepius. Asclepius is a Greek god of medicine and the symbol is known today as representing medicine.


    Here is a pointer to a website that can direct you to many resources verifying my claim. https://www.lee.org/blog/2016/06/15/caduceus-vs-rod-of-asclepius/


    I would love to get a response, saying you're looking into the matter. I'm sure that making this small iconographic change will be beneficial to your organization and brand!

    Best regards,

    Lee Sonko


  • Cecile JotForm Support
    Replied on September 17, 2021 at 10:51 PM

    Hello Lee ,

    Thank you for contacting support.

    Let me forward your concern to a designated team. Once an update becomes available, we'll let you know.

    Should you have any other concerns, please do not hesitate to inform us.

  • Mustafa VP of Product
    Replied on October 27, 2022 at 11:36 AM

    Hi Lee,

    Really thanks for pointing this out. Really appreciate it.

    We were already thinking about a design change for HIPAA accounts and forms. We'll look into this as well :)

    Best,