YNOT – After finalizing technical details, adult industry trade association Free Speech Coalition has launched the Adult Production Health & Safety Services program and online database.

APHSS was created to fill a gap left by the closure of AIM Medical Associates PC earlier this year. AIM, the adult industry’s first and primary provider of the monthly health screenings performers must undergo before working for most content producers, closed in May due to financial hardship. The organization had been in operation since 1998.

The APHSS program and database are the result of a cooperative effort between FSC, legal and medical experts, adult industry members and internet technology consultants. Among FSC’s major goals for the system were reliability and security of personal information belonging to performers.

“Our number one priority is the privacy and wellbeing of performers, as well as continuing health and safety standards for the protection of adult productions,” FSC Membership Director Joanne Cachapero said. “We would like to thank FSC board members Peter Acworth, Christian Mann and Alec Helmy for their time and effort in creating APHSS.org. Furthermore, we are very grateful to Dave Astels, who generously donated his time and database expertise to work with our [information technology] team. We also thank all industry members that attended FSC meetings and offered their input to help develop APHSS.org.

“FSC would like to acknowledge the testing facilities working with APHSS.org, including AMTC, Primex Lab, LabTest LA and the Healing Wave Center for reaching out to the adult community [in order] to provide reliable health services both locally and nationwide,” Cachapero added. “And we would like to recognize AIM for many years of service to the industry.”

Performers, agents and producers may visit APHSS.org and click “sign-up” to be led through a simple registration process. Other material available at the website includes links to testing facilities, FAQs and contact information.

As with any other new system, users should be aware of the possibility glitches may arise, Cachapero said.

“When signing up, users should receive a confirmation email, but some have indicated that the emails went to their spam folders,” she noted. “Please, check there if you sign up and don’t receive an email. For any questions or if you need assistance in accessing your account, please email me.”

She also indicated the system already has received endorsements by some adult industry heavy hitters.

“We’re starting from scratch with this database, so we really need the support of performers and producers to get signed up,” Cachapero said. “We already have the support of major industry producers including Wicked, Vivid, Hustler, Adam & Eve, Kink.com, Girlfriends Films, Pink Visual and Manwin producers, and we appreciate their recognition of the need for this resource. We will be working closely with the [Licensed Adult Talent Agency Trade Association] and industry talent agents, to make sure to have their input for the program. We also want people to know they can contact us if they need assistance with any issues.

“Once we have the database populated, and as performers use APHSS.org testing facilities, data will be updated and users will be able to verify work availability on the site; this will take some amount of time before the database is populated with information as people start to use it. If anyone encounters any questions or issues, they can contact me directly. We also will have a Twitter feed, @YourAPHSS.”

APHSS.org will be accessible free of charge for two months in order to give users a chance to become acquainted with the new format while the database is populated. After that, performers will be charged an annual fee of $50, and producers will be charged monthly to use the database. Revenues will fund APHSS expenses.

Cachapero said APHSS.org eventually will house educational resources designed to keep industry members up to date about health-and-safety-related information.

Although managed by FSC, APHSS will be directed with the assistance of an advisory committee composed of medical and legal experts, performers and producers’ representatives. FSC expects to announce appointees in mid-August.

“The purpose of APHSS.org is to pick up where AIM left off and to improve on the resources AIM provided,” Cachapero said. “APHSS.org not only will uphold the protocols and procedures necessary to self-regulate adult industry productions, but also provide performers with options for healthcare [at] facilities that are sensitive to their needs. This is a tight-knit community. With the proper resources, it will pull together to be proactive and continue industry-appropriate standards that allow adult productions to operate in the safest environment possible.”