Palliative Care Quality Collaborative “Forums” Access Agreement
As a condition of initial and continuing participation in, and access to, the Palliative Care Quality Collaborative’s (PCQC) “Forums” (MemberClicks supported member sharing platform), PCQC requires those members wishing to participate to accept and adhere to the terms of the following Access Agreement.
Rules
- PCQC has made “Forums” available to interested members for the purpose of providing a forum for the exchange of information relating to the special interest topics in the practice of hospice and palliative medicine. Any posted information must be related to this purpose.
- Members must comply at all times with the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”) and the Electronic Security Rule (“Security Rule”) established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). Information posted to “Forums” will not be treated as confidential and, therefore, should not identify any patient by name or other identifying features, characteristics or any other individually identifiable Patient Health Information, as defined under the Privacy Rule. In fact, since any information posted to “Forums” may be downloaded, reproduced, and disseminated without the knowledge of the sender(s), members should use extreme care when posting or sending such information.
- Postings are not: (i) recommendations or endorsements of a course of treatment for a particular patient; (ii) professional opinions or advice; or (iii) practice guidelines or other policies intended to supplant a clinician’s judgment with respect to particular patients or clinical situations. Postings are provided for informational purposes only to facilitate discussion on a given topic.
- Members should exercise both common sense and courtesy in submitting comments or materials for posting (“Discussions”). Inappropriate submissions would include, for example, comments or materials that:
- make false or defamatory statements about others;
- are obscene, vulgar, abusive, hateful or threatening;
- harass or discriminate on the basis of race, religion, age, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or other factors; or
- are invasive of the privacy rights of others (e.g., by including addresses, telephone numbers or other personal information about third persons without their consent).
Anyone who believes that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to immediately notify PCQC at [email protected].
- Members are prohibited from using Forums to communicate with competitors about prices, terms of service, to exchange practice management or any other proprietary information with anyone involved in the management of physician practices, or otherwise communicate in a manner that may violate federal or state antitrust laws.
- Members may not post any other information subject to trademark, copyright, or other proprietary rights, except with the express consent of the owner of the rights. Unless expressly provided otherwise, members represent that any and all material provided to PCQC for Forums may be further published, displayed, copied, downloaded, transmitted, or modified by PCQC or any of its members participating in Forums.
- Due to PCQC’s status as a tax-exempt organization and the legal limitations on its activities, postings may not contain comments or materials supporting or opposing any candidates for political office or otherwise relating to political activity or activity inconsistent with PCQC’s purposes.
- Members are prohibited from posting commercial messages advertising or selling goods or services.
- Members must respect the security of Forums and may not attempt to gain access to areas private to PCQC or other members. A member may not upload, post or transmit any material containing software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt or limit the functionality of the PCQC’s Web site, computer software or hardware, or telecommunications equipment. Members may not attempt to decompile, reverse engineer, modify or hack the Web site or underlying software to defeat or overcome any encryption or digital rights management technology implemented by the PCQC, or to harm, disable, overburden, misuse or interfere with any other party’s use of PCQC Forums or the PCQC Web site, servers, networks or systems.
- Members are prohibited from using Forums for illegal purposes or in any manner that violates the PCQC bylaws or any other policies, procedures, rules or regulations of PCQC.
- PCQC shall deny access to Forums to any member who has not agreed to the terms of this Access Agreement and reserves the right to terminate access to any member who does not abide by such terms.
PCQC’s Right to Monitor and Administer Forums
PCQC reserves the right to monitor and administer PCQC Forums; MemberClicks Platform and, in its sole discretion, to refuse to post any Submissions received or to remove Submissions that have been posted. PCQC also reserves the right to disallow the use of any particular screen name or e-mail address, or to terminate any member’s posting privileges at any time. PCQC is not responsible for loss or damages associated by removing any postings.
Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
Any views expressed on Forums are those of the individual participants. They do not and should not be construed as representing the views of PCQC. PCQC makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information posted, whether posted by PCQC or any third party, and PCQC assumes no responsibility or liability regarding the use or misuse of such information for any purpose. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented within Forums are for general information only. Such information should not be considered professional advice and is not intended to replace consultation with a qualified professional. Moreover, PCQC makes no warranty that Forums, or any computer, server, device, software, or other technology associated with Forums, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. Unless specifically stated otherwise, PCQC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service or organization presented or mentioned on Forums, and information from Forums should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement.
Nevertheless, PCQC retains the right to monitor posted information and decline to post and/or remove messages or materials that it believes do not comply with the terms of this Access Agreement or are not in the best interests of PCQC. The site and the content are provided “as is” and “as available”. PCQC expressly disclaims all warranties, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.
Each member having access to Forums shall indemnify and hold PCQC harmless from and against any and all liability, claims, damages, losses, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) relating to his or her acts or omissions or to materials or information he or she transmits in connection with the use of Forums.
Choice of Law
This Agreement shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Illinois irrespective of its choice of laws rules. In addition, members consent to be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts of Cook County, Illinois in the event of any dispute between the parties, and members and PCQC hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts over them.
Amendment
PCQC reserves the right to modify the rules of this Access Agreement as they determine from time-to-time in the best interests of PCQC, at PCQC’s discretion and without prior notification.
Please exit now if you do not agree to these terms and conditions.
For any other information please contact PCQC the Contact Us page
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