General Terms of Service

Welcome to our website and online service, an online information and communications service, including but not limited to various functionality, blogs, subscription services, healthcare-related Content, news, patient and consumer login services and any other services provided on this website (collectively referred to as the “Website Services”). We make the Website Services available to you in exchange for your agreement with all of the terms and conditions below. The manager and operator of the Website Services are identified at the very top of this webpage and are variously referred to below as “we,” “us,” or “our.” Any person or entity accessing, using or subscribing to certain or all of the Website Services, either directly or indirectly is variously referred to as “you” or “your.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. THIS IS A BINDING CONTRACT WITH YOU BY ACCESSING, USING OR SUBSCRIBING TO ANY OR ALL OF THE WEBSITE SERVICES, YOU ARE ACCEPTING ALL OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, (collectively referred to as “Terms of Service” or “TOS.”) THIS TOS INCLUDES ALL INFORMATION, NOTICES AND POLICIES (INCLUDING THE WEBSITE PRIVACY NOTICE AND, IF YOU ARE A PATIENT, THE PATIENT PRIVACY NOTICE) AND ANY SUPPLEMENTAL TOS THAT ARE HYPERLINKLINKED WITHIN THE WEBSITE SERVICES, AS ALL OF THE TOS NOTICES TOGETHER GOVERN YOUR ACCESS AND SUBSCRIPTION TO OR USE OF THE WEBSITE SERVICES.

PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME RELATED WEBSITES AND THEIR SERVICES (INCLUDING SPECIFIC FUNCTIONALITIES) MAY BE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL OR OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS. BY USING ANY RELATED WEBSITE OR SUBSCRIBING TO OR USING ANY OF THE SERVICES ON THOSE WEBSITES, YOU ARE ACCEPTING ALL OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS THAT APPLY TO THOSE WEBSITES AND SERVICES.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS TOS, DO NOT USE OR SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEBSITE SERVICES AND PROMPTLY EXIT THIS WEBSITE.

–  NOTICES OF REVISIONS, CHANGES, AND UPDATES

We may make changes to the Website Services and/or this TOS (including any information and policies linked to this TOS), at any time. When we make such changes and they modify how we use existing information about you, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you via any Website Services’ account you may have with us or subscription email address that you have provided to us. Any such changes will become effective on the date of our posting the revised TOS on the Website Services, and will apply to both information about you we already have at the time of the change and any information about you provided to us after the date of posting.

The most recent date on which changes have been made to the TOS can be found at the top right corner of this website page. We encourage you to check regularly for updates to the TOS and to reread the terms and conditions in their entirety whenever there are updates.

YOU AGREE THAT YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE WEBSITE SERVICES ON OR AFTER CHANGES TO THE TOS ARE POSTED TO THE WEBSITE SERVICES CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TOS AS IT APPEARS AT THE TIME OF YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE WEBSITE SERVICES.

–  THESE WEBSITE SERVICES ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL ADVICE

THE WEBSITE SERVICES PROVIDE HEALTH-RELATED INFORMATION AND RESOURCES, AND NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. THE EXCEPTION TO THIS IS WHEN ALL OF THE FOLLOWING OCCUR: (I) YOU RECEIVE AN INBOX MESSAGE SPECIFICALLY DIRECTED ONLY TO YOU VIA OUR ONLINE PATIENT CENTER, (II) IT’S FROM A PHYSICIAN OR ONE OF OUR LICENSED HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS; AND (III) THE MESSAGE ADVISES YOU ON THE TREATMENT OF A PARTICULAR HEALTH CONDITION THAT YOU HAVE. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN THE PRIOR SENTENCE, NO COMMUNICATIONS IN THE ONLINE PATIENT CENTER OR IN OTHERS SECTIONS OF THE WEBSITE SERVICES, SUCH AS IN CHAT ROOMS, AND OTHER MESSAGE FORUMS ACCESSED VIA THE WEBSITE SERVICES, ARE REVIEWED OR MODERATED BY LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. ACCORDINGLY, NO SUCH COMMUNICATIONS SHOULD BE ACCEPTED AS MEDICAL ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS MEDICAL ADVICE.

THE WEBSITE SERVICES ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT THAT YOU RECEIVE FROM YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER REGARDING ANY MEDICAL CONDITION. NEVER DISREGARD THE ADVICE OF YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OR DELAY SEEKING ADVICE BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU READ ON THE WEBSITE SERVICES.

WE CAN MAKE NO GUARANTEE OF ANY PARTICULAR RESPONSE TIME TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY ASK THROUGH THE WEBSITE SERVICES. IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 OR GO TO THE NEAREST HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT RELY ON THE WEBSITE SERVICES FOR ASSISTANCE IN SUCH CASES.

–  WHEN YOU HAVE A MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY

If you have a medical or psychiatric emergency, CALL 911 OR GO TO THE NEAREST HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY.

An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following:

• serious jeopardy to your health;
• serious impairment in your bodily functions; or
• serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part.

Examples of symptoms that may be an emergency medical condition include the following:

• chest pain or pressure which may radiate to the arms, neck, back, shoulder, jaw, arm, or wrist;
• sudden onset of severe abdominal pain;
• severe shortness of breath;
• sudden decrease in or loss of consciousness;
• sudden inability to talk or to move one side of the body, or sudden slurred speech, severe; persistent bleeding that cannot be stopped; or
• major injuries such as gunshot or stab wounds or severe injuries from a vehicle accident.

– ONLY ADULTS MAY ACCESS AND USE THE WEBSITE SERVICES

It is our policy that only adults (18 years of age and older) and patient representatives of minors who are 11 years of age and younger may access and use these Website Services.

– NO GUARANTEE OF RELIABILITY OF CONTENT; NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTENT ON EXTERNAL WEBSITES

We strive to post information, Content and materials on the Website Services (referred to as “Content” that is credible, accurate and up-to-date. HOWEVER, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT ANY OF THE CONTENT PROVIDED THROUGH THE WEBSITE SERVICES IS ACCURATE OR UP-TO-DATE OR THAT THE SOURCE OF ANY CONTENT IS CREDIBLE. We encourage you to submit any comments or concerns you have about any Content on the Website Services by contacting us via the Contact Us link at the top of this webpage.

–  About our Content and Product Endorsement

Where Our Content Comes From

The Content available through the Website Services is either (1) authored or produced by our staff and physicians, or (2) licensed from outside sources.

No Responsibility for Linked Websites

For informational purposes only, the Website Services may include hyperlinks to external websites with information about third party products and services. Because we have no control over such external websites, we are not responsible for the availability of such external websites, and we do not endorse and are not responsible for any Content, advertising, products, services or other materials or information available from such external websites (referred to as “External Content” in these terms and conditions). In addition, we are not responsible for your use of, or reliance upon, any External Content. When you click on a hyperlink to an external website, we will advise that you are exiting the Website Services if it’s not obvious.

Endorsement of Products or Third Party Services.

Our inclusion of specific products or services on the Website Services does not constitute or imply our recommendation or endorsement of such products or services unless specifically stated otherwise. Not all of the treatments or interventions described in this website are available at our hospitals.

CONTENT AND CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST POLICY

To keep our Content free from bias, our conflict of interest policy asks that Content disclose to us any potential conflicts of interest they may have. Possible conflicts of interest include financial relationships or other affiliations with businesses or organizations that promote or sell products or services that are the subjects of the health information being considered. If we are made aware that such a conflict-of-interest exists or that there would be a reasonable perception by users that a conflict-of-interest could exist, the author may be excluded from contributing Content for that particular topic or asked to disclose such conflict at the end of the posted Content.

–  NO PROMISE OR GUARANTEED MEDICAL OUTCOMES

We can make no guarantee or promise regarding a specific outcome, even after you have been medically examined by one of our providers, but we will do our best with our well-trained health care providers to help you. The mention of specific services by the Website Services does not mean we recommend or endorse such products or services unless we expressly state that we do. Not all of the treatments or interventions described in the Website Services are available at our hospitals. If you call our general number on the Website Services and request that relevant department, we will be happy to help you.

–  OUR AND YOUR SECURITY MEASURES

Protecting information provided by you is an important priority for us. In addition to applying strict confidentiality policies that govern access to and use of such information by our health care providers, we have implemented security features and methods to protect your data in our information systems, including using session encryption and network firewalls, and monitoring for unauthorized access. But it’s important that you also take appropriate measures to secure your own computer or other device when on the Internet and only access the login sections of the Website Services when you are sure you have a secure computer and on a secure connection; using other peoples Wi-Fi to connect to the Website Services may not be safe.

–  OUR RIGHTS TO USE CONTENT YOU SUBMIT TO THE WEBSITE SERVICES

Some of the Website Services allow you to submit Content such as by posting messages, creating or modifying a home page, chatting, uploading files, inputting data, transmitting e- mail or engaging in any other form of communication (“User Content.”)

You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in User Content. When you submit User Content to the Website Services, you give us (and third parties we work with to provide the Website Services) an unrestricted, worldwide license to use the User Content in connection with operating, promoting and improving the Website Services translate, adapt, communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display, transmit and distribute User Content, in all media now known or developed in the future. This license continues even if you stop using the Website Services, except where you request in writing to us that we remove your posted User Content and we have a ready means of identifying such User Content and can remove it in the ordinary course of providing the Website Services. By submitting the User Content to the Website Services, you are representing and warranting that you have the necessary rights to grant us the above license for such User Content.

No compensation will be paid with respect to the use of User Content. We have no obligation to post or use any User Content you may provide and may remove any User Content at any time at our sole discretion. In addition, if you submit feedback or suggestions about the Website Services, we may use your feedback or suggestions without obligation or compensation to you.

PLEASE REVIEW THE PATIENT PRIVACY NOTICE AND THE WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY FOR ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS APPLICABLE TO USER CONTENT.

Copyrights

The Website Services (or any portion of the Website Services) and all of the Content (excluding your User Content) including, text, graphics, logos, button icons, photos, images, forms, audio, video, questionnaires, “look and feel” and software, is the property of us or our licensors, and are protected by United States and international copyright laws. Except as provided in the next paragraph, you are expressly prohibited from reproducing, duplicating, copying, publishing, selling or otherwise exploiting for any commercial purpose the Content, in whole or in part, for any reason, unless prior written consent is obtained from the copyright holder(s).

Copyright 1996 to 2024. All rights reserved for all countries.

You may use and view the Content for your personal use only, provided that such view and use is either within the Website Services or by manually downloading or printing certain of the Content. Any automated process or use of a bot for this purpose is strictly prohibited. Unless specifically authorized in writing by us, any other use of the Content, other than your User Content, is expressly prohibited. Otherwise, permission to reprint or electronically reproduce any document or graphic in whole or in part for any reason is expressly prohibited, unless prior written consent is obtained from the copyright holder(s). Any rights not expressly granted by these terms and conditions or any applicable end-user license agreements are reserved by us.

Trademarks and Service Marks

The names, words, symbols, and graphics representing CommonSpirit, “Hello Human Kindness” and “Health Security Index”, names of our facilities, names of certain services and service lines, and any other trademarks so indicated are our trademarks and are protected by trademark laws of the United States and other countries. Other proprietary information may be designated through use of the TM, SM, or symbols. You may not use any of our logos or trademarks for any purpose, including, but not limited to, as metatags or in any other fashion which may create a false or misleading impression of affiliation or sponsorship with or by us.

Limited license to Use Website Services and Prohibited Conduct

We grant you a limited, revocable, nontransferable and nonexclusive license to access and make personal use of the Website Services and the Content. This limited, revocable license does not include the right to:

• any use of the Content for the benefit of a third party or for personal financial benefit, except as the Website Services contemplated by this TOS;
• any derivative use of the Website Services or the Content;
• any transmission or provision of any Content from the Website Services to a third party, except as specifically provided by these terms and conditions;
• any incorporation of the Content from the Website Services in a product designed, developed, marketed, sold or licensed by you or on your behalf;
• any use of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools; or
• any use of the Website Services in a manner contrary to any applicable law.

Any unauthorized use of the Website Services, the Content or the trademarks automatically terminates the licenses granted by you in this TOS. We reserve the right to block access, refuse services or remove or edit Content in connection with the Website Services.

THE WEBSITE SERVICES AND ALL INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS (INCLUDING SOFTWARE) AND SERVICES INCLUDED ON OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH THE WEBSITE SERVICES (INCLUDING HYPERLINKED WEBSITES), ARE BEING PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. NEITHER WE NOR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY MAKES ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE SERVICES OR THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, (INCLUDING SOFTWARE) OR SERVICES INCLUDED ON OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH THE WEBSITE SERVICES (INCLUDING HYPERLINKED WEBSITES).

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE CONTAINED IN THE SERVICES OR GIVEN BY US OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, OUR EMPLOYEES AND REPRESENTATIVES) SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY NOR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ARE MADE REGARDING THE FOLLOWING:

• The accuracy, reliability, completeness, currentness, or timeliness of Content, software, text, graphics, links, or communications provided on or through the use of the Website Services.
• The satisfaction of any government regulations requiring disclosure of information on prescription drug products or the approval or compliance of any software tools with regard to the Content contained on the Website Services.
• We do not warrant that the Website Services, Content, products (including software) or services included on or otherwise made available to you through the Website Services (including hyperlinked websites), their servers or electronic communications sent from us are free of viruses, worms, trojan horses or any other harmful components. You are responsible for backing up your data on your computer hard drives so that you can reconstruct any lost data.

CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

–  LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

THIS SECTION LIMITS OUR LIABILITY TO YOU.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER SHALL WE OR ANY OF OUR SPONSORS, MEMBERS, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES, SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS OR ANY OTHER RELATED PERSONS OR ENTITIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE RESULTING FROM LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE WEBSITE SERVICES, ITS RELATED SERVICES AND PRODUCTS, CONTENT CONTAINED WITHIN THE WEBSITE SERVICES AND/OR ANY HYPERLINKED WEBSITE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY AND WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE WEBSITE SERVICES, ITS RELATED SERVICES AND/OR HYPERLINKED WEBSITES IS TO STOP USING THE WEBSITE SERVICES AND/OR THOSE SERVICES.

CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW FOR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

–  YOUR AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATION AND WAIVER TO TRIAL BY JURY

Binding Arbitration

Any dispute or claim relating in any way to your access to and use of the Website Services will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than trial by jury, except that you may make claims in small claims court if your claims qualify and we may bring suit in court to enjoin infringement or other misuse of our intellectual property rights or to protect the privacy rights of another individual.

Waiver Of Right To Trial

You are agreeing to waive your right to trial by jury, and we are agreeing to waive our right to trial by jury (except to the extent expressly stated in the “Binding Arbitration” provision above).

There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is limited. However, an arbitrator can award on an individual basis the same damages and relief as a court (including injunctive and declaratory relief or statutory damages), and must follow this TOS as a court would.

How To Begin Arbitration Proceedings

To begin an arbitration proceeding, you must send a letter requesting arbitration and describing your claim to General Counsel, CommonSpirit Health, 444 W. Lake St. Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606-0097. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (referred to as “AAA”) under its rules, including the AAA’s Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes. The AAA’s rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules. We will reimburse those fees for claims totaling less than $250.00 unless the arbitrator determines the claims are frivolous. Likewise, we will not seek attorneys’ fees and costs in arbitration unless the arbitrator determines the claims are frivolous. You or we may choose to have the arbitration conducted by telephone, based on written submissions, or in person in the county where you live or at another mutually agreed location.

–  You Are Waiving Your Right to Bring A Claim As Part Of A Class Action

YOU AGREE WITH US THAT ANY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEEDINGS WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS ACTION, CONSOLIDATED ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

IF, FOR ANY REASON, ANY CLAIM PROCEEDS IN COURT RATHER THAN IN ARBITRATION, YOU AGREE WITH US TO ONLY BRING YOUR CLAIM ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS PART OF A CLASS ACTION, CONSOLIDATED ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

BY AGREEING TO THE ABOVE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO WAIVE ANY RIGHTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO BRING CLAIMS IN A CLASS ACTION, CONSOLIDATED ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

If you believe that any Content on or from the Website Services infringes on your copyright, you may request removal of such Content (or access to such Content) from the Website Services by contacting our copyright agent (identified below) and providing all of the following information:

• An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest,
• A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed upon,
• A description of and hyperlink to the location of the allegedly infringing Content on the Website Services,
• Your address, telephone number and e-mail address,
• A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law, and
• A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

Our copyright agent can be reached as follows:

General Counsel, CommonSpirit Health, 444 W. LAKE ST STE. 2500, CHICAGO, IL 60606-0097

–  OTHER LEGAL TERMS ASSIGNABILITY

Your right to use and access the Website Services is personal and specific to you, and you may not assign or transfer that right to any third party. We reserve the right to assign and transfer User Content and your data to a successor-in-interest or new owner if or when we, or a service we provide, are acquired in whole or in part by or merged with another entity or organization.

– INVALIDITY OF A TERM OR CONDITION IN THIS TOS

If any of these conditions are deemed invalid, void or for any reason unenforceable, that condition shall be deemed removed and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining conditions.