MedPics - User Agreement for Medical Expert and Telemedicine/Teleradiology service
Effective September 5th 2016
Updated May 7, 2020
www.medpics.com is operated by MedPics LLC incorporated in Delaware, USA.
Your access and use of this website signifies your acknowledgement and agreement to the following terms and conditions, disclosure and our Privacy Policy. The terms and conditions outlined in this Agreement are subject to change at any time without notice by MedPics. You should read these terms and policies as you are agreeing to follow them by accessing and using this site.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR READING THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND OR DO NOT AGREE WITH ANY OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES PROVIDED ON THIS WEBSITE.
You assume full responsibility for the use of information on this site. You understand that MedPics is not responsible for any claim, damage, or loss from its use by you or any user. We disclaim any warranty of accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. This site is not guaranteed to be error or virus free. We reserve the right to either temporarily or permanently discontinue this website and the services.
MedPics provides a platform on which patients can find and contact Medical Experts worldwide for the purpose of consultation about health concerns, with the ability to securely upload medical imaging. MedPics servers on which the medical images are stored, are located in the USA where the images will be stored for the duration as defined in the user agreement and the HIPAA compliant connectivity enabling a Teleradiology and Telemedicine service for final reads.
Medical Disclaimer & Health Content
MedPics provides only the platform for health information exchange and does not itself provide medical advice. This website is not an attempt to practice medicine. Use of this website does not establish a doctor-patient relationship between MedPics and user but enables other parties to do so.
The content of this website, provided by MedPics and not a Medical Expert, including text, images, graphics, and interactive features:
is designed to be for educational and reference use only.
is not intended to be complete or exhaustive.
is not applicable for use in the treatment of any individual specific medical condition.
should never be used for medical advice.
should never be used too replace, overrule, or augment the judgment of a health care provider.
should not be relied upon as a basis for delay or refusal of medical treatment from a qualified licensed medical expert physician.
The user agrees to consult with a qualified licensed health care provider and to follow their medical advice. Access and use of the MedPics website does not establish a doctor-patient or any other type of health care provider-patient relationship between MedPics and the user. The patient treating health care provider remains responsible for the patient evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment.
Release of Liability for the patient:
You assume full responsibility for the use of information on the MedPics website. You understand and agree that MedPics and its respective, medical experts, employees, contractors and/or agents are not responsible or liable for any claim, loss, or damage from use of this site.
You agree that MedPics and its respective medical experts, employees, contractors and/or agents are not responsible or liable for any direct or indirect damages from the use or reliance of the services provided by MedPics.
MedPics does not make any representation or warranty about the timeliness of responding to requests for services or the timeliness in which a report will be generated after a request for services is received and an agreement is reached.
Privacy policy for patient and Medical Expert:
By accessing the MedPics website, you agree to accept the MedPics Website Privacy Policy. MedPics protects the privacy and security of Protected Health Information (PHI) as defined by the US- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Please visit the MedPics Privacy Policy page for further information about our privacy practices and your privacy rights.
MedPics respects your privacy and will take reasonable steps to ensure the confidentiality of personally identifiable information that you provide. We cannot guarantee and do not provide any warranty against intentional or unintentional security breaches.
When using the MedPics website, including the forms and medical image file uploader, information will be securely transmitted.
The Medical Expert agrees that the information provided in the Medical Expert’s profile will be visible to potential patients.
Medical Expert will provide a copy of her/his medical license or other certificate as proof of successful training in the expert’s specialty to MedPics by electronic means such as mail or fax and approval and verification by MedPics will be based on this information. There is no guarantee or right to be approved by MedPics.
YOU HEREBY EXPRESSLY SOLELY ASSUME THE RISK OF ANY UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OR INTENTIONAL INTRUSION, OR OF ANY DELAY, FAILURE, INTERRUPTION OR CORRUPTION OF DATA OR OTHER INFORMATION TRANSMITTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE MEDPICS WEBSITE, FORMS, FILE UPLOADER, OR OTHER CONTENT OR FUNCTIONALITY.
Once we have received the patient's personal health information, we utilize encrypted communications and storage systems to protect the privacy and security of the medical information. We have implemented mechanisms for limiting access to stored medical information. We have mechanisms for logging and monitoring access to medical information we store. We collect and store information for the purposes of providing the services requested.
You as a user or Medical Expert will be prompted to create a user ID and password for security purposes when using MedPics services. It is your responsibility to keep your User ID and Password information secure. MedPics cannot prevent an individual with your User ID and Password from accessing your medical information. If you believe that your User ID and Password has been compromised, it is your responsibility to contact MedPics promptly. While we will make every effort to make a timely resolution of the security breach, we make no warranties as to timeliness and take no responsibility for information accessed during the period of time between the notification of the security breach and its resolution.
Patients accessing and/or submitting/uploading personal information to the MedPics site, will authorize a disclosure of medical information to MedPics for the purpose of obtaining consultation regarding a health concern or medical imaging study. By submitting this information, patient acknowledges disclosures of medical information in agreement with the terms set forth in the MedPics Website Privacy Policy. The report, interpretation, statement, or other information will be sent to the individual Medical Expert. The authorization to disclose information as set forth in this statement and the MedPics Website Privacy Policy is effective immediately. If you would like to modify this authorization, please refer to the MedPics Website Privacy Policy for further detail.
MedPics servers collect and save default information customarily logged by internet server software for the purpose of standard 'traffic' monitoring, including the following: originating IP address and domain name, date and time, pages/objects requested, and completion status. Information submitted on the website is transmitted to third parties as necessary for payment processing.
Nature and Limitations of Services Provided
The remote medical imaging consultation services provided through MedPics differ from the diagnostic services provided by physicians. Typically the medical practitioners affiliated with MedPics and providing services do not have the information that would be obtained through an in-person encounter or a physical examination. Furthermore, access to the patient's medical record may be limited due to the failure to transmit or receive information in an appropriate, readable format. Due to the inherent limitations of information availability for the physicians working with MedPics, the medical opinion will not be shared with patient's personal, local physician. By proceeding to engage the services of MedPics, acknowledge these limitations.
The Medical Experts presented on MedPics are not employees or independent contractors of MedPics but independent from MedPics and are responsible for their liability. The fee for the service can be fixed or is negotiable between the patient and the Medical Expert. Only Medical Experts will be accepted to be presented on MedPics after their medical license or other legitimate documentation was approved by MedPics staff. However, the process is limited and MedPics cannot be held reliable or responsible for false information or fraud by the Medical Expert.
Medical Experts are responsible and liable for their own credentials and required licensing appropriate under the jurisdiction of the country where they practice medicine or their health profession but also where the patients are located.
The patient does agree in the user agreement:
á The remote opinion provided is not intended to replace an in-person visit with a physician or a full medical or radiological evaluation.
á The Medical Expert providing the remote opinion has limited access to information relative to an in-person physician.
á The remote opinion you provide is limited and provisional.
á That the remote opinion provided should be utilized in conjunction with an in-person evaluation and consultation with your personal/treating physician.
á Patients are not supposed not independently to undertake treatment decisions based on the remote opinion provided by the Medical Experts through MedPics, but agree to discuss the results and arrive at a treatment plan during an in-person consult with a physician.
á Because of the limitations of a remote opinion, the remote opinion of the Medical Expert should not be used for the establishment of a non-provisional diagnosis, or definitive treatment planning.
á The treating physician of the patient remains responsible for patient's care, including evaluating the report and communicating information to patient.
á Patient will not use the Medical Expert opinion in any legal proceeding without the express written permission of the Medical Expert. Any request to use an opinion in a legal proceeding must be submitted in writing to the Medical Expert with a full explanation of the circumstances of the case and the identities of the parties involved.
Payment
Patients are responsible for all fees charged by the Medical Expert through MedPics for services provided, unless otherwise agreed. MedPics does not accept payment in the form of cash, check, or money order. Major credit cards (American Express, Discover, Visa, & MasterCard) and PayPal are the accepted means of payment.
Fees will be automatically transferred to the account of the Medical Expert. MedPics will retain a certain percentage (see details in account settings) of the fee the Medical Expert and the Patients had agreed on.
Patient agrees to allow MedPics to charge her/his credit card or PayPal account for services as they are rendered. Following submission of patient's credit card information, MedPics maintains the right to utilize patient's credit card for payment of any services rendered under MedPics. If we are unable to bill patient's credit card or electronic funds transfer account, we will send patient an invoice. Patient’s request for services from MedPics will not be fulfilled until payment has been received and verified. MedPics is not responsible for obtaining insurance reimbursement and will not pursue insurance reimbursement on your behalf. If patient would like to pursue insurance reimbursement for your expenditures, you must do this independently. Information submitted on the website is transmitted to third parties as necessary for payment processing.
The fee for the service provided by the Medical Expert through MedPics can be fixed or can be negotiated based on the choice of the Medical Expert. MedPics provides the platform for the transaction, retaining a certain percentage (split fee) for its service.
Copyright
All copyrightable materials contained on this site are copyrighted under Delaware (USA) law and may not be reproduced, displayed, published, or broadcast unless otherwise noted.
This Agreement and all services provided by MedPics shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Delaware (USA) without regard to its conflicts of laws rules.
MedPics grants a limited license to each user to make personal use only of the website and the associated services in accordance with these terms and conditions of use. The limited license granted to each user for personal use expressly excludes, without limitation, any reproduction, duplication, sale, resale, or other commercial use of the website and associated services. The limited license expressly excludes use for data mining, collection of e-mail address, collection of medical information, or creation of a derivative website. Reproduction of the content, in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited without the express written consent of MedPics.
No Warranties
This site and all other sites hosted, owned, or created by MedPics and the content contained therein are provided by MedPics on an 'as is' basis. We disclaim any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. This site is not guaranteed to be error or virus free. MedPics reserves the right to either temporarily or permanently discontinue this website and the services.
MedPics also preserves the right to disable or close the account of any user in case of breach of the privacy policy and user agreement.
Accuracy
MedPics does not make any representation or warranty about the accuracy of the information provided on this website. We disclaim any express or implied warranties, including warranties for fitness for a particular purpose or merchantability.
External Links
The site contains links to other websites. MedPics does not make any representation or warranty over external websites, included those linked to on this website. This agreement does not apply to external sites that are provided as links. Links to external websites do not constitute endorsements. External websites may have terms of use that differ from those set forth in this agreement.
Limitation of Liability
Third Parties provide some information on the MedPics site. MedPics shall not be held responsible for such Third Party material. MedPics disclaims any responsibility for or liability related to such Third Party material and any complaints, claims, or questions should be directed to the appropriate Third Party.
General
By using MedPics, you agree that the laws of Delaware (USA) without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms and Conditions of Use and any dispute that might arise between you and MedPics, the Medical Experts using MedPics, staff or other affiliates. You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute with MedPics, its affiliates, employees, subsidiaries, contractors, officers and directors, resides in the courts of the state of Delaware (USA) and you further agree and expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction in the courts of the state of Delaware (USA) in connection with any claim involving MedPics, its Medical Experts, employees, subsidiaries, contractors, officers and directors.
Teleradiology and Final Reads
MedPics also offers Imaging Facilities (IF) to request Final Reads provided by Medical Experts / Teleradiology Providers (TP) listed on MedPics. This requires IF to set up an account and based on the number of studies, turnaround time and other factors, a price (global billing fee) can be negotiated on the MedPics website. (Further details under 'Teleradiology request' on the homepage and after having set up an account).
MedPics does enable the matching between a Teleradiology request by an IF and the TP and a legal binding contract will be signed which will be effective when the connectivity is established through MedPics (more details after having set up an account).
MedPics will store the images in a HIPAA compliant way for a time frame based on the user agreement.
To ascertain the eligibility and the licensing of the TP to perform the Final Reads is not the responsibility of MedPics but is the sole responsibility of the IF and the TP. MedPics is also not responsible in any way for the content of Final Reads provided by the TP.
About These Terms
If you do not agree with these terms, you should not access this site or use the services of MedPics. We reserve the right to modify these terms or any additional terms. You should review these terms and MedPics Notice of Privacy Practices regularly. These terms only apply to the relationship between the user and MedPics; they do not create any Third Party beneficiary rights. If there is a conflict between these terms and additional terms, the additional terms will control for that conflict. If a term is unenforceable, this does not affect the validity of any other terms.
Please note that MedPics has the right to change the User Agreement for Medical Experts and for Telemedicine/Teleradiology services at any time and when so, changes will be announced on the website, without personal notification of each individual user.