Terms Of Service

UGYN Terms of Service

By using or accessing UGYN, a subdomain of the website, any mobile application for the website, or any other website operated by us on which these Terms and Conditions are posted via a link or otherwise (each referred to herein as a “Site”), you acknowledge and agree that you are subject to the following terms and conditions, as well as our Privacy Policy, which also governs your use of the Site, and is incorporated by reference (These Terms and Conditions with the Privacy Policy shall be referred to as the “Terms”). Please read these Terms carefully, as they contain important information about limitations of liability and resolution of disputes through arbitration rather than court.

 

Access to the Services

Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, UGYN may offer to provide the Services, as described more fully on the Site, and which are selected by User, solely for User’s own use, and not for the use or benefit of any third party. Services shall include, but not be limited to, any services UGYN performs for User, as well as the offering of any Content (as defined below). UGYN may change, suspend or discontinue the Services at any time, including the availability of any feature, database, or Content. UGYN may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict User’s access to parts or all of the Services without notice or liability. UGYN reserves the right, at its discretion, to modify these Terms of Service at any time by posting revised Terms of Service. User shall be responsible for reviewing and becoming familiar with any such modifications. Use of the Services by User following such modification constitutes User’s acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement as modified.

 

User certifies to UGYN that User is an individual (i.e., not a corporate entity) at least 18 years of age. No one under the age of 18 may provide any personal information to or on UGYN (including, for example, a name, address, telephone number or email address). User also certifies he/she is legally permitted to use the Services, and takes full responsibility for the selection and use of the Services. This Agreement is void where prohibited by law. UGYN makes no claim that the Site may be lawfully viewed or that Content may be downloaded outside of the United States. Access to the Content may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If You access the Site from outside the United States, You do so at Your own risk and You are responsible for compliance with the laws of Your jurisdiction.

 

UGYN will use reasonable efforts to ensure that the Site and Services are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. However, there will be occasions when the Site and/or Services will be interrupted for maintenance, upgrades and repairs or due to failure of telecommunications links and equipment. Every reasonable step will be taken by UGYN to minimize such disruption where it is within UGYN’s reasonable control.

 

You agree that neither UGYN nor the Site will be liable in any event to You or any other party for any suspension, modification, discontinuance or lack of availability of the Site, the service, any User Content, or other Content.

 

UGYN retains the right to create limits on use and storage in its sole discretion at any time with or without notice.

 

User shall be responsible for obtaining and maintaining any equipment or ancillary services needed to connect to, access the Site or otherwise use the Services, including, without limitation, modems, hardware, software, and long distance or local telephone service. User shall be responsible for ensuring that such equipment or ancillary services are compatible with the Services.

 

Site Content

The Site and its contents are intended solely for the use of the Site Users and may only be used in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. All materials displayed or performed on the Site, including, but not limited to text, graphics, logos, photographs, images, illustrations, audio and video, and animations (collectively, “Content”) (other than Content posted by User (“User Content”)) are the property of UGYN and/or third parties and are protected by United States and international copyright laws.

 

All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are proprietary to UGYN and/or third parties. User shall abide by all copyright notices, information, and restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Services.

 

The Site is protected by copyright as a collective work and/or compilation, pursuant to U.S. copyright laws, international conventions, and other copyright laws. Other than as expressly set forth in this Agreement, User may not copy, modify, publish, transmit, upload, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as provided in this Agreement), create derivative works based on, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit, any of the Content, software, materials, or Services in whole or in part.

 

Any downloading, copying, or storing any Content for other than personal, noncommercial use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from UGYN, or from the copyright holder identified in such Content’s copyright notice. In the event

 

User Content

You agree that all User Content that You contribute to the Site is perpetually and irrevocably licensed to UGYN. You grant UGYN the perpetual and irrevocable right and license to use, copy, cache, publish, display, distribute, modify, create derivative works and store such User Content and, except as otherwise set forth herein, to allow others to do so in any medium now known or hereinafter developed in order to provide the Services, even if such User Content has been contributed and subsequently removed by You. User warrants, represents and agrees User has the right to grant UGYN and the Site the rights set forth above. User represents, warrants and agrees that it will not contribute any User Content that (a) infringes, violates or otherwise interferes with any copyright or trademark of another party, (b) reveals any trade secret, unless User owns the trade secret or has the owner’s permission to post it, (c) infringes any intellectual property right of another or the privacy or publicity rights of another, (d) is libelous, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harassing, hateful, offensive or otherwise violates any law or right of any third party, (e) contains a virus, trojan horse, worm, time bomb or other computer programming routine or engine that is intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or information, or (f) remains posted after User has been notified that such User Content violates any of sections (a) to (e) of this sentence. UGYN reserves the right to remove any User Content from the Site, re-post to the Site any User Content removed by any User or former User, suspend or terminate User’s right to use the Services at any time, or pursue any other remedy or relief available to UGYN and/or the Site under equity or law, for any reason (including, but not limited to, upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or authorities relating to such User Content or if UGYN is concerned that User may have breached the immediately preceding sentence), or for no reason at all.

 

In no case will you ever copy and/or repost any photographs obtained from the UGYN site.

 

In the event that You post or otherwise use other User Content outside of the Site or Services, with the exception of content entirely created by You, You agree that You will abide by the following rules:

  • You will ensure that any such use of User Content visually displays or otherwise indicates the source of the User Content as coming from the UGYN Site. This requirement is satisfied with a discreet text, or some other unobtrusive but clear visual indication.
  • You will ensure that any such Internet use of User Content includes a hyperlink directly to the original question on the source site on the Site
  • You will ensure that any such use of User Content visually display or otherwise clearly indicate the author names for every question and answer so used.

 

Profile Content

Profile Content is information about you (a User) that is contributed by you or inferred about you by your activity. Profile Content includes, but is not limited to, display names, reputation scores, avatars, your role and company, and other user generated content found on a User’s profile such as “About Me” content.

 

Profile Content that is available via the UGYN API (“API Profile Content”) is perpetually and irrevocably licensed to UGYN and its Users under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license

 

Profile Content that is NOT available via the UGYN (“Personal Profile Content”) cannot be used for any commercial purpose, individually or in aggregate, or be republished without the explicit consent of the author of such Personal Profile Content or the explicit consent of UGYN.

 

UGYN reserves the right to exclude Content, including Profile Content, from the UGYN API at any time without prior notice.

 

Additionally, no Profile Content, may be used in any way that implies a user is affiliated with, has signed up for, or is in any way associated with a third party without explicit permission from UGYN or the user.

 

Restrictions

User is responsible for all of his/her activity in connection with the Services and accessing the Site. Any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity or any use of the Services or Content in violation of this Agreement may be grounds for termination of User’s right to Services or to access the Site. User may not post or transmit, or cause to be posted or transmitted, any communication or solicitation designed or intended to obtain password, account, or private information from any Site or Service user.

 

Use of the Site or Services to violate the security of any computer Site, crack passwords or security encryption codes, transfer or store illegal material including that are deemed threatening or obscene, or engage in any kind of illegal activity is expressly prohibited. Under no circumstances will User use the Site or the Service to (a) send unsolicited e-mails, bulk mail, spam or other materials to users of the Site or any other individual, (b) harass, threaten, stalk or abuse any person or party, including other users of the Site, (c) create a false identity or to impersonate another person, or (d) knowingly post any false, inaccurate or incomplete material, or (e) copy, or download any Personal Profile Content, social recruiting, sourcing, employment-related services, compiling databases of employment solicitation targets, providing content for a hiring platform without the express permission of UGYN or the User.

 

Warranty disclaimer

UGYN has no special relationship with or fiduciary duty to User. User acknowledges that UGYN has no control over, and no duty to take any action regarding: which users gains access to the Site; which Content User accesses via the Site; what effects the Content may have on User; how User may interpret or use the Content; or what actions User may take as a result of having been exposed to the Content. Much of the Content of the Site is provided by and is the responsibility of the user or User who posted the Content. UGYN does not monitor the Content of the Site and takes no responsibility for such Content. User releases UGYN from all liability for User having acquired or not acquired Content through the Site. The Site may contain, or direct User to sites containing, information that some people may find offensive or inappropriate. UGYN makes no representations concerning any content contained in or accessed through the Site, and UGYN will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality or decency of material contained in or accessed through the Site. Please contact us through our Contact Form to report any objectionable material or posts.

 

Although UGYN and the Site will make reasonable efforts to store and preserve the material residing on the Site, neither UGYN nor the Site is responsible or liable in any way for the failure to store, preserve or access User Content or other materials you transmit or archive on the Site. You are strongly urged to take measures to preserve copies of any data, material, content or information you post or upload on the Site.

 

The Services, Content, and Site are provided on an “as is” basis, without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. UGYN makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the Site, the Services, including any representation or warranty that the use of the Site or Services will (a) be timely, uninterrupted or error-free or operate in combination with any other hardware, software, system or data, (b) meet your requirements or expectations, (c) be free from errors or that defects will be corrected, (d) be free of viruses or other harmful components.

 

UGYN does not practice medicine. We only provide a conduit for medical information to be passed from competent experts to the public. To the fullest extent allowed by law, UGYN disclaims any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, availability, completeness, legality or operability of the material or services provided on this Site. By using this Site, you acknowledge that UGYN is not responsible or liable for any harm resulting from (1) use of the Site; (2) downloading information contained on the Site including but not limited to downloads of content posted by Users; (3) unauthorized disclosure of images, information or data that results from the upload, download or storage of content posted by Users; (4) the temporary or permanent inability to access or retrieve any User Content from the Site, including, without limitation, harm caused by viruses, worms, trojan horses, or any similar contamination or destructive program.

 

Third party websites

Users of the Site may gain access from the Site to third party sites on the Internet through hypertext or other computer links on the Site. Third party sites are not within the supervision or control of UGYN or the Site. Unless explicitly otherwise provided, neither UGYN nor the Site make any representation or warranty whatsoever about any third party site that is linked to the Site, or endorse the products or services offered on such site. UGYN and the Site disclaim: (a) all responsibility and liability for content on third party websites and (b) any representations or warranties as to the security of any information (including, without limitation, credit card and other personal information) You might be requested to give any third party, and You hereby irrevocably waive any claim against the Site or UGYN with respect to such sites and third party content.

 

Registration and security

As a condition to using Services, User may be required to register with UGYN and select a password and profile name. User shall provide UGYN with accurate, complete, and updated registration information, including User’s e-mail address. Failure to do so shall constitute a breach of this Agreement, which may result in immediate termination of User’s account. User may not (a) select or use as a profile name a name of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; or (b) use as a profile name a name subject to any rights of a person other than User without appropriate authorization. UGYN reserves the right to refuse registration of, or cancel a profile name in its discretion. User shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of User’s password. User is solely responsible for any use of or action taken under User’s password and accepts full responsibility for all activity conducted through User’s account and agrees to and hereby releases the Site and UGYN from any and all liability concerning such activity. User agrees to notify UGYN immediately of any actual or suspected loss, theft, or unauthorized use of User’s account or password. The Site will take reasonable security precautions when using the internet, telephone or other means to transport data or other communications, but expressly disclaims any and all liability for the accessing of any such data communications by unauthorized persons or entities.

 

Indemnity

User will indemnify and hold UGYN, its directors, officers, employees, agents, consultants, contractors, partners, vendors and service providers (including, without limitation, hosting and telecommunications providers) harmless, including costs and attorneys’ fees, from any claim or demand made by any third party due to or arising out of User’s access to the Site, use of the Services, the violation of this Agreement by User, or the infringement by User, or any third party using the User’s account, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.

 

Limitation of liability

In no event shall UGYN, its directors, officers, shareholders, employees, members, agents, consultants, contractors, partners, vendors and service providers (including, without limitation, hosting and telecommunications providers) be liable with respect to the Site or the Services for (a) any indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages of any kind whatsoever; (b) damages for loss of use, profits, data, images, User Content or other intangibles; (c) damages for unauthorized use, non-performance of the Site, errors or omissions; or (d) damages related to downloading or posting Content. (e) injuries due to care from medical professionals subsequent to information obtained on this site or others.

 

Termination

Either party may terminate the Services at any time by notifying the other party by any means. UGYN may also terminate, block, or suspend any and all Services and access to the Site immediately, without prior notice or liability, in its sole discretion, for any reason or no reason at all, including but not limited to any User breaches of any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement. Upon termination of User’s account, User’s right to use the Services, access the Site, and any Content will immediately cease. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, and limitations of liability. Termination of Your access to and use of the Site and the Services shall not relieve User of any obligations arising or accruing prior to such termination or limit any liability which User otherwise may have to UGYN or the Site, including without limitation any indemnification obligations contained herein.

 

Privacy

Please review our Privacy Policy, which governs the use of personal information on the Site and to which User agrees to be bound as a user of the Site.

 

Miscellaneous

This Agreement (including the Privacy Policy), as modified from time to time, constitutes the entire agreement between You, the Site and UGYN with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement replaces all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding the subject matter hereof. The failure of either party to exercise in any respect any right provided for herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder. UGYN shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder where such failure results from any cause beyond UGYN’s reasonable control, including, without limitation, mechanical, electronic or communications failure or degradation. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. This Agreement is not assignable, transferable or sublicensable by User except with UGYN’s prior written consent. UGYN may assign this Agreement in whole or in part at any time without User’s consent. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Oklahoma without regard to the conflict of laws provisions thereof. No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of this Agreement and User does not have any authority of any kind to bind UGYN in any respect whatsoever.

 

Code of Conduct

At UGYN, we’re cultivating a community where members feel safe sharing deeply personal experiences, photos, reviews, and opinions without fear of judgment. We also want you to be able to trust that the information you find here has been posted without bias or a hidden agenda.

 

The Code of Conduct outlines what we expect from you, and what you should expect from others. Still not sure if you’re following the rules? Check the UGYN Terms of Service or ask us. Also, we reserve the right to modify these guidelines at any time without notification.

 

The UGYN Community consists of consumers, Health Care Providers and UGYN staff. All community members are treated equally under these guidelines.

 

UGYN does not discriminate based on positive or negative views, or on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender orientation, disability or status.

 

Practice Mutual Respect

UGYN hosts diverse discussions. We give community members space to share their opinions, debate issues, and support each other. Even when things get heated, we expect you to show respect for all members of the community.

 

Avoid Personal Attacks

Negative opinions and disagreements are fine, but it’s not appropriate to use UGYN to bully, name-call or insult other community members. Follow the rules of good debating and address the issue, not the person.

 

Do not use UGYN to post:

  1. Medical advice
  2. Discussions of suicide, violence or self-harm, including self-administering procedures without a license to practice medicine
  3. Sexual content or unwelcome sexual attention toward others
  4. Gratuitous nudity that’s irrelevant to the topic being discussed (e.g., bare breasts or vaginas when not related to the medical problem)
  5. Anything illegal (drug use, criminal activity, extortion, blackmail, threats, harassment, etc.)
  6. Third-party content, including copyrighted material or text, photos or video copied from another source
  7. Links to non-UGYN web pages
  8. Contact information
  9. Anything for which the UGYN website is not intended (e.g, spam, donation requests, offers to purchase surgery for another user, or buying and selling any products)

 

Report any of the above using our Contact Form

 

Avoid Conflicts of Interest

 

Unless otherwise directed, you may only use UGYN as a consumer. (Using UGYN as a Health Care Provider requires profile approval.)

 

Do not use UGYN to promote your own interests or those of anyone you know, including family, friends, affiliates or employers. This includes both:

  1. Business interests – You or someone you know stands to gain additional business or money because of something you’ve posted.
  2. Personal interests – You or someone you know stands to gain an advantage in a medical or personal relationship because of something you’ve posted.
  3. In short, do not post if you or someone you know stands to gain anything from your post.

 

Health Care Provider Code of Conduct

In addition to the Code of Conduct above, these additional guidelines apply to Health Care Providers on UGYN:

 

Maintain Professionalism

 

Health Care Providers are expected to maintain professionalism at all times on UGYN. Do not bully or post disparaging comments about community members, other Health Care Providers, or UGYN.

 

Comply with HIPAA

Do not post any content that violates HIPAA or other applicable health-privacy laws. Consider the privacy and safety of all community members before posting.

 

Follow Our Photo & Video Guidelines

 

All uploaded photos and videos must adhere to these guidelines.

 

All uploaded photos MUST:

  1. Have proper patient consent for online use
  2. Reflect the healthcare professional’s personal work administering a medical treatment or procedure
  3. Reflect the core treatments offered by the healthcare professional’s specialty designation and board certification
  4. Contain photos of only one patient per upload with a maximum of two comparable before and after views (e.g. before and after side view and before and after front view)
  5. Be less than 6 MB in size and in .png or .jpg format
  6. Comply with UGYN policies, guidelines, and terms of service

 

Photos and captions will NOT be published if they contain:

  1. Unnecessarily exposed genitalia or breasts
  2. Graphic photos of minors (under age 18)
  3. Promotional content, such as patient testimonials, special offers, self-promotion, website URLs or conjecture regarding patient satisfaction
  4. Poor quality or resolution
  5. Borders, odd shapes, decorative backgrounds, digital enhancements, airbrushing, fully opaque watermarks, or watermarks obstructing treated body area or which include website URLs.
  6. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) including file names, names, titles or physical features unrelated to the procedure.

 

Videos will NOT be published if they contain:

  1. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) including file names, names, titles or physical features unrelated to the procedure.
  2. Unnecessarily exposed genitalia or breasts
  3. Graphic photos of minors (under age 18)
  4. Promotional content, such as patient testimonials, special offers, self-promotion, website URLs, phone number, address, or conjecture regarding patient satisfaction.
  5. Poor quality or resolution. (Minimum resolution is 720p)
  6. Borders, odd shapes, decorative backgrounds, digital enhancements to before and after photos, airbrushing, fully opaque watermarks or watermarks obstructing treated body area or which include website URLs.
  7. Unlicensed music
  8. More than 10 minutes in length
  9. Rebroadcast content, healthcare professional must own the rights to the content
  10. Community Guideline violations

 

UGYN reserves the right to:

  1. Block Personally Identifiable Information from photo or video submissions
  2. Crop or edit photos or video to remove unnecessarily exposed genitalia or breasts
  3. Remove photos and videos that we determine, at our sole discretion, to be inappropriate and/or in violation of the UGYN Photo/Video Guidelines or the UGYN Terms of Use.
  4. Conduct minor edits to submitted videos and publish the resulting work.
  5. Modify these guidelines at any time without notification.

 

Conflicts of Interest

Clearly explain any conflicts of interest, including products, brands and research funded by third parties. For example, if you are receiving money from a brand whose product you endorse, clearly define this relationship in all relevant posts.

 

Reviews

You may not solicit or receive reviews from anyone with a personal or professional bias. This includes past and present employees, colleagues and family members.

 

Ethics

The mission of UGYN is to help consumers make confident decisions about urogynecology and urogynecologic procedures.

 

Disciplinary Action

Health Care Providers who violate UGYN Terms of Service, Health Care Provider Code of Conduct, the Code of Conduct or the Photo & Video Guidelines may have their profiles suspended, limited or removed, temporarily or permanently, in UGYN’s sole discretion.