Terms of use

Effective from: July 1st, 2024

We really hope you enjoy your time with VCDoctor. We truly believe it. Before using VCDoctor, you should study the important facts in this paper.

The following terms and conditions (the “terms of use” or the “agreement”) constitute an agreement between you and VCDoctor, Inc. (“VCDoctor,” “we,” or “us”), the operator of VCDoctor.com and related websites, applications, services and mobile applications, and all associated services (collectively, the “services”) provided by VCDoctor and on/in which these terms of use are posted or referenced. For the purposes of these terms of use, the “services” include, without limitation, scheduling pages maintained by VCDoctor on behalf of third parties and appointment scheduling technology integrated into third party websites. This agreement constitutes a contract between you and us that governs your access and use of the services. What does that mean? It means that by accessing and/or using our services, you agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement. If you do not agree, then you may not use the services. As used in this agreement, “you” means any visitor, user, or other person who accesses our services; whether or not such person registered for a VCDoctor account (as defined in section 1).

If your use of the services is terminated for any reason, then: (a) this agreement will continue to apply and be binding upon you with regard to your prior use of the services (as well as any subsequent and unauthorized use of the services), including your indemnification obligations as described herein; and (b) any rights or licenses granted to us under this agreement will survive such termination.

VCDoctor’s collection and use of personal data in connection with the services is described in VCDoctor’s privacy policy (“personal data” as defined therein).

Important: You will be required to resolve disputes between you and VCDoctor through binding, individual arbitration, so please carefully read the arbitration notice and class action waiver in section 17.1 below. You acknowledge that you are each giving up the right to a jury trial, and you and VCDoctor agree to this. You agree and furthermore to waive your right to appear in any possible class action or representative proceeding against VCDoctor as a plaintiff or class member. By signing this agreement, you explicitly acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions. You also acknowledge that you have given careful thought to the implications of this significant decision and that you will accept responsibility for them.

Since we’re always looking to make our services better, these terms of use might have to adapt as well. The terms of use are subject to change at any moment by us. But if we do, we will place a notice on our site, send you an email or inform you in another way.

You may reject the updated terms of use at any time, but doing so will prevent you from using the services going forward. Any use of the services following the effective date of a change to the terms of use indicates your agreement to all such changes.

The version of this agreement that was in force at the time of the initial occurrence giving birth to the disagreement will govern any disputes under it. Any other changes to these terms of use, other those made by us as specified here, will not take effect unless they are made in writing and signed by both you and us.

We reserve the right to withdraw or suspend all or part of the current services, add new features, or replace an existing service with a new one at any time. Any usage of additional features or services will be subject to this agreement, and VCDoctor shall not be liable for any suspension or cessation of any of the services or portion thereof.

The references to “you” and “your” in this agreement, with the exception of this sentence, refer to the person or entity for which you are creating a VCDoctor account or using the services. If you do so on behalf of someone other than yourself, you represent that you have been given authorization by that person or entity to accept this agreement and bind them to it.

1. Regarding the services

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-sublicensable, and non-transferable license to use the services in compliance with these terms of use by VCDoctor, subject to these conditions. You can view some of the services without a VCDoctor account. However, in order to take advantage of all the services we provide, you must register for an account (a “VCDoctor account”) and fill out some basic personal data. If you do give us any information, you give VCDoctor permission to use and disclose it in the ways outlined in our privacy policy.

You could come across specific content that VCDoctor makes available to you while using the services. Content includes text, data, graphics, photos, videos, audio, suggestions, articles, scheduling availability, advice, and other materials provided, made available, or otherwise found through the services. Content that is directly related to your questions or posts is specifically included in this definition. You understand that while some content may be supplied by medical professionals, this does not establish a doctor-patient relationship or imply an opinion, medical advice, diagnosis, or course of treatment. Rather, the content is meant to help you select a physician, dentist, or other healthcare specialist, as well as other professionals, providers, organizations, agents, or affiliates of such entities (collectively, “healthcare providers”), or to be generally informative.

We do not offer any guarantees, representations, or warranties, either explicit or implied, regarding any content (including but not limited to descriptions of professional qualifications, expertise, work quality, price or cost information, insurance coverage, or benefit information), even though we make reasonable efforts to provide you with accurate content. Never will we be responsible to you or anyone else for any choice you may have made or action you may have taken based on any such content. Furthermore, we do not in any manner support, mention, or advocate for any person or organization that is listed in content and/or made available via the services.

2. We do not offer medical guidance

VCDoctor does not offer medical care. You may only use the content for informative, scheduling, and payment reasons from VCDoctor, its workers, contractors, partners, sponsors, advertising, licensors, and other parties through the services. Any and any information pertaining to medicine, including without limitation data shared via VCDoctor answers, VCDoctor knowledge base, VCDoctor blog, all VCDoctor social media accounts, emails, texts, and advertisements are solely intended for informational and conversational reasons.

Although the content is intended to be helpful in your healthcare journey, it should not be used in place of, or as a substitute for, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Use the services only not for immediate medical needs. Immediately call a healthcare professional. If you are thinking about suicide or taking actions that may cause harm to you or to others, if you experience a medical or mental health emergency. You are solely responsible for your use of the services. Nothing that is stated, posted, or made available through any service is meant to be, and should not be interpreted as, the provision of medical care or the practice of medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, or any other professional health care advice. VCDoctor does not suggest, recommend, or endorse any specific healthcare provider, test, procedure, opinion, or other information that may be made available through the services. VCDoctor is not a referral service. You use any content at your own risk if you rely on it. In order to verify listed credentials and education, we encourage you to independently confirm any content relevant to you with other sources, such as the office of the healthcare provider, relevant medical associations for the applicable specialty, state medical boards, and the relevant licensing or certification authorities.

3. No doctor patient relationship

The services are used by physicians, dentists, and other medical professionals to share content with you; nevertheless, using this content does not replace medical care. You are not creating a licensed medical professional/patient relationship by using the services or content. This is true regardless of whether the content is offered by or through the use of the services or through any other communications from VCDoctor. These communications may include, but are not limited to, the “find a doctor” feature, VCDoctor answers, the VCDoctor knowledge base, the VCDoctor blog, the VCDoctor social channels, the VCDoctor emails or text messages, links to other websites, or any other help we may offer to assist you in finding a suitable healthcare provider in any field. VCDoctor encourages healthcare providers to use the services responsibly, but we have no control over, and cannot guarantee the availability of, any healthcare provider at any particular time. We will not be liable for cancelled or otherwise unfulfilled appointments, or any injury or loss resulting therefrom, or for any other injury or loss resulting or arising from, or related to, the use of the services whatsoever.

4. Approval and Acknowledgment – Essential data relating to relationships and lists of healthcare providers

When using the services to make appointments with healthcare providers, you acknowledge and agree that: you are responsible for selecting a healthcare provider, including, but not limited to, appropriately determining if the applicable provider is appropriate for your healthcare needs due to specialty, experience, qualification, licenses, and other important facts and circumstances that could impact your care.

In order to ensure that healthcare providers participating in the services have the legal authorization to practice the specializations of the services they offer through the services, VCDoctor or its designee takes specific, limited steps to:

(a) Confirm that these providers possess the licenses, certifications, or registrations that are currently in effect; and

(b) Confirm that these providers are not included in any global healthcare regulatory or exclusion databases, such as the world health organization (who) registry or other international health authority lists. Healthcare providers whom VCDoctor deems to have engaged in improper or unprofessional behavior (including, but not limited to, violations of privacy policies or community standards) may also be prohibited from using our services, in accordance with applicable global healthcare regulations and professional conduct standards.

The listings of healthcare professionals provided by VCDoctor are not all-inclusive, even though all eligible providers are welcome to utilize our services. Healthcare providers have the option of deciding whether to use the services, advertising any available appointments on their VCDoctor profiles, and deciding how much they wish to pay on new patient appointments made through VCDoctor. This means that if you get in touch with healthcare providers directly, they can have more availability than what is stated through the services, regardless of whether they participate in the services. Certain healthcare providers that are listed on the services have agreements with us and might have to pay us money to utilize the services or be promoted through them. It is possible for VCDoctor to get paid if you use the services to make an appointment with a healthcare provider.

We will give you lists and/or profiles of healthcare providers in order to facilitate your search for potential fit and to allow the greatest variety and choice of healthcare providers taking part in the services. These outcomes are dependent on data that you give us, like insurance details, address, and the type of healthcare they specialize in or offer. They might also be determined by other factors (such as the availability of healthcare providers, previous ratings and/or choices made by you and other VCDoctor users, and prior interactions between users of the platform and healthcare providers). It should be noted that not all healthcare providers that match your search parameters are offered by VCDoctor.

In regards to healthcare providers, VCDoctor

(a) Does not hire, refer, recommend, or advocate any of them

(b) Makes no guarantees or statements regarding these healthcare providers or the caliber of services they might offer

(c) Is not accountable for guaranteeing the accuracy or timeliness of the information (including credentials) that a healthcare provider submits about themselves

(d) Is not accountable for verifying that the services a healthcare provider provides are actually rendered or meet a certain level of quality; and

(e) Is not compensated in any way by healthcare providers for being featured (i.e., Placed higher or better on lists) through the services (subject to sponsored results as explained below).

Healthcare providers are not employees of ours, and we have no control over their behavior. However, keep in mind that if you utilize the services that your employer offers, VCDoctor might grant you access to lists and/or profile previews based on standards set by your employer and their advisors or agents. Furthermore, inasmuch as VCDoctor acts as a platform or offers technical assistance for the provider directory linked to your health insurance, healthcare providers will be listed in the directory according to standards established by your health plan or plan sponsor, depending on the situation.

Through the services, we might display adverts or sponsored results (also known as “sponsored results”), either above or strewn in among the search results. Healthcare providers pay extra fees to VCDoctor for their inclusion in sponsored results; therefore, these sponsored results do not constitute an endorsement, referral, or recommendation of the healthcare provider by VCDoctor. The labels “sponsored” and “paid ad” are clearly visible on sponsored results within the services.

5. The content and services constitute educational and informational resources

The services are a source of knowledge and instruction for both patients and healthcare professionals. After our editorial staff reviews content, we may, but are not required to, publish it via the services. VCDoctor is not liable or responsible for any errors or omissions in the content or for the outcomes of using it. No entity involved in the development or publication of such works makes any assurances regarding the timeliness, accuracy, or completeness of the content.

Healthcare provider content:

Only general reference use is intended for anything pertaining to healthcare providers and their procedures, or “healthcare provider content.” Healthcare provider content is gathered from various other data sources, which may not have been verified by the healthcare provider, and may be supplied by the healthcare provider and/or office staff. Healthcare provider content is subject to regular changes and may become outdated, incomplete, or erroneous at any time, despite our best efforts to verify it and maintain it current. Regarding a certain healthcare provider’s qualification, VCDoctor does not offer any advice or certification.

Procedures/products/services:

Certain people, patients, and clinical settings may not be suitable candidates for the procedures, goods, services, and equipment that are advertised and/or discussed through the services. Ads, sponsors, and other paid or unpaid participants of the services may represent procedures, products, services, or devices through the services. These representations are made for your awareness only and do not imply safety, suitability for any specific person, or efficacy, outcome, or success.

Insurance content:

Only for your convenience and general reference, insurance and anything linked to insurance (such as, but not limited to, benefit and coverage content) are referred to as “insurance content.” Both the personal data you give us and the healthcare provider content (such as CPT codes and other encounter data) may be the basis for the insurance content. Insurance content can also be obtained through a third-party clearinghouse or directly from the insurance company you designate. Content pertaining to insurance is subject to regular changes and may become outdated, erroneous, or incomplete. You consent to the following:

(a) Supplying complete and accurate personal information connected to insurance; and

(b) Maintaining and checking accurate personal information related to insurance (including, without limitation, validating such personal information collected by automated means from an insurance card you provide). Despite our best efforts, VCDoctor cannot be held accountable for any incomplete, erroneous, or out-of-date insurance content; instead, you are in charge of adhering to this subpart’s (a) and (b).

6. Medical information

By making an appointment or completing a medical history form (also known as a “medical history form”) on behalf of yourself or a third party for whom you have permission to submit such information, you may choose to enter some medical information into the services. You may ask VCDoctor to give this information to the healthcare provider of your choice, and by doing so, you grant them permission to do so. You understand and consent that, in order to assure its accuracy, such information will be examined and approved at the time of your appointment by you or a representative under your authority. Additionally, you agree that VCDoctor may utilize the information you submit on a medical history form in line with our privacy policy.

7. Your responsibilities

7.1 Credentials for your VCDoctor account

A password and email address are required when creating a VCDoctor account; they are referred to as “credentials.” Your credentials should be kept confidential and should not be disclosed to third parties. If your password has been lost or hacked, you must contact us right once by emailing us at info@VCDoctor.com. You agree to give us accurate, full, and current registration details about yourself. Additionally, you might be able to connect to the services run by a third-party business, including Apple Inc. (“Apple”), Facebook, Inc., or google llc (“google”). If you use a third party service to connect to the services, you grant us permission to access and use your information from that service as allowed by that third party service’s terms of service and to keep your login credentials for that service. You have the last say over how much information is available to us, and you may do so by changing the privacy settings on such third-party services. Regarding any such third party, VCDoctor has no control over and disclaims any liability for the services, content, accuracy, privacy policies, practices, or views expressed.

7.2 Your general responsibilities

Even though downloading our app and opening a VCDoctor account are free, you are still in charge of your medical costs. The entire cost of any fees associated with any medical services or related treatments provided by healthcare providers will fall on you. It is your responsibility to make sure that all the information you give VCDoctor, including your insurance details, is correct and current. Certain services might not be offered by VCDoctor or your healthcare provider based on a variety of variables, such as your insurance coverage. In the end, you have to settle any disagreement with a healthcare provider that results from a transaction under this agreement directly with the healthcare provider.

You are in charge of how you use the services and how you use your credentials, including how people you have given your credentials to use them. The services may only be used for legitimate, non-commercial uses. You are not permitted to use the services if doing so would violate any applicable laws. It is prohibited for you to use the services in any way that could harm, deactivate, overload, or impair our systems or networks, or impede the use and enjoyment of the services by any other person. It is prohibited for you to try to use hacking, password mining, or any other method to obtain unauthorized access to any of the services, user accounts, computer systems, or networks. It is strictly forbidden for you to gather or index any part of the services or content (such as healthcare provider content, appointment availability, pricing details, and insurance content) for any kind of collection or indexing.

It is also your responsibility to go over and abide by the terms stated in our acceptable use policy and our community standards.

We reserve the right, in addition to our rights under these terms of use, to take any legal action and apply any technological measures necessary to prevent violations of the restrictions set forth herein and to enforce our community standards, our acceptable use policy, and these terms of use.

 

7.3 Duties of healthcare providers and individuals in the healthcare or medical sectors

If you are a healthcare provider or other person or entity in the healthcare or medical industries, regardless of whether you maintain a VCDoctor account or whether you schedule or intend to schedule appointments through the services, you acknowledge and agree that:

(a) You will not use the services to view, access or otherwise use, directly or indirectly, price, availability, or other content for any purpose other than your own personal use as a patient or prospective patient

(b) You will not use the services to establish, attempt to establish, or enforce, directly or indirectly, any agreement or coordination of the prices charged for any product or service; the kinds, frequencies or amounts of any product or service offered; or the customer or customer categories for any product or service, or otherwise engage or attempt to engage in price fixing, output restriction, or customer or market allocation; and

(c) You will not use the services, directly or indirectly, to engage in any anti-competitive, deceptive or unfair practices (including but not limited to booking fraudulent healthcare appointments), or otherwise violate applicable antitrust, competition or consumer protection laws, or regulations.

7.4 User disagreements

You understand and agree that VCDoctor is not required to get involved in any disputes that may arise between users and any third party, including but not limited to healthcare providers, or between participants on this site or services. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users or healthcare providers, you release VCDoctor, its directors, officers, employees, agents, and successors from claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or our services.

8. Telemedicine services/remote medical services

You may be able to access certain telemedicine services through the services, including but not limited to via VCDoctor’s video service (“VCDoctor video service”). VCDoctor is not a healthcare provider, insurance provider, or a prescription fulfillment warehouse. In delivering the VCDoctor video service, VCDoctor’s involvement is restricted to making certain telehealth related information available to you and/or facilitating your access to telemedicine services supplied by healthcare providers. VCDoctor disclaims all liability for the actions or inactions of these healthcare providers, as well as for the information you choose to share with them. VCDoctor is independent of the healthcare providers, and does not employ or otherwise exercise any control over the services offered by healthcare providers, regardless of whether they utilize the VCDoctor video service.

9. Third party links and services

9.1 Links to other websites

You could come across links to other websites when using the services. We don’t support these websites or the goods and services they offer; these links are just for your convenience. You understand and accept that the accuracy or content of these other websites is not our responsibility or liability. While we make an effort to provide links to reliable websites, there is a chance that these other websites may include offensive, illegal, or inaccurate content. As a result, we cannot be held accountable or liable for the propriety or legality of any content found on or accessible through these other websites. You agree to release and hold us blameless from any liability resulting from your use of any website or service provided by a third party by utilizing the services. All of the terms, conditions, warranties, and representations pertaining to dealings with organizations and/or individuals that you find on or through the services, as well as the payment and delivery of goods and services, are exclusive to you and these organizations and/or individuals. It is advisable that you conduct any necessary or suitable inquiry prior to engaging in any online or offline transaction with any of these third parties. You acknowledge and agree that VCDoctor shall not be held accountable or liable for any loss or harm of any kind resulting from any of these transactions.

9.2 Third party software

Certain of the services may use third-party software from other parties, including without limitation open source third-party software. You agree to abide by any and all additional terms and conditions that the third party software provider may apply that apply to your use of such third party software. We may, if appropriate, offer extra notices about the third-party software. These notices might include attribution and disclaimer notices that apply to the third-party software.

9.3 Application stores

You understand and concur that the third-party shops (such as the apple app store, google play, or any other store or distribution platform; collectively, these are referred to as “application providers”) from which you download our mobile application are responsible for its availability. Before downloading mobile applications from a store, you must accept any terms and conditions that may apply from each application provider. Your license to use our application is contingent upon your compliance with the terms and conditions set out by the application provider, which you agree to comply with. The terms and conditions of these terms of use shall apply to the extent that any other terms and conditions from such application provider are less restrictive than or in contradiction with these terms and conditions in any other way.

If you are accessing the services via an application (an “application”) through an application provider, you acknowledge and agree that:

• These terms of use are between you and us, and not with the application provider, and that we are responsible for the services, not the application provider
• The application provider has no obligation to furnish maintenance and support services or handle any warranty claims
• The application provider is not responsible for addressing any claims you or any third party have relating to the application
• The application provider is a third party beneficiary of these terms of use as related to your use of the application, and the application provider will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these terms of use as related to your use of the application against you
• In the event of any third-party claim that the application or your possession and use of the application infringes that third party’s intellectual property rights, VCDoctor, and not application provider, will be responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, and discharge of any such infringement claim; and
• You confirm that you are not located in any country subject to international sanctions, trade restrictions, or embargoes, and that you are not listed on any international blacklist or sanctions list. Your use of the application and all other services is subject to the terms outlined above.

10. Processing of payments and transactions

10.1 Processing of payments and transactions in general

It is possible that you will be able to use the services to pay for other services or goods offered by the relevant healthcare provider, as well as other payment responsibilities such your insurance copayments, in addition to designated provider services (as described in section 10.2). We handle your credit card information in connection with these payments in compliance with our privacy policy. A transaction processing charge for our billing, collection, and payment services (collectively, the “transaction processing services”) rendered in connection with such payment may be collected from the relevant healthcare provider by VCDoctor and/or its payment processing partner. When using or registering for a paid service or the transaction processing services, you may be presented with payment conditions. Please be aware that these terms become a part of the agreement.

10.2 Services of a designated provider

Price information for specific healthcare providers’ products and services (referred to as “designated provider services”) may be made available through the services, and you may be able to utilize the services to make payments for these services.

Please carefully check (a) the pricing details and (b) all of the items and services that are included and excluded in each designated provider service before making an appointment. Unless you separately agree differently, healthcare providers must offer the relevant designated provider service at or below the cost stated at the time of scheduling (the “designated price”). Healthcare providers may offer, provide, or perform services that are distinct from or in addition to those designated by the provider. Pricing for any additional or different services must be agreed upon by you and your healthcare providers. If you or any other healthcare provider fails to agree on pricing for any additional or different services, VCDoctor is not liable.

 

10.3 Fulfillment of your financial responsibilities regarding your insurance benefits and coverage

You may be able to use the services (the “insurance payment services”) to cover all or part of the costs associated with your insurance coverage and benefits if certain healthcare providers approve you to do so.

Although we make every effort to present accurate insurance content (such as your copayment obligation), we disclaim all warranties and offer no promises regarding the accuracy of the insurance content. You understand that third-party clearinghouses or the insurance carrier deliver the insurance content. Please remember that:

(a) The insurance content is updated on a regular basis (e.g., To reflect amounts you may have paid toward your deductible)

(b) Your insurance company will probably send you an explanation of benefits (or similar document) after your healthcare provider provides services; and

(c) You might end up owing your healthcare provider more money than what you paid through the insurance payment services.

10.4 Processing of transactions

The amount charged for transaction processing services rendered by VCDoctor and its payment processing partner shall not be more than the fair market value of those services. You may be charged individually by healthcare providers for extra or distinct goods or services.

You acknowledge and agree that:

(a) You are responsible for and you will pay the designated price for the designated provider services charged through VCDoctor by the applicable healthcare provider, as well as other amounts the applicable healthcare provider may charge through VCDoctor for any additional or different services rendered during or related to the applicable appointment

(b) You remain responsible for paying all amounts required by law and/or contract (e.g., Health plan agreement), including all cost-sharing obligations (such as, but not limited to, copayments, deductibles and other coinsurance obligations)

(c) If you utilize our transaction processing services, VCDoctor may process your payment, and may do so in collaboration with our payment processing partner

(d) VCDoctor is not responsible for any charges incurred for any products or services provided by healthcare provider, including any designated provider service

(e) VCDoctor is not responsible for any charges submitted for processing by healthcare providers

(f) In the event you dispute any fees chargeable or charged through VCDoctor by a healthcare provider, you will resolve such dispute directly with the applicable healthcare provider

(g) If you utilize our transaction processing services, you may be required to accept the terms of use and privacy policy of our payment processing partner with respect to transaction processing services. We currently process payments with the help of Paypal, Razorpay and CCAvanue. The amount charged for transaction processing services rendered by VCDoctor and its payment processing partner shall not be more than the fair market value of those services. You may be charged individually by healthcare providers for extra or distinct goods or services.

You understand and agree that:

(a) You are responsible for and agree to pay the designated price for the designated provider services that the applicable healthcare provider charges through VCDoctor

(b) You remain responsible for paying all amounts required by law and/or contract (e.g., Health plan agreement), including all cost-sharing obligations (e.g., Copayments, deductibles, and other coinsurance obligations)

(c) If you use our transaction processing services, VCDoctor may process your payment, and may do so in conjunction with our payment processing division. In the event that you disagree with any fees that a healthcare provider charges you through VCDoctor, you will need to settle the matter directly with the relevant healthcare provider

(d) VCDoctor is not liable for any costs incurred for any products or services supplied by healthcare providers, including any designated provider service

(e) VCDoctor is not liable for any costs submitted for processing by healthcare providers

(f) If you use our transaction processing services, you might be required to accept the terms of use and privacy policy of our payment processing partner with respect to transaction processing services.

(g) You will, within twelve (12) months of the date of the applicable transaction, review all charges processed through the transaction processing services and promptly notify VCDoctor if you have any questions, concerns, or disputes. We will not be held liable for any errors made by, or other acts or omissions of, the payment processor. You also understand and agree that neither VCDoctor nor our payment processing partner will be held accountable if we or they are unable to complete a transaction for any reason, including but not limited to:

(a) If you haven’t given us accurate, current, and complete payment information

(b) If you don’t have enough money or credit available to complete the transaction

(c) If you don’t have an active payment card or if we can’t verify your identity or payment card information

(d) If your account with us, your account with our payment processing partner, your access to the services, or your account has been terminated or suspended for any reason

(e) If we or our payment processing partner are unable to complete a transaction

11. Summary and additional work you publish or submit

You will be able to submit inquiries about potential medical needs, submit feedback about your interactions with healthcare providers you find through the services, and take part in other interactive or community features of the services (collectively, “posted information”). It’s critical that you provide posted information in a responsible manner. Your posted content ought to adhere to our acceptable use policy, and your healthcare provider reviews must comply with our posted guidelines, as well as any internal guidelines we might create and occasionally apply. Please be aware that although VCDoctor may review posted information (including reviews from healthcare providers, among other things) to make sure it complies with this paragraph’s requirements, VCDoctor neither supports nor attests to the veracity of any claims made in such posted information; instead, posted information represents the views and opinions of the author, not VCDoctor.

Please be aware that the following licenses are all governed by our privacy policy insofar as they pertain to information that has been posted and is likewise personally identifiable information about you.

You agree to and hereby grant, to VCDoctor and its affiliates, agents, and contractors, an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully sublicensable, fully paid up, worldwide license to use, copy, publicly perform, digitally perform, publicly display, and distribute such posted information. You also agree to adapt, edit, translate, prepare derivative works of, incorporate into other works, and otherwise fully exploit such posted information. This license is granted by posting information through the services. You guarantee and represent that you are fully authorized to grant us these licenses without violating or infringing upon any rights of third parties, including but not limited to contract rights, trademarks, privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, or any other proprietary or intellectual property rights. Posting information that is fraudulent or deceptive, or that in any other way misrepresents your thoughts and experiences, is prohibited.

You acknowledge and agree that VCDoctor may need to modify your posted information in order to conform and adapt it to the technical requirements of connection networks, devices, services, or media in order to carry out the necessary technical steps to provide the services to our users (including you). This is covered by the aforementioned licenses.

Posting information does not represent the views of VCDoctor and is the complete responsibility of the individual from whom it originated. VCDoctor disclaims all responsibility for any posted information and for any losses, damages, or claims arising from it.

Additionally, we invite and encourage you to send us comments, suggestions, and feedback (collectively, “feedback”). You can send us feedback via email, through our social media pages, or through other channels of contact. Your feedback will be regarded as non-proprietary and non-confidential by us. You give us a perpetual, irreversible, global, royalty-free, sublicensable, and non-exclusive right to use and publish your feedback for any reason without paying you anything back when you send it to us.

 

12. Usage of content

We or our licensors own all of the content, which is shielded by international treaties, copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret laws, among other proprietary rights. You understand that proprietary information belonging to VCDoctor is contained in the services and any underlying software or technology used in conjunction with the services. By allowing you to use the services, we do not grant you any intellectual property rights; instead, we allow you to use the content for private, non-commercial use only. For your personal use, you may print, download, and store information from the services. However, you are not allowed to sell, distribute, republish, or make any other kind of profit from any of the content, nor may you use the services, in whole or in part, for any kind of commercial purpose. Unless otherwise specified above, you are not granted any express or implied rights by VCDoctor or its suppliers, and VCDoctor retains all ownership rights to the services that are not specifically granted to you.

13. Disclaimer

Our goal at VCDoctor is to enhance the quality of treatment that patients get, and we hope that your time with us will be nothing short of extraordinary. Even though we put a lot of effort into making that happen, you understand that we have no control over—and are under no obligation to take any action regarding—which users are able to access the services, what content you access, how that content may affect you, how you may interpret or use it, or what actions you may take as a result of seeing it. You absolve us of any responsibility for how you use or are unable to utilize any content. Regarding suggestions or recommendations of services or products offered or purchased through the services, we, along with our licensors, suppliers, partners, parent, subsidiaries, or affiliated entities, and each of their respective officers, directors, members, employees, consultants, contract employees, representatives, and agents, as well as each of their respective successors and assigns (collectively, VCDoctor and all such parties, the “VCDoctor parties”) make no representations or warranties. Moreover, the VCDoctor parties shall not be held accountable or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, or decency of any content contained in or accessed through the services. We owe you no special consideration or fiduciary obligation.

The services are offered by us (as well as by our suppliers and licensees) “as is” and “as available.” Regarding the content or services, we make no express or implied warranties or guarantees. With regard to the services, we hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, including statutes of limitations, to the maximum extent permitted by law. This includes, but is not limited to, any warranties that the services are accurate, satisfactorily quality, merchandisable, suited for a particular purpose or need, or non-infringing. We do not warrant that using the services will result in results that are effective, reliable, accurate, or meet your requirements. We do not guarantee that you will be able to access the services at times or locations of your choosing (directly or via third-party networks). We disclaim all liability for any errors, incompleteness, lack of timeliness, incompleteness, or incompleteness in information submitted by service users or for any other data or information sent or received via the services. Unless specifically stated otherwise, VCDoctor disclaims all warranties with regard to the information systems, software, and functions that are accessible via the services, as well as any other security related to the transmission of sensitive data. VCDoctor makes no guarantees about the uninterrupted, error-free, bug-free, or defect-free operation of the services, the prevention of data loss, or the absence of computer viruses, contaminants, or other harmful items from the software.

14. Liability limitation in general

Your VCDoctor account cancellation is your sole and exclusive remedy for any dispute with us. Regardless of the form of action, our cumulative liability to you for any and all claims relating to or arising out of your use of the services will never exceed the greater of either (a) the total amount of fees you paid to create or maintain a VCDoctor account for use of the services. With the exception that, in the event that you have a claim relating to or arising out of your use of the transaction processing services, our cumulative liability will never exceed the total amount of transaction processing fees, if any, that you have paid to VCDoctor for the provision of transaction processing services for appointments you made during the six (6) months prior to the incident that gave rise to the applicable claim.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, under no circumstances and under no legal theory (including, but not limited to, tort, contract, strict liability, or otherwise) shall any of the VCDoctor parties be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, punitive, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting from your use of, or inability to use, the services, to you or any third party claiming under or through you. These disclaimers apply to any claims for lost revenue, lost information, lost goodwill, interruption of business, work stoppage, accuracy of results, computer malfunction or failure, any other commercial damages or losses, any substitute goods, services, or technology, or medical malpractice or the negligence of healthcare providers used in connection with the use of the services, or any matter outside of our reasonable control, even if we knew or should have known of the possibility of damages of this kind. Due to some states’ or jurisdictions’ prohibitions on the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, our liability will be limited in accordance with this agreement to the greatest extent permitted by law in those states or jurisdictions. A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party. You hereby waive any rights under applicable laws or regulations in your jurisdiction that may limit the scope of this waiver or release, including any similar provisions in other jurisdictions.

15. Termination

We retain the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate, suspend, and/or deactivate your VCDoctor account immediately and without warning if you are not using the services in accordance with this agreement. If there has been a violation of this agreement, our acceptable use policy, our community standards, or other guidelines and conditions that you or someone else using your credentials without permission posts via the services. In addition, we have the right to deactivate, suspend, or cancel your VCDoctor account for any other cause, including prolonged periods of inactivity. If VCDoctor terminates, suspends, or deactivates your access to the services, neither you nor any third party will be entitled to compensation. Additionally, you consent to refrain from attempting to use the services following any such termination, suspension, or deactivation (with the exception of situations in which deactivation results from inactivity alone, in which case you may open a new VCDoctor account). Any content connected to your VCDoctor account may be destroyed if your account is terminated. The provisions listed in sections 1 through 6, sections 9 through 18, and any other clauses that should by nature remain in effect after these terms of use expire or terminate will also remain in effect.

Anybody who violates these terms of use may be subject to an investigation by VCDoctor, and we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action against them. This action may include, but is not limited to, having any offensive communication removed from the services, having their VCDoctor account terminated, or preventing them from using the services.

16. Indemnification

By using the services, you agree to (a) comply with the terms of use, the acceptable use policy, and community standards; (b) violate this agreement, including but not limited to these terms; (c) violate any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity; and (d) allow any person to use your credentials without authorization. You further agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the VCDoctor parties upon our request. The aforementioned indemnity obligation is not applicable to any liabilities, claims, or costs resulting from our own willful wrongdoing or gross negligence.

17. Arbitration contract

We hope that any conflicts you may have with VCDoctor will be resolved. However, in accordance with this section, if a dispute needs to be further settled, that procedure will be followed. The following arbitration agreement should be carefully read as it restricts the ways in which you can seek relief from VCDoctor and mandates that you arbitrate certain claims and disputes with them. As a third-party beneficiary of these terms of use, you and VCDoctor acknowledge and agree that personnel, which includes VCDoctor’s officers, directors, employees, and independent contractors, is entitled to enforce these terms of use against you in the event of a dispute pertaining to their subject matter. Personnel will also be deemed to have accepted this right upon your acceptance of these terms of use.

17.1 Regulations of arbitration; enforcement of the arbitration agreement

Before one party initiate’s arbitration, the other party must first attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement arising out of or relating to the subject matter of these terms through direct talks. In the event that these talks are unsuccessful, any disputes will be resolved through binding arbitration in a mutually agreed-upon location, in accordance with the rules of a recognized arbitration institution. One commercial arbiter with significant expertise in settling disputes involving intellectual property and business contracts will preside over the arbitration, the arbitration will be conducted in English and in accordance with the rules of a recognized arbitration institution in force at the time. The arbitrator will be selected from the relevant list of qualified arbitrators provided by the chosen institution. Any court with appropriate jurisdiction may enforce the arbitrator’s award.

17.2 Court of small claims: infringement

If your claims are eligible, you or VCDoctor may file them in a small claims court within your jurisdiction, including any location where you reside or work. In addition, each party shall have the right, at any time and from any court of competent jurisdiction, to seek injunctive or other equitable relief to stop actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of the copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights of the other party, notwithstanding the foregoing obligation to arbitrate disputes.

17.3 Jury trial waiver

All constitutional and statutorily protected rights to appear in court and be tried in front of a judge or jury are thus waived by you and VCDoctor. Rather, you and VCDoctor have decided to use arbitration to settle disagreements and claims. Generally speaking, arbitration procedures are less expansive, more effective, less expensive, and subject to much less judicial scrutiny than those that apply in court. Should you and VCDoctor engage in litigation about the validity or enforcement of an arbitration ruling, you give up all rights to a jury trial, along with VCDoctor. And decide to have a judge settle the dispute instead.

 

17.4 Class action or consolidated action waiver

Rather than being arbitrated or litigated on a class basis, all claims and disputes falling under the purview of this arbitration agreement must be arbitrated or litigated individually. It is unpermitted to arbitrate or litigated jointly or consolidated with the claims of more than one customer or user. However, neither you nor VCDoctor may pursue arbitration in the event that this waiver of class action or consolidated actions is found to be unlawful or unenforceable; instead, any claims and disputes shall be settled in court as described in (g) below.

17.5 Opt-out

If, within thirty (30) days of first accepting these terms, you provide written notice to VCDoctor indicating your desire to opt out of the requirements of this section, you will have the option to do so. To opt out of the arbitration agreement set forth in these terms, you must include the necessary information in your notice. (I) your name and residential address; (ii) the email address and/or phone number linked to your account; and (iii) a clear explanation of your desire to do so.

17.6 Exclusive venue

Both you and VCDoctor agree that any judicial proceeding (other than small claims actions) will be brought in the courts located in the jurisdiction where either party resides or does business. The foregoing arbitration agreement will not apply to either party if you send the opt-out notice in section 17.6 and/or in any circumstances where you or VCDoctor are permitted to litigate any dispute arising out of or relating to the subject matter of these terms in court.

17.7 Severability

All of the previous text in this arbitration agreement section shall be deemed void if the above-mentioned ban on class actions and other claims brought on behalf of third parties is determined to be unenforceable. If your relationship with VCDoctor is terminated, this arbitration agreement will still be in effect.

18. Miscellaneous

18.1 Contracting electronically; copyright conflict

This agreement, which contains our acceptable use policy, privacy policy, and community standards, is electronically signed by you when you use the services and/or create a VCDoctor account. Electronic signatures on this agreement and any other documents to be delivered in connection with the services may be used. For the purposes of validity, enforceability, and admissibility, any electronic signatures appearing on this agreement or such other documents are the same as handwritten signatures.

Please visit our acceptable use policy to review our copyright dispute policy.

18.2 Communications through SMS/text

By voluntarily providing your cell phone number to VCDoctor, you consent to receiving information from VCDoctor at that phone number about things we believe would be of interest to you via phone, SMS, or MMS.

By registering for the services or providing a wireless phone number for someone else, you represent and warrant that that person has given permission for VCDoctor to contact them. You also agree to receive such messages for transactional, operational, or informative purposes. In the event that you violate any of the aforementioned terms, you undertake to hold VCDoctor blameless and indemnify us against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages (actual and consequential), and costs (including legal fees).

Your mobile phone service provider may charge for messages and data, and these charges are governed by the terms and conditions set forth by your provider. At any moment, you can choose not to receive text messages by changing the notification settings in your account or by following the other procedures. Be aware that using the services may be affected if you choose not to receive any SMS at all.

Any new phone number(s) you attach to your account may receive VCDoctor’s standard SMS messages unless you also unsubscribe via the above procedures. If you change or deactivate the phone number you provided to VCDoctor, you have an affirmative obligation to update your account information and the phone number(s) attached to your account to prevent us from unintentionally communicating with anyone who acquires any phone number(s) previously attributed to you.

18.3 Limitation of claims

Any action you bring after one (1) year from the date the cause of action originated is permanently barred from being taken under this agreement or in connection with it, regardless of form.

18.4 Severability

The remaining terms of this agreement will remain intact if any one or more of its provisions are determined to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable for any reason. In addition, the unenforceable, illegal, or invalid provision shall be replaced by a provision that most closely reflects the parties’ intentions as expressed in the unenforceable, illegal, or invalid provision; provided, however, that no such provision is valid, legal, or enforceable, in which case the unenforceable, illegal, or invalid provision shall be limited or eliminated to the least extent necessary to preserve the other provisions of this agreement’s full force and effect and enforceability.

18.5 Governing law; language

Without regard to any conflicts of law principles, this agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with applicable arbitration laws and the laws of the jurisdiction where the agreement is executed and performed. All documents referenced in this agreement are prepared in English, and any translations that differ from the original English versions will not be binding on either party.

18.6 Waiver of entire agreement;

This agreement is accompanied by any other terms, policies, rules, and guidelines that are presented through the services and are all incorporated herein by reference. Privacy policy, the acceptable use policy and the community standards, represent the whole understanding that exists between you and us, superseding any prior written or verbal agreements. Any additional rights under this agreement shall not be deemed waived by any party’s inability to exercise in any manner any of the rights set for herein.

18.7 Headings

This agreement’s section titles are merely for convenience; they are not part of the document itself, and they in no way restrict, define, explain, alter, interpret, or construe the meaning, scope, or intent of this agreement or any of its terms or conditions.

18.8 Assignment

This agreement may be assigned by us at any time, including without limitation to any parent, subsidiary, or connected business, or in connection with a business sale, merger, or other transfer of our company or any of its assets to another party. This agreement cannot be assigned, transferred, or sublicensed by you to another party, and any effort to do so in violation of this clause will be deemed void.

18.9 Eligibility

In order to establish a VCDoctor account or utilize the services independently, you must be at least eighteen (18) years old, or the legal age to enter into a binding contract in your jurisdiction if that number is higher. You may not use the services if you are younger than thirteen. You may only use the services under the supervision of your parent or legal guardian who has accepted these terms of use if you are between the ages of 13 and 18 or the applicable legal age in your jurisdiction. By using the services on behalf of a minor child, you represent and warrant that you are the child’s parent or legal guardian, and that you are the authorized party of that child or that other individual for whom you have permission to enter into these terms of use. You further represent and warrant that all references to “you” in these terms of use refer to the child or other individual for whom you have authorization to enter into these terms of use.

You are not permitted to use the services if you are ineligible under these terms of use. Where relevant legislation forbids use of the services, such use is void, and access to the services is withdrawn in such jurisdictions. You affirm and warrant that you have the legal authority to accept these terms of use by using the services. The services are managed and provided globally and are intended for users worldwide. Use of the services in connection with activities conducted in jurisdictions where such use is prohibited is done at the user’s own risk. It is the responsibility of users to comply with all applicable local laws and regulations in their jurisdiction when using the services.