Patient Rights and Privacy
Terms of Use
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room.
Please read this agreement completely and carefully before accessing this website. These terms of use apply to all visitors to Sharp HealthCare owned or operated websites, including, without limitation, those located at www.sharp.com. If you choose to use sharp.com or any of its features, health tools and calculators, mobile and text messages, email newsletters, RSS, videos, widgets and social media, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions below and the applicable privacy policy.
Sharp reserves the right to terminate, modify, or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, all or any part of sharp.com, any online services account used to access all or part of sharp.com, or any application or service accessed through such account at any time, with or without notice.
We will update our Terms of Use periodically without notifying you of changes; please reference this document frequently to be aware of updates. We may also add or change website features at any time. Each time you access sharp.com, you signify that you accept the Terms of Use in their current form.
We understand that information about you and your health is confidential. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our patients' health information. Read our privacy practices for more information.
Disclaimers
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room.
Sharp.com is an online information and communication service. Sharp HealthCare provides sharp.com to the community for educational purposes only, and the information provided through this website should in no way be taken to be the provision or practice of medical, nursing or health care diagnosis; advice; or be considered a substitute for a call, visit, consultation or advice from your physician or other health care providers.
If you have specific health-related questions or a health problem, please contact your physician or other health care provider. We have used reliable sources in an effort to provide broad consumer understanding and knowledge of health-related topics, but do not depend on the information presented on this website, as each individual case is different.
Except for information, products or services clearly identified as being supplied by Sharp HealthCare, Sharp HealthCare does not operate, control or endorse in any way information, products or services on the internet.
While we take reasonable measures to protect our website, we cannot guarantee the safety of any internet connection, or that downloaded or viewed content will be free of contaminating or destructive properties, or that data provided through sharp.com will necessarily be accurate, complete or correct. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures to protect yourself and your computer system.
Links to other websites are provided as a convenience for you. However, other websites are neither managed nor controlled by Sharp HealthCare. While we make reasonable efforts to include other websites that provide relevant information, neither Sharp HealthCare nor its employees, agents or contractors review, control or take responsibility for the content or operation of these websites.
Some health services or products described on sharp.com may not be covered by your health plan or insurance company. You should check with your health plan or health insurer to see what services and products are covered.
The information displayed in or through sharp.com is provided without warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, including but not limited to, those of title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or any warranty arising from a course of dealing, usage or trade practice. Sharp HealthCare will not be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you or anyone else in reliance upon the information provided. By accessing this website and the Internet generally, you assume all responsibility and risk for use.
Online conduct
You agree not to use sharp.com or any of its features for any purpose that is unlawful, harassing, destructive, or otherwise prohibited by this agreement. You are personally responsible for the material that you send and for adhering to rules of conduct on any page of sharp.com. We reserve the right to deny access to any part of sharp.com at our sole discretion.
Consents and copyrights
All trademarked or copyrighted material contained within these pages, including but not limited to logos, marks, content, documents, forms, images, illustrations and videos, are owned by or licensed to Sharp HealthCare. Any reproduction or redistribution of this material beyond personal use is prohibited without the express written consent of Sharp HealthCare.
This website and links to other sites may contain materials that are copyrighted by Sharp HealthCare and/or other copyright holders. Use of copyrighted material without permission is expressly prohibited and is subject to federal copyright laws.
Registration and security
You will be required to register for an account to participate in certain sharp.com services. You will be asked to use your email address as a username and create a password, and to provide information pertinent to your account, and agree that any identifying information you provide will be accurate and complete. You are responsible for securing the confidentiality of your password. When choosing a password, select a combination of letters, numbers and symbols that isn't guessable by someone who knows you. Examples of weak passwords include those that incorporate your family member's and pet's names, sports teams or hobbies, or license plate numbers. The username and password you create may also allow you to sign in to additional websites that have a single sign-on relationship with sharp.com.
You agree that you will not access or use sharp.com or any associated content in a manner that violates any applicable law or regulation or the rights of any individual or entity; sell or transfer any information included in our services or use such information to market any product or service, including, without limitation, through unsolicited email. You agree that you will not probe, scan, or seek to exploit any vulnerability in the websites located at sharp.com or the network supporting them, or bypass, disable, or otherwise circumvent any technical measures in place to protect the security, privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of those websites and that network and any data contained therein, or take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on Sharp's infrastructure.
You must be at least 18 years old to register for an account. We do not knowingly allow users under 18 to have their own accounts. You may cancel your account at any time by emailing info@sharp.com. We reserve the right to cancel or remove accounts that impersonate another person, are abusive, illegal or are otherwise inappropriate or which are used to violate any part of this agreement.
Interactive services
You acknowledge that any text, image, or other content you submit in any public forum hosted on or through sharp.com (e.g., discussion groups, message boards, etc.) is available to the public. You understand that Sharp is under no obligation to display any such content, and reserves the right to remove any portion of it at any time and for any or no reason. You agree that you are solely responsible for material you post on or transmit through sharp.com, and that you will only disclose information about yourself, including identifying information, that you consider suitable for public disclosure.
Collection and use of personal information
We will not collect your name, email address or other personal information unless you voluntarily provide it. We will not sell, trade, rent or share personal information about you or other website visitors to any third party (excluding third-party contractors performing work for Sharp), absent your permission.
We collect, use and store the following personal information, exclusive of the contents of Sharp’s medical records:
- Names and email addresses for email subscriptions, online surveys, customer feedback and contact forms, and other communications with Sharp HealthCare.
- Personal information (such as, but not limited to, name, email address, billing and shipping address, date of birth and date of health care service) when you register for a class, pay a bill, make an online donation, request a prescription refill, purchase a product, take a survey or participate in other online functions.
- We use your credit card information to process payments or donations. We do not store credit card numbers. All credit card transactions are secured and processed using the standard practices of banks and retail stores.
- Demographic information (such as, but not limited to, gender and ethnicity), which is optional unless you are applying for a job.
By providing additional personal information and undergoing a confidential identity verification process, you can connect your medical record to your sharp.com account and view or update your medical information at your convenience. If you choose this option, the personal information you provide will be used in the following manner:
- You may be asked to provide your birth date and Social Security number to help us match the account you create to your existing medical record.
- You may be asked to verify your identity by answering questions about your previous residences and credit history, which Sharp or a Sharp vendor checks against publicly available databases. The questions and answers will not be collected, used or stored on sharp.com.
At any time you may request to have information collected or submitted by you through sharp.com, exclusive of information in Sharp’s medical records, removed from Sharp HealthCare databases by sending us an email.
Collection and use of anonymous information
By using sharp.com, you consent to the collection and use of information as discussed below. Changes in this policy will be posted on this page so you will always know what information is being collected, how it is being used and under what circumstances it is being disclosed.
Sharp may use third-party software for targeted advertising. These third-party vendors may place cookies on your internet browser so that we can show you Sharp-related information in the future or to measure the effectiveness of advertising. If you wish to opt out of this practice, you may do so at https://youradchoices.com/ or at https://optout.networkadvertising.org/. Sharp does not place cookies on website pages that contain your personal health information.
We collect the following information about our website visitors on an aggregated basis:
- Date and time of visit
- IP address (numbers that identify your internet service provider or network)
- Name of the internet browser you used to visit sharp.com
- Pages visited and files downloaded on sharp.com
- Referring website (the last website you visited before coming to sharp.com)
- Search keywords used to find sharp.com
- Type of computer (PC or Mac) you used to visit sharp.com
This information is used to improve your experience on sharp.com. We regularly make changes and updates to sharp.com based on the collection of this information.
Communications from sharp.com
If you have chosen to communicate with us electronically, you may receive emails regarding billing, classes and events and other programs and services offered by Sharp. These communications do not relate to your clinical care or health care information, and HIPAA-protected data is not used in sending these messages. We will only send you information related to offerings at Sharp HealthCare. If you do not wish to receive promotional emails from Sharp, email us at info@sharp.com. You must be 18 years of age or older to communicate with us by email or to subscribe to our email newsletters.
Third–party links and content
Links to other websites are provided as a convenience for you. However, other websites are neither managed nor controlled by Sharp HealthCare. While we make reasonable efforts to include other websites that provide relevant information, neither Sharp HealthCare nor its employees, agents or contractors review, control or take responsibility for the content or operation of these websites.
Sharp may also provide links to other websites managed by vendors with whom Sharp has made arrangements for services that may help you manage your health, or to take and fill orders when you purchase items or materials.
Sharp does not receive payment or other remuneration from the owners or operators in exchange for providing these links. When practicable, Sharp will let you know when you are leaving the sharp.com website and linking to a third-party website. Please review the privacy statement and any terms of use of each third-party website to which you link from sharp.com. Links from sharp.com should not be construed as endorsements by Sharp of these sites, the information they contain, or any products or services they may provide.
General
The interpretation of these Terms and the resolution of any disputes arising under these Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. You agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the County of San Diego, California, and agree not to bring any action relating to these Terms of Use in any other court in any other jurisdiction. Sharp retains the right to commence or enforce any legal or equitable action in any jurisdiction or court as necessary to enforce these Terms of Use or to protect our or any third party's rights in the services, data, information or other content made available via sharp.com. You hereby waive any right to a jury trial. You also agree that we seek to enjoin any violation of these Terms without posting a bond or security, in addition to any other remedies available at law or equity, and that in any dispute between you and us where we prevail, we shall be entitled to recover our reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and other legal expenses. If any provision of these Terms is deemed invalid or unenforceable, then (a) that provision shall be construed to the extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable in such a manner as comes closest to preserving the intentions of such provision, and (b) the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. Our failure at any time to require performance by you of any provision of these Terms shall in no way affect our right to enforce such provision, nor shall the waiver of any breach by you of any provision herein constitute a waiver of any succeeding breach or the provision itself.
In no event shall we or any of our subsidiaries or affiliates, or our respective officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, partners and licensors be liable for any special, indirect, consequential, or exemplary damages, including, but not limited to, loss of profits or revenues, loss of use, loss of goodwill or loss of information, however caused and whether based on contract, warranty, negligence, strict liability, or any other theory of liability, even if we have been apprised of the possibility or likelihood of such damages. Notwithstanding anything in these terms to the contrary, our aggregate liability in respect of any claim or action you may bring against us or any of Sharp HealthCare or its affiliated entities, regardless of form of action or theory of liability, shall be limited to the greater of (1) one hundred United States dollars (us $100), and (2) the aggregate fees actually paid by you to us for the six (6) month period preceding the event first giving rise to such claim or action. You acknowledge that you may be waiving rights with respect to claims that are unknown or unsuspected. Accordingly, you agree to waive the benefit of any law, including, to the extent applicable, California Civil code § 1542 (or similar provisions of the laws of other states), which states,
A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.
In the case of a jurisdiction that restricts limitation clauses, this limitation shall be applied to the greatest extent permitted by law. Nothing in these terms of use is intended to limit any rights you may have that may not be lawfully terminated.
Access to sharp.com and the information and services therein is provided "as is" and "as available" and we expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement and title. Sharp makes no warranty that services will be uninterrupted, error-free or without breaches of security. You are solely responsible for any and all acts or omissions taken or made in reliance on your use of our services or the information in our services, including inaccurate or incomplete information. We expressly disclaim any liability with respect to any injury caused by any user, or any damage suffered by any user, as a result of the actions or inactions of any other user. If you are dissatisfied with our services or any content, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue accessing and using our services. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties, so in these jurisdictions the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to the user.
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