Last updated: March 20, 2019
Please read these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”, “Terms and Conditions”) carefully before using the https://simulconsult.com website (the “Service”) operated by SimulConsult, Inc. (“us”, “we”, or “our”). These Limitations and Terms of Use (the “Agreement”) describe the terms under which SimulConsult, Inc. (“SimulConsult”) permits you (the “User”) to use proprietary software and its associated database (the “Software”) of SimulConsult.
Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned upon your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who wish to access or use the Service.
By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms then you do not have permission to access the Service.
Permission to Use the Software
Use of the Software is only permitted by medical professionals, defined as a medical doctor, nurse practitioner, genetic counselor, bioinformaticist, medical librarian, laboratory technician, or research and development scientists developing clinical laboratory processes, or a trainee operating under the supervision of one of these persons (“Qualified Users”). Qualified Users must not disclose their password to others, even to other medical professionals, must guard their password with care and secrecy and must take reasonable precautions to prevent the use of the Software by unauthorized persons. Registrations are reviewed and cancelled if they appear improper. SimulConsult may terminate your right to use the Software at any time if it has reason to believe that you are in breach of, or are likely to violate, any of these terms and conditions.
Limitations of the Software
The Software should be thought of as a computerized textbook. As with other tools such as textbooks or literature searches, the Software cannot replace the judgment, perspective and selectivity of medical professionals. The Software and the databases contained therein each have limitations that can result in incorrect results. Many of these limitations are detailed below. Being familiar with the limitations can reduce the likelihood of getting incorrect results. However, it remains the responsibility of the clinician to make the correct diagnosis, and neither SimulConsult nor the authors, developers or the distributors of the Software are liable for any incorrect conclusions reached using the Software or data or any damage, loss or injury that result from incorrect conclusions. The responsibility for a final diagnosis and test recommendation is always that of the medical professional, who may use the Software as one of multiple resources in arriving at those conclusions.
Software as a Supplemental Tool
The Software has a number of uses, but it is important to realize that it also has real limitations and can produce incorrect results. The purpose of the Software is to make clinicians more effective, but it does not replace the clinician and it does not provide advice that can be considered reliable on its own. The Software must not be used on “autopilot;” and it is the responsibility of the clinician to make the correct diagnosis, to independently verify the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information provided, and to realize that the Software can provide incorrect results. The Software supplements the skills of a clinician but does not in any sense “replace” the clinician. Nevertheless, it can add value by: (i) manipulating the information to suggest diagnoses to consider; (ii) suggesting additional findings to check, including diagnostic tests; (iii) documenting medical information using standardized terms; and (iv) accessing resources such as references in the literature and patient support groups. Due to the advanced capabilities of the Software and the potential for harm from misuse, only Qualified Users may use the Software.
No Guarantees Regarding Information
As noted above, the information in the Software is not guaranteed to be complete; the databases will have both omissions and inaccuracies. SimulConsult does not guarantee to have included every diagnosis ever reported in the literature. Also, although the Software includes provisions for referencing all information to samples from the literature from the best references, many of the frequencies and incidences in the database are estimated because good information does not exist or we have not yet located it. Another limitation arises from the fact that only several diagnostic areas are covered in the module. For example, if a patient has a parasite, despite the detailed coverage of genetics, the diagnosis of a parasite is outside the range normally included. Although SimulConsult will include some diagnoses outside the immediate area of specialty, this will never be done fully and it is the responsibility of the clinician to be the final authority on the diagnostic issues. Furthermore, the borders of a specialty are drawn differently in different regions of the world and the boundaries a Qualified User may use may not correspond to those used by the contributors to any particular module. SimulConsult encourages expert clinicians who are using the Software to apply to be curators who can submit new information as well as corrections using the database part of the Software. Submissions are transmitted automatically over the Internet but incorporated into the disseminated database only if approved by editors. The Software labels information with the author, editor and reference. By correcting or upgrading information, curators will help make the database a more useful resource, and the curator will be credited with the submission.
Errors of the probabilistic model
Another reason why the Software may produce inaccurate results is that the probabilistic model used to rank diseases and findings is only an approximation of reality. This approximation is least accurate when the patient has two or more diagnoses, or when two or more findings convey similar information. When a patient has two or more diagnoses the Software may not find a single disease profile that matches the patient description. Therefore, this Software is most useful in situations in which the patient has a single diagnosis. It is the responsibility of the clinician to determine when more complicated circumstances exist. When two or more findings that convey similar information are specified in the patient description, the program may over-weight the importance of the findings. For example, if a patient is specified as having both macrocephaly and hydrocephalus, this will specify information that overlaps in some ways. It is the responsibility of the clinician to avoid specifying two pieces of information that overlap substantially.
Program or hardware errors
It is possible that the Software may contain errors that result in incorrect output. SimulConsult works hard to avoid, find and fix such errors, but it is important that Qualified Users give SimulConsult prompt feedback on any bugs, errors or issues; please report them by contacting SimulConsult and describing how to reproduce the problem and describing the operating system, browser type and browser version being used. Qualified Users should NOT include any identifiable patient-specific information when providing a bug report to SimulConsult. The submission of bug reports is particularly important in cases in which the Software appears to give erroneous conclusions. It is also possible that errors will occur due to errors in a Qualifier User’s computer hardware, such as errors in the chips that run the Software.
Third Party Links
The Software may contain links to third party web sites. These links are provided for User’s convenience and reference only. SimulConsult does not control these sites and is not responsible for their contents. SimulConsult’s inclusion of these links does not imply any association with these sites’ operations or any endorsement or approval of the services, merchandise, materials or contents available from or on these sites. User’s use of these third-party web sites shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable third-party sites.
You acknowledge and agree that SimulConsult, Inc. shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such third party web sites or services.
We strongly advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that you visit.
Additional Terms for Users of the Genome-Phenome Software and Variant file format
Using the Software will require reading of files containing genomic data; these files must be in a format specified by SimulConsult. The User is responsible for ensuring that the terms uses in the variant table are ones supported by the software and that the data is in the required format.
Subscriptions
Some parts of the Service are billed on a subscription basis (“Subscription(s)”). You will be billed in advance on a recurring and periodic basis (“Billing Cycle”). Billing cycles are set on an annual or multi-year basis.
At the end of each Billing Cycle, your Subscription will automatically renew under the exact same conditions unless you cancel it or SimulConsult, Inc. cancels it. You may cancel your Subscription renewal either through your online account management page or by contacting SimulConsult, Inc. customer support team.
A valid payment method, including credit card, is required to process the payment for your Subscription. You shall provide SimulConsult, Inc. with accurate and complete billing information including full name, address, state, zip code, telephone number, and a valid payment method information. By submitting such payment information, you automatically authorize SimulConsult, Inc. to charge all Subscription fees incurred through your account to any such payment instruments.
Should automatic billing fail to occur for any reason, SimulConsult, Inc. will issue an electronic invoice indicating that you must proceed manually, within a certain deadline date, with the full payment corresponding to the billing period as indicated on the invoice.
Free Trial
SimulConsult, Inc. may, at its sole discretion, offer a Subscription with a free trial for a limited period of time (“Free Trial”).
You may be required to enter your billing information in order to sign up for the Free Trial.
If you do enter your billing information when signing up for the Free Trial, you will not be charged by SimulConsult, Inc. until the Free Trial has expired. On the last day of the Free Trial period, unless you cancelled your Subscription, you will be automatically charged the applicable Subscription fees for the type of Subscription you have selected.
At any time and without notice, SimulConsult, Inc. reserves the right to (i) modify the terms and conditions of the Free Trial offer, or (ii) cancel such Free Trial offer.
Fee Changes
SimulConsult, Inc., in its sole discretion and at any time, may modify the Subscription fees for the Subscriptions. Any Subscription fee change will become effective at the end of the then-current Billing Cycle.
SimulConsult, Inc. will provide you with a reasonable prior notice of any change in Subscription fees to give you an opportunity to terminate your Subscription before such change becomes effective.
Your continued use of the Service after the Subscription fee change comes into effect constitutes your agreement to pay the modified Subscription fee amount.
Termination
We may terminate or suspend your account and bar access to the Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, under our sole discretion, for any reason whatsoever and without limitation, including but not limited to a breach of the Terms.
If you wish to terminate your account, you may discontinue using the Service and log in to your account to cancel renewals.
All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.
Refunds
Except when required by law, paid Subscription fees are non-refundable.
Accounts
When you create an account with us, you guarantee that you are above the age of 18, and that the information you provide us is accurate, complete, and current at all times. Inaccurate, incomplete, or obsolete information may result in the immediate termination of your account on the Service.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, including but not limited to the restriction of access to your computer and/or account. You agree to accept responsibility for any and all activities or actions that occur under your account and/or password, whether your password is with our Service or a third-party service. You must notify us immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account.
You may not use as a username the name of another person or entity or that is not lawfully available for use, a name or trademark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity other than you, without appropriate authorization. You may not use as a username any name that is offensive, vulgar or obscene.
Intellectual Property
SimulConsult and any of its third-party licensors own all intellectual property rights in the Software, including the database, and including, without limitation, any copyrights or trade secrets. The Service is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of SimulConsult, Inc. Some users, referred to as curators (i.e., contributing authors and editors), have authorization to submit or edit material in the database. Material that curators submit to the database becomes part of the database and property of SimulConsult, who may use the submissions however it chooses. Authorship credit for curators is tabulated and the details of royalties or other compensation for such submissions will be specified in a separate agreement.
All Users agree not to perform or facilitate reverse engineering or the unauthorized use or disclosure of the Software, or otherwise attempt to access or discover the source code of the Software. The user agrees not to use the collection of information in the database to produce electronic diagnostic aids or printed diagnostic aids except with permission from SimulConsult. No license or other right in or to any intellectual property of SimulConsult is granted by this Agreement, and no such license or right may be implied. The Service is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of SimulConsult, Inc. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of SimulConsult, Inc.
Copyright Policy
We respect the intellectual property rights of others. It is our policy to respond to any claim that Content posted on the Service infringes on the copyright or other intellectual property rights (“Infringement”) of any person or entity.
If you are a copyright owner, or authorized on behalf of one, and you believe that the copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please submit your claim by contacting SimulConsult, including the text “Copyright Infringement” and include in your claim a detailed description of the alleged Infringement as detailed below, under “DMCA Notice and Procedure for Copyright Infringement Claims”.
You may be held accountable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) for misrepresentation or bad-faith claims on the infringement of any Content found on and/or through the Service on your copyright.
DMCA Notice and Procedure for Copyright Infringement Claims
You may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by providing our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail):
- an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright’s interest;
- a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, including the URL (i.e., web page address) of the location where the copyrighted work exists or a copy of the copyrighted work;
- identification of the URL or other specific location on the Service where the material that you claim is infringing is located;
- your address, telephone number, and email address;
- a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
- a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.
Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless SimulConsult, Inc. and its licensee and licensors, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees), resulting from or arising out of a) your use and access of the Service, by you or any person using your account and password, or b) a breach of these Terms.
Updates to the Software
SimulConsult makes changes to the software and databases on a regular basis, as reflected in time stamps shown with the tool. Your continued use of the Software after such notice constitutes acceptance of these modifications.
Updates to Disclaimers
SimulConsult reserves the right to make changes to these disclaimers, terms and conditions at any time by any reasonable form of notice (including posting or emailing notices of change). Your continued use of the Software after such notice constitutes acceptance of these modifications.
Limitation of Liability
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED AS-IS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. SIMULCONSULT HEREBY DISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON- INFRINGEMENT. IN NO CASE SHALL SIMULCONSULT OR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DISTRIBUTING THE SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES DUE TO LOSS OF DATA, INCOME OR PROFIT; CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES; RELIANCE ON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM SIMULCONSULT OR A LINKED SITE; ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR INTERRUPTIONS; DELETION OF FILES; DEFECTS, DELAYS IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION OF THE SOFTWARE, OR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE; ANY TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAILURE; OR ANY THEFT, DESTRUCTION, OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO SIMULCONSULT’S RECORDS, PROGRAMS OR SERVICES. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE LIABILITY OF SIMULCONSULT OR ANY OF ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS OR EMPLOYEES FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT OR CUSTOMER’S USE OF THE SOFTWARE EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNTS ACTUALLY RECEIVED BY SIMULCONSULT FROM CUSTOMER. THIS COMPREHENSIVE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY APPLIES TO ALL MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIMS ARISING IN CASES WHERE THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL USED THE SOFTWARE.
In no event shall SimulConsult, Inc., nor its directors, employees, partners, agents, suppliers, or affiliates, be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the Service; (ii) any conduct or content of any third party on the Service; (iii) any content obtained from the Service; and (iv) unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such damage, and even if a remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.
Disclaimer
Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. The Service is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance.
SimulConsult, Inc. its subsidiaries, affiliates, and its licensors do not warrant that a) the Service will function uninterrupted, secure or available at any particular time or location; b) any errors or defects will be corrected; c) the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components; or d) the results of using the Service will meet your requirements.
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material we will provide at least 30 days notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.
By continuing to access or use our Service after any revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, you are no longer authorized to use the Service.
Exclusions
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the limitations above may not apply to you.
Feedback to SimulConsult
Users are encouraged to provide feedback about the usefulness of the Software, as well as any recommended changes or additions. The User waives ownership rights to improvements to the Software or other intellectual property created by SimulConsult as a result of suggestions made. Qualified users may suggest improvements to the databases included within the Software, but waive any and all ownership rights in any corrections or upgrades submitted to any database included within the Software.
Compliance
User agrees to comply with any and all laws, rules, regulations, licensing requirements or standards that are now or hereafter promulgated by any local, state, and federal governmental authority/agency or accrediting/administrative body that governs its use of the Software, including, without limitation, any applicable United States export control laws and HIPAA.
Governing Law and Forum
The validity, construction and enforcement of this Agreement shall be determined in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. User consents to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal and state courts located in Boston, Massachusetts for any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement.
Entire Agreement; Severability
This Agreement, together with any applicable invoices and the terms set forth therein, is the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the licensing and use of the Software. If any court of competent jurisdiction renders any provision of this Agreement invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us.