Terms and Conditions

Effective as of: 02/02/2022
Please review the Terms and Conditions below. By clicking on "I accept," you are agreeing to these terms.
	These terms and conditions (“Terms”) are a contract between users (“you”) and The Children’s Hospital Corporation, doing business as Boston Children’s Hospital (“BCH,” “we” or “us”), and apply to the MyChildren’s Portal, located as a website at https://apps.childrenshospital.org/mychildrens, which is also available as a mobile application, and to any other websites owned and operated by us that link back to these Terms (collectively, the “Services”). The Services allow BCH patients, their families, and their designees to access portions of their or their child’s BCH electronic medical record and billing records, as well as to communicate with their providers and clinical administrators.
	
	Please read and review these Terms carefully before accessing or using the Services. By accessing or otherwise using the Services, you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Services. 
	
	Using the Services
	Medical care providers are required to maintain documentation of their patients’ medical histories, current conditions, treatment plans and all treatments given, including the results of all tests, procedures, and therapies. The Services enable patients and their families to have web- or mobile-based access to portions of their electronic medical record and allow electronic messaging with BCH medical care providers and staff. Messages you send or receive through the Services may be made part of your or your child’s permanent medical record at our discretion. Once made a part of your medical record, those messages will be accessible to current and future BCH staff members involved in your or your child's care.
	
	We provide the Services to make it easier for you to access important medical records and to facilitate communications between you and BCH. The Services are offered for information purposes only and are not meant as a substitute for visiting a doctor or seeking medical care. You acknowledge that the Services are not intended to provide medical care or act as a replacement for in-person visits with a doctor.
	
	The Services allow you to send messages to us regarding your or your child’s medical condition, but you understand and agree that you will not use the Services to send any messages requiring urgent attention.  It may take up to 3 business days for us to respond to messages received through the Services. If you need a response in less than 3 business days, you agree to contact your medical care provider’s office directly by phone or, for urgent matters, to seek assistance at an emergency room and, if necessary, dial 9-1-1. For all medical emergencies, immediately dial 9-1-1.  
	
	If you choose, you may discontinue your use of the Services at any time by contacting us through the “Contact Us” section or the following website: https://apps.childrenshospital.org/mychildrens/help. 
	
	Modification of the Agreement and the Services
	We may modify these Terms at any time. Revised Terms will apply to your access or use of the Services from the date the revised Terms are posted on the following website: https://apps.childrenshospital.org/mychildrens/accounts/termsAndConditions.html. Please check this page regularly to ensure that you are familiar with the current version of the Terms. By your continued use of the Services after publication of revised Terms, you accept and agree to the terms and conditions of the revised Terms.  
	
	We reserve the right to make additions, deletion or changes to the Services. We may add or remove features or functionalities and we may suspend or stop the Services altogether at our sole discretion. We may take any of these actions at any time, and when we do, we may not provide you with any notice beforehand. We reserve the right in the future to charge a fee for the use of the Services. You will be notified of any such change and asked to re-apply if you agree to the fee and wish to continue using the Services.
	
	Acceptable Use and Restrictions on Use
	You acknowledge and agree that the Services are offered as a convenience to BCH patients and their families. You understand that the Services provide you with online access to portions of your or your child’s BCH electronic medical record and that you are solely responsible for any content that you intentionally or unintentionally communicate to others. You understand that not all of your BCH medical record may be accessible through the Services. You also understand that any information posted in your record on the Services will be viewable through the regular BCH electronic medical record system, in accordance with the privacy and use policies that govern access to BCH medical records.
	
	BCH grants a limited license to you to make personal use only of the Services in accordance with these Terms. This license expressly excludes, without limitation, your making any reproduction, duplication, sale, resale or other commercial use of the Services, making any derivative of all or any part of the Services, your collection and/or use of user email addresses or other user information, including, without limitation, health information or your engaging in any data extraction or data mining whatsoever. 
	
	You agree only to use the Services for the purposes for which they have been designed. You will comply with these Terms and all applicable local, state, national and international laws, rules and regulations and will not encourage or promote any activity that violates these Terms. 
	
	Additional Restrictions
	By accessing or otherwise using the Services, you agree that you will not under any circumstances:
	•	use the Services for any unlawful purpose or for the promotion of illegal activities;
	•	attempt to interfere in any way with the Services’ networks or network security or attempt to use the Services to gain unauthorized access to any other computer system or other user’s account;
	•	interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper functioning of the Services;
	•	make any automated use of the Services, or take any action that we deem to impose or to potentially impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on your servers or network infrastructure; 
	•	bypass any measures we take to restrict access to the Services or use any software, technology or device to scrape, spider or crawl the Services or harvest or manipulate data;
	•	use another user’s account without permission;
	•	post or link to any offensive material. 
	
	If we determine that you have violated any of the above restrictions or any other term or condition of these Terms, and/or abused the use of the Services, we reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to discontinue your use of the Services. You will be notified if your account is discontinued.
	
	Proprietary Rights
	The Services are the exclusive property of and owned by BCH. The Services contain content including, but not limited to, text, photographs, graphics, icon buttons, images, artwork, names, logos, trademarks, service marks and data in any form including the compilation thereof, that is protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark and other intellectual property law and conventions (“Content”). The Content includes both Content owned or controlled by BCH Boston and Content owned and controlled by third parties and licensed to BCH. Except as permitted under these Terms, you agree not to sell, license, copy, reproduce, modify, republish, transmit, edit, adapt, create derivative works from, distribute or otherwise make unauthorized use of any of the Content in whole or in part by any means without our express written consent. You agree not to reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to extract or discover the source code of the Services or any part thereof, including the Content, except and only to the extent such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding this limitation.  
	
	Privacy Notice
	Your privacy is important to us. You can learn how we handle your information when you use the Services by reading our Privacy Notice located at https://apps.childrenshospital.org/mychildrens/accounts/privacyPolicy.html. We encourage you to become familiar with the Privacy Notice, because, by using the Services, you consent to the collection, use, disclosure and other handling of information consistent with that policy.
	
	Research
	Among other ways we may use or share your information as described in the Privacy Notice, we may use or share your information to plan a research project and notify you about research opportunities that might interest you.  We may include in the Services information about research projects that we think you may be interested in knowing about. 
	
	User Information
	In these Terms, your “User Information” means any material that you submit to us through your use of the Services for whatever purpose. You agree only to provide User Information that is accurate and you agree to keep your User Information current. You own your User Information and you hereby grant, and agree to grant, BCH an unrestricted, worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, perpetual, fully-paid, royalty-free, transferrable license to access, view, display, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, store, host, cache, maintain, modify, distribute and otherwise use and exploit your User Information in any manner, provided that it is in accordance with the Privacy Notice and applicable law, including the regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). You also grant BCH the right to sub-license these rights through multiple tiers, and the right to bring an action for infringement of these rights. 
	
	We use your email address to notify you when there is a new message for you on the Services. You agree that at all times you will keep your email address current by updating your account information anytime there is a change in your email account. 
	
	Accounts, Passwords and Security
	The Services require that you set up an account, including setting up a user ID and password. You acknowledge that you are entirely responsible for remembering your user ID and password, maintaining the confidentiality of the information you hold for your account, including you password, and for any and all activity that occurs under you account. You agree that you will not share your password with anyone. If you feel that your security has been compromised, you can change your password at any time by using the provided online tool that allows you to do so. You agree to notify BCH immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or password, or any other breach of security of which you become aware. 
	
	Third Party Content 
	The Services may contain links to websites or other content owned or operated by third parties (the “Third Party Content”). You acknowledge that the Third Party Content is provided for your convenience only. We do not control Third Party Content and we are not responsible for the content or performance of those sites. The inclusion of Third Party Content does not imply any endorsement of such Third Party Content or any association with the parties that own or operate the Third Party Content. You acknowledge that use of Third Party Content is strictly at your own risk including, but not limited to, any risks associated with destructive viruses, and that BCH makes no warranties, express, statutory or implied, with respect to such Third Party Content. These Terms do not govern your use of any Third Party Content and you are responsible for viewing and abiding by the terms and conditions of use and the privacy statements of the Third Party Content. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we will not be liable for any Third Party Content linked to through the Services, including, but not limited to, any inaccuracies, errors or omission in any content, any intellectual property infringement with relation to the Third Party Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Third Party Content linked in or otherwise made available via the Services. 
	
	Notice of Copyright Infringement
	The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material posted on Internet sites infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you believe in good faith that items, information or other materials appearing on the Services infringes your copyright, please send us a notice containing the following information:
	•	A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
	•	Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works.
	•	Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activities and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information sufficient to permit us to locate the material.
	•	Contact information for the notifying party, including name, address, telephone number, and email address.
	•	A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
	•	A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
	•	Please submit this notice to BCH at public.affairs@childrens.harvard.edu. 
	
	Disclaimers
	TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES, ACCESS TO THE SERVICES, AND ALL RELATED CONTENT, SERVICES AND INFORMATION ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR ANY GUARANTY OR ASSURANCE THE SERVICES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR USE OR THAT ALL INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, FEATURES, FUNCTIONS OR OPERATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE OR PERFORM AS DESCRIBED.  BCH DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY PART OF THE SERVICES WILL OPERATE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE RISK OF ANY UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OR INTENTIONAL INTRUSION, OR OF ANY DELAY, FAILURE, INTERRUPTION OR CORRUPTION OF DATA OR OTHER INFORMATION TRANSMITTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THE SERVICES. 
	BCH DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE, APPS, INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS OR OTHER SERVICES INCLUDED ON OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH THE SERVICES OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS SENT FROM THE SERVICES ARE FREE OF VIRUSES, MALICIOUS CODE OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. BCH WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICES, OR FROM ANY INFORMATION CONTENT, MATERIALS, APPS, PRODUCTS OR OTHER SERVICES INCLUDED ON OR OTHERISE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH THE SERVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.
	TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BCH EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY, CONTENT, AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, PRIVACY OR SECURITY PRACTICES OR INFORMATION FOUND ON THIRD PARTY SITES OR APPS THAT LINK TO OR FROM THE SERVICES. BCH CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MATERIAL CONTAINED ON THIRD PARTY APPS OR SITES. Any questions or complaints or claims related to any product or service should be directed to the appropriate third party.
	Without limiting the foregoing, we are not responsible or liable for the accuracy, usefulness, timeliness or availability of any information transmitted or made available via the Services, and are not responsible or liable for any error or omissions in that information.   You understand, acknowledge and agree that you are assuming the entire risk as to the quality, accuracy, performance, timeliness, adequacy, completeness, correctness, authenticity, security and validity of any and all content, features and functions of the Services.   
	
	Limitation of Liability
	YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL BCH, ITS SUPPLIERS OR LICENSORS, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, TRUSTEES, PARENT COMPANIES, SUBSIDIARIES OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES OR LOST PROFITS, WHETHER FORESEEABLE OR UNFORESEEABLE, BASED ON CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, DAMAGE, OR THEFT OF YOUR DATA, CLAIMS FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, CLAIMS FOR LOSS OF DATA, USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE SERVICE, STOPPAGE OF OTHER WORK OR DAMAGE CAUSED TO EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMS FROM ANY VIRUS OR OTHER HARMFUL APPLICATION), ARISING OUT OF BREACH OR FAILURE OF EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, BREACH OF CONTRACT, MISREPRESENTATION, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY IN TORT OR OTHERWISE.  IN THE EVENT OF ANY PROBLEM WITH THE SERVICES, YOU AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO CEASE USING THE SERVICES.  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL BCH BE LIABLE IN ANY WAY FOR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS, ANY INFRINGEMENT OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR OTHER RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF, OR RELATED TO, THE USE OF THE SERVICES.  THE LIMITATIONS, EXCLUSIONS AND DISCLAIMERS SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION WILL NOT APPLY ONLY IF AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THE LAW OR A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION REQUIRES LIABILITY UNDER APPLICABLE LAW BEYOND AND DESPITE THESE LIMITATIONS, EXCLUSIONS AND DISCLAIMERS.
	
	Indemnity
	To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless BCH, its managing members, licensors, officers, directors, employees, agents, trustees, subsidiaries, parent companies and affiliates (the “Indemnitees”) from and against all third party complaints, charges, claims, losses, expenses, damages, costs, liabilities and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees) due to, arising out of, or relating in any way to: (a) your access to or use of the Services; (b) material you have posted as part of the Services; and (c) your breach of these Terms, in each case unless caused by such Indemnitee’s misrepresentation, gross negligence, willful misconduct or fraud.
	
	Choice of Law and Venue
	These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Any action against BCH must be brought in Boston, Massachusetts. You agree that these Terms are entered into between you and BCH in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America and are performed within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You agree that these Terms and any and all disputes, claims and controversies arising out of or relating to your use of the Services shall be governed and construed exclusively in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, exclusive of its choice of law or conflict of laws provisions. In any claim or action by you directly or indirectly arising under these Terms or related to the Services, you irrevocably agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the state or federal courts located in or serving Boston, Massachusetts. You waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such court. Use of the Services is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to these Terms.
	
	Severability 
	If a portion of these Terms is determined to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, it will not affect the enforceability of the remaining provisions and the remaining provisions will continue in effect.  If any unlawful and/or unenforceable provision would be lawful or enforceable if part of it were deleted, that part will be deemed to be deleted, and the rest of the provision will continue in effect.
	
	Termination
	These Terms are effective unless and until terminated by either you or BCH.  You may terminate these Terms at any time, provided that you discontinue any further use of the Services.  We also may terminate these Terms, in our sole discretion, at any time and may do so immediately and without notice, and accordingly deny you access to the Services.
	
	Final Terms
	These Terms, together with the Privacy Notice, constitute the entire agreement between you and BCH in relation to your use of the Services.
	
	Miscellaneous
	Headings used in these Terms are for reference purposes only and in no way define or limit the scope of the section. The following provisions survive the expiration or termination of these Terms: Proprietary Rights; User Information; Third Party Content; Limitation of Liability; Indemnity; Choice of Law and Venue; and Miscellaneous.	
	
	How to Contact Us
	If you have any questions or comments about these Terms, you may contact us in the following ways: 
	
	Mailing Address: 
	Boston Children’s Hospital
	300 Longwood Avenue
	Boston, MA 02115
		
	Online:
	Please visit https://apps.childrenshospital.org/mychildrens/help and fill out the "Contact Us" form at the bottom of the page.
	
	
	
	
	
	Virtual Visit Terms and Conditions 
	
	To participate in a Virtual Visit you must first consent to the terms below:
	
	Overview:
	To better serve the needs of our patients, some health care services are now available by two-way, live interactive communication technology (which we will refer to here as “telemedicine virtual visit), which may assist in the evaluation and treatment of health-related issues. Referred to as “telemedicine” or “telehealth” this means that you may be evaluated and treated by a Boston Children’s Hospital (“BCH”) Provider by participating in the Service.
	
	Terms of Use
	1.	Benefits of Using the Service
	a.	Allows my Provider to use live, interactive communication technology to communicate directly with me wherever I have access to this technology;
	b.	Enhances my ability to consult with my Provider and receive medical advice in a time-efficient, convenient manner.
	
	2.	Potential Risks of Using the Service
	As with any medical interaction, there are potential risks associated with the use of virtual visits. BCH believes the likelihood of these risks happening is very low. These risks may include, without limitation, the following:
	a. 	A poor connection may reduce my Provider’s ability to perform a proper examination, and may affect the assessment or diagnosis of my condition and recommended treatment;
	b.	My Provider will be limited to the information or images I provide him/her, which may reduce my Provider’s ability to make an accurate diagnosis;
	c.	Delays in evaluation, consultation or treatment may occur due to problems with technology;
	d.	Security protocols could fail, causing a breach of privacy of personal health information.
	  
	3.	Alternatives to Using the Service
	I may choose to have in-person consultations with my Provider instead of using this technology.
	
	4.	Notice of Privacy Practices
	The laws protecting privacy and the confidentiality of medical information also apply to virtual visits. You may review the Boston Children’s Hospital Notice of Privacy Practices by clicking here: https://www.childrenshospital.org/legal/notice-of-privacy-practices.  Note that by accepting these Terms of Use you are also acknowledging receipt of Boston Children’s Hospital’s Telemedicine Virtual Visit Service’s (“virtual visit”) Notice of Privacy Practices.
	
	5.	Privacy and Security
	The Service upholds patient privacy and confidentiality laws with respect to protected health information as outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"). Subject to HIPAA regulations, the Service will obtain your consent prior to sharing any patient-identifiable information to a third party for purposes other than treatment, payment or health care operations.  
	•	I understand that use of the Service requires the electronic exchange of my medical information from one place to another. I understand that I will access the Service to transmit my health information and consult with my Provider at BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL.
	a.	I understand that secure transmission of my information cannot be guaranteed and that electronic exchanges may experience errors, delays, disruptions or distortions. However, I understand that BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL has taken precautions to minimize these occurrences, and will protect the security of the information and keep it confidential in accordance with law.
	b.	I understand that video, audio or photo recordings of my virtual visit services may be made, stored or archived and may later be used for educational quality review. They will not, however, become part of my medical record. I understand any such educational quality review use will be made in accordance with applicable patient confidentiality requirements and that retention of the recordings will be subject to applicable deletion and destruction policies.
	
	6.	I have read this document carefully, and understand the risks and benefits of the virtual visit consultation and have had my questions regarding the procedure explained and I hereby consent to participate in a virtual visit under the terms described herein.
	
	Patient Authorization
	I hereby authorize a BCH Provider, to use virtual visit services for direct consultation with me via interactive communication technology in order to assist my Provider in making decisions about my care.
	•	I understand that a limited physical examination will take place during the videoconference and that I have the right to ask my healthcare Provider to discontinue the conference at any time.
	•	I understand that some parts of the examination involving physical tests may require a referral to other Providers near my geographic location.
	•	I understand that my Provider may bill for his/her professional services and for any additional fees in connection with the consultation services described above.
	•	I understand that, regardless of any virtual visit consultation services I may receive, my condition may require a referral to the clinic or specialist for further evaluation and treatment.
	•	I understand that I may revoke my consent to participate in the Service at any time by telling my Provider verbally or in in writing. As long as this consent is in effect, my provider may provide health care services to me via the Service without the need for me to sign another consent form.