Ownership

The VascularWeb website is owned by the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and is provided in furtherance of the education, research, and advocacy missions of the SVS and in accordance with its non-profit and tax-exempt status. The website and VascularWeb trademark are owned by the SVS.

Objectives

The overall objective of VascularWeb is to provide medical professionals and patients with reliable, high quality, up-to-date information on vascular health for patients and health care professionals.  This will be accomplished by publishing information on medical care and diagnosis, basic science, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, providing a forum for educational opportunities, access to online journals and other web-based information, a forum for discussing scientific, practice and ethical issues, and an outlet for debate and creative expression.

However, although the SVS attempts to monitor and maintain the quality of information included on the site, the SVS makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy or completeness of any particular information included on VascularWeb, and the user assumes full responsibility for verifying such information before relying upon it.

Liability

The editors of VascularWeb and other SVS representatives make reasonable efforts to monitor and maintain the quality of the information included on the site.  However, because of the number and types of sources of material involved, the SVS and the editors cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any particular information included on VascularWeb.  Therefore, each user agrees that, except for damage or loss resulting solely from gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of an editor or other authorized representative of the SVS, the SVS and the editors are not liable for inaccuracies, errors, or omissions with respect to any material or the transmission or delivery of any material obtained from VascularWeb; any injury and/or damage to persons or property resulting from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein; or any damages incurred if material infects or contaminates a user's system or information.

Copyright

All materials posted on this site are subject to copyrights owned by the SVS and other individuals or entities. The SVS provides limited permission for the user of this site to reproduce, retransmit, and reprint for such user's own personal use (and for such personal use only) part or all of any document on this site with respect to which the SVS is the copyright owner, as long as the copyright notice contained in such document or portion thereof is included in such reproduction, retransmission or reprinting. All other reproduction, retransmission, and reprinting of all or part of any document found on this site is expressly prohibited, unless the SVS or the other copyright owner identified in the document has expressly granted its prior written consent. 

Each contributor accepts full responsibility for the content of any material submitted to VascularWeb. By accepting these Policies, Rules and Regulations, each contributor (1) represents and warrants that no material posted on VascularWeb by that user violates any right of any other party and (2) automatically grants to the SVS a perpetual, non-exclusive license to maintain on VascularWeb, and to otherwise reproduce and distribute, any material posted on VascularWeb by that user.

Patient information and Medical Disclaimer

The information contained in the VascularWeb is not intended, and should not be relied upon, as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. It is very important that individuals with specific medical problems or questions consult with their doctor or other health care professional.

VascularWeb Privacy Statement

General

The information contained on VascularWeb is provided as a public service for patients and medical professionals. The SVS is very aware of privacy concerns and will not solicit personal information from you as you tour the site, although you may provide that information voluntarily. If you do elect to provide personal information, in no case will the SVS sell, license or transmit that information outside of VascularWeb, its contractors, agents, or other authorized organizations for any reason, unless you authorize us to do so. 

Links to other sites

Links to other sites are available in order to provide you with additional useful information and services. However, the SVS is not responsible for the privacy policies or actions of other parties that control other sites. We encourage you to look for and review the privacy policies of any site you visit.

Use of personal information

The Society for Vascular Surgery and the societies affiliated with it include their membership data (name, business address, contact telephone number, email etc) on VascularWeb for the convenience of communication with other members and to assist patients to locate specialists in their region.  If a member wishes to change this information or delete it, he or she should contact the society in question directly.

 The SVS will not sell Information about a used to any outside organization for that organization's use in its marketing or solicitation without the user’s express consent.

There may be instances where VascularWeb will offer you the opportunity to participate in surveys and other data gathering for research and other purposes. If you choose to participate, your individual data and your personal information will not be released to the data gathering organization.  Grouped data will be analyzed and personal data will not be released.

Visit information

When you visit VascularWeb, the SVS automatically collects some basic information about your computer, including the following: your most recently visited URL, IP address (your computer's unique signature), operating system (e.g. Windows XP), and browser software (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape)

The information collected reflects the user population as a whole rather than focusing on individuals. It is used to better understand the people who visit VascularWeb. This information allows the SVS to identify the most popular pages on VascularWeb. Aggregated data of non-personally identifiable information may be disclosed to SVS Board to inform them of the number and categories of people who have visited VascularWeb.

Security 

The information that you share with VascularWeb is kept strictly confidential. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, the SVS has put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information collected online. All authorized persons are covered and must abide by a security and confidentially agreement. They are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. The SVS  take certain appropriate precautions to guard against inadvertent disclosures of personal information to unrelated third parties and will take immediate steps to stop such disclosures, if they occur, once they have come to the attention of the editors or SVS staff.

Advertising Material

Inclusion of advertising material on VascularWeb does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement by the SVS or the editors of the quality or value of any product or service or of any claim made for it, which shall be entirely the responsibility of the manufacturer of any advertised product or the provider of any advertised service.

Hyperlinks

VascularWeb may provide a link to other sites by allowing the user to leave this site to access third-party material. VascularWeb cannot alter, update, or control the content on a linked site. The fact that VascularWeb has provided a link to a site is not an endorsement, authorization, sponsorship, or affiliation with respect to such site, its owners, or its providers. There are inherent risks in relying upon using, or retrieving any information found on the internet, and VascularWeb urges you to make sure you understand these risks before relying upon, using, or retrieving any such information on a linked site.

Response to feedback

The SVS is anxious to receive constructive feedback.  However, the SVS is under no obligation to review and/or reply to feedback messages sent to the editors, or posted on VascularWeb by users, and the SVS assumes no responsibility or liability relating to any such messages or postings

Response to patient enquires

Under no circumstances will VascularWeb be used to respond to a patient’s request to provide professional advice. However, a list of vascular specialists who belong to the SVS and/or the affiliated vascular societies is provided for the convenience of patients who wish to locate a health care professional.

Content that is not allowed 

The following content is not appropriate and will be removed from VascularWeb promptly after the editors become aware of it: any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including, but not limited to, any material which encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or international law; solicitations; messages posted by users impersonating others; personal information which include social security numbers, employer references, and other confidential information; messages by individuals purporting to speak on behalf of VascularWeb or the SVS; messages containing confidential information; messages that offer unauthorized downloads of any copyrighted or private information; chain letters of any kind.

Use of "Cookie" file features

VascularWeb reserves the right to store information on a user's computer in the form of a "cookie" or similar file for purposes of modifying VascularWeb to reflect users' preferences.

Violations of these policies

The SVS reserves the right to seek all remedies available at law and in equity for violations of these policies, including the right to block access from a particular Internet address to VascularWeb.  

Change of policies

The SVS Board may modify these Policies, Rules and Regulations at any time by posting revisions on VascularWeb.  Only the posted statement of Policies, Rules and Regulations is effective with respect to then current use of the site.

INTERNAL SVS POLICIES RELATED TO MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF VASCULAR WEB

Appointment

The editors are appointed by the Board of the Society for Vascular Surgery. The editors may be removed at any time by the Board of the SVS, subject to any rights established by contract with the SVS.

Role of Editor-in-Chief

Subject to the approval of the SVS Board, the Editor-in-chief will be responsible for defining the strategic plan for VascularWeb, determining the content on the web site, overseeing the day-to-day management, preparing the budget with the Executive Director for submission to the Publications Committee and the SVS Board, appointing section editors, and ensuring that ethical and legal standards are met.

Role of editors

Editors who are responsible for individual sections of VascularWeb will provide short term and long term plans for the content of their section, recruit appropriate authors who will provide content in a timely fashion, receive content that is independently submitted, review content for accuracy and appropriateness.

 Editorial representatives from each of the fully-affiliated societies or organizations will be responsible for ensuring that their sites are kept current.

Editorial advisory board

Subject to the approval of the SVS Board, the Editor-in-Chief will appoint an advisory group with representation from the section editors, SVS membership, affiliated societies and/or industry.  This group will advise on changes in the mission or focus of VascularWeb, feedback on the quality of the individual sections, organization and planning, and other issues.

Editors’ decisions

All articles posted on VascularWeb, except those in the Product Forum and the Job and Resume sections undergo editorial review.  The editors reserve the right to decline to accept articles and/or may remove any postings.

Editors’ independence and responsibilities

The editors of VascularWeb should be allowed to maintain their independence in publishing content on the web site; however, they have responsibilities to their contributors, readers, owners of the web, medical profession and society to be fair and ethical, exhibit integrity, propriety and work within the legal framework.

Compliance with Legal Requirements

The SVS will provide the Editor-in-Chief, other editors and employees of VascularWeb with support to assist their compliance with copyright, legal, regulatory, and privacy issues and regulations in carrying out their responsibilities.

Roles of Publications Committee

Fiscal

The SVS Publications Committee is responsible for maintaining VascularWeb in a strong fiscal state by advising on the business affairs and operational issues of VascularWeb, including advising on the budget, contractual issues, seeking consultations as necessary, and reporting to the SVS Board and Executive Director.

Oversight

The Publications Committee will act as an oversight committee to enhance the quality of VascularWeb and to resolve potential disagreements between or among users, contributors, SVS staff, or the editors. Specifically, the Publications Committee must balance two competing responsibilities. It must review the content of VascularWeb, the performance of VascularWeb, and the work of the editors, including their professional conduct.  Also, it protects the editors from undue influence from advertisers or other outside parties.

Industry input

By providing information on pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the Produce Forum and information on industry sponsored educational opportunities, VascularWeb will provide opportunities for industry to provide members of the SVS and other interested parties with potentially valuable information. Product information and educational programs provided through the Product Forum on VascularWeb come directly from industry participants.  The inclusion of such information and programs does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement by the SVS or the editors of the quality or value of any product or service or of any claim made for it.

Conflict of interest

Contributors to VascularWeb are required to disclose any conflict of interest so that users can be sure that the contributors are not endorsing commercial products or attempting to influence content provided on VascularWeb for real or perceived personal gain.

Revision date: December 6, 2003