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Home > About SVS > Policies

VascularWeb.org® Policies, Rules and Regulations

The use of VascularWeb.org constitutes agreement to comply with these Policies, Rules and Regulations.

EXTERNAL POLICIES, RULES AND REGULATIONS

Ownership

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

Objectives

There are two objectives of VascularWeb.org: 1.) provide medical professionals, patients and the media with reliable, high-quality, up-to-date information on vascular health topics; and 2.) serve as an SVS electronic portal for members with valuable vascular specialty information, society information, and the ability to complete transactions including dues payments, make contributions, etc. Information on VascularWeb.org is reliable, high-quality and current.

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

Liability

SVS makes 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, SVS cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any particular information included on VascularWeb.org. Therefore, each user agrees that, except for damage or loss resulting solely from gross negligence or willful misconduct on the part of authorized representative of SVS, SVS is not liable for inaccuracies, errors, or omissions with respect to any material or the transmission or delivery of any material obtained from VascularWeb.org; 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 SVS and other individuals or entities. 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 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 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.org. By accepting these Policies, Rules and Regulations, each contributor: 1.) represents and warrants that no material posted on VascularWeb.org by that user violates any right of any other party; and 2.) automatically grants to SVS a perpetual, non-exclusive license to maintain on VascularWeb.org, and to otherwise reproduce and distribute, any material posted on VascularWeb.org by that user.

Patient Information and Medical Disclaimer

The information contained on VascularWeb.org 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.org Privacy Statement

General

The information contained on VascularWeb.org is provided as a public service for patients and medical professionals. 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 SVS sell, license, or transmit that information outside of VascularWeb.org, 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, 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

SVS will not sell information 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.org 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.org, 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.org. This information allows SVS to identify the most popular pages on VascularWeb.org. Aggregated data of non-personally identifiable information may be disclosed to the SVS Board to inform them of the number and categories of people who have visited VascularWeb.org.

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, 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. SVS takes 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 SVS staff.

Advertising Material

Inclusion of advertising material on VascularWeb.org does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement by SVS 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.

Links

VascularWeb.org may provide a link to other sites by allowing the user to leave this site to access third-party material. VascularWeb.org cannot alter, update, or control the content on a linked site. The fact that VascularWeb.org 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.org 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

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

Response to Patient Inquires

Under no circumstances will VascularWeb.org be used to respond to a patient's request to provide professional advice. However, a list of vascular specialists who are members of SVS is provided for the convenience of patients who wish to locate a health care professional.

Content Not Allowed

The following content is not appropriate and will be removed from VascularWeb.org promptly after becoming 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.org or 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.org 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.org to reflect users' preferences.

Violations of These Policies

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.org.

Change of Policies

The SVS Board may modify these Policies, Rules and Regulations at any time by posting revisions on VascularWeb.org. 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 VASCULARWEB.ORG

Oversight

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.

VascularWeb.org Advisory Committee

The VascularWeb.org Advisory Committee will act as an oversight committee to enhance the quality of VascularWeb.org and to resolve potential disagreements between or among users, contributors, or SVS staff. The committee reviews the content and performance of VascularWeb.org.

Conflict of Interest

Contributors to VascularWeb.org are required to disclose any conflict of interest to ensure contributors are not endorsing commercial products or attempting to influence content provided on VascularWeb for real or perceived personal gain.