This is the official Terms and Conditions of Use (“Terms of Use”) for www.asahq.org/aqi (the “Site”), an internet Web site made available by the Anesthesia Quality Institute (“AQI”) to provide information, products, and/or services relating to the AQI’s mission, approach, and initiatives. The contents of the Site include, without limitation, all information, content, data, products, materials, services, software applications and tools, design elements, text, images, photographs, illustrations, audio and video material, artwork, graphics contained therein or otherwise made available to you in connection therewith (collectively the “Material”) and, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, or we explicitly say so in writing, the term “Site” includes all of the Material.

These Terms of Use constitute a legally binding agreement between you and AQI regarding your use of and access to the Site. These Terms of Use do not alter in any way the terms and conditions of any other agreement you may have with AQI, unless otherwise directed by the AQI.  If you breach any of these terms and conditions, your authorization to use this Site automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy all downloaded or printed materials and discontinue use of any hyperlinks to this Site. 

http://www.asahq.org/aqi

Acceptance Procedure; Additional Terms and Conditions

By accessing and/or using the Site in any manner you acknowledge that you have read these Terms of Use and all of the terms and conditions contained herein, together with any additional terms and conditions that govern certain products and services made available to you via the Site (“Additional Terms and Conditions”) and that you accept and agree to comply with and be bound by the same.  The Site’s Additional Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy are hereby incorporated in these Terms of Use by reference.  To the extent that there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and any Additional Terms and Conditions for the activity in which you choose to participate, the Additional Terms and Conditions shall govern.  These Terms of Use will remain in full force and effect as long as you are a user of the Site and, in the event of termination to any service or feature, you will still be bound by your obligations under these Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, and any Additional Terms and Conditions.

Click-Through Agreements

Before you may use certain areas of this Site, you may be asked to indicate acceptance of certain special terms and conditions by clicking on a button marked “OK” or “I agree.”  Any special terms and conditions to which you agree will supplement and amend these Terms and Conditions.

Modifications

AQI reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change these Terms of Use from time to time for any reason and your access to the Site following our posting of such changes will be deemed to constitute your acceptance of, and agreement to, any such changed terms and conditions.  You should check back and review the terms and conditions of this Agreement regularly so you are aware of the most current rights and obligations that apply to you and the terms and conditions of your Agreement with us.

Privacy Policy

AQI knows that the privacy of your personal information is important to you.  Therefore we have established a Privacy Policy, which is part of these Terms of Use.

Registration

We may require you to have a unique user name and password combination to access and use certain features, or functions of the Site, and we may also provide you with additional codes or passwords necessary to access and use certain features or functions of the Site.  Please read our Privacy Policy, which describes the personally identifiable information we collect, use, disclose, manage, and store.  As part of the registration process for such features, or functions, we may assign a user name and password.  Your user name and password are personal to you and you may not allow any others to use your user name and password under any circumstances.  We are not liable for any harm caused or related to the theft or misappropriation of your user name or password, disclosure of your user name or password, or your authorization of anyone else to use your user name and password.  You agree to immediately notify us if you become aware of or believe there is or may have been any unauthorized use of (or activity using) your user name or password or any other need to deactivate your user name or password due to security concerns.

The Rules of Conduct

Your use of the Site is subject to all applicable local, state, and national laws and regulations. You shall not use, allow or enable others to use the Site, or knowingly condone use of this Site by others, in any manner that is, attempts to, or is likely to:

• Be obscene, fraudulent, defamatory, libelous, indecent, discourteous, racially or ethnically offensive, harassing, threatening, abusive, pornographic, or discriminatory;
• Affect us adversely or reflect negatively on us, the Site, our goodwill, name or reputation or cause duress, distress, or discomfort to us or anyone else, or discourage any person, firm, or enterprise from using all or any portion, features, or functions of the Site, or from advertising, linking, or becoming a supplier to us in connection with the Site;
• Send or result in the transmission of junk e-mail, chain letters, duplicative or unsolicited messages, or so-called “spamming” and “phishing”;
• Transmit, distribute, or upload content materials or programs that contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots, or other disabling devices or harmful components intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept, or expropriate any system, data, or personal information:
• Forge any TCP/IP packet header or part of the header information in any e-mail or posting for any reason;
• Modify, disrupt, impair, alter, or interfere with the use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance of the Site or the rights to use and enjoyment of the Site by any other user;
• Advocate or encourage any illegal activity;
• Infringe upon or misappropriate the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, publicity rights, or other intellectual property or propriety rights of any third party;
• Violate the privacy of individuals, including other users of the Site; or
• Violate any applicable local, state, or national laws or regulations (anywhere in the world).

Ownership of Intellectual Property Rights

The material including, without limitation, the selection, sequence, and “look and feel” and arrangement of the same together with all trademarks, service marks, and trade names displayed, distributed, or otherwise made available via the Site, are the exclusive property of the AQI and/or its affiliates, and any of their respective successors, assigns, licensors, and/or suppliers.  You may use the Material solely for your noncommercial, non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-transferable, and limited personal use and for no other purposes. You must not alter, delete, or conceal any copyright or other notices contained on the Site, including notices on any Material you download, transmit, display, print, or reproduce from the Site.  You shall not allow any third party (whether or not for your benefit) to reproduce, modify create derivative works from, display, perform, publish, distribute, disseminate, broadcast or circulate to any third party (including, without limitation, on or via a third party website), or otherwise use, any Material without the express prior written consent of the AQI, or its owner if AQI is not the owner.  Any unauthorized or prohibited use of any Material may subject you to civil liability, criminal prosecution, or both, under applicable federal, state, and local laws.  No information or statement contained in these Terms of Use or the Web site shall be construed as conferring, directly or by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any license or right under any patent, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right of AQI, its affiliates, or any third party.

AQI does not authorize any individual or entity to create a “hypertext” link to this Site without permission.  We may, however, if requested, grant a limited, nonexclusive right to create a “hypertext” link to this Site provided that such link is to the entry page of this Site and does not portray the AQI or any of its activities or services in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise defamatory manner.  This limited right may be revoked at any time for any reason whatsoever.  No framing techniques may be used to enclose any AQI trademark, logo, or trade name or other proprietary information including the images found at the Site, the content of any text or the layout/design of any page or any form contained on a page without AQI’s express written consent.

Links to third party sites on this Site are provided solely as convenience to you.  If you use these links, you will leave this Site.  AQI has not reviewed all of these third party sites and does not control and is not responsible for any of these sites, their content or policies, including without limitation, privacy policies or lack thereof.  AQI does not endorse or make any representations about third party sites or any information, software or other products or materials found there, or any results that may be obtained from using them.  If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this site, you do so entirely at your own risk.  You acknowledge and agree that the AQI shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused nu, or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such third party sites.

User Submitted Content

Portions of this Site may provide you and other users with the opportunity to participate in interactive features and submit content, media, and materials for posting on the Site in connection with the same, which may include, without limitation, still photographs, writings, spoken statements, music, audio, video, video recordings, audio-visual works and recordings, portraits, animated and/or motion pictures, caricatures, likenesses, vocal or other sounds, sound recordings, voices, voice reproductions, computer graphics and visual effects (collectively, “User Submitted Content”).  To be considered for posting and display to the public, User Submitted Content must meet all the specifications and requirements relating to formatting, compatibility, operating characteristics, and submission.  When you provide User Submitted Content you may also be asked to provide some information about you and your submission.  This may include, without limitation, such things as descriptive title, some information about the User Submitted Content, length, your location, and/or similar information.

You are solely responsible and liable for all User Submitted Content submitted under your name.  User Submitted Content does not reflect the views of AQI and its affiliates, and neither AQI nor its affiliates represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any User Submitted Content, nor endorse or support any opinions expressed in any User Submitted Content.  In no event shall AQI or its affiliates have or be construed to have any responsibility or liability for or in connection with any User Submitted Content.  If we determine, in our sole discretion, that you or any User Submitted Content you submit violates these Terms of Use, we reserve the right, at any time, without notice and without limiting any and all other rights we may have under these Terms of Use, at law or in equity, to (a) refuse to allow you to submit further User Submitted Content. (b) remove and delete your User Submitted Content, (c) revoke your registration and right to use the Site, and (d) use any technological, legal, operational, or other means available to enforce these Terms of Use, including, without limitation, blocking specific IP addresses or deactivating registration, access using your e-mail address, or your user name and password, if any.

You agree you will not submit or attempt to submit, and we have the right to reject, refuse to accept, remove, or otherwise handle as we deem appropriate, any User Submitted Content that is or could be construed as violating any of the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use, including, with or without limitation, User Submitted Content that:

• Infringes any third party’s copyright or other intellectual property rights;
• Causes harm, harasses anyone, or which may prevent, prohibit, inhibit, restrict, or otherwise impair others from using or enjoying the Site;
• Modifies, impairs, disrupts, alters, or interferes with the use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance of the Site; or
• Violates any requirements, rules, terms, or conditions that may be applicable to your use of any related interactive services made available via the Site.

You acknowledge and agree that neither AQI nor its affiliates control any User Submitted Content.  We reserve the right to review any User Submitted Content and to delete, remove, move, edit, or reject, without notice to you, any User Submitted Content that we deem, in our sole discretion, abusive, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, in violation of copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights, to be in violation of these Terms of Use, for any reason or for no reason whatsoever; provided, however that we shall have no obligation or liability to you for failure to do so or for doing so in any particular manner.  If we receive notice of any claim of infringement that satisfies specific legal requirements, such as notice and takedown requirements under U.S. copyright law, we may remove User Submitted Content associated with such claim.  We reserve the right to provide information to law enforcement officials, government agencies and pursuant to judiciary or regulatory compulsion, to protect their respective interests, the Site, or to comply with legal, regulatory, audit, and compliance obligations.

Upon your submission of any User Submitted Content for posting and distribution via the Site, you hereby automatically grant to the AQI and its affiliates the unqualified, unrestricted, unconditional, unlimited, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, and royalty free right, license, authorization, and permission, in any form or format, in or through any media or medium and with any technology or devices now known or hereafter developed or discovered, in whole or in part, to host, cache, store, maintain, use, reproduce, distribute, display, exhibit, perform, publish, broadcast, transmit, modify, prepare derivative works of, adapt, reformat, translate, and otherwise exploit all or any portion of such User Submitted Content on the site and any other AQI owned or controlled programming services and distribution platforms, whether currently existing or existing or developed in the future (collectively, the “Platforms”), for any purpose whatsoever (including, without limitation, for any promotional purposes) without accounting, notification, credit, compensation, consideration, or other obligation to you, and the right to license and sub-license and authorize others to exercise any of the rights granted hereunder to AQI, in our sole discretion.

You acknowledge and agree that neither AQI nor its affiliates shall be required or have any obligation to host, index, display, accept, or use any User Submitted Content (or take advantage of any or all of the particular rights and authorities granted or otherwise available) and AQI may, in its sole discretion, remove or refuse to host, index, display, accept, use or do anything at all with respect to any User Submitted Content.  Once you submit or attempt to submit user Submitted Content you shall have no right to prohibit, restrict, revoke, or terminate any of the rights granted to the AQI or its affiliates hereunder.  You are not entitled to and you will not receive any compensation or other consideration for your User Submitted Content or any use made of your User Submitted Content once submitted.  You also understand and agree that neither all or any portion of your User Submitted Content, nor any commercial, advertisement, promotional, marketing, or other material created by or for AQI that is associated with your User Submitted Content, need to be submitted to you for approval prior to the AQI’s or its affiliates’ use thereof.

You hereby release AQI and its affiliates from any and all claims of any rights, encumbrances, liens, claims, demands, actions, or suits which you may or can have in connection with your User Submitted Content, including, without limitation, any and all liability for any use or nonuse of your User Submitted Content, claims for defamation, libel, slander, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, emotional distress, or economic loss.  AQI and its affiliates have the right to assign, transfer, convey, license, sub-license, and otherwise transfer, sub-contract, delegate, outsource, or engage third parties to perform or benefit from all or any portion of its or their rights and/or obligations to any one or more other parties, without accounting, reporting, notification, or other obligation or liability to you whatsoever, now or in the future.  You also forever waive and relinquish all moral rights now or hereafter recognized in connection with your User Submitted Content and the rights granted to AQI and its affiliates hereunder.

You must own the rights to the User Submitted Content you submit and the right to grant all of the authorizations, permissions, approvals, consents, rights, and licenses from the owner(s) to enter into these Terms of Use and perform and comply with all of its obligations.  You represent, warrant, and covenant to AQI and, by submitting User Submitted Content, you reaffirm each such representation, warranty, and covenant, that (a) all of the information provided by you associated with your User Submitted Content is correct, complete, and current, (b) your User Submitted Content does not violate these Terms of Use, any rights of any other party, any of your obligations, any law or regulation, or infringe upon or misappropriate any intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights of any party and (c) you hold and will continue to hold all the ownership, license, proprietary, and other rights necessary to enter into, authorize, grant rights, and perform your obligations under these Terms of Use as described.  Upon our request, you will furnish AQI any documentation, substantiation, and releases necessary and reasonably required to verify and substantiate your compliance with any or all terms of the terms and conditions contained herein regarding User Submitted Content, including, without limitation, the forgoing representations, warranties, and covenants.

Copyright Compliance Policy

We take protection of copyrights, both our own and others, very seriously.  We therefore employ multiple measures to prevent copyright infringement over this Site and to promptly end any infringement that might occur.  The information, images, programs, and services available through the AQI Site (collectively the “Content”) are the property of the Anesthesia Quality Institute and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. 

Content provided on or through the AQI may not be reproduced, retransmitted, stored, distributed, disseminated, sold, published, broadcast or circulated in any medium to anyone, including but not limited to others in the same company or organization, without the express prior written permission of the AQI, except as otherwise expressly permitted under fair use provisions of U.S. and international Copyright Law.  Fair use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law permit reproduction of single copies of copyrighted material for your personal, non-commercial and private use. In the event of any permitted use of copyrighted material, no modifications to content or in author attribution or copyright notice shall be made without written authorization from the AQI.  Users are not permitted to download excessive portions of content or information from the AQI Site.  The use of automated download programs are prohibited.  The AQI shall take all reasonable steps to cease such excessive and unauthorized activity and to prevent any recurrence thereof, including terminating your access to the AQI.  Any questions about whether a particular use is authorized and any requests for permission to otherwise reproduce, distribute, display or make derivative works from the content may be directed to [email protected].

How to Send a Notice of Copyright Infringement

If you are a copyright owner (or the owner’s authorized agent) and have a good-faith belief that material on the Site infringes one of your copyrights, you may notify us.

Limitation of Liability

If you are dissatisfied with this Site, any content on this Site, any products or services made available through this Site, or with any of these Terms of Use, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue accessing and using this Site, its content, and the products and services made available through this Site.

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT NEITHER AQI NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, WILL BE LIABLETO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGES, EITHER ACTUAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS, OR TO YOUR (OR ANY THIRD PARTY’S) USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SITE, OR TO YOUR RELIANCE UPON ANY INFORMATION OR MATERIAL. IN PARTICULAR, AQI AND ITS AFFLIATED ENTITIES WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, WHETHER FORSEEABLE OR UNFORSEEABLE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CLAIMS FOR DEFAMATION, ERRORS, LOSS OF DATA, OR INTERRUPTION IN AVAILABILITY OF DATA), ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS, YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SITE, OR TO YOUR RELIANCE UPON ANY INFORMATION OR MATERIAL, WHETHER BASED IN VERBAL AGREEMENT, CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTORY, OR OTHER LAW, EXCEPT ONLY IN THE CASE OF DEATH OR PERSONAL INJUY, WHERE, AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT, THAT APPLICABLE LAW REQUIRES SUCH LIABILITY.  THE REMEDIES PROVIDED FOR UNDER THESE TERMS ARE EXCLUSIVE AND ARE LIMITED TO THOSE EXPRESSLY PROVIDED FOR IN THESE TERMS.

General Disclaimer

This Site, including all software, functions, materials, and information, is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied.  AQI disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of quiet enjoyment, merchantability of computer programs, data accuracy, system integration, and informational content.  AQI does not warrant or make any representations regarding the operation of this Site, the use, validity, accuracy, reliability of, or the results of the use of materials on this Site or any other sites linked to this Site.  The materials of this Site may be out of date, and AQI makes no commitment to update the materials at this Site.  AQI does not and cannot guarantee or warrant that the files available for downloading from this Site, if any, will be free from infection, viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or other coed that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.  AQI does not warrant that this Site, software, materials, products, or services will be uninterrupted or error-free or that any defects in this Site, software, materials, products, or services will be corrected. You understand, acknowledge, and agree that you are assume the entire risk as to the quality, accuracy, performance, timeliness, adequacy, completeness, correctness, authenticity, security, and validity of any and all features and functions of the site, including, without limitation, all information, materials, and services made available via the website.

Third-Party Information

Any articles, press clippings, or other third-party publications (collectively, “Publications”), made available through the Site are furnished by ASA for your convenience and information.

Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information made available by third-parties, including program hosts, information providers, or any user of the Web site, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of AQI and its affiliates.

AQI DISCLAIMS ANY REPRESENTATION, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT THE INFORMATION IN SUCH PUBLICATIONS IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE.

Links to Sponsors and Other Third-party Sites

Certain links on the Site will let you leave the Site. These linked sites are not under the control of AQI, and AQI is not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a link site.  These links are provided for your convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply a recommendation or endorsement by AQI of any such linked site or the products therein.

Termination

We may terminate your use of the Site and/or access to any information, content, features, functionality, or services made available in connection therewith, at any time and for any reason, with or without cause, without prior notice to you and without any liability or further obligation of any kind whatsoever to you or any other party.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the AQI and its affiliates or any of its successors and assigns, and any of their respective officers, directors, employees, members, agents, representatives, licensors, advertisers, suppliers, and operational service providers from any liability, loss, claim, and expense (including attorneys’ reasonable fees) related to (1) your violation of these Terms of Use, and (2) your use of this Site.

We reserve the right to assume, at our sole expense, the exclusive defense and control of any such claim, action, settlement or compromise negotiations, as we may request.

Miscellaneous

These Terms of Use, together with any additional Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy constitute the sole agreement between you and AQI and its affiliated entities relating to your use and our provision of the Site and the subject matter hereof.  If any provision of these Terms and of Uses is held to be illegal, invalid, or unenforceable, this will not affect any other provisions and the Agreement will be deemed amended to the extent necessary to make it legal, valid, and enforceable.  The laws of the State of Illinois govern these terms in all respects, without giving effect to conflicts of laws principles.  Any cause of action by you again AQI or its affiliated entities must be instituted within one year after the cause of action arises or be deemed forever waived and barred.

No e-mail address found on the Site may be harvested or otherwise used for purposes of solicitation.  The appearance of any member’s address, e-mail address, fax number, or telephone number on this Site does not constitute permission for you to contact that member for commercial purposes or to send that member facsimile advertisements or commercial electronic mail messages.

For your protection, AQI would like to remind you that a U.S. federal law known as the “CAN-SPAM Act” places restrictions on how Internet users may send e-mail messages where the primary purpose of the message is commercial advertisement or promoting a commercial product or service.  Please refer to the CAN-SPAM Act for further definition of “commercial messages.”

If you plan to send a message to any address you obtain from the AQI Member Directory or elsewhere on the AQI site that might be considered primarily to be a commercial advertisement or to promote a commercial product or service, keep in mind that, a) you are prohibited from using e-mail addresses obtained from this Site for solicitation and b) it is your responsibility to make sure you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.

Email Forums, Discussion Boards and Shared Resources

This site may include e-mail forums, discussion boards, and file repositories of member-supplied content called “Shared Resources”, some of which may be available only to members and affiliates of AQI.

AQI does not control or receive any financial benefit from the messages, information, software, files, or other materials posted on the Email Forums (the “Postings”).  AQI neither condones nor is responsible for any Postings.  AQI is an online service provider.  If you believe that any Posting uses copyrighted material in a manner that constitutes copyright infringement, please notify our Designated Agent immediately.

AQI does not scan any Postings for viruses or other undesirable components and will not be responsible for any harm, inconvenience or damages to you or others that may result because a Posting contained viruses or other undesirable code before proceeding with your upload.

All Postings are made available to the interested community of participants in the Email Forums, which includes AQI members (and may include affiliate members and vendors).  Postings will not be treated as confidential.  Depending on the information you provide, your Postings may potentially be identifiable to professional or business matters involving you or your practice. We request that you do not post information in the Email Forums regarding any specific situations or matters that you consider to be confidential.

You may not forward any Postings to any third parties who are not subscribers to the Email Forum or members of the AQI, without the prior written permission of the individual who posted the particular Posting.

AQI reserves the right at all times to disclose any Posting and the name of the individual who posted the Posting when we believe disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law (or a court order or subpoena); to prevent or investigate a possible crime or other violation of law; to enforce these Terms and Conditions, or to protect your rights, property or safety, or the rights, property or safety of AQI or others.

AQI, in its sole discretion, may remove or refuse to post any materials, in whole or in part, for any reason, including, without limitation, materials that are objectionable or in breach of these Terms of Use.  It is condition of your use of the Email Forums that you do not:

• Restrict or inhibit any other user from using the Email Forums;
• Submit any unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, hateful, racially or ethnically objectionable, or indecent Postings of any kind, including, without limitation, any Postings constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any local, state, national or foreign law;
• Submit any Postings deemed by AQI as offensive or personally attacking in nature and which, in general, do not represent the professional collegial atmosphere intended for these Email Forums and Shared Resources;
• Submit any Postings that violate or infringe upon the rights of others, including material that constitutes an invasion of privacy or infringement of publicity rights or which is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right, or derivative works thereof, without first obtaining permission from the owner or right-holder;
• Submit any Postings that you do not have the right to make available under any law or under any contractual or fiduciary relationship (such as inside information or proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of an employment relationship or covered by a nondisclosure agreement);
• Submit any false, misleading or fraudulent Postings;
• Submit any Postings that contain software viruses or any other harmful component;
• Submit any Postings relating to actual or potential anticompetitive, collusive, or otherwise unlawful practices, including both price and cost data, or any other competitively sensitive information that may violate federal and state antitrust laws or AQI’s antitrust Policy.  Please note that the Email Forums provide a permanent record of statements that could prompt legal scrutiny under the antitrust laws even in the absence of express anti-competitive intent;
• Submit any Postings that impersonate any person or entity or in any other way conceal or misrepresent your identity;
• Submit any Postings that misrepresent your affiliation or relationship with a person or entity;
• Use the Email Forums to promote advocacy efforts that are not sanctioned by AQI or to gather information or data to support advocacy efforts, without first obtaining the prior written authorization of AQI;
• Use the Email Forums to solicit money, goods, or services for charitable purposes or private gain;
• Use the Email Forums to post information relating to or conduct any private business or commercial activity without prior written consent of AQI (commercial activities include, but are not limited to, posting or transmitting information or other material that could reasonably be construed by AQU as constituting promotional announcements, product-related press releases, marketing, advertising, solicitation of business, sale or attempted sale of products or services);
• Use the Email Forums to communicate with potential participants in formal research of any kind, or to conduct market research, surveys, or academic studies without prior approval of AQI.  However, informal questions posted to the Email Forums are encouraged, provided that such questions do not otherwise violate these Terms of Use.

All Postings to the Email Forums must contain the author’s Email Forum user name; no anonymous Postings will be permitted.  If you do not wish for your e-mail address to be displayed publicly, then you should not send any Postings to the Email Forum.  All Postings to the Shared Resources must contain the submitter’s name and organization name.

By submitting a Posting to the Email Forums, you warrant and represent that you have the legal right to transmit and post the Posting.  By submitting a Posting to the Email Forums, you grant the AQI the nonexclusive right and license to use, copy, reformat, publish, display and perform publicly, distribute and transmit your Posting in connection with AQI’s maintenance and operation of this Site and the Email Forums and as otherwise set forth in these Terms of Use.

AQI may monitor all Email Forums, although it has no obligation to do so, and reserves the right to immediately terminate future access to the Email Forums for members who violate these Terms of Use.

Participants in the Email Forums are required to provide complete and accurate information when they register for the Email Forums, including their name and verifiable e-mail address.  If there is a substantive change in your registration information, you agree to update your information online.  Upon registering for the Email Forums, you may not transfer your account to others.  You may, however, demonstrate the Email Forums to others, who may then register themselves.

By accessing the Email or other Email Forums, you accept, without limitation or qualification, these Terms of Use.  You are solely responsible and can be held personally liable for your Postings.  AQI will not indemnify you, and you hereby agree to indemnify and hold AQI harmless against any losses, liabilities, damages, fines, penalties, costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees and disbursements) arising out of or in connection with your Postings, your use of the Email Forums, or your breach of these Terms of Use.  AQI is not responsible for your use of or reliance on any Postings and accept no responsibility for the opinions and information posted by users of the Email Forums.

Obtaining AQI’s Consent

To request the consent of AQI for any actions for which consent is required under these Terms of Use, please send an email to us at [email protected].

AQI reserves the right to refuse any such requests in its sole discretion.

AQI Grant Information

1. AQI does not collect data that directly identifies a patient or facility. 2. AQI does not directly report on or publish any data about an individual patient or facility to any entity except the AQI participating practice that submitted the data. 3. AQI will consider individual requests for customized reports and/or data based on available resources. Requests should be submitted to the Data Use Committee by emailing [email protected]. 4. AQI is a non-profit charity organization, and as such, we do not pay indirect costs for outside services that we contract for. Indirect costs are defined as expenses that benefit common activities such as utilities; existing IT equipment, maintenance and depreciation; insurance; administrative supplies and support; and other shared resources not directly attributable to a project. 5. For purposes of funding research, AQI caps physician salaries according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) salary cap.