User Agreement

Portal User Agreement – Patient Connect

Portal User Agreement Patient Connect is a patient portal (the “Portal”) that certain hospitals make available as a service to their patients. The Portal permits patients to electronically access certain parts of their own hospital record. Entering into this Portal User Agreement with the hospitals named below is a requirement for using the Portal. By acknowledging this Agreement, you are accepting the risks of using the Portal and agreeing to comply with the terms and conditions established in the Agreement. It is important that you read all of the provisions of the Agreement carefully and ask any questions you may have of Hospital staff (contact instructions are set out below) before deciding to use the Portal and entering into this Agreement.

1. Terms and Conditions of Use This Patient Portal User Agreement (“Agreement”) is a legal agreement between you and all of Markham Stouffville Hospital, Southlake Regional Health Centre, and Stevenson Memorial Hospital (together, the “Hospitals”). The Hospitals jointly own and operate the Portal. Each Hospital is permitted to make the Portal available to its patients. This Agreement establishes the terms and conditions under which you may use the Portal. The Hospitals may revise this Agreement at any time but if that occurs, your access to the Portal will be suspended until you have reviewed and accepted the revised terms and conditions of use. If you do not agree to the revised terms and conditions of use, your access to the Portal will be suspended.
2. Information and Services Provided through the Portal (“Services”)

To use the Portal, you (or someone who you agree to have act for you who is referred to in this Agreement as your “Proxy”) must register and set up an account (“Account”). Your Account will allow you to use the Portal to view selected parts of your record at any of the Hospitals for purposes that include participating more fully in your own wellness and care. For clarity, the Portal will not permit access to all of your Hospital records, although access to additional information may be added over time. You (or your Proxy) can request access to your complete Hospital record through the applicable Hospital’s health information services department.

The Portal allows you to:

• View your lab results
• View your visit history, medications, allergies and possibly, other personal health information
• View and print information to which you have access, such as health summary
• Submit updates to your health information
• Update your demographic information in the Account (i.e. address, phone numbers, etc.)

3. Use of Information Accessed Through Portal

The information made available through the Portal is provided for informational purposes only. It is NOT a substitute for advice from your healthcare provider. If you have or suspect you have a health problem, please talk to your healthcare provider. Do not use information you obtain through the Portal to address a medical emergency. If you have a medical emergency, call a physician, qualified healthcare provider, or 911 immediately, or go to the nearest emergency department in your area. Under no circumstances should you attempt self-treatment based on information you have obtained through the Portal. Always seek the advice of a physician, or other qualified healthcare provider, concerning any questions you may have regarding information you access through the Portal. Never ignore professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of information you have accessed through the Portal.

4. Registering for the Portal

Once you have reviewed the terms and conditions for using the Portal in this Agreement and have decided that you would like to use the Portal, you (or your Proxy) will be provided with access to the Portal to create an Account. Your Account will display certain personal health information related to your care at (one or more of) the Hospitals. Your Account includes a user name (“User Name”) and a password (“Password”). Only you (and your Proxy if you appoint one) will have access to your Hospital records through the Portal. You are responsible for the actions of your Proxy in connection with the Portal and for setting any limits on the use and disclosure of your personal health information by your Proxy. You may remove a Proxy’s access rights in relation to the Portal through your Account. For clarity, the Hospitals take no responsibility for any unauthorized or otherwise improper actions taken by your Proxy in connection with the Portal and more specifically, in regard to your personal health information.

5. Your Account and Use of Services

In order to register and use the Portal, you must acknowledge, agree to and/or represent all of the following. You represent that you are at least 16 years of age and that you have the legal right to enter into this Agreement, which means that there is nothing that prevents you from understanding the terms of this Agreement and consenting to comply with the obligations imposed under this Agreement. You agree To provide true, accurate, current, and complete information about yourself as prompted in your online Portal Enrollment Request. You agree to promptly update your personal information in your Account as required to ensure that it remains true, accurate, current, and complete. If a Hospital has reasonable grounds to suspect that you have provided information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, it has the right to suspend or terminate your Account and your access to all or part of the Portal (and that of any Proxy you have appointed).You agree to maintain the confidentiality of your User Name and Password and that you will be responsible for all activities that occur under your Account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your User Name and/or Password or any other breach of security you or your Proxy discover. The Hospitals will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your User Name or Password from loss or inappropriate use. You agree that it is your responsibility to protect any information you download or print through the Portal.

6. Provision and Use of Portal is Voluntary

Use of the Portal is not required to provide or receive care at the Hospitals. As a result: Your use of the Portal is voluntary. You may choose not to use the Portal, or to stop using the Portal at any time, or deactivate your Account. If you decide to stop using the Portal, the care you receive at the Hospitals will not be affected. If you notify a Hospital that you want to stop using the Portal, or if your access to the Portal is terminated by a Hospital for any reason, your Portal Account will be deactivated. If your Account is deactivated, your Proxy will no longer have access. Provision by the Hospitals of the Portal and any of its specific functions is entirely voluntary. The Hospitals may at any time change the Portal or terminate providing, temporarily or permanently, the Portal (or any part or function of it) without notice. The Hospitals shall have no liability to you or your Proxy or any third party for changing, suspending or discontinuing the use of the Portal or any part of it. The restrictions imposed on you and your Proxy with respect to information downloaded through the Portal and the disclaimers and limitations of liabilities set forth in this Agreement shall survive any discontinuance or termination of the Portal or this Agreement.

7. Limits of the Portal

The Portal does not create a relationship between you and any healthcare provider. The personal health information related to you that is displayed through the Portal is not your complete hospital record, but is only a part of it. Any information that you enter into the Portal may become part of your medical record, unless you are told otherwise.

8. Privacy of Personal Health Information

• Your personal health information accessible through the Portal will be made available only to you, your Proxy and authorized Hospital personnel.
• Use of Personal Information. The Hospitals collect the personal information you provide to create an Account under section 7 of the Public Hospitals Act and use the information, including your name and unique ID, to register you as an Authorized User. The Hospitals may request feedback from you to assist in evaluating and improving the Portal. You are not obliged to provide feedback or participate in this type of evaluation.
• Safeguards. The Hospitals have safeguards in place to protect your personal information provided to open an Account including policies, restricted access and security measures that apply to the Portal.

9. Limitation of Liability

The Hospitals assume no liability for or relating to the delay, failure, or interruption of access to information through the Portal. The Hospitals assume no liability for or relating to any breach of privacy that arises in connection with your failure to use the Portal in compliance with these terms and conditions (or the failure of any Proxy you appoint). The Hospitals are not liable to you or to anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on information accessed through the Portal. The limitations, exclusions and disclaimers expressed in this Agreement shall apply regardless of whether or not the Hospitals have been advised of the possibility of any damage, and irrespective of the nature of any claim, cause of action, demand or proceeding, including but not limited to breach of contract, negligence, strict liability or tort or any other theory of law, and irrespective of whether such claim or cause of action, demand or proceeding relates to loss of rights, loss of or damage to property, injury, adverse health consequence or death, and shall survive any breach, including without limitation, a fundamental breach of this Agreement by the Hospitals, as well as any termination of your right to use the Portal.

10. General Legal Terms and Conditions

• Use prohibited where contrary to law. Use of this Portal is unauthorized in any jurisdiction where it violates any laws or regulations. You agree that you are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws or regulations. Any contravention of this provision (or any provision of this Agreement) is entirely at your own risk and may result in termination of your (and your Proxy’s rights) to use the Portal.
• Governing law and jurisdiction. The resolution of any and all disputes arising from or in connection with the use of the Portal including any disputes arising under or in connection with the Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ontario (other than conflict of laws rules) and the laws of Canada applicable in Ontario.
• Copyright. The Portal (including software applications and other computer code) are protected by copyright laws, international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. You are granted only a limited right to remotely access the Portal. These Terms do not grant you any rights in connection with any trademarks or service marks of the Hospitals or their licensors or providers or any other rights, including intellectual proprietary rights, with respect to the Portal. All title and intellectual property and other rights in and to the Portals between you and the Hospitals are owned by the Hospital(s). Subject to laws pertaining to rights relating to personal information and personal health information, the Hospitals retain all rights with respect to the Portal.
• Waiver. Any consent by the Hospitals to, or waiver of, a breach of this Agreement which you or your Proxy have committed, whether express or implied, shall not constitute a consent to, or waiver of any other, different or subsequent breach.
• Entire Agreement. This is the entire Agreement between you and the Hospitals relating to your access and use of the Portal.

11. Disclaimers:

• The Portal is provided “AS IS” without representation or warranty of any kind, including without limitation, the availability, completeness, comprehensiveness or currency of the information available through the Portal and non-infringement.
• The Hospitals do not warrant that the Portal is free of viruses, worms, codes or mechanisms of any kind which may contaminate, damage, destroy or otherwise harm the software, computer, data, programs or other applications that you or your Proxy use. The Hospitals may, at any time, update, upgrade, and/or change the browser requirements, operating system, network configuration, hardware and other software applications which may affect or impact use of the Portal. It is your and your Proxy’s sole responsibility to ensure that your or your Proxy’s browser, operating system, network configuration, hardware, and other software applications are compatible with those required to use the Portal. The Hospitals shall have no obligation or liability for the provision of any update, modification, fixes or correction of the Portal, or for the provision of notices thereof to you or your Proxy.

12. Express Consent to Receiving Electronic Messages from the Hospitals

By using the Portal, you hereby expressly consent to receiving electronic messages from the Hospitals, including alerts and reminders to check the Portal for new or updated personal health information, notifications about Portal availability, requests for your feedback about the Portal, and other important communications from the Hospitals and their programs. Electronic messages are usually in the form of electronic mail (email). You may revoke your consent by notice to any of the Hospital’s Privacy Offices at any time, but your revocation of consent may prevent the Hospitals from continuing to offer to you and your Proxy access to the Portal.

13. Privacy and Security Measures

In this Agreement, you have agreed to take steps to protect your User Name, Password, personal health information including downloaded information. Once you have viewed information, it is your responsibility to protect it.

Here are the recommended steps you should take to protect your information or, if you are a Proxy, the information of the individual who has granted you access to his or her personal health information (you may choose to take other steps as well):

• Keep your User Name and Password confidential.
• Sign out of your account every time when you are finished using the Portal (before closing the Internet browser window or computer you are using).Change your Password immediately if you believe that someone else knows your Password. If asked to “save your Password”, you should answer “no”. Passwords saved on a local computer or other device increase the risk of someone else accessing your Account.
• Ensure that no one is “shoulder-surfing” or watching you when you are viewing your information. Choose a private space (like your home) in preference to a public space (e.g., on public transportation) to access the Portal. Avoid using free or untrusted wireless Internet (‘Wi-Fi’) to access the Portal. Free Wi-Fi is easily compromised.
• Protect your health information (e.g., clinic notes and appointments) and general health information (like a pamphlet about a health condition) that you download or print.
• Do not download documents to a public or shared computer. Store it in a safe location (like a locked cabinet or on a personal electronic device that is encrypted).
• Transport it securely. You have agreed to tell us about any suspicious activity related to use of the Portal. Please call 1-877-733-5033 if you think someone is using your Account inappropriately. Malicious activity will be addressed according to the Hospitals policies and/or as permitted by law.

14. For more information about the portal

• Call the Patient Connect Help Line
• If you have questions, concerns, or corrections about your information (such as a test result or report), please contact a member of your healthcare team or discuss this with them at your next appointment.
• If you have comments, questions or concerns about how your information is handled or protected in the Portal, call the Patient Portal Help line.