myCare Portal Terms and Conditions of Use
IF YOU WISH TO USE the myCare Portal, YOU MUST READ AND AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING myCare Portal TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE:
Welcome to the myCare Portal sponsored by Sterling Optical-Transit Road. myCare Portal is an internet application that allows secure web-based means of communication between a patient and his/her doctor or other health care provider listed on the myCare Portal for non-urgent messages and allows a patient a secure means to view parts of his/her electronic medical records over the Patient Portal. Use of the myCare Portal is optional. Your user name and password protect the confidentiality of your health information. Please DO NOT share your user name and password with anyone. If you share your user name and password with anyone, you will compromise the security of your health information and related communications. Only you can protect your user name and password. Please do so. Please carefully read these Terms and Conditions of Use.
BY ELECTRONICALLY CLICKING “AGREE” IN THE SPACE AT THE END OF THIS DOCUMENT, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE myCare Portal TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE myCare Portal TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE, YOU MAY ELECTRONICALLY, CLICK "DISAGREE". IF YOU CLICK “DISAGREE” YOU WILL NOT BE GRANTED ACCESS TO USE THE PATIENT PORTAL. Copies of portions of your medical record are stored on this Patient Portal. Each use of this myCare Portal by you constitutes your confirmation of all the personal data you provided to be able to enroll in the myCare Portal and your request for and authorization of the release of those portions of your medical records to you. The only information available to be released to you via this myCare Portal is portions of your medical record as determined by your provider’s policies. The remainder of your medical record is available through Sterling Optical-Transit Road which you may contact by calling and the release thereof is subject to your provider’s policies and procedures, appropriate authorizations and applicable law. If you wish to revoke your authorization to release medical information to you via this Patient Portal, you must un-enroll pursuant to Part 1, paragraph 6 of these terms and conditions of use.
This myCare Portal is provided by Sterling Optical-Transit Road. Sterling Optical-Transit Road is referred to as “Sterling Optical-Transit Road”, "we", "us", or "our." The term "you" or "your" refers to Sterling Optical-Transit Road-authorized viewers or users of this Patient Portal.
This document consists of 4 additional parts - Parts 1 through 4. It is both an AGREEMENT between you and us and also our policy in making this myCare Portal available to you.
Part I: -The services provided through the Patient Portal.
Part 2: -Secure Messaging Guidelines and Your Responsibility
Part 3: -Patient Portal’s Privacy and Security Practices.
Part 4: -Other Terms and Conditions of the Patient Portal.
Part 1: -The Services Provided Through the Patient Portal.
1. This myCare Portal provides access to health information and secure messaging tools but does not replace your doctor. We hope the health information provided to you will help you work more closely with your health care providers in making decisions about your care. The information and online services we provide through this myCare Portal are not meant to replace the advice and care you receive from your doctor or other health care providers. The myCare Portal is not a substitute for appropriate and timely contact with your doctor or other health care provider. You should not stop or change any course of treatment ordered by your doctor before asking him or her. The information and means of communication provided through this myCare Portal are for non-emergent / non-urgent purposes only.
2. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ACCESS EMERGENCY CARE OR URGENT CARE THROUGH THIS PATIENT PORTAL. IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE A MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY OR GO TO THE NEAREST HOSPITAL.
3. The myCare Portal provides the following services:
A. Your health information. This myCare Portal provides you with copies of portions of your health information. The health information provided through the myCare Portal is not a complete copy of all your health information. The myCare Portal provides secure access to copies of health information created by your doctor and other health care providers and to copies of parts of your Sterling Optical-Transit Road electronic medical records. The information does not represent the totality of your medical record and should not be relied upon as a complete representation of your health status, as it represents only a portion of such information. You understand that you are solely responsible for any sharing of your health information you intentionally or unintentionally communicate to others.
B. Secure Messaging Tools. This myCare Portal provides various tools to facilitate secure non- urgent communications between you and your participating provider. Possible examples of secure messaging tools include appointment requests or medication refill requests.
C. Health and Health Related links. To provide you with resources, the myCare Portal may contain links to Sterling Optical-Transit Road and non-Sterling Optical-Transit Road Internet websites or services. Unless we state otherwise, providing a non-Sterling Optical-Transit Road link does not mean the link may be of benefit to you or that it is approved by Sterling Optical-Transit Road. We select the sites we link to with care, but we do not promise anything about them. We have no responsibility for the information on those sites. When you do choose to link to an external site, you will be clearly advised that you are exiting our site.
4. Not all of your doctors and health care providers use the Patient Portal, so they may not be aware of information that is in your Patient Portal. It is your responsibility to advise your doctors and other health care providers of ALL of the doctors and health care providers you have consulted and the course of treatment they have recommended for you as well as of all test results and other matters related to your health status.
5. Un-enrolling. If you want to discontinue your use of the Patient Portal, you agree to contact Sterling Optical-Transit Road and request this. You understand that if you do this, and Sterling Optical-Transit Road disables your account, you will no longer be able to use or access the myCare Portal.
6. Data integrity and correction. Requests to view and correct personal information on this Service that is documented in your medical record may be submitted through the amendment request, accessed from the Health Summary screen.
Part 2: -Securing Messaging Guidelines and Your Responsibility
1. Please DO NOT SHARE your user name and password with anyone.
2. Please DO NOT send any messages requiring emergent or urgent attention. The myCare Portal is not for emergencies or urgent care needs. In the case of emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. Typical turnaround time for responses is one (1) to two (2) business days.
3. You agree that all communication through the myCare Portal will be about you and your own health. The content of any message may be stored in your medical record and asking for advice or information about another person could potentially be harmful to you and is a violation of this Agreement. Sterling Optical-Transit Road does not assume responsibility for health information used by persons other than the myCare Portal enrollee.
4. Patients who use the myCare Portal will be notified via e-mail, text message or voice message when there is new information on the myCare Portal or to remind you of an appointment or task. This means that any person with access to the patient’s email account may see emailed notification. This could include your spouse, employer or anyone else with access to your email account. Although no specific medical information will be included in the email, the notification that new medical information is available on the myCare Portal may be information that you would not want others to know. You should keep this in mind when providing an email account. If others have access to your email, and if you do not want to receive email notifications, then you should not enroll in the patient portal. Ask your doctor to remove your email.
5. Your secure messages may be viewed and read by your doctor, other health care providers, administrators and others who work with your doctor and your doctor’s practice. Once your message is received in the Patient Portal, either the health care provider you have selected or the health care provider’s staff assigned to help manage messages may read them. Therefore, you may not wish to use the myCare Portal for sensitive information you wish to discuss directly with your health care provider.
6. We are only able to respond to your messages based on the information you provide. If you do not include sufficient information, your doctor or other health care provider may not be able to communicate with you via the portal and may request that you call the office or schedule an appointment.
7. Communication and secure messages sent via the myCare Portal may be included in your medical record.
Part 3: -Patient Portal’s Privacy and Security Practices/ Sterling Optical-Transit Road Notice of Privacy Practices.
This Part 3 describes how we protect your privacy as a patient and user of this myCare Portal and the security measures in place to protect your information. If you are a patient of a Sterling Optical-Transit Road facility, you have certain rights associated with your health information. These rights are established under state and federal law. For a more complete description of a patient’s rights under state and federal law, please refer to the Sterling Optical-Transit Road Notice of Privacy Practices, which can be found at the end of this document.
1. Unique User Name and Password. You will define your own unique user name and password in order to access the Patient Portal. You agree not to share your user name and password to the myCare Portal with anyone else. You acknowledge your understanding that by sharing your unique user name and password, another person may be able to see your health information and communications on the Patient Portal.
2. Access requirements. When you are provided access to define your unique user name and password by Sterling Optical-Transit Road, you are authorized to access and use the myCare Portal in accordance with these Terms and Conditions of Use and in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
3. Responsibility for user name and password. You are solely responsible for any activities related to your user name and password. You will immediately report:
• any inappropriate access to your account
• any loss or disclosure of your user Name or password
• any suspected or actual inappropriate access to or disclosure of treatment-related information or patient-related files
4. Right to revoke user name and password. Sterling Optical-Transit Road reserves the right to revoke your access to the myCare Portal at any time in its sole discretion. You will be notified if we discontinue your access to the Patient Portal.
5. Environmental appropriateness. You are solely responsible for choosing an appropriate environment from which to log into the Patient Portal.
6. Logout. You shall always log out of the myCare Portal before leaving your computer.
7. Wireless. If you access the myCare Portal using a wireless device, you are solely responsible for the security of the session.
8. myCare Portal Security. We do not sell or rent any personal information we receive through your use of this Patient Portal. This myCare Portal has security measures in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information under our control. These measures include encryption of data using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) system, and using a secured messaging service when we send you personal information electronically. Despite these measures, the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to or from us via this myCare Portal by Internet or e-mail cannot be guaranteed.
9. Site Visitor data. Sterling Optical-Transit Road monitors the myCare Portal including from time to time frequency of usage, issues with usage and other specific usage.
10. Evaluation and research. We will periodically ask users to complete surveys asking about their visit to our office or experience with features of the Patient Portal. We use survey information for research and quality improvement purposes, including helping Sterling Optical-Transit Road improve patient care. In addition, users giving feedback may be individually contacted for follow-up due to concerns raised during the course of such evaluation
11. Disclosure. We may disclose personal information in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Sterling Optical-Transit Road Notice of Privacy Practices.
Part 4: -Other Terms and Conditions of the Patient Portal.
1. myCare Portal is a Private Network. This myCare Portal is a private internet application provided and maintained for Sterling Optical-Transit Road, on behalf of itself and its subsidiaries. Unless we have specifically authorized you to access the Patient Portal, it is a violation of state and federal law to access the private computer network of another, such as this Patient Portal. Use of another’s user name and password is not permitted and does not amount to authorization to use this Patient Portal.
2. myCare Portal Rules. We reserve the right to promulgate rules and regulations pertaining to the use of the Patient Portal. You agree to comply with such rules and regulations.
3. Updating this Terms and Conditions of Use. By accessing or using the myCare Portal you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Use, which we may modify at any time, and you agree that such changes are effective immediately upon posting of the changed version on the Patient Portal. Any revised Terms and Conditions of Use will apply both to information we already have about you at the time of the change, and any personal information created or received after the change takes effect. We encourage you to periodically reread these Terms and Conditions to see if there have been any changes to our policies that may affect you. The date of the most recent update will be clearly posted at the end of this Agreement.
4. myCare Portal revisions, changes, updates and improvements. We may make revisions, changes, updates and/or improvements in products and/or services provided on the myCare Portal and described in these Terms and Conditions of Use or add new features at any time without notice.
5. Investigations, Security Review and Audit. You agree to cooperate with investigations, security reviews or audits related to use of the myCare Portal conducted by Sterling Optical-Transit Road.
6. Browser requirements. myCare Portal supports the latest, stable releases of all major browsers and platforms. Alternative browsers which use the latest version of WebKit, Blink, or Gecko, whether directly or via the platform’s web view API, are not explicitly supported. However, myCare Portal should (in most cases) display and function correctly in these browsers as well. Documents in proprietary formats (PDF, MP4, DOCX, etc.) may be shared through myCare Portal. These proprietary formats may not be implicitly supported by all web browsers and a separate software application may be required for viewing. Your user experience will vary based on a number of factors, including internet connection, device power and device type. You are solely responsible for keeping your device secure, including updating it and its applications with required upgrades, updates and security patches available from third parties.
7. myCare Portal unavailability. There may be times when the myCare Portal is unavailable due to technical errors or for maintenance and support activities. We shall make reasonable efforts to limit such activities to off-peak hours.
8. Warranty Disclaimer. THIS SITE AND ITS CONTENT AND SITE-RELATED SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS," WITH ALL FAULTS, WITH NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THIS SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES, AND HYPERLINKED PATIENT PORTALS. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY HEALTH SYSTEM NAME NOR ITS AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY NOR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY.
9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.Sterling Optical-Transit Road, ITS PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, TRUSTEES, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND CONTRACTORS AND ANY OTHER THIRD PARTIES MENTIONED ON THIS SITE ARE NEITHER RESPONSIBLE NOR LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE RESULTING FROM PERSONAL INJURY, LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES AND PRODUCTS, CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE "SITE," AND/OR ANY HYPERLINKED PATIENT PORTAL, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY AND WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE, SITE-RELATED SERVICES, AND/OR HYPERLINKED PATIENT PORTALS IS TO STOP USING THE SITE AND/OR THOSE SERVICES. IF AND TO THE EXTENT APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THEN THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION WILL BE LIMITED AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW
10. Copyrights. Except as otherwise indicated, all content on this site is the property of Sterling Optical-Transit Road and/or its licensors and is protected by law and may not be used by you except in connection with your usage of the myCare Portal in accordance with these terms and conditions.
11. Trademarks and service marks. The names, words, symbols, and graphics representing Sterling Optical-Transit Road are the trademarks or registered trademarks of Sterling Optical-Transit Road and protected by trademark laws of the U.S.A. and other countries. Other proprietary names, words, symbols and graphics may be designated as such from time to time on this site through use of the TM, SM, or ® symbols. Users of this site are not authorized to make any use of the Sterling Optical-Transit Road marks, including, but not limited to, as metatags or in any other fashion which may create a false or misleading impression of affiliation or sponsorship with or by Sterling Optical-Transit Road.
12. Infected or Corrupted Materials. To the extent files are available for down load through the Patient Portal, you understand that Sterling Optical-Transit Road and the Provider cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that such files will be free of infection or viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.
13. No waiver. No delay or failure to require performance of any provision of the Terms and Conditions of Use shall constitute a waiver of the performance of such provision. Any waiver granted by a party must be in writing and shall apply solely to the specific instance expressly stated. A waiver of any term or condition of this shall not be construed as a waiver of any other terms and conditions of this Terms and Conditions of Use, nor shall any waiver constitute a continuing waiver.
14. Choice of law. By visiting or using the Patient Portal, you agree that the laws of the state of North Carolina, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern this Terms and Conditions of Use and any dispute of any sort that might arise between you and Sterling Optical-Transit Road, or any of our affiliates. You agree not to commence or prosecute any action in connection therewith other than in the state and federal courts of North Carolina, and you hereby consent to, and waive all defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens with respect to venue and jurisdiction in the state and federal courts of North Carolina.
15. Questions, complaints, and contacts. If you have any questions about the myCare Portal or this Terms and Conditions of Use, including your rights under this document, you can contact your medical practice during normal business hours.
Sterling Optical-Transit Road Notice of Privacy Practices