These terms and conditions (“Agreement”) set forth the general terms and conditions of your use of the reliefinstitute.com website (“Website” or “Service”) and any of its related products and services (collectively, “Services”). This Agreement, together with our PRIVACY POLICY and ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY , each of which are incorporated, is legally binding between you (“User”, “you” or “your”) and Relief Institute LLC (“Relief Institute LLC”, “Relief Institute”, “we”, “us” or “our”) and governs your use of the Services. By accessing and using the Website and Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement. If you are entering into this Agreement on behalf of a business or other legal entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind such entity to this Agreement, in which case the terms “User”, “you” or “your” shall refer to such entity. If you do not have such authority, or if you do not agree with the terms of this Agreement, you must not accept this Agreement and may not access and use the Website and Services. You acknowledge that this Agreement is a contract between you and Relief Institute LLC, even though it is electronic and is not physically signed by you, and it governs your use of the Website and Services. If you do not agree with the Terms of this Agreement, you cannot use the Services. Additionally, please note that we offer Services “AS IS” and without warranties. If you create an account or use the Services on behalf of an individual or entity other than yourself, you represent that you are authorized by such individual or entity to accept this Agreement on such individual’s or entity’s behalf.
We do not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment
You acknowledge that The Relief Institute has made reasonable efforts to present accurate information on this website; however, it is possible that information on this website may be out-of-date. Any medical and health-related information present on this website is general in nature. Although some Content may be provided by healthcare professionals, the provision of such Content does not constitute a medical professional/patient relationship. The Relief Institute does not furnish or render professional health care services or medical care. Therefore, the information presented on this website is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, nor is it intended to provide you with a specific diagnosis or treatment for a specific ailment. The information is made available to you for educational and informational purposes and does not constitute the practice of medicine and/or as a substitute for consultation with your personal health care provider. We make no guarantees, representations or warranties, whether expressed or implied, with respect to professional qualifications, medical tests, surgical techniques, surgical and durable medical equipment usage, expertise, quality of work, price or cost information, insurance coverage or benefit information, or any other content available through the Services. In no event shall we be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you in reliance on any such content. If you rely on any Content, you do so solely at your own risk. You also acknowledge that even though the Relief Institute executes an extensive background check (Relief Certification) for certain Healthcare Provider(s), who have chosen that level of Service on the Website, we still encourage you to independently confirm any Content relevant to you with other sources, including the Healthcare Provider’s office, medical associations relevant to the applicable specialty, your state medical boards, and the appropriate licensing or certification authorities to verity listed credentials and education.
Choosing a Healthcare Provider
You are responsible for choosing your own Healthcare Provider, from the Provider(s) listed on the Website, including without limitation, determining whether the applicable healthcare provider is suitable for your healthcare needs based on specialty, experience, qualification, licenses, and other important facts and circumstances that could impact your care. In the event you need assistance with selecting a Provider, our Customer Care team will provide support and suggest multiple qualified Providers, within your immediate geographic area, for you to choose from and request an appointment.
The Provider (s) have the opportunity to sign-up for a Free profile page on the Website. Provider (s) who choose to upgrade offered Services may enter into agreements with us and may pay us a fee in order to provide a more extensive Provider profile and background check (Relief Certification) to be marketed through or to use the Services.
To help you find Healthcare Providers who may be suitable for your needs and enable the maximum choice and diversity of Healthcare providers participating in the Services, we will provide you with lists and/or profiles of Healthcare Providers. These results are based on the information you provide to us, such as geographic information (zip code, state, etc.), insurance information, and medical condition/area of pain. They may also make a Provider selection based on other factors such as Healthcare Provider availability, Provider ratings, and past experience with other Providers listed on Relief Institute. Relief Institute does not recommend or endorse any Healthcare Providers and does not make any representations or warranties with respect to these Healthcare Providers or the quality of Services they may provide.
The Website may present Healthcare Providers labeled with a “Relief Certified” logo based on our additional Provider vetting process confirming their extensive medical qualifications, experience, associations, and additional training and certifications. The Relief Institute receives additional fees from these Healthcare Providers for providing additional classifications, medical expertise, and marketing apps provided by Relief Institute to assist in their increased exposure throughout their geographic market. These results shown through the Services are not, and should not be considered, an endorsement or recommendation by Relief Institute of the Healthcare Provider.
Services and Content
The Services and Content contained on the Website are for informational and educational purposes only. At times we may publish Content throughout the Services but have no obligation to do so. Any party involved with the preparation and publication of such Content does not guarantee that the Content is accurate, complete, or timely, and will not be responsible or liable for any errors or omissions in or for the results obtained from the use of any such Content.
Procedures/Medical Devices/Services:
The procedures, medical devices, and services discussed and/or marketed through the Services are not applicable to all individuals, patients, or all clinical situations. For those procedures, medical devices, and services represented through the Services by the upgraded marketing features on the Website, sponsors, advertisers, and other participants of the Services, either paid or unpaid, are presented for your awareness and do not necessarily imply, and we make no claims as to, safety or appropriateness for any particular individual or prediction of effectiveness, outcome or success.
Healthcare Provider:
The Healthcare Provider and practice/clinic content is intended for general reference purposes only. Healthcare Provider content may be provided by the Healthcare Provider and/or office staff, and collected from multiple other data sources that may not be confirmed by the Healthcare Provider. This content can change frequently and may become out of date, incomplete, or inaccurate.
Insurance
Insurance and insurance related content either provided by the Healthcare Provider or other resources is intended for general reference purposes and for your convenience only. Insurance content can change frequently and may become out of date, incomplete or inaccurate. Although Relief Institute strives to provide you with accurate Insurance Content, we are not responsible for any inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated Insurance content. You are responsible to confirm Insurance coverage and acceptance directly with your Healthcare provider.
General Responsibilities – Patient
The Website Services are free, but you are still responsible for your Healthcare Provider selection. Any reasonable and customary charges as a result of any medical or related services provided to you by a Healthcare provider will be entirely your responsibility. The information you provide to the Relief Institute needs to be accurate and current, including your insurance information. The process of providing this information in an accurate manner is entirely your responsibility. Some Services may not be available through the Relief Institute or your Healthcare Provider depending upon a number of factors, including your insurance participation. Ultimately, you resolve any dispute between you or any Healthcare Provider arising from any transaction hereunder directly with the Healthcare Provider.
You are responsible for all use of the Services and for all use of your Information, including use by others to whom you have given your Information. You may only use the site for lawful, non-commercial purposes. You may not use the site in any manner that could disable, damage, overwork, or impair our servers or networks, or interfere with any party’s use and enjoyment of the Site or the Services, or computer systems or networks, or user accounts, through hacking, password mining or any other means. You may not accumulate or index, directly or indirectly, any Content or portion of the Site and/or Services (including, without limitation, Healthcare Provider Content, appointment availability, price information, and Insurance Content) for any purpose whatsoever.
In addition, you are also responsible for reviewing and complying with our ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY. Along with our rights in these Terms of Use, we may take any legal action and implement any technological measures to prevent violations of the restrictions hereunder and to enforce these Terms of Use or our Acceptable Use Policy.
Responsibilities – Healthcare Providers/Others in Healthcare Industry
If you are a Healthcare Provider or other person or entity in the healthcare or medical industries, regardless of whether you maintain an account with the Relief Institute or whether you request or intend to schedule an appointment through the Services, you acknowledge and agree that:
You will not use the Services to view, access or otherwise use, directly or indirectly, price, availability, or other Content for any purpose other than your own personal use as a patient or prospective patient.
You will not use the Services to establish, attempt to establish, or enforce, directly or indirectly, any agreement or coordination of the prices charged for any product or service; the kinds, frequencies or amounts of any product or service offered; or the customer or customer categories for any product or service; or otherwise engage or attempt to engage in price fixing, output restriction, or a customer or market allocation.
You will not use the Services, directly or indirectly, to engage any anti-competitive, deceptive or unfair practice, or otherwise violate applicable antitrust, competition or consumer protection laws, or regulations.
Accounts and membership
You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Website and Services. By using the Website and Services and by agreeing to this Agreement you warrant and represent that you are at least 18 years of age. If you create an account on the Website, you are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under the account and any other actions taken in connection with it. We will monitor and review new accounts before we add the Provider Profile to the website. Providing false information of any kind may result in the termination of your account. You must immediately notify us of any unauthorized uses of your account or any other breaches of security. We will not be liable for any acts or omissions by you, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions. We may suspend, disable, or delete your account (or any part thereof) if we determine that you have violated any provision of this Agreement or that your conduct or content would tend to damage our reputation and goodwill. If we delete your account for the foregoing reasons, you may not re-register for our Services. We may block your email address and Internet protocol address to prevent further registration.
Billing and payments
In the event a Provider upgrades from a free profile and subscribes to one of the Expanded or Enhanced profiles, the Provider shall pay all fees or charges to the account in accordance with the fees, charges, and billing terms in effect at the time a fee or charge is due and payable. If auto-renewal is enabled for the Services you have subscribed for, the Relief Institute and/or its payment processing partner will charge automatically in accordance with the term you selected. In connection with such payments, we process your payment card information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sensitive and private data exchange happens over a SSL secured communication channel and is encrypted and protected with digital signatures, and the Website and Services are also in compliance with PCI vulnerability standards in order to create as secure of an environment as possible for Users. Scans for malware are performed on a regular basis for additional security and protection. If, in our judgment, your purchase constitutes a high-risk transaction, we will require you to provide us with a copy of your valid government-issued photo identification, and possibly a copy of a recent bank statement for the credit or debit card used for the purchase. We reserve the right to change products and product pricing at any time. We also reserve the right to refuse any order you place with us. These restrictions may include orders placed by or under the same customer account, the same credit card, and/or orders that use the same billing address. In the event that we make a change to or cancel an order, we may attempt to notify you by contacting the e-mail and/or billing address/phone number provided at the time the order was made. The Service may be cancelled at any-time by either party. Any previous payments made to the account prior to the cancellation of the account will remain with Relief Institute.
User content
We do not own any data, information or material (collectively, “Content”) that you submit on the Website in the course of using the Service. You shall have sole responsibility for the accuracy, quality, integrity, legality, reliability, appropriateness, and intellectual property ownership or right to use of all submitted Content. We may monitor and review the Content on the Website submitted or created using our Services by you. You grant us permission to access, copy, distribute, store, transmit, reformat, display and perform the Content of your user account solely as required for the purpose of providing the Services to you. Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, we have the right, though not the obligation, to, in our own sole discretion, refuse or remove any Content that, in our reasonable opinion, violates any of our policies or is in any way harmful or objectionable. You also grant us the license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish or distribute the Content created by you or stored in your user account for commercial, marketing or any similar purpose.
Accuracy of information
Occasionally there may be information on the Website that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions that may relate to promotions and offers. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information on the Website or Services is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order). We undertake no obligation to update, amend or clarify information on the Website including, without limitation, pricing information, except as required by law. No specified update or refresh date applied on the Website should be taken to indicate that all information on the Website or Services has been modified or updated.
Third party services
If you decide to enable, access or use third party services, be advised that your access and use of such other services are governed solely by the terms and conditions of such other services, and we do not endorse, are not responsible or liable for, and make no representations as to any aspect of such other services, including, without limitation, their content or the manner in which they handle data (including your data) or any interaction between you and the provider of such other services. You irrevocably waive any claim against Relief Institute LLC with respect to such other services. Relief Institute LLC is not liable for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with your enablement, access or use of any such other services, or your reliance on the privacy practices, data security processes or other policies of such other services. You may be required to register for or log into such other services on their respective platforms. By enabling any other services, you are expressly permitting Relief Institute LLC to disclose your data as necessary to facilitate the use or enablement of such other service.
Uptime guarantee
We offer a Service uptime guarantee of 99% of available time per month. The service uptime guarantee does not apply to service interruptions caused by: (1) periodic scheduled maintenance or repairs we may undertake from time to time; (2) interruptions caused by you or your activities; (3) outages that do not affect core Service functionality; (4) causes beyond our control or that are not reasonably foreseeable; and (5) outages related to the reliability of certain programming environments.
Backups
We perform regular backups of the Website and its Content and will do our best to ensure completeness and accuracy of these backups. In the event of hardware failure or data loss, we will restore backups automatically to minimize the impact and downtime.
Advertisements
During your use of the Website and Services, you may enter into correspondence with or participate in promotions of advertisers or sponsors showing their goods or services through the Website and Services. Any such activity, and any terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such activity, is solely between you and the applicable third party. We shall have no liability, obligation or responsibility for any such correspondence, purchase or promotion between you and any such third party.
Links to other resources
Although the Website and Services may link to other resources (such as websites, mobile applications, etc.), we are not, directly or indirectly, implying any approval, association, sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation with any linked resource, unless specifically stated herein. Some of the links on the Website may be “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, Relief Institute LLC will receive an affiliate commission. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating, and we do not warrant the offerings of any businesses or individuals or the content of their resources. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the actions, products, services, and content of any other third parties. You should carefully review the legal statements and other conditions of use of any resource which you access through a link on the Website and Services. Your linking to any other off-site resources is at your own risk.
Prohibited uses
In addition to other terms as set forth in the Agreement, you are prohibited from using the Website and Services or Content: (a) for any unlawful purpose; (b) to solicit others to perform or participate in any unlawful acts; (c) to violate any international, federal, provincial or state regulations, rules, laws, or local ordinances; (d) to infringe upon or violate our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others; (e) to harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, national origin, or disability; (f) to submit false or misleading information; (g) to upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious code that will or may be used in any way that will affect the functionality or operation of the Website and Services, third party products and services, or the Internet; (h) to spam, phish, pharm, pretext, spider, crawl, or scrape; (i) for any obscene or immoral purpose; or (j) to interfere with or circumvent the security features of the Website and Services, third party products and services, or the Internet. We reserve the right to terminate your use of the Website and Services for violating any of the prohibited uses.
Intellectual property rights
“Intellectual Property Rights” means all present and future rights conferred by statute, common law or equity in or in relation to any copyright and related rights, trademarks, designs, patents, inventions, goodwill and the right to sue for passing off, rights to inventions, rights to use, and all other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications and rights to apply for and be granted, rights to claim priority from, such rights and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection and any other results of intellectual activity which subsist or will subsist now or in the future in any part of the world. This Agreement does not transfer to you any intellectual property owned by Relief Institute LLC or third parties, and all rights, titles, and interests in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with Relief Institute LLC. All trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website and Services, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Relief Institute LLC or its licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website and Services may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of the Website and Services grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any of Relief Institute LLC or third-party trademarks.
Disclaimer of warranty
You agree that such Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and that your use of the Website and Services is solely at your own risk. We expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We make no warranty that the Services will meet your requirements, or that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free; nor do we make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the Service or as to the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through the Service or that defects in the Service will be corrected. You understand and agree that any material and/or data downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of Service is done at your own discretion and risk and that you will be solely responsible for any damage or loss of data that results from the download of such material and/or data. We make no warranty regarding any goods or services purchased or obtained through the Service or any transactions entered into through the Service unless stated otherwise. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from us or through the Service shall create any warranty not expressly made herein. Please review our Relief Disclaimer for additional information.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will Relief Institute LLC, its affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, suppliers or licensors be liable to any person for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, cover or consequential damages (including, without limitation, damages for lost profits, revenue, sales, goodwill, use of content, impact on business, business interruption, loss of anticipated savings, loss of business opportunity) however caused, under any theory of liability, including, without limitation, contract, tort, warranty, breach of statutory duty, negligence or otherwise, even if the liable party has been advised as to the possibility of such damages or could have foreseen such damages. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the aggregate liability of Relief Institute LLC and its affiliates, officers, employees, agents, suppliers and licensors relating to the services will be limited to an amount greater of one dollar or any amounts actually paid in cash by you to Relief Institute LLC for the prior one month period prior to the first event or occurrence giving rise to such liability. The limitations and exclusions also apply if this remedy does not fully compensate you for any losses or fails of its essential purpose. Ultimately, the most exclusive remedy for any dispute with us is the cancellation of your account.
If you are a California resident, you waive your rights with respect to California Civil Code section 1542 which says “A general release does not extend claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the Debtor.”
Termination
If you’re not using the Services appropriately, we’ll want to make an effort to make things right. But we reserve the right, if we determined it is the best solution, to terminate, suspend, and/or deactivate your account /listing/profile, immediately, without notice, if there is a violation of this Agreement of other policies and terms posted on the Site or through the Services by you or by someone using your information. We may also terminate, suspend, or deactivate your account/listing/profile for any other reason, including inactivity for an extended period. Relief Institute shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination, suspension or deactivation of your access to the Site and/or Services. In addition, you are in agreement to not attempt to use the Site and/or the Services after any such termination, suspension, or deactivation (except where deactivation is due solely to inactivity, and you are permitted to create another account). All Sections of this Agreement shall survive any termination or expiration of these Terms and Services.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold Relief Institute LLC and its affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, suppliers and licensors harmless from and against any liabilities, losses, damages or costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred in connection with or arising from any third party allegations, claims, actions, disputes, or demands asserted against any of them as a result of or relating to your Content, your use of the Website and Services or any willful misconduct on your part.
Severability
All rights and restrictions contained in this Agreement may be exercised and shall be applicable and binding only to the extent that they do not violate any applicable laws and are intended to be limited to the extent necessary so that they will not render this Agreement illegal, invalid or unenforceable. If any provision or portion of any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, it is the intention of the parties that the remaining provisions or portions thereof shall constitute their agreement with respect to the subject matter hereof, and all such remaining provisions or portions thereof shall remain in full force and effect.
Dispute resolution
The formation, interpretation, and performance of this Agreement and any disputes arising out of it shall be governed by the substantive and procedural laws of Texas, United States without regard to its rules on conflicts or choice of law and, to the extent applicable, the laws of United States. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue for actions related to the subject matter hereof shall be the courts located in Texas, United States, and you hereby submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts. You hereby waive any right to a jury trial in any proceeding arising out of or related to this Agreement. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to this Agreement.
Assignment
You may not assign, resell, sub-license or otherwise transfer or delegate any of your rights or obligations hereunder, in whole or in part, without our prior written consent, which consent shall be at our own sole discretion and without obligation; any such assignment or transfer shall be null and void. We are free to assign any of its rights or obligations hereunder, in whole or in part, to any third party as part of the sale of all or substantially all of its assets or stock or as part of a merger.
Limitation of Claims
No action arising under or in connection with this Agreement, regardless of the form, may be brought by you more than one (1) year after the cause of action arose; actions brought thereafter are forever barred.
Changes and amendments
We reserve the right to modify this Agreement or its terms relating to the Website and Services at any time, effective upon posting of an updated version of this Agreement on the Website. When we do, we will send you an email to notify you. Continued use of the Website and Services after any such changes shall constitute your consent to such changes. We may from time to time add new features to the Services, substitute a new service for an existing service, or discontinue or suspend one of the Services. Under no circumstances will the Relief Institute be liable for any suspension or discontinuation of any of the Services portion thereof, and the use of the new Services will be governed by this Agreement.
Acceptance of these terms
You acknowledge that you have read this Agreement and agree to all its terms and conditions. By accessing and using the Website and Services you agree to be bound by this Agreement. This Agreement and any supplemental terms, policies, rules, and guidelines posted through the Services, each of which are incorporated herein by reference, including the PRIVACY POLICY and the ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY, constitute the entire Agreement between you and us and supersede all previous written or oral agreements. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. The failure of Relief Institute to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The failure of either party to exercise in any respect any right provided herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder. If you do not agree to abide by the terms of this Agreement, you are not authorized to access or use the Website and Services.
Contacting us
If you would like to contact us to understand more about this Agreement or wish to contact us concerning any matter relating to it, you may send an email to legal@reliefinstitute.com.
This document was last updated on January 1, 2021.
