At the Relief Institute, our ultimate mission is to create a trustworthy and informative website that provides the patient with a stress-free process for making educated and confident decisions for their medical care. Our commitment to empowering the patient directs the core values of how we structure our platform, onsite search mechanism process and results, as well as, our overall business structure. We like to think of ourselves as more than a technology company connecting doctors with patients because at the heart of our work, we aim to improve people’s overall well-being. As a result, the services we provide are free to patients. We ensure you have access to the top providers in your area at no charge from the Relief Institute.
At our Core, the Relief Institute, is curious, trustworthy, transparent, and acts with passion. We are always focused on the interactions between Relief Institute, patients, and medical providers, and attempt to navigate those relationships with integrity. These values are core to the culture of the company, the decisions we make, and the way we operate. We expect those who utilize the services provided by the Relief Institute to be respectful of our services, the providers who participate, and other patients who are seeking care. While our business represents what we do and our values represent who we are, the Code of Conduct and Ethics outlined below describe how we should behave.
Our core values and mission both begin and end with the patient’s well-being. Our commitment to empowering patients guides how we structure our platform, our search process and results, and our overall business structure. This is why it is free for patients to utilize our services. You should never have to pay a fee, from Relief Institute or our participating Providers, to receive the caliber of service that we provide with finding a proven medical professional.
Relief Code of Conduct and Ethics
The Relief Institute’s Code of Conduct and Ethics listed below, set out the expectations for how Relief Institute employees work and represent Relief Institute. It does not include every legal detail or policy but serves as a compass to keep us aligned with our ethics, values, and the law.
- We follow and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
- We do not tolerate harassment
- We provide a safe, welcoming, and productive work environment
- We operate honestly, ethically, professionally, and transparently
- We welcome and support people of all backgrounds and identities.
- We are an equal opportunity employer and make our hiring decisions based on performance, qualifications, abilities, and the needs of our business.
- We depend on each other to produce the best work we can as a company.
- We secure and protect our corporate and customer systems and information.
- We protect our intellectual property and we respect the proprietary rights of others.
- After thorough and discreet investigation, we enforce our policies with appropriate discipline.
- We protect those who raise concerns from retaliation.
- Safeguard patient data and adhere to HIPAA and other applicable guidelines in the use, maintenance, storage or disclosure of an individual’s health information.
Patient Rules of Conduct
Providing the patient with a positive experience while utilizing the Relief institute services is a primary goal at the Relief Institute. Along with employees of Relief institute the patients must follow Rules of Conduct while utilizing the site, interaction with Relief employees and/or associates, and the Providers that participate in the Relief institute program. Violation of the guidelines may be grounds for suspension or termination from the Relief Institute program.
- Always treat others with respect and follow all applicable laws.
- Zero tolerance for harassment, use of profanity, threatening, intimidating, or inflicting harm on providers, their office staff and administrators, or Relief Institute representatives.
- When filling out the form on the site or speaking with a Relief Institute representative, always provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information along with your insurance plan.
- Only request appointments with providers you plan to see to respect both the provider’s time and other patients seeking care.
- If you have a habit of rescheduling, cancelling, or missing appointments all together then the Relief Institute reserves the right to terminate your use of the services.
- If Relief Institute or a participating provider suspects a patient is displaying unlawful behavior (ie. Drug-seeking), then we reserve the right to terminate that user’s access to Relief Institute’s services.
- Always submit honest, fair, and accurate reviews of the providers participating in the Relief Institute program.
Medical Providers – Code of Conduct
Developing and delivering an exceptional patient experience requires a strong and trusting partnership with the providers that participate in our Relief Institute program. The guidelines below serve as a provider code of conduct that outline our expectations for participating providers’ behavior. Consistent with the Relief Institute’s User Agreement, violation of this code of conduct may be grounds for suspension or termination from Relief Institute’s program.
- Always treat others with respect and follow all applicable laws.
- Zero tolerance for harassment, use of profanity, threatening, intimidating, or inflicting harm on providers, their office staff and administrators, or Relief Institute representatives.
- Do not take any unlawful or unethical actions against patients for posting critical or negative reviews or for any other reason.
- Follow all applicable professional rules and ethical guidelines while interacting with and/or providing medical care to patients.
- Safeguard patient data, and adhere to HIPAA and other applicable guidelines in the use, maintenance, storage or disclosure of an individual’s health information.
- In accordance with the Relief Certification process, always maintain a valid, up-to-date, and unrestricted license in all jurisdictions in which you practice and as necessary for Relief Institute to display your specialties.
- Notify Relief Institute immediately should there be any changes in the status of our license or your ability to practice.
- Your first priority should always be the best interest of the patient; you should separate your financial interests from the treatment(s) you recommend or provide.
- Never facilitate or enable any unlawful drug-seeking behavior.
- When a Relief Institute user requests an appointment with a specific provider, ensure that the user sees the provider they selected.
- An accurate, honest, and up-to-date Relief Institute profile that includes your professional statement, location, and accepted in-network insurances, etc. must always be maintain and up-to-date.
- Providers must make every effort to honor and uphold Relief Institute users’ scheduled appointment times and prevent cancelling or rescheduling.
- Do not charge fees to only Relief Institute users as to pass any part of your Relief Institute fees on to Relief Institute users.
- Never directly or indirectly discourage or prevent Relief Institute users from using the Relief Institute platform as they intend.
- Never direct, instruct, or encourage Relief Institute users to take actions intended to avoid incurring Relief Institute fees
- Always pay for services rendered (e.g. never fraudulently dispute or refuse payment for new patient conversions generated through Relief Institute’s program).
- Do not direct or instruct Relief Institute users to do anything that would violate Relief Institute’s Terms of Use and Acceptable Use Policy, including submitting false information.
- Never directly or indirectly attempt to prevent reviews (critical, negative, or otherwise), or to submit fraudulent reviews, including for the purposes of improving your Relief Institute ratings.
- Never relay inaccurate, misleading or defamatory information about Relief Institute’s service to our users or anyone else.
- Never use Relief Institute’s trademark, logo, or intellectual property without our prior consent.
