Terms of use

1. SUBJECT

These terms are intended to define the rights and obligations of users ("Users") and registered members ("Members") of the www.carenity.co.uk website and of ELSE CARE in its capacity as publisher of www.carenity.co.uk. Anyone who visits or interacts with the site, www.carenity.co.uk, is bound by these Terms, which govern the use of the site, its software and services.

2. ENTRY INTO FORCE

These general terms and conditions come into effect, without reservation with regard to Users, automatically on the day they first browse the website www.carenity.co.uk. They remain in effect throughout the time spent browsing www.carenity.co.uk. These terms and conditions come into effect, without reservation with regard to Members, on the date of the acceptance by each Member of www.carenity.co.uk both by means of a check box formalizing their consent to accept the general conditions and via a separate checkbox formalizing their consent for the processing of their personal health data, after having read the information and consent notice.

These terms and conditions remain in effect for the duration of the Member’s continued registration for the services provided by www.carenity.co.uk. Termination of such registration takes effect either on the day that Members request cancellation, or on the day their registration is terminated by ELSE CARE, under the terms described in these general conditions.

3. THE SERVICES OF www.carenity.co.uk

Services provided via the www.carenity.co.uk to Users and Members are intended exclusively for individuals over 16 years of age. All Users and Members of www.carenity.co.uk warrant to being 16 years of age or older. Because it is technically impossible to authenticate the age of Users and Members, each User and Member is responsible for preventing minors from accessing www.carenity.co.uk.

It’s currently free to register for www.carenity.co.uk services, although the cost of connecting to the Internet is the responsibility of Users and Members. However, ELSE CARE reserves the right to charge subscription fees for optional additional services, subject to prior approval by Members.

Access and use of www.carenity.co.uk are subject to these Terms and all applicable legal and regulatory provisions in force. Services provided via www.carenity.co.uk are not a substitute for consultation with competent health professionals. Users and Members must not in any circumstances use the information disseminated via www.carenity.co.uk to diagnose or determine a treatment and should consult the accredited health professionals responsible for their management and care before making any medical decision.

The information disseminated by www.carenity.co.uk (which differs from the information disseminated by the Members of www.carenity.co.uk) is strictly general, and aims to inform the Members. There is a risk that errors may be present in the information disseminated, www.carenity.co.uk makes every effort to update it regularly. The online tools available to Members do not in any way constitute a medical device nor an act of telemedicine. It is important to note that www.carenity.co.uk cannot assess the health of individual Members or Users using the data they submit via www.carenity.co.uk. Members and Users are solely responsible for any decision affecting their health and for any action taken in an emergency that is based on information posted on www.carenity.co.uk.

In any event, www.carenity.co.uk does not verify or check the consistency or relevance (particularly with regard to scientific, medical or health aspects) of the data entered by Members. No advice issued by a medical professional should be ignored or delayed as a result of information read on www.carenity.co.uk. In the case of a medical emergency, Members should immediately contact their doctor or dial emergency numbers such as 112. www.carenity.co.uk has not selected, validated, chosen or recommended any health professionals, products, reviews, opinions or other information that may be mentioned spontaneously on www.carenity.co.uk by members or in any advertising space. Any use by any Member or third party, of any information published by Carenity or the Members on www.carenity.co.uk shall be at the user’s own risk. The services provided by www.carenity.co.uk are principally as follows:

• For Users: general information service in the field of health, forums and presentation of the services available on www.carenity.co.uk;
• For Members:
  - A space to follow the news and activity of members of their community and their contacts;
  - Discussion forums: to share and discuss their illness with all Members in their community;
  - Private messaging;
  - Health profile: a space for monitoring the main indicators of their illness (e.g., physical condition, mood, sleep quality, blood pressure, weight, etc.);
  - Health scorecard: graphical summary of the information entered in the health profile to be printed and shared with their doctor at medical consultations;
  - Treatments: record of current drug treatments with option to note perceived efficacy, possible adverse side-effects and to give opinions;
  - Medical appointments: automated appointment reminder system;
  - Knowledge base: space for sharing links to articles and/or videos related to their illness
  - Studies, research, surveys: possibility of answering questionnaires proposed by ELSE CARE on its behalf or on behalf of its partners.

The services offered via www.carenity.co.uk are subject to change, which the Member hereby accepts and about which he/she will be informed on a regular basis. Given the evolution and progress of scientific and medical knowledge, Users and Members of www.carenity.co.uk hereby acknowledge that the information published is not exhaustive and may not be completely up-to-date.

Members may not use www.carenity.co.uk services or content for any purposes other than those set out in these Terms. In particular, Members shall refrain from using www.carenity.co.uk (including the services and content of other Members) to promote any product, service, facility or for any other commercial purpose. www.carenity.co.uk services and content are for the personal use of Members and may not be used for the benefit of any other business or organisation.

The services and content of www.carenity.co.uk, including the Members’ services and content, are for Members’ personal use.

Membership of www.carenity.co.uk is limited to private individuals. Commercial companies (in particular, all entities involved in the health sector, such as pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and insurers) may not register as Members of www.carenity.co.uk and are not licensed to use www.carenity.co.uk without express authorisation from ELSE CARE.

Any advertising content on www.carenity.co.uk is clearly identified as such.

We validate each new advertiser systematically and reserve the right to refuse advertising if its contents could be controversial or if our team considers that it fails to promote health. Decisions are made independently of any commercial or advertising influence.

Our site hosts advertising in the form of a banner. All banner ads are identified by the words “sponsored ad”. The site occasionally posts editorial advertisements. The content of the advertorial article is validated by the site’s editors. In this case, the words “Sponsored ad” are specified to avoid any ambiguity between editorial content and advertising.

4. THE CARENITY SCIENTIFIC AND ETHICS COMMITTEE

www.carenity.co.uk has a scientific and ethics committee composed of experts and physicians specialising in the fields of pathology featured in www.carenity.co.uk. Whenever necessary, the www.carenity.co.uk team consults the Committee on relevant medical questions, the operation and content of www.carenity.co.uk, matters of ethics and professional conduct. The Scientific and ethics Committee is composed of the following people: click here.

5. INTERACTIVE SERVICES AND EXCHANGE SPACES ON www.carenity.co.uk

Members can use interactive services and exchange spaces within which they can contribute freely without control or modification/deletion before publication by www.carenity.co.uk. Each Member acknowledges that the responsibility of www.carenity.co.uk for the provision of interactive services and exchange spaces is the responsibility as a technical intermediary defined by Article 6 I 2 of the Law for Confidence in the Digital Economy. That is to say that the responsibility of www.carenity.co.uk is only at the level of the technical means proposed to the Members and not to the contents of the site.

Members unconditionally undertake at all times while using www.carenity.co.uk to comply with all legal provisions in force and in particular:

• to respect privacy, personality and image rights;
• to respect the dignity and sensitivity of other Members;
• to protect the interests of minors;
• to respect medical confidentiality;
• not to do anything defamatory, abusive, insulting, demeaning, threatening, abusive, racist, bigoted, xenophobic or violent;
• not to harass any person, advocate crimes against humanity, do anything capable of provoking racial hatred, violence or child abuse or post any pornographic content;
• protect all copyright and proprietary rights.

order to preserve the quality of exchanges on the site, the administrators reserve the right to delete any content (words, photos, addresses...) that is inappropriate, offensive or defamatory.

Members bear full responsibility for all private messages and contributions to www.carenity.co.uk interactive and exchange spaces that are written, issued, exchanged or disseminated using their user name and password. www.carenity.co.uk keeps data for the identification of Members throughout the statutory period, and may communicate on legal requisitions.

• www.carenity.co.uk sets up a posteriori moderation of the contributions freely and directly diffused by the Members without control nor modification/deletion before publication
• www.carenity.co.uk is not bound by a general obligation to monitor contributions on the exchange spaces
• At the request of any Member using the appropriate legal forms, www.carenity.co.uk shall remove promptly without notice any illegal content and especially those that breach the provisions listed above or which infringe the rights of third parties.

Private messages received and sent from www.carenity.co.uk constitute private correspondence within the meaning of the legislation in force; as such, it is prohibited, under penalty of criminal prosecution, to disseminate these on exchange spaces. It is also prohibited to disseminate them to any unauthorized third parties, or the general public, without the express prior authorization of their authors.

Members grant www.carenity.co.uk the right to use, copy, display, implement, distribute, translate, edit and create work derived from their content, subject to the terms of the code of conduct and the privacy policy. The term “Content” refers to the use of forum posts, comments on articles, profile data and drug module data. The Content does not include information exchanged in the context of private messages via www.carenity.co.uk.

Every Member agrees not to disclose any data and/or information relating to another Member or a third party without the express consent of the Member concerned.

Members are informed and accept that the content of the contributions produced within the exchange spaces are referenced on the Internet, without identifying them in any way, particularly by their pseudonym or their first name, so as to respect their privacy. The capacity of the “patient” or “family member” may be referenced.

ELSE CARE SAS recommends its users to use a username that does not contain any immediately identifiable data (given and surname). Furthermore, ELSE CARE SAS reminds its users that usernames are visible on the public pages of the forum.

Each Member registered on Carenity is liable to be contacted by ELSE CARE on the basis of the information that he/she has communicated on the site. (See Article 11 - Personal data)

 6. MEMBERS’ OBLIGATIONS

Each Member represents and warrants that all information provided to www.carenity.co.uk during registration and in the course of membership is and shall be truthful, accurate, fair and not misleading. Members undertake not to interfere with or to impede the use by other Members of www.carenity.co.uk.

Members may not use www.carenity.co.uk to conduct any illegal activity or to violate the rights of others, or to provide instructions, information or guidance on illegal activities.

Each Member undertakes not to put into effect or use any robotic or other automated means to access www.carenity.co.uk. Each Member undertakes to deliver content and information free of computer viruses, spiders, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, or any other program intended to damage, expropriate, interfere, intercept or interfere with any www.carenity.co.uk system or the data or information stored, processed or provided by www.carenity.co.uk.

Members may not use any data via www.carenity.co.uk concerning another Member to collect information about that person or to facilitate the sending of unsolicited mass communications such as spam or to allow third parties to use such information on Members.

Each Member undertakes to protect and ensure the maintenance of the confidentiality of the password and the login, and is and remains fully responsible for all activities that occur under their password or account, whether or not the Member is aware of such activities. The Member is informed and accepts that www.carenity.co.uk reserves the right to unilaterally terminate the present general terms and conditions with respect to him/her (cancellation of the terms and conditions presented here) if the Member has knowingly provided his/her login and password to a third party.

Each Member agrees to notify www.carenity.co.uk promptly of any unauthorised use of his or her password and login or any connection in violation of the security of access to his account.

7. LINKS

a- From www.carenity.co.uk

www.carenity.co.uk neither verifies nor selects the content of sites that may be linked to from www.carenity.co.uk and is in no way responsible for the content of such sites. The presence of links to such sites does not in any way signify that www.carenity.co.uk endorses them, that their content is valid or that ELSE CARE accepts any responsibility whatsoever for their content or use. The links are offered purely for interest, without any further selection, qualification or certification. Accordingly Members use such sites at their own risk.

b- To www.carenity.co.uk

The use of a link to www.carenity.co.uk requires the express written consent of www.carenity.co.uk. This may be requested by contacting this email address: support@carenity.com.

8. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

CARENITY and the CARENITY logo are trade marks of ELSE CARE. Any use or reproduction of the word CARENITY or the CARENITY logo requires prior express written authorisation from ELSE CARE. Users and Members also acknowledge that ELSE CARE has exclusive title to the name www.carenity.co.uk and all goodwill in www.carenity.co.uk. Members assign all copyright in their contributions to ELSE CARE. All copyright, database rights and other intellectual and industrial property rights in www.carenity.co.uk is the exclusive property of ELSE CARE and is enforceable under national and international legislation. Accordingly, it is forbidden for any Member to exercise any copyright or other intellectual property right of ELSE CARE in www.carenity.co.uk without the prior express written authorisation from ELSE CARE and, in particular, not:

• to reproduce www.carenity.co.uk content by any means or to represent, distribute or market www.carenity.co.uk or its content in any way, whether for free or otherwise;
• to use, adapt, modify, transform, arrange www.carenity.co.uk or its content in any way whatsoever for the design, production, distribution or marketing of any similar service to www.carenity.co.uk or for any other reason whatsoever;
• to transcribe www.carenity.co.uk content, directly or indirectly, or to translate it into other language.

Any use of www.carenity.co.uk not complying with these terms and conditions, any representation, reproduction, modification, provision to a third party, in any capacity whatsoever, with or without consideration, of any commercial service that includes any element of www.carenity.co.uk is prohibited and may exposes those responsible to civil liability and criminal penalties.

9. LIABILITY

In no case shall ELSE CARE be responsible for any use of www.carenity.co.uk, services provided there or for any data disseminated there. This applies in any capacity whatsoever for any decision whatsoever, including any medical decision, which is the sole responsibility of the Member. ELSE CARE does not warrant that www.carenity.co.uk, its services or the information available on the website will meet the needs of Members. ELSE CARE does not guarantee permanent or error-free access to www.carenity.co.uk or that errors or malfunctions will be corrected immediately. Members acknowledge that advice, recommendations, information and data published by www.carenity.co.uk or other Members of www.carenity.co.uk are not controlled, approved, validated or approved by ELSE CARE. Any use of www.carenity.co.uk, services that are offered and any data which is obtained from the website is done at the risk of the Members and User making such use. In no case shall ELSE CARE, its partners, collaborators, employees or directors be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages (even if ELSE CARE has been advised of the possibility of such damages) as a result of using www.carenity.co.uk or because of any reliance that a Member may make on the content or services provided on www.carenity.co.uk. Each Member shall indemnify and hold harmless ELSE CARE, its officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries, partners, and affiliates, from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements, including reasonable legal and accounting fees that result, or are alleged to result, from that Member’s breach of this Agreement.

10. PERSONAL DATA

The company ELSE CARE is the data controller, within the meaning of French Law 78-17 of 6 January 1978, as amended, relating to IT data, files and freedoms, and within the meaning of EU Regulation 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, of 27 April 2016 (together known as the “Regulations”), in respect of the personal data of Members and Users.

Members’ data may, subject to their explicit consent in this regard and in accordance with the General Terms and Conditions of Use, be used as follows:

• To benefit from the services that interest them and for which they wish to register, namely:
  • Dissemination and sharing of information and a variety of content relating to health, human physical condition and illnesses and pathologies, and all products and/or services relating thereto,
  • Their connection with the other members of www.carenity.co.uk concerning the same illness, as chosen by the Member for this purpose,
  • The exchange of information and content with other Members of www.carenity.co.uk through private e-mails and/or via the community’s publication spaces and interactive discussions (e.g. news feeds, discussion forums, private messaging, etc.),
  • The benefit of tools for the individual monitoring of Members’ state of health,
• Members are informed that in this context, personal data - particularly identification data and health data - concerning them are collected and processed in accordance with these general terms and conditions of use and on the basis of their express consent after having read the information and consent notice at the time of initial registration.
• Members’ data may also be processed to allow them to receive corporate or promotional information from ELSE CARE or its partners, on topics of interest to them, on the basis of voluntary, active and specific consent on their part. For example, he or she may receive information on studies and surveys to enable him or her to participate if he or she so wishes and/or to be put in touch with our potential partners responsible for carrying out such studies and/or surveys.
• Members may withdraw their consent at any time without providing a reason. In this case, they acknowledge that they will no longer be able to benefit from the services available from www.carenity.co.uk and/or receive corporate and promotional information.

The withdrawal of the Member's consent will not affect the lawfulness (legal authorization) of the processing carried out prior to the withdrawal of consent. That is to say, if the Member withdraws his or her consent, the data collected prior to the withdrawal can be legally processed (consulted, analyzed, etc.)

Members’ data may also be used within the context of studies or evaluations in the field of health, including semantic, scientific, medical, medico-economic observations, or quality of life aspects implemented by ELSE CARE on its own behalf, or on behalf of its contractual partners, unless specifically opposed by the particular Member, for each study brought to his/her knowledge beforehand, and after implementation of all the formalities required by CNIL (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique e des Libertés, French Data Protection Authority) when they are applicable. Studies are conducted after the application of enhanced security measures to ensure respect for privacy.

Lastly, ELSE CARE may also produce statistics within the context of its activities and the services accessible via www.carenity.co.uk which it implements after aggregating data from Members and Users (data collection) so they can no longer be identified and to ensure their anonymity.

The personal data of Members and Users are strictly intended for ELSE CARE and may only be used by Members authorized specifically for this purpose, as and when using the services of www.carenity.co.uk.

As such, Members are expressly informed that it is recommended to choose a username/pseudonym associated with a non-identifying photo as an “avatar”, rather than their real identity, in order to protect their privacy within the community.

Members assess, at their own risk, whether to appear on www.carenity.co.uk and to participate in the various services offered in a way that identifies them, or alternatively to choose information that allows them to preserve their anonymity.

Any Member not wishing to be identified on www.carenity.co.uk is informed and accepts that the risk of identification by other Members registered in the same community as him or her, exists, depending on the nature and accuracy of the information that he or she consents to share within the community.

ELSE CARE uses subcontractors who apply adequate safeguards to implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure that the confidentiality, security and sustainability requirements for these data are met.

Where applicable, the Member's data may be transmitted to the sponsors of the studies/surveys, subject to the Member's specific objection to each study being brought to his/her attention beforehand.

ELSE CARE guarantees that the personal data of Members and Users will not be sent to any unauthorized third party.

Members' data regarding the use of the services offered via www.carenity.co.uk are kept for the duration necessary for the use of these services. If ELSE CARE detects inactivity in a Member's personal account for 5 years, ELSE CARE will send a message to the Member informing them of the closure of their account and the deletion of this personal data.

In accordance with the aforementioned Regulations, Members and Users each have:

• the right to access and correct personal data concerning them;
• the right to object and delete their personal data;
• the right to communicate their instructions regarding the fate of their personal data after their death;

Members and Users also have:

• the right to withdraw consent at any time;
• the right to request restriction of processing;
• the right to be forgotten and to erasure of personal data;
• the right to the portability of their data, where this right applies;
• the right to lodge a complaint with the CNIL.

To exercise their rights, Members may contact ELSE CARE directly by logging into their personal account and sending a private message via www.carenity.co.uk.

Members and Users may also contact the ELSE CARE Data Protection Officer for any questions regarding their personal data, at the following address: dpo@carenity.com

The Carenity website makes use of cookies. These do not include personal or identification data. The cookies policy can be accessed here.

11. TERMINATION OF REGISTRATION

Members may terminate their registration at any time using the account deletion link located in the account settings. Members agree that ELSE CARE will immediately terminate their membership of www.carenity.co.uk in the event of breach of any of the obligations described in these terms and conditions or in any applicable law, or will limit their access to the Member area of the site without notice or compensation of any kind whatsoever. Without limitation of the foregoing, the following in particular may be grounds for termination of Members’ registration: (a) infringements or violations of these terms and conditions of use, the code of conduct and privacy policy or any of the contractual texts online on www.carenity.co.uk (b) non-compliance with any legal or regulatory provision in force, (c) voluntary deregistration by the Member, (d) any technical malfunction that led in error to the deactivation of the Member's registration, and (e) absence of use of www.carenity.co.uk for a continuous period of 5 years. www.carenity.co.uk hereby informs you that personal data concerning Members who are deregistered for any reason whatsoever, either at the Member’s request or by ELSE CARE, results in the deletion, within 72 hours, of all their personal data, with only the completely anonymous and aggregated data (grouping of your data with those of all Members) being retained by ELSE CARE.

12. AGREEMENT ON EVIDENCE

The computerized records stored in the computer systems of www.carenity.co.uk under reasonable security conditions, will be considered as evidence of communications and transmission of information between the User and/or Member and www.carenity.co.uk and ELSE CARE. The storage and archiving of information and data is carried out using reliable and sustainable media, in accordance with Articles 1366 et seq. of the French Civil Code.

Users and Members acknowledge and accept, following their authentication, that any declarations made using the functionality provided by www.carenity.co.uk, and in particular their acceptance of the General Terms and Conditions of Use and their consent to the collection and processing of Members' health data, constitute an electronic signature within the meaning of the provisions of Articles 1366 et seq. of the French Civil Code, and express their consent by providing this evidence.

In accordance with the provisions of Articles 1366 et seq. of the French Civil Code, the implementation of an electronic signature, based on a reliable identification process guaranteeing the link between the electronic signature and the instrument to which it is attached, is considered to be a valid signature and evidence within the meaning of the aforementioned provisions.

The User and the Member may not contest the admissibility, validity or evidential value of the aforementioned elements in electronic format or support, on the basis of any legal provision that specifies that certain documents must be written or signed to constitute proof. Thus, the elements considered constitute evidence and, if they are produced as means of proof by ELSE CARE in any litigation or other proceedings, will be admissible, valid and opposable in the same way, under the same conditions and with the same probative force as any document that would be established, received or kept in writing. That is to say that the elements cited here online constitute evidence in the same way as written or signed documents. Thus, the Member will not be able to challenge as evidence the elements cited in this document by using the argument that the documents must be written or signed.

13. LAW

www.carenity.co.uk was designed for Users and Members resident in the United Kingdom. English law governs these general conditions. Foreign (including Scottish) Users expressly accept that by using www.carenity.co.uk English law shall apply. Accordingly, Users and Members acknowledge that:

• - Medical practices mentioned in www.carenity.co.uk,
• - references cited in www.carenity.co.uk,
• - and generally any information that is disseminated to, and / or exchanged via www.carenity.co.uk,

may not be appropriate outside England and Wales.

14. GENERAL PROVISIONS

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between Members and ELSE CARE. ELSE CARE may assign these terms and conditions at any time to any subsidiary or successor, regardless of the operation. Members and Users may not assign or transfer this Agreement to any third party. This Agreement does not create rights that may be enforced by any third party to this Agreement. ELSE CARE reserves the right to change www.carenity.co.uk at any time, including these Terms, without notice or prior information to Members and Users. Members and Users have a responsibility at all times to review these Terms: continued use will be taken as agreement to the updated Terms. If one or more provisions of these terms are held to be invalid or declared as such under any law, regulation or following a final decision of a competent court, other provisions shall remain in full force and scope.