Last Updated: February 1, 2008

We reserve the right to amend these Terms of Use from time to time, and to post additional terms of use on other areas of the Web site. Any such amendments and additional terms shall be effective when posted by us on this Web site or otherwise made available to you. Your access to or use of this Web site after we have amended these Terms of Use shall signify your acceptance of the amended terms. It remains your responsibility to review these Terms of Use to ensure that you are updated as to any changes.

This Web site provides access to information and services of general interest to visitors, including health-related and medical information. Nothing contained on this Web site is or should be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Further, content posted by medical professionals on this Web site shall not give rise to the creation of a patient-physician relationship. You should not use this Web site as a substitute for your physician’s advice, or delay in obtaining diagnosis or treatment because of something you have read on this Web site or anywhere else on the Internet. If you suspect that you may have a medical problem or condition, please contact your physician or other qualified health care professional immediately.

Although SSMHC strives to make available quality information and services on this Web site, SSMHC makes no guaranties concerning the accuracy, reliability, completeness, efficacy, timeliness, or appropriateness of any information or services. We do not represent or warrant that your use of this Web site will be uninterrupted, error-free, free from viruses or other malicious code, or free from typographical errors or alterations by third parties.

THIS WEB SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, AND ALL ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE WEB SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. SSMHC, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES AND SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS WEB SITE, OR THE INFORMATION AND SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THIS WEB SITE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

This Web site may contain references to products, services, information and Web sites of third parties, including links to Web sites not owned or operated by SSMHC. The inclusion of these references and links should not be construed as any sort of affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement, or approval. When you access a third party Web site, you do so at your own risk. You should review the privacy policies of other Web sites carefully before providing any information to such Web sites. We shall not be responsible or liable for any information, products or services available on or through any third party Web site, or for any third party Web site’s privacy practices.

Certain areas of this Web site may permit Web site visitors to submit or "post" content on the Web site, including blogs, comments, personal stories, and other information and materials (referred to collectively as "user content"). We reserve the right, but do not assume the obligation, to monitor, review, remove and delete user content for any reason. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is possible that other users may post inaccurate, offensive or inappropriate content. We do not approve of such conduct. However, we make no representations or warranties, express or implied, as to any user content, and shall have no responsibility or liability for the content or conduct of other users of this Web site.

Any content submitted by you for posting on this Web site must be your original work of authorship, appropriate for viewing by a general audience, and otherwise in compliance with these Terms of Use. We reserve the right, but do not assume the obligation, to monitor, review, remove and delete content submitted by you for any reason. By submitting such content, you hereby grant SSMHC, its affiliates, successors and assigns a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual and irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, and otherwise access and use such content in connection with this Web site, any affiliated and successor Web sites, and our business operations, and for any other purpose made apparent at the time of submission.

Please consider carefully the types of personal information and other content that you submit for public viewing on this Web site. Most areas of this Web site may be viewed by the general public. We have no control over, and disclaim all responsibility and liability for, how other users may respond to, use, or misuse the content that you post for public viewing on this Web site, or for any actions taken by other users online or offline.

This Web site is provided for your personal, non-commercial use. You may not:

• Use this Web site for advertising, promotional, or other commercial purposes;

• Hold yourself out as or attempt to impersonate a SSMHC representative, physician, patient, or other Web site user;

• Submit content that is illegal, unlawful, violent, harmful, threatening, abusive, obscene, offensive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, false, deceptive, misleading, unsafe, invasive of another's privacy, or endangers minors in any way;

• Transmit "junk mail," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," "spam," or other unsolicited mass mailings or communications;

• Promote criminal or illegal activity, including advertising any illegal service or offering any items for sale which are prohibited or restricted by any applicable law;

• Infringe, misappropriate, or violate the copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights, rights of privacy or publicity, or other rights of any third party, or violate any contractual, fiduciary or other duty or obligation;

• Collect names, phone numbers, email addresses, or other personal data about anyone for any commercial, unlawful or other purpose, "stalk" or harass anyone, or contact anyone who has asked not be contacted;

• Use automated means, such as spiders, robots, crawlers, or data mining tools, to download data from the Web site, or engage in any other automated use of this Web site, such as using scripts to add users or post content;

• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our network or computer systems, or engage in any activity that disrupts, diminishes the quality of, interferes with the performance of, or impairs the functionality of the Web site.

Certain areas of this Web site are private. You may not access or use any private or restricted-access areas unless expressly authorized by SSMHC. Your username and password for accessing private and restricted-access areas of the Web site may be used by you only, and may not be shared with any other individuals. You are solely responsible for selecting, changing, and maintaining the security of your username, password and account information, and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account or access to your username or password.

We reserve the right to terminate your access to or use of this Web site at any time and for any reason, with or without prior notice to you, including if you violate any provision of these Terms of Use, or use this Web site in a manner for which it is not intended to be used. These Terms of Use will survive and remain in effect even after such termination.

You agree to indemnify and hold SSMHC, its directors, officers, agents, employees, affiliates and suppliers harmless from and against any and all claims, suits, damages, liabilities, losses, judgments, awards, settlements, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and legal costs) of any kind arising out of or resulting directly or indirectly from your use or misuse of this Web site, any content submitted by you, or your violation of these Terms of Use.

SSMHC, its affiliates and suppliers reserve all right, title and interest in and to this Web site, including but not limited to all materials, information, and compilations of information available on or through this Web site, as well as the domain name and sub-domains, design, layout, graphics, programming code and "look and feel" of the Web site, all goodwill arising therefrom, and all copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property and proprietary rights embodied therein and appurtenant thereto; provided, however, copyright is not claimed as to any works in the public domain.

We hereby grant to you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and make up to one (1) copy of the information posted on this Web site for your personal, non-commercial use in accordance with and subject to these Terms of Use and all applicable laws and regulations. You may not modify, reproduce, distribute, sell, or create derivative works based upon this Web site, or post any content from this Web site to newsgroups, mail lists or electronic bulletin boards. All other rights are reserved to SSMHC, its affiliates and suppliers.

These Terms of Use, and your submission and our use of personal information, is further subject to the Privacy Policy for this Web site, available at /internet/home/ssmcorp.nsf/documents/privacy%20policy?opendocument.

You may not use this Web site to post, modify, distribute, or reproduce any copyrighted works of third parties, or otherwise infringe, misappropriate, or violate the intellectual property rights of any third party. It is our policy to terminate posting privileges by users who repeatedly infringe the copyrights of others upon receipt of proper notification by the copyright owner or its legal agent. If you believe that your work has been posted or used on this Web site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our Copyright Agent with written notice containing the following information: (i) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest that is allegedly infringed; (ii) identification of the copyrighted work (or in the case of multiple works, a representative list of such works) claimed to have been infringed; (iii) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing, and the location of that material; (iv) your address, telephone number, and email address; (v) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (vi) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate, and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest that allegedly is infringed. Our Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement may be reached by mail at: Copyright Agent, SSM Health Care, [Mailing Address]; by phone at: [Phone Number]; by facsimile at: [Fax Number], Attn: Copyright Agent; or by email at: [Email Address].

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL SSMHC, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR SIMILAR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS WEB SITE, THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THIS WEB SITE, OR YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THIS WEB SITE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY OF SSMHC, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES AND SUPPLIERS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS WEB SITE, THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THIS WEB SITE, OR YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THIS WEB SITE EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE FEES (IF ANY) PAID BY YOU TO SSMHC IN ORDER TO ACCESS OR USE THIS WEB SITE IN THE THREE (3) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCRUAL OF THE FIRST SUCH CLAIM, OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100). THE EXISTENCE OF ONE OR MORE CLAIMS SHALL NOT EXPAND THIS LIMITATION. THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY SHALL APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, AND EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

This Web site is hosted in the United States of America. These Terms of Use and the relationship between you and us relating to your access to and use of this Web site shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Missouri, U.S.A. for all purposes, without regard to any conflict of laws principles that would require the application of the laws of a different jurisdiction.

You agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit of the State of Missouri, or if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, then to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, for any dispute, claim or action brought by or on behalf of you arising out of or related to these Terms of Use or your access to or use of this Web site, and hereby waive any objections to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of such courts, including without limitation any objections based on forum non conveniens. The foregoing shall not prevent us from seeking legal or immediate, temporary or permanent injunctive or other equitable relief against you in any court of competent jurisdiction.

You may not assign these Terms of Use, in whole or in part. Any attempted assignment or delegation shall be null and void from the beginning and without further effect. We may assign any right or duty under these Terms of Use with or without notice to you, including to any affiliate or successor in interest. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms of Use shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of you and us, and each of our respective representatives, heirs, administrators, successors and permitted assigns.

These Terms of Use set forth the entire agreement between you and us with regard to the subject matter hereof, and supersede all prior agreements. The captions and section headings in these Terms of Use are for reference purposes only and shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of these Terms of Use. If any provision of these Terms of Use is determined to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, the provision shall be amended and interpreted to accomplish the objectives of such provision to the greatest extent possible under applicable law, and the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use shall continue in full force and effect.

If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, or any other questions or comments concerning this Web site, please contact us at webmaster@ssmhc.com.