Terms of Use

Your access to, and use of, this website , including any content, functionality or services offered on or though the Site (“Site”), are governed by the following terms and conditions, including all amendments made from time to time, together with any documents and/or additional terms expressly incorporated by reference, including, but not limited to NL Health Services’ Site Privacy Policy found at https://nlhealthservices.ca/privacy-policy/ (collectively “Terms and Conditions of Use”). These Terms and Conditions of Use constitute a legal agreement between you and the Provincial Health Authority, operating as Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (“NL Health Services”). BY USING THE SITE, YOU ACCEPT, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY, AND TO COMPLY WITH, THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SITE. NL Health Services reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions of Use and/or any content of the Site at any time without notice. Please review these Terms and Conditions of Use and the Site content regularly as your continued use of this Site now and following the posting of any updated Terms and Conditions of Use and/or Site content will constitute your agreement to any changes to these Terms and Conditions of Use.

If any term(s) or condition(s) set out in these Terms and Conditions of Use is found to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal for any reason, the remaining terms and conditions will continue in full force.

These Terms and Conditions of Use are deemed to have been entered into by you in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The content of this Site is provided for general information purposes only. The content is not intended to be relied upon as medical advice or to replace consultations with a health-care professional or to obtain medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health-care provider for any medical or health questions. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Site.

The following rules apply when accessing or using this Site. You agree that you will not:

• use this Site in violation of any law, rule or regulation;
• interfere with or disrupt this Site or any of NL Health Services’ computer systems, servers, networks, databases, software, hardware or equipment used by or for this Site;
• interfere with the use or enjoyment of this Site by others;
• introduce code which is disruptive or harmful; and/or
• attempt to gain unauthorized access to NL Health Services’ computer systems, servers, networks, databases, software, hardware or equipment, including, but not limited to: user-restricted areas of this Site; logins and passwords of others; or personal information/personal health information and personal accounts of others.

This Site and its content, features and functionality, including but not limited to, all information, software, code, data text, displays, graphics, photographs, images, video, audio, music, broadcast, design, presentation, website layout, selection, and arrangement, are protected by copyright, trademark and other proprietary rights of NL Health Services and/or third parties. Except as expressly permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use, no portion of the Site or its contents, including, without limitation, images, audio and visual materials, trademarks, slogans, trade names and logos, whether registered or unregistered, may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, or for any purpose, without prior written permission from NL Health Services or the applicable third party. Any unauthorized downloading, redistribution, retransmission, copying, modification or commercial use of the content may be a violation of federal or other law and could result in legal action.

Subject to the preceding paragraph, NL Health Services grants you a limited license to display, print and use the content of this Site solely for your personal, non-commercial use. Such license is revocable by NL Health Services at any time at the sole option of NL Health Services. In consideration of this limited license, you shall ensure that all copyright, trademark and other proprietary notices are retained on any copy of the Site materials in the same form and manner as the original. In the event social media platforms are linked to certain content on the Site, you may take such actions as the Site and as such third-party social media platforms permit.

If you print, copy, or download any part of the Site in breach of these Terms and Conditions of Use, your right to use the Site will cease immediately and you must, at NL Health Service’s option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. You have no right, title, or interest in or to the Site or to any content on the Site, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by NL Health Services. Any use of the Site not expressly permitted by these Terms and Conditions of Use is a breach of these Terms and Conditions of Use and may infringe or violate copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property or other proprietary laws.

Certain materials or information available to you through links to third party websites may be subject to third party intellectual property rights. All such intellectual property rights are and shall remain the property of their respective owners or creators (as the case may be).

Your provision of any content, material and/or information by submission, posting, publishing, displaying, or transmission to NL Health Services via the Site (collectively “User Submissions”) through any functionality such as applications, chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, personal, or interest group web pages, profiles, forums, bulletin boards, and any other interactive functions (collectively “Interactive Functions”) constitutes your consent to all actions NL Health Services may take with respect to User Submissions in accordance with these Terms and Conditions of Use. By providing User Submissions via the Site through Interactive Functions, you grant NL Health Services the right to a world-wide, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute, and otherwise disclose to third parties any such information for any purpose and/or incorporate such information into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. You further waive any moral rights or other rights of authorship as a condition of submission. NL Health Services is not responsible or legally liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Submissions submitted by you.

By providing User Submissions via the Site through Interactive Functions, you declare and warrant that you own or have the necessary rights to submit the User Submissions and have the right to grant the license hereof to NL Health Services and its affiliates and service providers and to the User Submissions. You represent and warrant that the User Submissions comply with these Terms and Conditions of Use, do not, in any manner, violate any applicable laws, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, do not infringe on the intellectual property rights, including copyright, trademark, trade secret or patent rights, of any third party. Without limiting the foregoing, you also warrant and agree that any User Submissions shall not:

• In any manner violate any applicable federal, provincial, local, or international law or regulation including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software, patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property, legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy of others) or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms and Conditions of Use and NL Health Services’ Site Privacy Policy found at https://nlhealthservices.ca/privacy-policy/.
• In any manner violate the terms of use of any third-party website that is linked to the Site, including but not limited to, any third-party social media website.
• Include or contain any material that is exploitive, obscene, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, hateful, defamatory, sexually explicit or pornographic, violent, inflammatory, or discriminatory based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age or other such legally prohibited ground or be otherwise objectionable, such determination to be made in NL Health Services sole discretion.
• Involve, provide, or contribute any false, inaccurate, or misleading information.
• Include sending, knowingly receiving, uploading, downloading, using, or reusing any material that does not comply with these Terms and Conditions of Use.
• Encourage any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Site, or which, as determined by NL Health Services, may harm NL Health Services or users of the Site or expose them to liability.

NL Health Services has used reasonable efforts to ensure the information provided on this Site is accurate when posted. However, NL Health Services does not make any representation or warranty of any kind as to the quality, accuracy, currency or completeness of the content on this Site. NL Health Services does not endorse or recommend any products, services, techniques or procedures mentioned on this Site.

This Site may contain links to websites and servers maintained by third parties over whom NL Health Services has no control. These links have been provided solely as a convenience for users of this Site and do not constitute an endorsement by NL Health Services of such third-party sites. NL Health Services makes no representations regarding the content, accuracy or timeliness of materials on such third-party websites or the security or reliability of these third-party websites and your access to them is at your own risk. NL Health Services encourages users to review any Privacy and Security Statements/Policies, Terms of Use, Disclaimers and other terms or conditions governing the use of these third-party sites when assessing the quality, accuracy, currency or completeness of their content and/or whether or not to access these sites. NL Health Services accepts no responsibility for such sites or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

You may see links on this Site to pages on former agencies and/or health authorities’ websites that are now controlled by NL Health Services (referred to as “Subsites”). These Terms and Conditions of Use apply to any pages on those Subsites that you access through the links on this Site. However, if you access pages on a Subsite directly, you must comply with that Subsite’s terms of use.

Use of this Site and its contents is at your own risk. This Site and its contents are provided strictly “as is” and without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied and you should not rely on any such Site content, or any content contained on any linked websites or linked social media platforms without first independently verifying it to be accurate, current and complete. Any information on this Site represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of NL Health Services or its affiliated physicians, employees, directors, officers, trustees, agents, independent contractors and any other parties involved in the creation, production or delivery of the Site. NL Health Services does not guarantee or warrant the quality, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, appropriateness or suitability of the information on the Site or of any product or services referenced on the Site. NL Health Services assumes no obligation to update the information or advise on further developments concerning topics mentioned on the Site. The information on this Site may be changed from time to time without notice.

NL Health Services and its affiliated physicians, employees, directors, officers, trustees, agents, independent contractors and any other parties involved in the creation, production or delivery of the Site disclaim all warranties, representations, covenants and conditions regarding use of the Site or any linked websites or linked social media platforms or the information on the Site or any linked websites or linked social media platforms, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability; merchantable quality; fitness for a particular purpose; non-infringement; safety; quality; freedom from defects or that defects will be corrected; uninterrupted, virus-free or error-free use of this Site or any linked websites or linked social media platforms; whether expressed or implied, or arising from operation of law, course of performance,  course of dealing, usage or trade practice or otherwise.

NL Health Services, its affiliated physicians, employees, directors, officers, trustees, agents, independent contractors and any other parties involved in the creation, production or delivery of the Site, and each of their respective successors and assigns, disclaim any responsibility and shall not be liable for any damages, claims, liabilities, costs or obligations of any kind whatsoever including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, punitive, exemplary or other damages whatsoever and howsoever caused, arising out of or in connection with the Site or any linked websites or linked social media platforms, the use or misuse of the Site or the information on the Site or any linked websites or linked social media platforms, reliance on the Site information or any information on linked websites or linked social media platforms, or the inability to use the Site or any linked websites or linked social media platforms, whether such damages arise in contract, tort, negligence, equity, statute law or any other legal basis.

You acknowledge that your use of the Site and/or any linked websites or linked social media platforms is at your  own risk, and by such use you agree, to the extent permitted by applicable law, to defend, indemnify and hold harmless NL Health Services and its affiliated physicians, employees, directors, officers, trustees, agents, independent contractors and any other parties involved in the creation, production or delivery of the Site, and each of their respective successors and assigns, from any and all liability, loss, injury, damages, costs and expenses (including legal fees and expenses) arising from your breach of, or non-compliance with, these Terms and Conditions of Use and your use of the Site or any linked websites or linked social media platforms, or that may be incurred by NL Health Services arising from your breach of, or non-compliance with, these Terms and Conditions of Use and your use of the Site or any linked websites or linked social media platforms.

 

The Internet is not a secure medium and privacy cannot be ensured.  Communication by email, over the Internet and other publicly accessible networks is not secure. Any information that you send by email may be lost, intercepted or altered while it is being transmitted and is at your own risk. NL Health Services also recommends the use of appropriate security, antivirus and other protective software to help reduce internet security risks.

NL Health Services assumes no liability for the delay, failure, interruption or corruption of any data transmitted in connection with this Site and/or by email and over the internet and does not warrant that the Site is free of infection, viruses, worms, or code that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.

NL Health Services’ security practices are continually evolving to ensure that the integrity and confidentiality of information and systems are maintained. NL Health Services use up-to-date security safeguards to protect its networks and websites from misuse, alteration, copying, disclosure, destruction, monitoring or unauthorized sharing of information and damage. The safeguards deployed include the use of security software and encryption protocols and involve physical, technical and procedural controls to protect information.

Please note that NL Health Services’ employees and its agents and service providers reserve the right to monitor and review all communications and data available through the Site for the purposes of managing the Site, investigating and troubleshooting incidents, and adding functionality. By accessing the Site, you are expressly consenting to these activities.

Notification of Site interruptions will be communicated ahead of time on this Site and/or via social media or other mass communication channels. NL Health Services will make every effort to minimize disruptions and downtime on this Site. In the event of an issue impacting the Site, users should contact Webmaster@nlhealthservices.ca and/or use the contact information listed below.

This Site is administered by NL Health Services which is in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Any matter arising out of the use of this Site shall be governed by the laws of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision, principle, or rule and notwithstanding your domicile, residence, or physical location.  By using this Site, you agree to irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and/or the Federal Court of Canada, as applicable. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to the venue of such courts.

NL Health Services reserves the right to determine which comments are acceptable for NL Health Services’ websites and social media sites and may remove or modify any communication that does not follow these Terms and Conditions of Use or its social media or other relevant communications policies. In addition, NL Health Services may, in its sole discretion, terminate a user’s ability to post comments to any social media site for violations of these standards or when NL Health Services has a reasonable basis to believe that the user’s comments may cause harm if published.

NL Health Services is not responsible for any content that third parties publish, post, upload, distribute, disseminate or otherwise transmit via the Site, other NL Health Services’ websites or social media. Any content, views, opinions and/or responses to questions uploaded, expressed or submitted by the creators, sponsors, advertisers or users of social media other than the content provided by NL Health Services, are solely the views, opinions and responsibility of the company or person submitting them and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of NL Health Services.

NL Health Services reserves all rights relating to NL Health Service’s websites and social media accounts including, but not limited to, all rights to add, remove or modify any of its content or material posted on the accounts and discontinue the accounts.

NL Health Services does not monitor the general content of blog entries. The content of postings is the responsibility of the person making them and should not reveal any personal information or personal health information, identifying information of yourself or others or confidential/private information of any kind. By making a posting you specifically acknowledge that NL Health Services assumes no liability for any defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct by you or any third parties, or the protection of any sensitive information willingly posted by users.

By submitting your information, including personal information and/or personal health information, and/or using the Site, you consent to the collection, use, reproduction, hosting, transmission, and disclosure of such information as NL Health Services deems necessary for use of the Site and for the provision of services in compliance with its Privacy Policy, found at https://nlhealthservices.ca/privacy-policy/. Further, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, by consenting to the use of cookies, you are consenting to the collection and processing of your IP address to determine your approximate geographic location to provide specific services or content based on your geographic location for Site user experience optimization, analytics and performance metrics, to ensure the integrity of Site ratings and to enable Site monitoring for Site management, investigating and troubleshooting incidents.  For more information on cookies and other automated information gathering practices, see https://nlhealthservices.ca/privacy-policy/.

Comments and postings to NL Health Services social media sites are not private and can be seen by other people. NL Health Services recommends that users do not post anything that they would not want everyone on the Internet to read. NL Health Services particularly cautions against posting identifying information that could make users vulnerable to financial, medical or general identity theft, such as, but not limited to, identifying information, financial information or insurance numbers. In addition, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, for the privacy of its Site users, NL Health Services recommends that hospital room numbers or any other private information not be posted to social media sites.

Any information that you provide to or through a social media platform or other third-party website is not collected or controlled by NL Health Services. Social media platforms or other third-party websites are not bound by these Terms and Conditions of Use. You should review the terms of use and the privacy policies of any linked website or social media platforms before accessing their websites or services or providing any information, personal or otherwise. Others may not comply with the same privacy laws, policies and practices as NL Health Services.

No failure to exercise, or delay in exercising, any right, remedy, power, or privilege arising from these Terms and Conditions of Use operates, or may be construed, as a waiver thereof; and no single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power, or privilege hereunder precludes any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power, or privilege.

Should you have any questions concerning these Terms of and Conditions of Use, please contact the NL Health Services Privacy and Access to Information Program by Mail at: 70 O’Leary Avenue St. John’s, NL A1B 2C7, or by Email at: privacy@nlhealthservices.ca

Updated: March 31, 2025

Originally Published: April 1, 2025