Terms of Use
Please read the following terms and conditions with care before using the Boston Medical Center (BMC) HealthNet Plan (the Plan) Web site. By accessing or using this website, the user consents to the following terms and conditions. BMC HealthNet Plan reserves the right to change this information at any time and, therefore, recommends that users review these Terms of Use regularly.
Disclaimer
BMC HealthNet Plan will ensure, to the extent possible, that the information on our Web site, bmchp.org, is current and accurate. We disclaim any implied warranty or representation about its accuracy, relevance, timeliness, completeness, or appropriateness for a particular purpose. The Plan may change information on this Web site without notice. Any questions about the information on this site should be directed to the Plan’s Member Services Call Center, or by emailing webmaster@bmchp.org or the email address that may be listed in specific sections of the site.
The health information on this site should be used as a guide. It is not intended as medical or healthcare advice. Your primary care provider or other healthcare provider should be your source of health information, including health treatment plans. In a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
When you access bmchp.org, conduct any transaction, or access information on bmchp.org, you agree to accept the legal disclaimers and adhere to our privacy and security policies set forth on our Web site.
Limitation of Liability
BMC HealthNet Plan is not liable to any party for any direct, indirect, special or other consequential damages resulting from any use of this Web site, or any other hyper-linked Web site, including without limitation, any lost profits, business interruption, loss of programs, or data on your equipment, or otherwise, even if we are expressly advised of the possibility or likelihood of such damages.
Privacy and Security on the Public Site
BMC HealthNet Plan does not sell to anyone information obtained through use of this Web site. In addition, we have established the following privacy and security practices with respect to the public portions of this site.
In order to help provide better healthcare coverage and meet our members’ needs, BMC HealthNet Plan collects basic information about visitors’ computers, including:
- IP address (your computer's unique signature)
- Operating system (e.g., Windows 95)
- Browser software (e.g., Netscape, Microsoft Internet Explorer)
- Internet Service Provider (e.g., AOL)
- Geographic location (e.g., Worcester, Massachusetts)
The Plan will not use the information collected to identify individuals. Instead, we check which Web pages and services site visitors use while they are on the site. This allows us to know which sections of our Web site are visited most often so we can determine how to best structure the site and provide the most useful information.
Privacy and Security
Secured sections of the site contain members’ protected health information (PHI). To access these sections, members will set up a secure login and password so they can safely perform certain online transactions like notifying us of a new home address or phone number. Ensuring this security requires BMC HealthNet Plan to link a visitor back to his or her identity. We also must track the functionality a member uses. To do so, we must gather identifiable information about users including information about the user’s computer as listed above, and information related to the user, such as pages visited and PHI submitted or changed.
To protect against unauthorized access to the PHI that is accessible in the password-protected sections of our site, BMC HealthNet Plan has adopted stringent security standards. Data transmitted between your browser and the password-protected sections of this site is protected by 128-bit encryption. The PHI that we collect from users through the password-protected sections of the site is confidential and is available only to authorized users. It is protected from unauthorized access through multiple layers of security controls and monitoring. In addition, the PHI that BMC HealthNet Plan collects and maintains is used and disclosed only in accordance with our Notice of Privacy Practices.
Use of Email Addresses
We collect email addresses as part of the registration process. We will use email addresses to notify registrants of online activity related to the security and privacy of their accounts, such as retrievals of username. BMC HealthNet Plan also will use email addresses to send members health and wellness information and other updates that might be of interest to them. Each time we send health and wellness information and other updates, the recipient will be given the opportunity to opt-out of receiving similar emails in the future. Registrants cannot opt-out of receiving emails that notify them of online activity since these are necessary to protect the privacy and security of Web accounts.
Cookies
BMC HealthNet Plan uses "cookies" on the public and password-protected sections of the site only to help users better navigate through bmchp.org. A "cookie" is a small piece of information sent by BMC HealthNet Plan’s Web server to store on a visitor’s Web browser. We use this information to tell if a visitor has been given important messages about the functioning of this site.
Emailing BMC HealthNet Plan
We welcome your comments or questions about our Web site and have provided an email option for that purpose: webmaster@bmchp.org. We will share your comments and questions with those employees most capable of addressing your questions and concerns. Remember, your email may not be encrypted and may be accessed and viewed by other Internet users without your knowledge while it is being sent to us. Please do not email confidential healthcare or personal information to us. We are not responsible for any breach of confidentiality resulting from your sending us such email. If you need to contact BMC HealthNet Plan about anything confidential, please call our Member Services Center.
Links to Other Web Sites
For your interest and convenience, we have provided some links from bmchp.org to other Web sites. The links from this site are provided for your convenience only and do not constitute or imply that BMC HealthNet Plan endorses these sites, any material or information contained therein, or of any products or services described on these sites. These sites are not owned or controlled by BMC HealthNet Plan and are not covered by BMC HealthNet Plan's privacy rules. BMC HealthNet Plan cannot warrant the accessibility or the accuracy of any information provided on other Web sites or be responsible for the privacy practices used by other Web site owners or the content or accuracy of those other Web sites.