Thank you for visiting our website, NCQA.org (the “website”). The website is sponsored by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (the “NCQA”), which is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of health care. Your use of our website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use as set forth in this agreement (the “Agreement”). This Agreement is solely for your use of our website only. NCQA offers other products, subscriptions and information tools (collectively “Products and Tools”) that are subject to fees and separate license agreements and terms of use. Please refer to the license agreement for each specific Product and/or Tool for additional information on the terms of use for such Product and Tools. If you disagree with any of the below terms, please exit this website immediately.
1. Description of Services.
The NCQA.org website and our related services (collectively, the “Services”) are based upon data received from third parties and are provided to you and other users (the “Users”) as a public service. NCQA does not select health care organizations or clinicians for Users, nor does it endorse or recommend any healthcare organizations or clinician. NCQA’s evaluation of health care organizations for accreditation or certification constitutes a review of an organization’s quality programs and systems to evaluate compliance with NCQA standards for performance in clinical and administrative areas. NCQA does not evaluate the financial stability of health care organizations and a NCQA Accreditation or Certification decision does not include or imply any representation as to the financial condition of a plan.
2. Proprietary Rights and License.
(a) NCQA or its licensors own all text, visual, audio, or digital material or other content of any kind on the website (collectively, the “Content”), and all worldwide rights, title and interest therein, including copyrights, the NCQA name and mark and all other trademarks or service marks owned by NCQA (the “Marks”), patents, patent registration rights, trade secrets, know-how, and database rights relating to the Content, website or Services.
(b) Subject to this Agreement, NCQA grants the User a personal, nonexclusive and nontransferable license to use and display the Content on any machine(s) of which you are the primary user. You may download and reprint a single copy of the materials from the website for your own personal, noncommercial use only, provided you include all applicable notices and disclaimers. Any other use of the materials is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the applicable rights holder(s). Except as provided above or as expressly provided for within the website as related to certain portions of the Content, you may not copy, electronically or otherwise transmit, redistribute, republish, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, sublicense or otherwise provide the Content to any third party. You may not use or include any Content in any other print or electronic publication, service or product.
(c) You may not use, adopt or attempt to register anywhere in the world any Mark, either alone or in combination with any other word or symbol, or any mark or name which is similar or confusingly similar thereto. You shall not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from any copies of the Content.
3. Acceptable Use.
NCQA.org is operated from offices within the United States of America in the District of Columbia. Regardless of the location from which the website is accessed, you agree to comply with all applicable U.S. and other applicable laws in connection with your use of the website, Content and Services.
4. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES.
YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE WEBSITE, SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED STRICTLY ON AN “AS IS” AND ON AN “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED STATUTORY OR OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE, OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, EXCEPT FOR THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION, OR MODIFICATION UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. NEITHER NCQA NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, OR SERVICE PROVIDERS WARRANTS THAT THE SERVICES, CONTENT OR WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, UNINTERRUPTED, WITHOUT ERROR, OR FREE OF VIRUSES, WORMS OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. AS A NEUTRAL VENUE THAT PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS AND CLINICIANS BASED UPON DATA AND MATERIALS SUPPLIED BY THIRD PARTIES, NCQA MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS AS TO THE ACCURACY, QUALITY, RELIABILITY, SUITABILITY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY, TRUTHFULNESS, USEFULNESS, EFFECTIVENESS, OR TIMELINESS OF THE SERVICES, WEBSITE OR CONTENT. USE OF THE WEBSITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK AND NCQA ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY THEREFOR. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON OR PROVIDED THROUGH THIS WEBSITE OR LINKS TO THE WEBSITE IS INTENDED FOR GENERAL CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING AND EDUCATION ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE.
5. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
NEITHER NCQA NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL BE LIABLE, TO THE MAXIMUM ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICES, CONTENT OR WEBSITE INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, RELATING TO YOUR RELIANCE UPON, USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, CONTENT OR WEBSITE, OR ANY ERRORS OR DEFECTS THEREIN OR ANY LOSSES, DAMAGES OR INJURIES RESULTING THEREFROM. NEITHER NCQA NOR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, OR SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL BE LIABLE, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ACCESSING, ALTERING, OR DESTROYING CONTENT; OR DAMAGES FROM LOSS OF BUSINESS, PROFITS OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY ASPECT OF THE WEBSITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE WEBSITE.
6. Indemnity.
- You acknowledge that:
(a) all information provided by NCQA is based upon data and materials obtained from third parties,
(b) NCQA does not endorse or act in a representative capacity for any third parties and
(c) NCQA undertakes no responsibility or liability for or on behalf of such third parties. To the maximum allowed by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, hold harmless, release, waive and discharge NCQA, including its officers, agents, affiliates, employees, licensors and service providers, from any and all suits, claims, proceedings, losses, liability, and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, whether in tort, contract or otherwise, which arise out of or relate to the Content, Services or website or your breach of any term in this Agreement.
7. User Violations
(a) If you violate any terms herein, applicable law, the rights of any other party, or any policy posted on the website, NCQA may determine, in its sole discretion, the appropriate response, including termination of your access to the website. (b) The Privacy Statement located on the website, as modified by NCQA from time to time, shall govern any disclosure or use of information provided by all Users. See privacy policy below. As set forth in our Privacy Policy, NCQA generally does not disclose any customer-specific information to third parties without the consent of the User. However, NCQA will fully cooperate with law enforcement authorities and legal proceedings, where NCQA deems, in its sole discretion, such cooperation necessary to comply with applicable law, investigate violations of this Agreement or to otherwise protect NCQA or any party’s rights.
(c) Violations of this Agreement may be reported here, along with the following information:
(i) the nature of the alleged violation, along with any supporting evidence;
(ii) the date and time of the alleged violation, including the time zone; and
(iii) the address used to commit the alleged violation.
8. Privacy Policy / Use of Cookies.
This privacy statement demonstrates NCQA’s commitment to your right to privacy and explains the privacy policy governing the website. If our privacy policy changes, we will post an announcement on the website.
Use of the Website Content: When you access the website to review the Content, you are not required to register or otherwise provide any personal information. As a result, we do not sell, lease, or otherwise provide personally identifiable information to third parties because we do not collect such information.
We use cookies on our website so that we can make sure you find the information you need in the simplest way. By using the website, you accept these cookies. We may collect limited aggregate information relevant to your use of the website, such as technical data about the type of Internet browser and computer operating system that you use, and which pages you visit and interact with. This information does not identify you as an individual and is used only for tracking site use so that we can improve your experience on the site. We might also place a “cookie” on your hard drive that will help us to identify you when you return to the site and allow us to tailor content to your personal preferences.
If you do not wish to use “cookies” you may disable this option in your Internet browser settings. “Cookies” can be removed from your computer.
Information Collection, Disclosure and Use for Website Services: When you access the website to request Services, we collect information about you as more fully described below. Your information may be used by NCQA and its employees and representatives to provide and/or perform the Services. NCQA may also use your information to offer you additional information, products or services that match your areas of interest.
You may be asked to provide information about yourself and/or your organization when you use the Services to place an order for a publication, register for an educational seminar, submit public comments, request a policy clarification, sign up for updates or alerts from NCQA, or communicate with NCQA about the Services. As a result of your actions you may provide NCQA with personal information, such as your name, mailing address, email address, phone number, organization, and job title. We use the information you provide to provide and/or perform the Services, to communicate with you on matters relating to the Website and/or Services, to resolve disputes, and to provide you with information about related services and/or products. NCQA does not store or retain any credit card or other financial information.
Your use of the Services is voluntary. By using the Services, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy and consenting to the use of your personal information. NCQA does not sell, rent, lease, license, sublicense or distribute personal information that we receive. We use and disclose personal information only as described in this Privacy Policy or as otherwise required by law, regulation or court order. If NCQA is requested by law enforcement officials or to provide personal information, NCQA may, without your consent, provide such information.
Minors: We do not direct any of our content specifically at minors.
Privacy: This website contains links to other websites. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies or content of such sites.
9. Linking/Advertising.
You acknowledge that NCQA does not review sites or advertisements linked into or out of the website and such linking does not constitute an endorsement or sponsorship thereof by NCQA. NCQA is not liable for any third party advertising, information, goods, services, content or for transactions you may enter into as a result thereof, off-site or stored pages, or old or expired links. You hereby waive any claim against NCQA as a result of any of the foregoing to the maximum allowed by applicable law.
10. Choice of Law.
This Agreement shall for all purposes be governed, interpreted, construed and enforced solely and exclusively in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia, USA, without regard to conflicts of law provisions thereof. Any controversies or claims arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by one arbitrator under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. Any such arbitration shall be conducted in the District of Columbia, USA. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, since you recognize that breach of this Agreement may cause NCQA irreparable injury, NCQA, in addition to all other remedies, shall have the right to equitable or injunctive relief anywhere, as it deems fit, in the event of any actual or attempted breach of your obligations hereunder.
11. Modification of Agreement.
To remain flexible in its provision of the Services, NCQA reserves the right to make changes to any agreement or policy posted on the website at any time. Notice of discontinuance or changes to any agreement or policy may be posted on the website, or sent via e-mail or postal mail. Continued use of the website after the posting of any changes or modifications to any agreement or policy shall constitute agreement to be bound thereby.
12. Modification of Services.
NCQA may modify, suspend, discontinue, delete or restrict the use of any portion of the website at any time without notice or liability. NCQA shall not be liable for any modification or discontinuance of the website. NCQA may deny access to the website to any person at any time for any reason.
13. Term of Agreement.
This Agreement shall become effective immediately upon your use of the website.
14. System Integrity.
You may not use any device or software to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper operation of the Website, Services or Content.
15. Severability and Survival.
If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid, all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect. The provisions of this Agreement concerning intellectual property rights, dispute resolution, governing law, warranties, limitations of liability, indemnities, this Section 14 and any other provisions which contemplate continuing effectiveness shall remain in effect after the termination or expiration of this Agreement.
16. Headings.
The headings contained in this Agreement are not intended to be full and accurate descriptions of the contents of this Agreement and shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
17. Failure to Enforce.
NCQA’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision identified herein or posted on the website shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless agreed to in writing by NCQA.
18. Merger.
This Agreement constitutes the entire and final agreement between Users and NCQA relating to this subject matter.
19. Contact/Redress.
You may contact Customer Service at NCQA via phone (888.275-7585) or here with any questions you have regarding this privacy policy or, alternatively, if you suspect we have acted in a manner that does not comply with this policy.