Who We Are
At Catholic Healthcare West dba Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, we are committed to providing users of this Service authoritative and reliable health information. To achieve our goal of providing online information that is thorough, well-written, accurate, up-to-date, and unbiased, we have developed a rigorous set of ethical and editorial standards and processes.
This website, including all of its content, look and feel, databases, domain name (collectively the “Service”) is owned and maintained by or for Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), a California non-profit public benefit corporation, on behalf of itself and its hospitals, research institutes, clinics, outreach programs, wellness education programs, and home health agencies, all of which are hereinafter collectively referred to as “CHW,” “MAPC,” ”we,” ”us,” or “our”. The term “you” or “your” refers to viewers or users of this Service.
Services Provided through this Website
This describes how information provided through this Service is selected, reviewed, and updated, and what the role of this Service is in providing information. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please contact our Website Service Manager at info@maprc.com.
Medical Disclaimer: This Service provides health information, not medical advice
All material published by The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center undergoes review to ensure fair, balance, objectivity, independence, and relevance to educational need. The editors of the material herein have consulted sources believed to be reliable in their efforts to provide information that is in accord with the standards accepted at the times of posting. However, in view of the possibility of error by the authors, editors, or publishers of the works contained in maprc.com, The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, nor any other party involved in the preparation of material contained on maprc.com represents or warrants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete, and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such material.
Readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained herein with other sources. The resources, data submission forms, and other means of communication provided through this Service are for non-urgent purposes only. Consumers reading information posted on maprc.com should review the information carefully with their professional healthcare provider. The information and online services we provide through this Service are not intended to replace medical advice and care offered by your physician or other health care professional.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, any chat rooms or other message forum accessed via this Service are not moderated by a healthcare professional, and any communications in such chat rooms do not constitute medical advice and should not be relied up as such. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center makes no representations or warranties with respect to any treatment, action, or application of medication or preparation by any person following the information offered or provided within or through maprc.com. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, or other damages arising there from.
Healthcare providers should not act on the outcome of new studies or information presented on the website without careful consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of a study, how the new data related to previous studies, and whether the information is relevant to the current patient population.
Do not attempt to access emergency care through this Service. If you think you have a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital.
What is a medical or psychiatric emergency?
An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following:
· serious jeopardy to your health
· serious impairment in your bodily functions
· serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part
Examples of symptoms that may be an emergency medical condition include the following:
· chest pain or pressure which may radiate to the arms, neck, back, shoulder, jaw, arm, or wrist
· sudden onset of severe abdominal pain
· severe shortness of breath
· sudden decrease in or loss of consciousness
· sudden inability to talk or to move one side of the body, or sudden slurred speech
· severe, persistent bleeding that cannot be stopped
· major injuries such as gunshot or stab wounds or severe injuries from a vehicle accident
If you think you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 immediately! Do not attempt to access emergency care through this Service.
If you are not sure what type of care you need, please call your personal physician.
What is an urgent symptom?
An urgent care need is one that requires prompt medical attention, usually within 24 to 48 hours, but is not an emergency medical condition. Examples of urgent care situations include:
· minor injuries
· sore throats and upper respiratory symptoms
· earaches
· coughs
· backaches
· frequent urination or burning sensation when urinating
If you think you have an urgent symptom, please do not send a message through this Service. Please call your local medical facility or advice nurse.
Copyright and Trademark:
Whether produced by MAPC or licensed from outside sources, our site will contain health information that we believe to be credible and up-to-date. We will not make claims of therapeutic benefit without reasonable support. Unless otherwise indicated, all information contained on this web site, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, audio, questionnaires, “look and feel”, software and video clips, is property of MAPC and/or its licensors and copyrighted by and proprietary to The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.
Unless specifically authorized in writing by MAPC, any use of these materials, or of any materials contributed to this site by entities other than MAPC on any other website or networked computer environment for any purpose is prohibited. Copyright 1996 to 2004, MAPC. All rights agreements are reserved by MAPC. The materials provided by this Service may be downloaded and/or reprinted for personal use only. The name and mark, The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center and its attendant logos and taglines, are trademarks of The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center and may not be used or reproduced without its prior written consent. We encourage you to submit any comments or concerns you have about any health information content on this Service by contacting our Web Service Manager at info@maprc.com
“MAPRC,” “ Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center” and the MAPC logo are service marks of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. Other proprietary MAPC may be designated as such from time to time on this site through use of the TM, SM, or ® symbols. Users of this site are not authorized to make any use of the MAPC marks, including, but not limited to, as metatags or in any other fashion which may create a false of misleading impression of affiliation or sponsorship with or by MAPC.
Health Links
To provide you with additional resources, this Service may contain hyperlinks to non-MAPC services. However, unless we state otherwise, providing an external link does not imply it may be of benefit to you or that it is formally endorsed by MAPC. We will make reasonable efforts to ascertain that linked sites abide by appropriate ethical standards of conduct. While we do select the sites we link to with care, we do not vouch for or assume responsibility for the material contained on those sites.
When you do choose to link to an external site, you will be clearly advised that you are exiting our site.
External health-related Services to which we provide a link must meet all of the following criteria:
- The Service is provided by an organization know to MAPC
- It offers relevant products, services, and/or health information
- The health information on this site meets our standards for thoroughness, accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.
We reevaluate all external health-related Services to which we link at least annually.
Classes
Information on health education or other classes will be updated regularly. However, we urge you to call the telephone number provided in order to make sure class information is up-to-date.
Updating our policy
As the types of health and medical information we produce and review undergo change, we will update this policy. The date of the most recent update will be clearly posted at the end of this policy. We encourage you to periodically reread this policy, to see if there have been any changes to our polices that may affect you.
Vendor relationships
We will clearly disclose on the site any significant business relationships between CHW and other organizations mentioned on our site. We will make reasonable efforts to determine that companies that provide health content or health-related services for this Service abide by appropriate ethical standards of conduct.
Reference made to a commercial or non-commercial product, process, service, or company is not an endorsement nor recommendation of The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center or a guarantee of the claims made for the product by the manufacturer. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center assumes no liability for the use or contents of any product or service.
Conflict-of-interest policy
To keep our health information as free from bias as possible, we require all MAPC authors, editors, message board moderators, and other content contributors to this Service to disclose any potential conflicts of interest they may have. Possible conflicts of interest include financial relationships or other affiliations with businesses or organizations that promote or sell products or services that are the subjects of the health information being considered. If such conflicts of interest exist, or if there would be a reasonable perception by the public that a conflict of interest could exist, the person would be excluded from contributing to that particular topic.
Advertising policy
This Service does not accept payment for advertising from any source not affiliated with MAPC.
Product sales policy
Any information promoting a product or service that is offered for sale via this Service will be clearly identified as marketing information.
Privacy Practices for this Service
The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following sections describe the information gathering and dissemination practices for this Web site. Please review this document for any concerns about privacy, the information we keep on file, and our protection policies.
This policy describes how we protect your privacy as a user of this Service; not as a patient. If you are a patient of a CHW medical facility, you have other rights with respect to data within a designated record set, which is a term defined under the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). For a more complete description of a patient’s rights under HIPAA, please refer to the Joint Notice of Privacy Practices of your specific CHW medical facility by clicking here.
Web Site Privacy Statement
This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. These measures include encryption of data using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) system, and using a secured messaging service when we wend you personal information electronically. Despite these measures, the confidentially of any communication or material transmitted to or from us via this Service by Internet or e-mail cannot be guaranteed. We use standard security measures to protect the information you submit to us as well as the information that is automatically collected by our server. Although the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center strives to maintain a secure web site, the MAPRC cannot be held liable for any damages. If you have privacy or data security related questions, please feel free to contact the office identified at the end of this document.
Registry
Should you submit information on a registry form using this Service, the data (“Data”) therein may become part of a designated record set that we create for you. However, such Data will not be reviewed by a healthcare provider and will not be deemed part of our designated record set unless and until you are registered in person at our medical facility. You will be asked to update your registry information every 6 months either by e-mail or mail.
Your detailed information will never be released to individuals outside the MAPC management team without your written authorization, no will it sold for advertising or fund raising purposes. Aggregated identified data may be utilized for research and/or management purposes and the MAPC management team reserves the right to permit access to your detailed information by qualified researchers as a preliminary investigation to determining the feasibility of a research project.
Our site’s registration form requires users to give us contact information (like their name, email, and postal address). Contact information from the registration forms is used to get in touch with you when necessary. We will always obtain prior consent before sending your contact information to third parties. If your information is automatically forwarded to a third party, the registration form will clearly indicate the name and contact information of the third party.
Site Visitor data
MAPC routinely gathers data on activity at this Service site, such as how many people visit the site, the pages they visit, where they come from, how long they stay on the site, etc. The data is collected on an aggregate, anonymous basis, which means that no personally identifiable information is associated with the data. This data helps us improve the Service for you, including site content and overall usage.
We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our Web site. Detailed information is never distributed to third parties; however, the MAPC may use broad demographic information in our web site reports to our sponsor.
Collecting and using personal information
Except as disclosed in this policy and the Joint Notice of Privacy Practices, we do not collect any identifiable information about visitors to this site.
Web logs
We maintain standard web logs that record data about all visitors and customers who use this site and we store this information for a while. These logs may contain the Internet domain from which you access the site (such as aol.com, abc.org, etc.); the IP address which is automatically assigned to your computer when you get on the Internet (a static IP address may be identifiable as being connected to you, while a dynamic address is usually not identifiable); the type of browser and operating system you use; the date and time you visited the site; the pages you viewed on the site; the address of the website you linked from, if any. If you sign on the Service to use its secured features, our web logs will also contain an individual identifier and show the services you have accessed.
All web logs are stored securely, and may only be accessed by MAPC employees or designees on a need-to-know basis for a specific purpose. MAPC uses web log information to help us design our site, to identify popular features, to resolve user, hardware, and software problems, and to make the site more useful to visitors.
Internet Cookies
We may place Internet “cookies” on the computer hard drives of visitors to this Service site. Information we obtain from cookies helps us to tailor our site to be more helpful and efficient for you. Our web server may send you a cookie to keep track of your visits to our web site. We only use this information for statistical purposes. Our cookies do not retrieve your email address or other identifiable information about you.
You may have software on your computer that will allow you to decline or deactivate Internet cookies, but if you do so, some features of this site may not work properly for you. For instructions on how to remove cookies from your hard drive, go to your browser’s help files for detailed instructions and browser updates available from the browser licensor.
Web beacons
We may also occasionally use “web beacons” (also know as “clear gifs,” “web bugs,” “1-pixel gifs,” etc.) that allow us to collect non-personal information about your response to our e-mail communications, and for other purposes. Web beacons are tiny images, placed on the Web page or email that can tell us if you’ve gone to a particular area on our Service site. For example, if you’ve given us permission to send you e-mails, we may send you an e-mail urging you to use a certain feature of this Service. If you do respond to that e-mail and use that feature, the web beacon will tell us that our e-mail communication with you has been successful. We do not collect any personal health information with a web beacon, and do not link web beacons with any other personal health information you’ve given us.
Emails
We may use a third-party vender to help us manage some of our e-mail communications with you. While we may supply this vendor with e-mail addresses of those we wish them to contact, you e-mail address is never used for any purpose other than to communicate with you on our behalf. When you click on a link in e-mail, you may temporarily be redirected through one of the vendor’s servers (although this process will be invisible to you), which will register, that you’ve clicked on that link, and have visited our Service site. MAPC never shares any information, other than your e-mail address, with our third-party e-mail vendor, which does not share these e-mail addresses with anyone else.
Even if you have given us permission to send e-mails to you, you may revoke that permission at any time by following the “unsubscribe” information at the bottom of each such email.
Evaluation and research
We will periodically ask users to complete surveys asking about their experiences with features of the website. Our surveys ask visitors for demographic information such as age, gender, and education, but will not request in such surveys that users provide specific information about any medical condition. We use survey information for research and quality improvement purposes, including helping MAPC to improve information and services offered through this Service. In addition, users giving feedback may be individually contacted for follow-up due to concerns raised during the course of such evaluation. Demographic information and web log data may be stored for future research and evaluation.
Online Donations
The MAPC collects the following information through our secure online financial-transaction pages: name, address, e-mail address, phone number, and credit card information. This personally identifiable information is used to acknowledge receipt of your donation for tax purposes and to include you on the MAPC’s mailing list if you choose to join it.
If you provide us with your credit card number for payments or donations, we will treat your credit card number in a secure manner. But your credit card number should never be entered into an unsecured website page. Not all pages on this Service are intended to be secure. Only provide a credit card number in the box that we specifically designate.
When you send a donation in honor or in memory of someone and request that an acknowledgement be sent to another individual or a family, we will use the name and address of that individual or family for acknowledgement purposes only.
Mailing List
The MAPC provides a separate online form to join our mailing list. The information we collect include: name, address, e-mail address, and phone number. This information is securely stored internally and accessed only when we correspond with our mailing list periodically during the year, either via e-mail or regular mail.
Please contact us directly by regular mail if at any time you wish to be removed from the mailing list or if you would like to correct or change the personal information you have previously provided. To protect your privacy and security, we will take certain steps to verify your identity before granting access to your information or making corrections. Callers will be asked specific questions, including full name, address and phone number in order to verify your identity and protect the privacy of the MAPC’s donors and members of its mailing list.
Children’s Privacy
None of the content and information in the MAPC’s Web site is targeted toward children less than 13 years of age. We do not knowingly allow or solicit anyone under the age of 13 to participate in any activity at this site, and we do not knowingly allow MAPC patients under the age of 13 to create accounts that allow access to the secured features of this site.
Disclosures
We may disclose personal information to any person performing audit, legal, operational, or other services for us. We will use information which does not identify the individual for these activities whenever feasible. Personal information disclosed to vendors or contractors for our operational purposes may not be re-disclosed to others by such a vendor and contractor.
We may disclose personal information when required to do so by a subpoena, court order, or search warrant. We may disclose personal information as we deem it appropriate to protect the safety of an individual or for an investigation related to public safety or to report an activity that appears to be in violation of law. We may disclose personal information to protect the security and reliability of this Service and to take precautions against liability.
Opt out
If a user makes a request to receive information in an ongoing manner through this Service by providing their e-mail address, a user may make a request to discontinue future mailings. Similarly, if you receive information about a MAPC service through e-mail, you may make a request to discontinue receiving similar messages in the future. All such materials sent to you by e-mail will contain information about how to opt out.
Terms and Conditions for this Service
Purpose
This web site is an educational and informational service provided by The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, with the express condition that users agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth in this User Agreement, as they may be modified from time to time. Your consultation and use of this web site constitutes your acknowledgement and acceptance of all of the following terms and conditions.
Data Quality/Access
Although we attempt to ensure the integrity and accurateness of this Service, we make no guarantees as to its correctness or accuracy. It is possible that the Service could include typographical errors, inaccuracies, or other errors, and that unauthorized additions, deletions, and alterations could be made to the Service by third parties. In the event that an inaccuracy arises, please inform us so that it can be corrected. You may contact this Service through email at info@maprc.com to change or modify demographic information previously provided.
Visitor/member message boards and other interactive areas
This site makes chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information. MAPC may, but is not obligated to, monitor or review any areas of this site where visitors transmit or post communications or communicate solely with each other, including, but not limited to, message boards, chat rooms, forums, and other new groups, and the content of any such communications. MAPC, however, will have no liability related to the content of any such communications, whether or not arising under the laws of copyright, privacy, obscenity, or otherwise. MAPC retains the right to remove, in its sole discretion, communications that include any material deemed abusive, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate.
Changes to This Policy
We may revise our policies and the information provided by this Service or change or update the Service without notice. In the event that the MAPC decides to alter its privacy policy, the changes will be added directly to this statement. We will, however, always use information in accordance with the version of the privacy policy under which it was originally collected. We encourage you to periodically reread these Terms and Conditions to see if there have been any changes to our polices that may affect you.
Warranty Disclaimer
Maprc.com is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of title, or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, (ii) your use of maprc.com is at your own risk, (iii) access to maprc.com may be interrupted and information provided may not be error free; and (iv) neither maprc.com or the materials contained therein, assumes any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided on maprc.com, nor shall they be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages arising out of your use of, or inability to use, maprc.com.
Limitation of Liability
MAPC, it’s suppliers, and other third parties mentioned on this site are neither responsible nor liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, punitive, or other damages (including, without limitation, those resulting from lost profits, lost data, or business interruption) arising out of or relating in any way to the site, site-related website, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory and whether or not advised of the possibility of such damages. Your sole remedy for dissatisfaction with the site, site related services, and/or hyperlinked websites is to stop using the site and/or those services. Applicable law may not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.
Infected or Corrupted Materials
The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center is not responsible for any computer-related damages that may result from viewing this website; this includes damages resulting from corrupt programs, downloaded documents, or other materials obtained from this website. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center scans all files and programs for viruses before publishing them on the internet. Each Member is responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy his or her particular requirements for accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to the Service for the reconstruction of any lost data. The Provider does not assume any responsibility or risk for your use of the Service. If you suspect a corrupt files or program, please notify The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center Webmaster immediately.
Questions, complaints, and contacts
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this Web site, you can contact the Web Master at info@maprc.com or by U.S. mail at the address below:
The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at
Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center
500 West Thomas Road, Suite 720
Phoenix, AZ 85013
or
Catholic Healthcare West
185 Berry Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94107
Attn: Chief Privacy and Data Security Administrator
Last updated: May 19, 2004
