TERMS OF USE
10th April 2016.
What is the Ezimed Service?
In the terms of use on this website, the products and services are offered by Ezimed services – Ezimed will also be referred to as “we, us, our or Ezimed doctors”
“You” will be referred to as the customer, patient or client.
1.3 The services offered by Ezimed will be in English only and will be mainly provided through the internet website and the use of mobile telephones – the latter may involve phone calls, sms, MMS or e-mail.
1.4.The predominant purpose of the Ezimed business is to enable Australians to order pathology and radiology tests and repeat prescriptions on-line – especially when they are unable to access their own general practitioners when needed. Difficult access may be due to where some Australians live or because of long working hours or unusual working hours. The Ezimed service may also be suitable for Australians with chronic medical problems who have a good knowledge of their problems and often know when they need to have certain pathology or radiology tests..
1.5 there may sometimes be a telephone consultation with the customer to seek clarification about their requested pathology or radiology test and the suitability of that test in relation to the customer’s condition, illness or injury;
1.6 there may also be provision of a follow up telephone consultation by Ezimed doctors to patients by telephone or in regards to abnormal results from their pathology or radiology tests.
1.7. Where customers wish to discuss their results with Ezimed doctors, they will have to contact Ezimed and make an appointment. There is an additional fee for this service and it is non-Medicare rebatable. Customers are strongly encouraged to discuss their results with their own medical practitioners.
Depending on a number of factors, a Medical Consultation may include some or all of the following:
(a) examination of the medical history and symptoms of the relevant patient;
(b) receipt and review of relevant clinical information by an Ezimed doctor;
(c) provision of advice and recommendations to the patient as to care and treatment;
(d) prescription of pharmaceuticals (only repeat prescriptions);
(e) referral to a third party provider or customer’s own general practitioner; and
(f) delivery of relevant clinical information from an Ezimed doctor to another health service provider.
1.9 Some of the relevant factors in determining the content of a Medical Consultation will include the individual patient’s condition, illness or injury, the patient’s wishes and consents, local law requirements and clinical appropriateness.
1.10 The Ezimed Service cannot be used for emergency or life threatening conditions, illnesses or injuries. If you need emergency assistance please call 000 for immediate help.
1.11 The Ezimed service and Ezimed doctors are located in Australia and are registered to practise medicine by AHPRA. They work in accordance with Australian medical regulation and standards. For this reason, Ezimed services are not offered to customers outside of Australia.
2. Application of terms of use
2.1 These terms of use apply to your access to and use of the Ezimed Service.
2.2 By accessing or using the Ezimed Service you agree to be bound by these terms of use. If you do not agree to these terms of use then you must not access or use the Ezimed Service.
3. Eligibility and Registration
3.1 To be eligible to access and use the Ezimed Service you must:
(a) meet the following criteria:
(i) be at least 18 years old or have a parent or legal guardian present while using the Ezimed Service;
(ii) only access and use the Ezimed Service in relation to yourself (that is, where you are the relevant patient) or your dependent child;
(iii) any other eligibility criteria specifically notified to you; and
(b) register to use the Ezimed Services in accordance with our registration process.
3.2 As part of the registration and booking process, you will be required to provide certain information about yourself to enable us to verify your identity and eligibility for the Ezimed Services. This information must belong to you and be true, accurate, complete and up to date, and by registering you warrant to us that this is the case. If any of the registration information changes then you must promptly notify us of those changes.
3.3 If you wish to use the Ezimed Service for a dependent child we will also require you to provide the child’s details and verify that you are the child’s parent or legal guardian.
3.4 We may require additional information to verify your identity such as provision of the last 4 digits of your Medicare card.
3.5 You may be issued with a user name and password and be required to provide answers to security questions in order to access and use the Ezimed Service.
3.6 It is your responsibility to maintain the confidentiality and security of your password and answers to security questions and for any activity that occurs under your user name and password. You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to or use of your account of which you become aware.
3.7 As a condition of your registration, you warrant to us on a continuing basis that you will only access and use the Ezimed Service in relation to yourself (that is, where you are the relevant patient) or your dependent child, and not for or on behalf of any other person.
4. Requests for pathology/radiology tests:
4.1 When you have applied for the radiology/pathology test, your request will be reviewed ASAP and you will be provided with confirmation within 10 minutes. (this will only apply if there is no internet failure or internet coverage interruptions.)
4.2 if your test is approved, the request will be sent to you in the mode that you requested on the application.
4.3 if your test is denied, you will be advised of this ASAP. Ezimed will try to ensure that tests are not denied; therefore, in most instances, an Ezimed doctor will be in contact with you to seek clarification in regards to your request. Your request will either be approved or disapproved after this consultation.
4.4 Ezimed will monitor the pathology and radiology tests being ordered by customers. If Ezimed feels that customers may be applying for too many tests or specifically asking for a certain test to be performed frequently, customers will be contacted and informed that they are unable to access the Ezimed service.
4.5 Customers should note that Medicare places a limit on how often certain pathology tests can be performed in a calendar year. It is the onus of the customer to ensure that they will not have to pay additional costs for the blood tests. eg HbA1c tests can only be done 4 times a year and any additional HbA1c tests will have to be paid for by the customer.
4.6 It is the responsibility of the customer to check with the radiology or pathology provider as to the cost of the test. Most pathology tests will be bulk billed by Medicare – unless you have exceeded the quota for the year. There will often be out of pocket expenses for radiology tests.
4.7 As mentioned on the pathology and radiology request pages, there will be certain tests that are unavailable to customers.
a. Certain pathology tests such as Hepatitis B, C and HIV are not offered as Ezimed believes that customers need to be counselled prior to having these tests done.
b. Some pathology tests may be considered expensive or uncommon and in these situations, Ezimed believes that customers should discuss these tests with their general practitioners.
c. Certain radiology tests are also not offered eg x-rays of the wrist. This is because the anatomy and clinical signs of the wrist are complex and likewise the management of wrist problems.
d. MRIs and CT scans are offered only in exceptional circumstances – depending on the customer’s clinical problems. In the case of CT scans, this is because there are higher doses of radiation involved and also the injection of contrast which may have an impact on patients with impaired renal function. MRI scans are also considered expensive and not readily available. Customers should note that MRIs and CT scans will often cost several hundred dollars.
5. Pathology and Radiology providers:
5.1 Ezimed has no control over pathology and radiology providers and therefore has no control over when customers are able to obtain their tests.
5.2 It is the responsibility of the customer to arrange for their test to be performed at their nominated provider. Although providers will accept request forms that belong to other providers, it should be noted that this is at the discretion of the provider.
5.3 The customer should note that some tests cannot be obtained on the same day of their approval. Certain tests such as ultrasounds and CT scans will need appointments with the relevant provider. Other tests such as fasting lipids will require the patient to be already fasted in the morning. Ie. Test to be done before breakfast is eaten.
5.4 There may be instances where a provider refuses to accept the request form of another provider or the generic request form of Ezimed. Where this is the case, customers are requested to contact Ezimed. We will contact your nominated pathology or radiology provider and request that they send their specific form to Ezimed for completion.
5.5 It should be noted that most test requests are only valid for 12 months.
6. Follow-up of Results:
6.1 Ezimed will be following up all results from requests approved.
6.2 Where there are any life-threatening abnormalities for pathology or radiology resultss, Ezimed will endeavour to contact the customer to inform them of the results. In most cases, Ezimed doctors will advise customers to consult with their regular medical practitioners as soon as possible or attend their nearest emergency department.
6.3 Where there are no gross abnormalities or non-life threatening abnormalities on the results, Ezimed will not be contacting the customer. It will be the responsibility of the customer to see their GP for the results.
6.4 Where the customer has requested that results be sent to them, Ezimed will send the results to them in the manner that they have nominated on their application.
6.5 Customers should note that Ezimed is not in control of how soon results are made available by pathology / radiology providers. This may take several days from the time that the test is performed.
6.6 Where customers fail to obtain their test within 2 weeks, they will be asked to “sms” or notify Ezimed by e-mail when they have obtained their test. Thus, Ezimed will be able to follow up the results. Failure to notify Ezimed when the tests have been done will result in delays for customers being informed about their results.
6.7 Where customers are contacted by telephone to discuss their results, they should be aware that the telephone calls will be recorded to ensure that accurate advice is given by Ezimed doctors. Where customers do not wish for telephone conversations to be recorded, they will have to inform the Ezimed doctor at the beginning of the conversation. Medical notes will however still be recorded by Ezimed doctors. (Please also see note 10.)
7. Ordering of Repeat Prescriptions:
7.1 Ezimed needs to have evidence that a customer has been on a particular medication before approval will be granted for a repeat prescription. This evidence can be provided in the form of a photo of a previous script that is sent by e-mail or MMS to Ezimed. The reason for this practice is that Ezimed is concerned that customers may suffer a severe or life-threatening reaction to a new medication prescribed. Customers who not have a previous copy of their scripts can provide a GP letter showing that they have been on the medication previously.
7.2 It is either not appropriate or not legal for Ezimed doctors to prescribe certain medications, including benzodiazepines, any medications listed in Schedule 8 of the Poisons Standard 2013 (Cth) and certain medications to Tasmanian patients due to state laws. These medications will not be prescribed by Ezimed doctors in any circumstances.
8. Benefits and Risks of the Ezimed service:
8.1 The benefits and risks of an internet service or telephone consultation may include the following:
(a) Benefits – the benefit of an internet or telephone consultation may include reduced waiting time to see a GP, avoidance of the need to travel to see a GP and reduced absence from work; and
(b) Risks – there are physical limitations in providing telehealth services, including technical issues and while Ezimed uses industry standard systems, there remains some risk of security issues. Customers / patients are also not able to be examined physically by Ezimed doctors.
8.2 The Ezimed business is only intended to be a service that facilitates the ordering of pathology and radiology tests by customers. Ezimed can only provide limited medical advice after results are available to customers. Customers are advised to see their medical practitioners for further advice about their test results. If a referral is needed to another medical specialist, this should be performed by the customer’s medical practitioner.
9. Complementary GP service
9.1 The Ezimed Service is intended to operate as an additional complementary GP service, and not as a substitute or replacement for your regular GP service. If you do not have a regular GP, we will not be able to provide some services to you that require follow up treatment, including referrals to a specialist.
9.2 We will ask you who your regular GP is, as well as the clinic, when you register for the Ezimed Service.
9.3 We will list your nominated regular GP as the recipient for all further follow up reporting of pathology and radiology tests.
9.4 The Ezimed service cannot be nominated as your regular GP.
9.5 We will request your consent to us providing your nominated regular GP or other health practitioners involved in your care with information about your consultations with us. If you give your consent this means we may discuss your healthcare with another health provider without your direct involvement.
10. Recording of calls
10.1 Ezimed seeks to record all telephone calls with customers to ensure it maintains its high standards of clinical care, and for verification and training purposes.
10.2 Telephone calls to customers will only be made for the following reasons:
a) to obtain clarification about the tests requested by the customer.
b) to inform the customer of life-threatening abnormalities in their results.
c) where a customer has sought a post test consultation to discuss their results and to seek understanding of their results.
10.3 We will request your consent to record all calls with you. Subject to any eligibility criteria, if you do not give that consent we can proceed with Medical Consultations on an unrecorded basis. Medical notes will still be recorded about the content of the telephone call.
10.4 If you give your consent, we will record all calls (including Medical Consultations) with you. You may request that we stop recording at any time.
10.5 While Ezimed will use systems to protect against privacy and security breaches, it is possible that the recording of a consultation may be affected by hacking or other security breaches. Where you have agreed to recording of consultations, you acknowledge and accept this risk.
10.6 You must not audio or visually record or transmit any Ezimed Service or Medical Consultation without the prior written consent of Ezimed.
11. Transmission of request forms or prescriptions:
11.1 By nominating for request forms to be e-mailed to you or sent to you by SMS, you acknowledge that you understand that the information is in no way secure or confidential.
11.2 It is your responsibility to keep the information on your e-mail account or on your phone secure. Ezimed will not be kept responsible for any loss of confidential medical information due to your e-mail account being hacked or your phone being stolen.
11.3 Ezimed advises customers to store their request forms to their computers ASAP and then to delete the e-mails if they want to keep their information secure.
11.4 It is the responsibility of the customer to have access to a printer to print out their pathology or radiology form after the forms have been sent to them by e-mail or MMS. This does not apply if the customers has nominated for the request form to be sent to them by mail.
12. Your email and mobile phone:
12.1 When you register with us we will request your email and mobile phone number.
12.2 It is important to note that will need to communicate with you via email and phone in relation to the Ezimed Services.
12.3 If you send information from a system provided by your workplace, you should also be aware of any policies that allow your employer to view your emails and attached documents and images.
12.4 As we will need to communicate with you via your email account and mobile phone, you will need to ensure that you keep them secure. We recommend that you ensure:
(a) your email account password is unique and strong, and that you change it regularly; and
(b) you use a PIN to protect your mobile phone from others accessing it.
13. If you have selected a follow up Medical Consultation
13.1 Medical Consultations can be booked using a link to “Power Diary” which will show you what appointment times are available. You will be sent confirmation by sms or email regarding your appointment date and time.
13.2. Terms and conditions of the medical consultation have already been mentioned in points 1.7 and 10.2(c).
13.3. Prior to any discussion about your test results, you will be asked for a verbal consent for the telephone call to be recorded. Your credit card details will also be asked for.
14. Fees
14.1 All requests for pathology, radiology or prescription services can only be paid for by an eligible credit or debit card. Please note that NO request forms will be approved or sent out without payment being made first.
14.2 To secure a booking for a Medical Consultation, you will be charged a fee for a Medical Consultation (Fee), which will be advised by Ezimed.
14.3 If you are required to pay the Fee personally you will need to have an eligible credit or debit card to make payment.
14.4 Orders for pathology, radiology or prescriptions or a follow up medical consultation will not attract any rebate under either Medicare or private health insurance.
14.5 You will only be entitled to a refund if a selected test is not available where you live. Ezimed will however check to ensure that tests are available where you live.
14.6 Ezimed will not offer refunds to customers who have simply changed their mind about a test.
14.7 You must meet the costs of accessing the service, including any fees and charges from your mobile network in relation to your access and use of the Ezimed Service, including data usage charges.
15. Intellectual Property
15.1 We (or our licensors) retain ownership of all intellectual property rights in and to the Ezimed Service.
15.2 You (or your licensors) retain ownership of all intellectual property rights in any content that you submit to the Ezimed Service.
15.3 Nothing in these terms of use transfers any intellectual property or proprietary rights in and to the Ezimed Service, including any content available through the Ezimed Website.
15.4 We grant you a limited, revocable, personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive licence to use and access the Ezimed Service for your personal and non-commercial purposes only. For clarity, except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) you must not:
(a) copy, upload, transmit, reproduce, distribute or in any way exploit or commercialise any services, content, technology or intellectual property rights obtained through the Ezimed Service;
(b) reverse engineer, decompile, modify, translate, use for competitive analysis, create derivate works from, disassemble, disable or tamper with any part of the software forming part of the Ezimed Service;
(c) rent, lease, lend, resell or sublicense your rights to use and access the Ezimed Service or any content available through the Ezimed Service; or
(d) provide any third party with access to the Ezimed Service without our prior written permission.
15.5 You grant us a royalty-free, sub-licensable, transferable, irrevocable, worldwide and perpetual licence to use, reproduce, adapt and display any contributions you make to the Ezimed Service in connection with our operation of the Ezimed business.
16. Acceptable Use
16.1 In accessing and using the Ezimed Service (including transmitting any images) you must ensure that you do not:
(a) breach any laws, or encourage or assist the commission of any illegal act;
(b) infringe any person’s rights, including intellectual property and proprietary rights, rights of confidentiality or contractual rights;
(c) impersonate any other person; or
(d) engage in conduct which is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, threatening, harassing, abusive, slanderous, hateful or embarrassing to any other person, or which will or is reasonably likely to damage our reputation or our services (including the Ezimed Service).
17. Ezimed Website
17.1 The Ezimed Website is provided to you by Ezimed. We may licence aspects of the Ezimed Website from third parties.
17.2 The Ezimed Website may contain links to third party websites and advertisements that may include embedded links (Third Party Sites). A link or reference to a Third Party Site does not imply that we or our licensors endorse them or their content and we make no representations whatsoever in this regard.
17.3 We do not accept any liability in connection with the use or content of any Third Party Site.
17.4 You should contact the relevant third party directly if you have any queries or concerns regarding the Third Party Site.
17.5 Some of the content available through the Ezimed Website is provided to us by third parties (and by yourself), and is accordingly made available on an ‘as is’ basis. We are not responsible for any such content included on, or accessed through, the Ezimed Website and do not provide any warranty in this regard (to the extent permitted by law).
17.6 If you see any content on Ezimed Website that you think is wrong, please report it to enquiries [at] Ezimed.com.au.
17.7 We do not guarantee that the Ezimed Website is always accurate, error or defect free, uninterrupted or reliable, or that it will be compatible with any of your other systems or services, and make no representations or warranties as to the timeliness, accuracy, suitability, quality, speed or completeness of any information, content, products or services available via the Ezimed Website.
17.8 We do not accept responsibility or liability for any interruption or discontinuance of any or all functionality of the Ezimed Website.
17.9 Further, since the internet is not a fully secure environment, we cannot guarantee that the Ezimed Website is free from viruses or other harmful code, or the security of any information you transmit to or via the Ezimed Website. Access to and use of the Ezimed Website is at your own risk.
17.10 We are not under any obligation to provide any updates, new releases or maintenance of the Ezimed Website.
18. Liability
18.1 You must not use the Ezimed Service for any purpose not permitted or contemplated by these terms of use (or otherwise not authorised by us), or which is unlawful.
18.2 To the extent permitted by law:
(a) you are responsible for your access to and use of the Ezimed Service, including for other people’s use of the Ezimed Service using your user name, password and/or answers to security questions (with or without your permission);
(b) we are not in any way liable to any party for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages or loss (without limitation including damages for loss of profits, business interruption, loss of information or damage to systems due to viruses or other harmful components) arising from the provision of, or your access to or use of, the Ezimed Service;
(c) any guarantee, warranty, term or condition is implied or imposed into these terms of use by legislation and cannot be excluded, then our liability for breach of that guarantee, warranty, term or condition is limited to one or more of the following to the extent permitted by law (at our option):
(i) in the case of goods, the replacement of the goods or supply of equivalent goods, the repair of the goods, the payment of the cost of replacing the goods or of acquiring equivalent goods, or the payment of the cost of having the goods repaired; or
(ii) in the case of services, the re-supply of the services, or the payment of the cost of re-supplying the services.
19. Privacy and health records
19.1 We will comply with applicable privacy and health records laws and the Ezimed Privacy Statement in the collection, handling and use of any personal information about you that we acquire in connection with your use of the Ezimed Service.
19.2 The Ezimed Privacy Statement explains how we may use and disclose that information. In particular, we will use your personal information for the purposes of supplying the Ezimed Service, ongoing development of the service and the other purposes set out in the statement.
19.3 A copy of the Ezimed Privacy Statement is available at ezimed.com.au/privacy-policy.
20. Complaints and disputes
20.1 If you have any concerns or complaints regarding the Ezimed Services, please report it to enquiries [at] Ezimed.com.au.
20.2 While we hope that we will be able to resolve any complaints you may have without needing to involve third parties, you may also be able to lodge a complaint with a relevant regulator in your State or Territory.
21. Changes
21.1 We may change, suspend or discontinue any part of the Ezimed Service at any time in our sole discretion and without any liability to you.
21.2 We may revise, change or modify these terms of use at any time by making updated terms of use available through the Ezimed Website. Continued use of the Ezimed Service will be deemed acceptance of the updated terms of use.
22. Termination
22.1 We reserve the right to decline, suspend or terminate your access to the Ezimed Service (including during a call with you), or cease the Ezimed Service in its entirety, at any time for any reason, including for a breach of these terms of use by you or for our own business reasons. If this occurs you will no longer be able to access some or all of the Ezimed Service, as determined by us.
22.2 Where we terminate your Ezimed registration or a Ezimed Service for a breach of these terms of use by you, we will have no liability to you.
22.3 Where we terminate your Ezimed registration for our own business reasons, we will refund you any undelivered requests.
22.4 If your access to the Ezimed Service is terminated we will retain your information in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.
23. General
23.1 Entire agreement: These terms of use comprise the entire agreement between you and us in relation to your access to and use of the Ezimed Service.
23.2 Applicable law: The provision of the Ezimed service and these terms of use, including all of the rights and duties of the parties arising from or relating in any way to the provision of the Ezimed service and these terms of use, are governed by the laws of Victoria, and we and you each submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of those courts.
23.3 Severability: If any of these terms of use are invalid, unenforceable or illegal, the remaining terms of use will continue to apply.
23.4 Assignment: You must not assign or novate these terms of use or otherwise deal with their benefit or a right under them without our prior written consent, which may be withheld at our absolute discretion. We may at any time, without notice to you, novate or assign our rights and obligations under these terms of use, and to the extent necessary you hereby consent to such novation, assignment or transfer.
23.5 Waiver: No waiver of a right or remedy under these terms of use is effective unless it is in writing and signed by the party granting it.
Contact: All correspondence regarding these terms and conditions should be made to enquiries [at] ezimed.com.au.