Terms of Use

IHI.org is an Internet system that provides resources, at low or no cost, to people all over the world to help them take effective action to improve health care. It will be helpful to people in many different roles in the health care system — including (but not limited to) physicians, nurses, other clinicians, managers, executives, policy-makers, educators, students, and interested members of the lay public.

IHI.org is owned and operated by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (“IHI”), a Michigan nonprofit corporation. By using our website, you agree to the following Terms of Use, as well as our Privacy Policy (as more fully described below), the terms of which are hereby incorporated into this agreement by reference, which constitute an agreement between IHI and you. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, do not use IHI.org. When we refer to ourselves as "we," "us," "our," and similar terms, we mean IHI, including any subsidiary we control. We may change these terms from time to time. Your continued use of IHI.org following the posting of any changes to these Terms of Use constitutes your acceptance of such changes. You will always be able to view the most current version by clicking on a link at the bottom of any page on our site. 
 
Scope of These Terms

Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability

Copyright

Trademarks

Policy on Using and Sharing IHI.org Content

Linking to Us

Content That You Submit to IHI.org

Advertising/Sponsorship and Solicitation Policy

Procedures for Making and Responding to Claims of Copyright Infringement

Laws That Govern This Agreement

About the Privacy Policy

No Unlawful or Prohibited Conduct

Minors

Consequences

Reporting a Violation

General

Questions

 

Scope of These Terms
These Terms of Use apply to your use of the IHI.org website and to tools accessible through IHI.org, which includes IHITV.org. We may have other websites that may be covered by different Terms of Use. The Terms of Use for each of our websites are available on those sites. When you leave one of our websites and go to another website (whether controlled by us or by a third party), different terms may apply.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability
IHI.org is a resource presented for the sole purpose of helping health care professionals improve care for the patients that they serve. We include a lot of information on IHI.org, including documents, references, tools, databases, and advertising. While we hope you find the information helpful, if you are a health care professional you should remember that the content on IHI.org is not meant to serve as a substitute for your own clinical judgment. If you are a consumer who chooses to use the information on IHI.org, you should not rely on that information as professional medical advice or use it to replace any relationship with your physician or other qualified health care professional. For medical concerns, including decisions about medications and other treatments, consumers should always consult their physician or, in serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel. Individuals with any type of medical condition are specifically cautioned to seek professional medical advice before beginning any sort of health treatment. CONSUMERS SHOULD NEVER DISREGARD MEDICAL ADVICE, AVOID OR DELAY VISITING A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, OR DEVIATE FROM ANY TREATMENT PROGRAM PRESCRIBED OR OTHERWISE RECOMMENDED BY YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROVIDER BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON IHI.org. USERS WHO RELY ON INFORMATION ON IHI.org DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK.

Although we generally do not review content posted directly by users in advance of its publication, we reserve the right to review any content at any time prior to or after it is published. We do not offer you any warranty or guarantee related to IHI.org. WE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CORRECTNESS, TIMELINESS OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, MERCHANDISE OR OTHER MATERIAL PROVIDED THROUGH IHI.org OR ON THE INTERNET GENERALLY. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR FREE. IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE FOR ANY DECISION MADE OR ACTION TAKEN BY YOU OR ANYONE ELSE IN RELIANCE UPON THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN OR PROVIDED THROUGH IHI.org.

It is your responsibility to evaluate the information and results from tools and other content available on IHI.org. If you are a health care professional, you should exercise your professional judgment in evaluating any information, and we encourage you to confirm the information contained on our website with other sources before undertaking any treatment or action based on it. If you are a consumer, you should evaluate the information together with your physician or another qualified health care professional. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, OR ASSURANCES AS TO THE ACCURACY, CURRENCY, OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT PROVIDED ON IHI.org.

Some information on IHI.org comes from you or from other users. We are not responsible for that information. Whether the information comes from us or from you, WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON IHI.org. IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF IHI.org, HOWEVER ARISING, EXCEED ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1,000), REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE AND NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF THE ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY REMEDY YOU OR ANYONE MAY HAVE.

You understand and agree that we cannot and do not operate, control, supply, endorse, warrant or guarantee any information, products, services or merchandise available on IHI.org or through the Internet, in general, in any way. You also understand and agree that we cannot and do not warrant or guarantee that files available for downloading through the website will be free of infections or viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code that contains contaminating or destructive properties. You understand and agree that you are solely responsible for implementing sufficient precautions, procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your own requirements for the accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to IHI.org for the reconstruction of any lost data. We do not assume the responsibility for the loss of any information, data, or other materials resulting from your use of IHI.org.

Content on IHI.org may include links to external websites, which are evaluated for inclusion on IHI.org using the following guidelines: The website provides clinical- and/or improvement-related information or content (e.g., resources and tools) that is entirely, or at least in part, freely available to users. IHI.org does not include links to websites or organizations that are commercial or product-based; pharmaceutical or medical products organizations or services; consulting services; or other types of organizations or websites, as determined by IHI's sole discretion. Links to external websites do not constitute an endorsement or sponsorship by us of such websites or the information, content, products, services, code, or other materials presented on or through such websites and/or services. The inclusion of any link to such sites on IHI.org does not imply our endorsement or recommendation of that site and we do not represent or warrant that the contents of any third party website and/or service is accurate, compliant with state or federal law, or compliant with copyright or other intellectual property laws. Although we are selective about the organizations we link to, WE DO NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY WEBSITES THAT ARE LINKED TO OUR SITE OR THAT YOU BROWSE AFTER FOLLOWING A LINK FROM IHI.org.

While we welcome your feedback on IHI.org, we reserve the right to make the final decisions about the content that is posted on the site and to remove such content in our unfettered discretion for any reason or no reason. If you believe that your work has been used on IHI.org in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact our Copyright Agent by following the procedures described below. To register other types of complaints, you can use the “Report This” or “Contact Us” features or any other feedback link on our site to send us comments and criticisms, but IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH OUR RESPONSE OR WITH THE CONTENTS OF IHI.org, YOUR ONLY REMEDY IS TO STOP USING THE WEBSITE.

Copyright
You acknowledge and agree that the content and materials available on IHI.org, including without limitation all text, graphics, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, logos, taglines, audio and video media, artwork, design, structure, selection, coordination, expression, “look and feel” and the arrangement thereof, are protected by copyrights or other proprietary rights and laws. Among other things, this means you must not sell, license, rent, modify, distribute, copy, reproduce, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, publish, adapt, edit, compile or create derivative works from such content or materials except as expressly provided in these Terms of Use. You acknowledge and agree that the unauthorized use of the contents and materials on IHI.org could cause irreparable harm to IHI and that in the event of such unauthorized use, IHI shall be entitled to an injunction in addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity.

Trademarks
We or our partners also own the names we use for our products and services on IHI.org, and these names are protected by trademark laws in the US and internationally. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. IHI's marks include without limitation the following:

  • Institute for Healthcare Improvement
  • IHI
  • The IHI logo
  • The National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care
  • Breakthrough Series
  • Pursuing Perfection
  • IMPACT
  • The 100,000 Lives Campaign
  • The 5 Million Lives Campaign
  • Improvement Map
  • Expedition
  • Sprint
  • Always Events


If your activities are noncommercial, you may make use of our trademarks by linking to us or discussing us with others, as long as you make it clear that we are the owner of the trademark. Any other uses of our trademarks require our prior written approval, unless they constitute permissible fair use under applicable law.

Without limiting the foregoing, you may not use our trademarks in any of the following ways:

  • In a non-Institute for Healthcare Improvement product or service name or publication title.
  • Within or as part of your own trademarks.
  • To identify non-Institute for Healthcare Improvement products or services.
  • In a manner which will likely cause confusion.
  • In a manner that implies that IHI sponsors, endorses or is otherwise connected with your activities, products, or services.
  • In a manner that disparages IHI.


Policy on Using and Sharing IHI.org Content
IHI’s goal is to make the content posted on IHI.org free and open to all, as often as possible, and for our users around the world to access our resources in order to promote the improvement of health care quickly and broadly.

In keeping with our mission, we invite registered users of IHI.org to download, learn from, and share the content on IHI.org, as permitted under these Terms of Use.

Unless otherwise prohibited, you may look at IHI.org content online; download individual documents; print or email pages of content; download tools to your personal or handheld computer for later reading or use; and print a reasonable number of copies of pages for yourself or your colleagues, provided that:

  • You may not modify the content or any copyright notices or source indications.
  • You may NOT post the content directly into another website. Instead, because we update the content on IHI.org frequently and want to make sure people are using the most up-to-date information, you should link to the content on IHI.org.
  • You must always credit IHI (and any other sources specified for a specific piece of content) as the source of the material, as follows: “[Name of content item]. Boston, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement; [Year]. (Available on www.IHI.org)”
  • You may not repackage our content for commercial purposes or otherwise offer it for sale.

Note that some content posted on IHI.org originates from outside sources that have granted IHI permission to post this content to our website only. Any further permissions for this content must be sought directly from the content owners.

You may be required to register and/or pay to access or use certain content on IHI.org. You will be informed of any additional or modified terms governing your use of such content at the time of registration or purchase, and your access to and use of such content will be subject to those additional or modified terms. If you register or pay for an individual account, you may not share your user name or password with anyone else. If you register or pay for an organizational account, you may not share the organization’s user name or password with anyone outside of the organization.

We reserve all other rights not expressly granted under these Terms of Use.

To request permission to use IHI.org, including its content, in a manner other than as permitted under these Terms of Use, please send an email to info@ihi.org. Although we will try to respond in a timely manner, we are not always able to do so, and you do not have permission to vary your use of IHI.org, including its content, unless and until we give you explicit permission to do so.

Linking to Us
Usually, we do not mind if you have a simple link from your website to IHI.org. However, because we update our content frequently and want to make sure people are using the most up-to-date information and recognize its source, you must not frame our site or incorporate pieces of it into a different site or product. You are not allowed to link to IHI.org if you create or post illegal, obscene, or offensive content, or if the link in any way has a negative impact on our reputation.

Content That You Submit to IHI.org
Unless we tell you that something will be treated confidentially, when you submit content to IHI.org, including but not limited to documents, web page text, tools, reports, studies, comments, ratings, and postings to discussion boards, blogs and wikis, you are giving us a royalty-free, world-wide, irrevocable, perpetual, nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, create derivative works from, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform, and display such content in any medium, form, format, or forum whether presently existing or developed later, and to sublicense such rights to others. For example, you give us the right to display an item of content, such as a document or comment that you provide to us or post in one of our discussion groups, blogs, wikis, or the Resources section, for as long as we want. We will consider requests to remove content that you make publicly available on IHI.org on an individual basis, but IHI will make the final decision whether or not to remove such content.

For our policies regarding information you place on IHI.org that will be treated confidentially, please see our Privacy Policy.

You may not post any content, links or code that would be, in the sole and absolute determination of IHI, misleading, false, defamatory, vulgar, inappropriate, or harmful. We disclaim any liability for moderating such content, but reserve the right to remove any such content at any time without your consent.

In consideration for your use of IHI.org, you agree to provide true, accurate, and complete information. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate or incomplete, we may decline to permit your continued use of IHI.org and may remove the content that you provided or posted.

If you submit or post any content or intellectual property to IHI.org or IHI, you represent and warrant that your submission or posting does not infringe the rights of the owner of such content or intellectual property or any other third party. You further represent and warrant that the owner of such content or intellectual property has expressly granted, or allowed you to grant, to IHI a royalty-free, world-wide, irrevocable, perpetual, nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, create derivative works from, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform, and display such content or intellectual property in any medium, form, format, or forum whether presently existing or developed later, and to sublicense such rights to others.

Advertising/Sponsorship and Solicitation Policy
Unless expressly permitted by IHI.org, you may not use IHI.org or any information, tool or service provided by IHI.org to solicit other users for any commercial purpose, or to advertise commercial programs, products, or services of any kind for which a fee is charged.

IHI may permit advertising on and sponsorship of IHI.org by third parties. We do not endorse any product or service provided by such parties.

Procedure for Making and Responding to Claims of Copyright Infringement
IHI respects the rights of all copyright holders and has adopted and implemented a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of users who post materials on IHI.org that infringe the rights of copyright holders. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our Copyright Agent the following information required by the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512:

  • A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that you claim is infringed;
  • Identification of the copyright work that you claim has been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
  • Identification of the material that you claim to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, including your address, telephone number, and email address;
  • A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

To contact our Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on or regarding IHI.org: Customer Service (info@ihi.org) at Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 53 State Street, 18th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, USA.

If you believe that your user submission that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or pursuant to applicable law, to post and use the content in your user submission, you may send a counter-notice containing the following information to our Copyright Agent:

  • Your electronic or physical signature;
  • A description of the content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled;
  • A description of where the allegedly infringing material is located on the website;
  • Your address, telephone number, and email address, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which IHI.org may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person;
  • A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the content; and
  • A statement by you made, under the penalty of perjury, that the above information in your counter-notice is accurate and that you have authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or pursuant to applicable law to post and use the content in your user submission.

Please send such notice to our Copyright Agent at: Customer Service (info@ihi.org) at Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 53 State Street, 18th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, USA.

If a counter-notice is received by IHI, IHI may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that IHI may restore the removed content or cease disabling it in 10 business days.  Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the member or user, the removed content may be restored, or access to it restored, in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at the sole discretion of IHI.

Laws That Govern This Agreement
IHI controls IHI.org from its offices within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States of America. IHI.org can be accessed from any of the United States and from other countries worldwide. Because the laws of each state or country able to access IHI.org may differ, by accessing IHI.org both you and IHI agree that the statutes and laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will apply to all matters relating to use of IHI.org. Both you and IHI submit to jurisdiction in Massachusetts and further agree that any cause of action arising under these Terms of Use shall be brought exclusively in any state or federal court located in Boston, Massachusetts.

IHI makes no representation that materials on IHI.org are appropriate or available for use in other locations, and accessing them from territories where their contents are illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access IHI.org from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

All information gathered from you, or that you provide to us, will be stored and processed in the United States. If you access IHI.org from a location other than the United States, your use of our site constitutes consent to the transfer of your information to the United States. Please note that U.S. law may not offer the same privacy protections as the law of your jurisdiction.

About the Privacy Policy
We pay special attention to privacy issues. You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose any sensitive information on IHI.org. If you use certain features of IHI.org, IHI may make some of your personal information publicly available, such as your name, photo, job title, organization name, city, state, and country. These uses are more fully described in our Privacy Policy. Otherwise, we recommend that you use caution when deciding whether to give out your own personal information, and that you never give out your address, phone number, date of birth or social security number. You may not give out information about an organization, a patient or another person if you do not have the express authority or permission to share that information publicly. Never submit content to IHI.org if you do not have the express authority or permission to share that information publicly.

The purpose of our Privacy Policy is to identify the information we may collect about you, describe the uses we may make of your information and the security measures we take to protect it, and discuss your options for controlling your information. Please review the Privacy Policy for IHI.org.

No Unlawful or Prohibited Conduct
As a condition of your use of IHI.org, you warrant and agree that you will not use IHI.org for any purpose that is unlawful or is prohibited by these Terms of Use. You may not use IHI.org in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair IHI.org or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of IHI.org. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through IHI.org.

Minors
Our services are designed and intended for those who are at least 18 years of age. By accessing IHI.org, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age or older or the parent or legal guardian of a minor child and are accessing IHI.org on behalf of such minor child with full capacity and legal authority to do so. If we determine at any time that a minor has been using our services, we may remove all information regarding such child from IHI.org.

Consequences; Indemnification
If you do not comply with these terms, as determined by IHI in its sole and absolute discretion, we have the right to block your access, suspend or eliminate your registration, and remove any content or other information you have placed on our site. We may also take any legal action if, in our sole discretion, we think such legal action is appropriate. If your use of IHI.org or violation of this Agreement causes harm to yourself or others, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold IHI harmless against any liability for that harm.

Reporting a Violation
Any user who believes that another user’s use of IHI.org is in violation of these Terms of Use may report such violation to IHI.org by using the “Report This” or “Contact Us” features on IHI.org. IHI will make the final determination in responding to any alleged violation.

General
If any provision of these Terms of Use is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. These Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy set forth the entire understanding and agreement between you and IHI with respect to your use of IHI.org.

Questions or Concerns About Our Terms of Use
For questions or concerns about these Terms of Use, please send an email to info@ihi.org.

 

 

Revision date: December 2021