Rules & Privacy

Thank you for being part of the International Society of Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ISACHD) online community! ISACHD is a nonprofit organization to promote, maintain and pursue excellence in the care of adults with congenital heart disease worldwide. Through our online Member Portal, we wish to foster collaboration and to enable our members across the globe to connect, share ideas and grow together as a community.

Please note that membership is open to congenital heart disease (CHD) professionals (clinicians, researchers and/or educators). It is not intended for patients or members of the general public, for whom there are other websites. Individuals who join and we later learn are not CHD professionals will have their membership withdrawn (and their fees returns).

The guidelines presented here are provided to ensure that everyone in the Online Community can engage in meaningful interaction and sharing. By joining and using this Community, you are agreeing to read and follow these rules and guidelines. Please be aware that we reserve the rights to (1) suspend or (2) terminate membership in ISACHD without notice in cases of repeated infractions of the rules.

• Be kind to other members.

The Member Portal is intended to provide an engaging and respectful environment for CHD professionals from many different backgrounds and countries to share their knowledge and learn from one another. Do not post anything in the online Community that is not conducive to maintaining a respectful learning environment. Bullying and abusive behavior will not be tolerated.

• Respect patients.

Members may choose to share deidentified cases within the Community. All patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect at all times. Apply the same ethical principles you use in your practice to what you post. If you wouldn’t say something in front of a patient, please don’t post it here.

• Maintain patient privacy at all times!

Whether you are sharing a case or commenting on a post, you must never include identifying information. (Please see our content policy for specific content restrictions.) Any post or comment that violates this policy will be removed. All messages must be in compliance with the country of the ISACHD member and the privacy laws of the United States, where this website is housed (https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html). If an ISACHD member accidentally breaches privacy laws, it is the responsibility of that individual to report to their local program/institution as appropriate.

• Keep comments professional.

While we welcome and encourage social interaction between members, keep in mind that this is a professional organization. Insensitive, lewd, or otherwise unprofessional comments are not appropriate and will be removed.

• What happens in the Member Portal stays in the Member Portal.

Taking screenshots of posts, cases, comments, and any other contributions and sharing them anywhere else, whether online or in print, is strictly forbidden and constitutes a violation of our guidelines and the spirit of our community.

• Do not share promotional content.

While members are welcome to share projects that they may be working on, posting unsolicited commercial or fundraising messages to the community is not permitted. If your organization is interested in learning about promotional opportunities, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss opportunities for partnership.

If you have any questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to email us at info@isachd.org.

When posting content relating to actual patients, you must remove all personally identifying information (ie, information which could be used to identify an individual) regarding the person and the relatives, employers, or household members of that person. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Names
• Geographical subdivisions smaller than a State or Province, including street address, city, county, precinct, zip code, or postal code.
• All elements (except year) for dates directly related to an individual, including birth date, admission date, patient encounter date, discharge date, date of death and exact age if over 89
• Phone numbers, fax numbers, personal electronic mail addresses
• Social security or social insurance numbers, national identity number, or equivalent
• Medical record numbers
• Health card numbers, health plan beneficiary numbers, or Health Insurance Account numbers
• Account numbers
• Certificate/license numbers
• Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers
• Device identifiers and serial numbers
• Web Universal Resource Locators (URLs)
• Internet Protocol (IP) address numbers
• Biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints
• Full face photographic images and any comparable images
• Photographic images of scars, tattoos, piercings etc. which would allow for an identification
• Any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code

By posting, the user implicitly agrees and warrants that they have removed all identifying information and that the user does not have actual knowledge that the Images could be used alone or in combination with other information to identify an individual who is the subject of the information.

This site is provided as a service for members of ISACHD. ISACHD is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by ISACHD or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall ISACHD and/or ISACHD Leadership be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from the use or performance of any information posted on this site.

We respect your privacy. Any personal information you provide to us including and similar to your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address will not be released, sold, or rented to any entities or individuals outside of our organization except as noted below.

With whom do we share the personal information we collect through this site?

• Our Service Providers

We may share your personal information with companies (including our affiliates) that perform services on our behalf, for example, companies that help process credit card payments or send mailings and email blasts. Our service providers are required by contract to protect the confidentiality of the personal information we share with them and to use it only to provide specific services on our behalf.

• Business Transfers

Your personal information may be transferred to another entity (either an affiliated entity or an unrelated third party) in connection with a merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar corporate event. If such a transfer were ever to occur, the acquiring entity’s use of your personal information will still be subject to this Privacy Policy.

• Government and Legal Disclosures

We may disclose the personal information we collect through this Site, when we, in good faith, believe disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law (or a court order or subpoena); to prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft; to enforce our Terms and Conditions or other agreements that govern your use of this Site; or to protect the rights, property or safety of our company, our users, or others.

• External Sites

We are not responsible for the content of external internet sites. You are advised to read the privacy policy of external sites before disclosing any personal information.

• Cookies

A "cookie" is a small data text file that is placed in your browser and allows us to recognize you each time you visit this site (personalization, etc). Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and we do not use cookies to collect personal information. Cookies may also be used by 3rd party content providers such as news feeds.