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Registration Consent Form

PATIENT PORTAL

Patient Portal is a web site provided by Tufts Medical Center, Inc., Tufts Medical Center Physicians Organization, Inc. (collectively, "Tufts"), and New England Quality Care Alliance ("NEQCA"). It is intended to help you better access your physician's office and staff, as well as to provide you with access to your own health information from your medical record, including immunization history, prescriptions and upcoming appointments.

Tufts and NEQCA provide this web site as a health information resource to be accessed at your convenience. This site is not an attempt to practice medicine or provide specific medical advice, and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of your personal physician or other qualified health care provider.

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YOU SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THE PATIENT PORTAL SITE IF YOU HAVE IMMEDIATE HEALTH CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS

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You assume full responsibility for using the information on this site, and you understand and agree that Tufts, NEQCA and their affiliates are not responsible for any claim, loss, or damage resulting from its use by you or any user. While we try to keep the information on the site as accurate as possible, we cannot guarantee its accuracy, timeliness and completeness; nor can we guarantee that access to the site will be error- or virus-free.

Material on the Patient Portal web site is protected by copyright law. Unless otherwise stated, users may print, copy electronically, or download information from this site for personal, non-commercial use only, provided they identify the source of the material and include a statement that the materials are protected by copyright law.

Tufts and NEQCA may, at its sole discretion, revoke access to Patient Portal at any time. (Note: Tufts and NEQCA are legally required to provide you with access to your health information, even if Patient Portal is not available).

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PRIVACY GUIDELINES FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

NOTE: ANY ELECTRONIC MESSAGE YOU SEND OR RECEIVE USING PATIENT PORTAL MAY BE PLACED IN YOUR MEDICAL RECORD AND MAY BE VIEWED BY AUTHORIZED CLINICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE USERS AS NEEDED.

WHO CAN VIEW MESSAGES

Sometimes electronic messages may be seen by others:

- Others besides the addressee may process messages during the addressee's usual business hours, after hours, during addressee's vacation or illness, etc.

- Patient Portal messages can be accessed from various locations by authorized clinical and administrative users.

- Messages and information sent to the practice may be shared with those who provide care or assist in care management as needed.

ADVANTAGES OF SECURE MESSAGING

Patient Portal messages are always encrypted and are more protected than typical email against an accidental or deliberate breach of confidentiality.

While we have taken steps to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of information you may provide, you should understand that electronic transmissions via the Web are not completely secure from interception and so Tufts and NEQCA cannot guarantee the security or confidentiality of such transmissions.

INCLUDING SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Users may choose not to include certain information in their messages, such as: HIV status, alcohol or substance abuse, sexually-transmitted diseases, sexual assault, cancer, abortion, domestic violence, or confidential details of treatment with a psychotherapist, psychologist or social worker as this information, similar to other medical information, will be used and disclosed as described in this form.

OTHER TIPS

Writing the category of transaction (e.g., status, appointment) in the subject line of a message will help practice staff to sort and prioritize your messages.

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GUIDELINES FOR PASSWORDS

It is important to use passwords that are hard to guess, to reset lost passwords, and to change a password if it may be known to others.

Create strong passwords.

- Avoid passwords such as someone's name, your birth date, or a word from the dictionary. These may be easier to use, but they are also very easy to guess.

- Don't use the same password for different purposes.

- Keep your password out of easy view if you have written it down.

- When choosing your password, pick a combination of both characters and numbers together.

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GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING YOUR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

The following measures will help to protect the confidentiality of personal health information that you send to, or receive from, your physician's office through the Patient Portal

1. NEVER share your password. If at any time you believe your password may be known to others, change it or report it to Tufts or NEQCA staff if you suspect others have obtained it against your wishes.

2. Your password should be something that is easy for you to remember but hard for someone else to guess. It is not advisable to use words found in the dictionary, family names, or other passwords you may have.

3. When you have finished a Patient Portal session, you should log off by clicking the Log Off button, or closing the browser.

4. If you convert any health information to another media (e.g. paper or tape), you should dispose of it by shredding, tearing, etc.

5. Please take steps to secure any information placed on your hard disk drive (or on any storage drive always attached to your computer, including network drives) that could be viewed by others.

6. Tufts and/or NEQCA may audit access to and use of your patient information at any time or on an ongoing basis.