Legal, Security and Privacy

Disclaimer
Consistent with our corporate mission of providing outstanding service and value, Tufts Health Plan is dedicated to providing health-related information to our members. The health-related information and resources on this Web site are made available to you solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical advice and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical care. Nothing on this site is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your health care provider before beginning any new treatment or if you have any questions regarding a medical condition. If you are ill or need immediate medical care, please contact your health care provider or, in an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest medical facility.

Tufts Health Plan and its vendors will attempt to keep the information available through this Web site current and accurate, but make no guarantees and disclaim any implied warranty or representation about its accuracy, relevance, timeliness, completeness, or appropriateness for a particular purpose. Information on this Web site may be updated at any time and without notice.

When you access tuftshealthplan.com, conduct any transaction, use any functionality or tool, or access information on or through tuftshealthplan.com, you are agreeing to accept the legal disclaimers and adhere to our privacy and security policies set forth on our Web site.

Limitation of Liability
IN NO EVENT SHALL TUFTS HEALTH PLAN BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM ANY LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LITIGATION, OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS, WHETHER BASED ON BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THIS WEB SITE OR THE PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO MAKE AVAILABLE ANY SUCH PRODUCTS, GOODS, OR SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Privacy and Security on the Public Site
Tufts Health Plan understands that privacy of information is of great importance to our members and the people that visit our site. We want you to know that Tufts Health Plan does not sell information obtained through use of this Web site to anyone. In addition, we have established the following privacy and security practices with respect to the public portions of tuftshealthplan.com.

Because we want tuftshealthplan.com to better serve visitors' needs, we collect some basic information about visitors' computers, including:

IP address (the computer's unique signature)
Operating system (e.g. Windows Vista)
Browser software (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox)
Internet Service Provider (e.g. AOL)
Geographic location (e.g. Boston, Mass.)

The information we collect about our visitors' computers will not be used to identify individuals. Instead, we check which Web pages and services people use while they are here. For example, we use the browser information to help us design our Web site so that as many people as possible will be able to view the pages correctly. In short, it helps us determine what parts of the site people like and what parts they don't, so that we can add information appropriately.

Privacy and Security on the Secured Sites
The sections of tuftshealthplan.com that are password protected and require individuals to register and log-in, contain protected health information (PHI) and allow individuals to perform certain transactions (e.g. order an ID card, change a PCP). Because of this Tufts Health Plan must be able to link a user's activity back to their identity. For example, when a member changes her PCP, we must be able to make that change within our systems and we cannot do that without linking the information back to the member. In addition, it is important for Tufts Health Plan to keep track of what functionality a member uses. Therefore, in the password protected portion of our Web site, Tufts Health Plan does collect identifiable information about users. This includes information about the user's computer as listed above, and information related to the user, such as pages visited and PHI submitted or changed.

The confidentiality, integrity and availability of your PHI are important to Tufts Health Plan. To protect against unauthorized access to PHI that is accessible on the password-protected portions of our site, Tufts Health Plan has adopted stringent security standards. Data transmitted between your browser and the password-protected portions of tuftshealthplan.com is protected by 128-bit encryption.

PHI that Tufts Health Plan collects from users on the password-protected portions of tuftshealthplan.com is confidential. All PHI Tufts Health Plan has regarding our members is available only to authorized users and is protected from unauthorized access by multiple layers of security controls and monitoring. In addition, PHI that is collected and maintained by Tufts Health Plan is used and disclosed only in accordance with our Notice of Privacy Practices.

We collect email addresses as part of the registration process. We will use email addresses to notify registrants of online activity related to the security and privacy of their accounts, such as, retrievals of username, etc. In addition we will use email addresses to send members health and wellness information and other updates that might be of interest to them as members of Tufts Health Plan. Each time we send health and wellness information and other updates, the recipient will be given the opportunity to opt-out of receiving similar emails in the future. Please note that registrants cannot opt-out of receiving emails that notify them of online activity since these are necessary to protect the privacy and security of web accounts.

Cookies
We use "cookies" on the public and password-protection portions of the site to help users better navigate tuftshealthplan.com. They are used only for that distinct purpose. A "cookie" is a small piece of information sent by Tufts Health Plan's Web server to store on your Web browser. We use this information to tell if you have been given important messages about the functioning of this site.

Email
We welcome your comments or questions about our Web site and have provided an e-mail option for that purpose. We will share your comments and questions with our member services coordinators and those employees most capable of addressing your questions and concerns. Remember, your e-mail may not be encrypted and may be accessed and viewed by other Internet users without your knowledge while in transit to us. For that reason, please do not send confidential health care or personal information to us by e-mail. Tufts Health Plan disclaims any responsibility for any breach of confidentiality resulting from your transmittal of such email. If you need to contact Tufts Health Plan regarding confidential matters, please call a member services coordinator.

Links to Other Sites
For your interest and convenience, we have provided some links from tuftshealthplan.com to other Web sites. The links are provided for your convenience only and do not constitute or imply that Tufts Health Plan endorses these sites, any material or information contained therein, or of any products or services described on these sites.

These sites are not owned or controlled by Tufts Health Plan and are not covered by Tufts Health Plan's privacy and security policies. Tufts Health Plan cannot warrant the accessibility or the accuracy of any information provided on other Web sites. Tufts Health Plan disclaims any responsibility for the content, information or the privacy and security policies contained on those other Web sites. We encourage you to check the terms of use, privacy and security policies, and policy regarding the use of "cookies" of any other Web site you visit.