Terms of service.
Terms & Conditions of Use
These Terms & Conditions (“Terms & Conditions”) are entered into by and between the patient (“you”, “your”) and Dial a Midwife. You acknowledge and agree that before you can accept these Terms & Conditions you must submit an online enquiry (registration) to Dial a Midwife, which registration requires the entry of personal data, address, date of birth, a mobile telephone number, an email address and relevant health details. These Terms & Conditions apply to your access to and use of the Dial a Midwife service (as varied by us from time to time) (“Service”, “Services”).
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS & CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES.
By clicking “I ACCEPT” when you enquire, you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions, which establishes a contractual relationship between you and Dial a Midwife. If you do not agree to these Terms & Conditions, you may not access or use the Services. These Terms & Conditions expressly supersede any prior agreements or arrangements with you. Dial a Midwife may immediately terminate these Terms & Conditions or any services at any time for any reason.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Our services are not intended for use in emergency or urgent situations. if you require immediate, urgent or emergency treatment, call triple zero (000) or the hospital you’re booked into or attend your nearest hospital emergency department.
Services
Our Services offer an online or phone consultation to facilitate midwifery Consultations.
Our midwives conduct Consultations by taking a person’s pregnancy and birth history via audio-video-conference or telephone (“Consultation”). Our midwives are not able to conduct physical examinations, tests or checks in the same way as when a person attends a midwife or doctor’s clinic or hospital in person.
Consultations cannot be used for emergency or life-threatening conditions or illnesses. If you need emergency assistance, please call triple zero (000) for immediate help.
Some conditions and circumstances will not be appropriate for Consultations. The midwife will determine this on a case-by-case basis in the midwife’s complete discretion. You agree to contact your primary midwife or doctor immediately should your condition change or your symptoms worsen.
You acknowledge that Dial a Midwife does not replace face-to-face midwifery or medical care. Dial a Midwife does not guarantee the availability of the services.
Acknowledgements
You acknowledge and agree that:
We do not guarantee that the Services are always defect-free, uninterrupted or reliable, or that they will be compatible with any of your other systems or services, and we make no representations or warranties as to the timeliness, suitability, quality, speed or completeness of Services provided;
you will maintain and safeguard the privacy and security of all personal or confidential information that you obtain or provide access to in relation to the Consultations.
You agree to comply with any of our reasonable instructions, directions, policies or procedures regarding use of the Services notified to you from time to time by us.
Representations and warranties
You represent and warrant that:
you have full power and authority to enter into these Terms & Conditions;
these Terms & Conditions constitute a legally valid and binding agreement and are is enforceable in accordance with its terms; and
you have the ability and intend to comply with your obligations under these Terms & Conditions.
The representations and warranties set out in this clause survive the termination of these Terms & Conditions.
Bookings
When you have completed your online enquiry / registration, you may request an appointment. We aim, but do not guarantee, booking times, even when these are confirmed with you.
A booking will be for a window of time on an agreed day during which the midwife will be available to have a Consultation with you (“Booking Window”). We will contact you via email, for the purpose of:
confirming the Booking Window; and
providing you with a URL address to enable your access to the Consultation.
During the Booking Window, you must ensure that you are available to attend the Consultation. Your Consultation will finish on time.
Consultations
Not all conditions are appropriate for Consultations and each Consultation will be assessed on a case-by-case basis during the Consultation.
The Services may not achieve everything that is needed, and it may be necessary for you to attend a face-to-face visit with your primary midwife or doctor or attend a further Consultation.
You may elect to cease a Consultation at any time, including during a Consultation.
Neither we nor any other person guarantees that you can be diagnosed, provided with any necessary midwifery advice, or any treatment plan finalised during a Consultation.
A midwife has full discretion, for any reason they consider reasonable, to:
interrupt or re-schedule a Consultation;
discontinue a Consultation; or
decline to provide a Consultation to you.
Complex problems may not be suitable for Consultations (particularly short Consultations) as they may require a longer time than the time typically associated with that Consultation. In most cases it will not be an option to extend your Consultation beyond the initial allocated time, however, arrangements can be made with the midwife to book a further appointment at another time if appropriate.
Midwife availability
We do not guarantee that a midwife will be available at the appointed time. If a midwife is unavailable, we will endeavour to re-schedule your Consultation and we will notify you as soon as possible in the event that your Consultation is cancelled.
Feedback
The Services include a facility allowing you to give feedback and make suggestions (“Feedback Facility”). You agree that your use of the Feedback Facility is subject to the following additional terms:
any feedback, suggestion or material you may provide (“Feedback”) will not be treated by Dial a Midwife as confidential;
Dial a Midwife will own any intellectual property rights in or arising from any Feedback;
Feedback may be provided by email.
Fees and charges
Consultations are bulk-billed for Medicare card holders. If You hold a valid Medicare card, You consent to Us bulk-billing Medicare for Your Consultation.
Women without a valid Medicare card will be charged a $100 AUD fee for each and every Consultation that is booked (“Fee”).
the Fee must be paid by internet transfer;
the Fee must be paid at the time of booking and before we confirm Your Consultation;
You must meet the costs associated with any Consultation, including data and usage charges.
Your Consultation may attract a benefit under private health insurance but We cannot and do not warrant that you will attract a benefit under Private Health Insurance when You use the Services.
Payments and billing
If You don’t have a valid Medicare card, payment of the Fee will be made by internet transfer. You will be responsible for any payment processing fees.
An invoice will be emailed to the email address associated with your enquiry / registration after the Consultation or upon processing of a cancellation Fee.
Changes, cancellations and informed financial consent
You may request to change or cancel a booking for a Consultation by emailing telehealthmidwife@gmail.com.
Changes to a Consultation time are subject to midwife availability. One change of time is permitted for each Consultation provided that the change is requested at least 24 business hours prior to the Consultation.
If you have paid the Fee:
if you do not attend the Consultation during the Booking Window you will forfeit the booking for the Consultation and still be liable to pay the Fee;
you will only be entitled to a refund of the Fee if you cancel your booking for a Consultation at least 1 business day prior to the time of the Consultation (this means that a Consultation taking place on a Monday must be cancelled on Friday at the latest to be eligible for a refund);
cancellation of Consultations made less than 1 business day prior to the Consultation time incur an administration charge of 50% of the Fee. Cancellation Fees cannot generally be claimed through private health insurance or overseas health cover.
Accuracy of information provided by you
The effectiveness of any Consultation is dependent on complete and truthful answers to all questions asked. You understand and agree that in any Consultation with a midwife you must:
answer all questions asked of you;
be accurate and fulsome in your answers;
report any new (since the last consultation with your primary midwife or doctor) symptoms or worsening of condition.
Our Services are not a substitute for primary midwifery or medical care
The Services are not intended to be a substitute for care with Your primary midwife or doctor. We encourage you to schedule follow-up visits with your primary midwife or doctor.
Recording of calls and Consultations
Our Consultations are not recorded, however, we will take written notes of your Consultation to ensure we maintain professional standards.
You must not record or transmit audio or video of any Consultation.
Access to Services
We may change, suspend or discontinue any part of your access to or use of the Services at any time in our sole discretion and without any liability to you.
We may revise, change or modify these Terms & Conditions at any time by making updated terms and conditions available through our website. Continued use of the Services will be deemed acceptance of the updated terms and conditions.
System requirements
Your Consultation will require your computer, telephone, internet access, device and associated equipment to meet certain technical levels (“System Requirements”) in order to receive the services. At a minimum, an Australian mobile phone will be required with sufficient charge for the phone call. Dial a Midwife takes no responsibility for problems associated with or arising from your inability to access or receive the services due to your equipment or internet speed not meeting the System Requirements.
Security, viruses, errors and availability
The internet is an insecure public network which means there are risks that information sent to or from the Services may be intercepted, corrupted or modified by third parties. In addition, files obtained from or through the Services may contain computer viruses, disabling codes, worms or other devices or defects. You bear the risks and responsibility for any loss or damage caused, directly or indirectly, by these risks, and Dial a Midwife accepts no liability for any interference with, or damage to, your computer system, device, software or data occurring in connection with the Services.
Disclaimers and acceptable use
You are solely responsible for your use of the Services and for the accuracy and suitability of any information or data that you upload or provide to Us.
You warrant that You are responsible for your medical affairs and any medical and treatment decisions made by You are based on independent professional midwifery / medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or judgment.
You acknowledge and agree the Consultation is not designed for, and must not be relied upon in relation to, any critical, emergency or acute care circumstances, and is not a suitable replacement for in-person midwifery or medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or judgment.
Consultations are dependent on having a stable, high-speed internet connection to conduct the Consultation or an Australian mobile phone. You will be required to be in an area with sufficient lighting for video calls. In the event that the video quality is not sufficient for any reason, We may terminate the Consultation or revert to a phone Consultation.
We are not responsible and hereby exclude liability for any injury or condition which may be exacerbated by poor video or voice communications associated with insufficient network quality, lighting, bandwidth, network interruption, congestion or other technical, hardware or software failure.
We do not warrant that any Consultation will be uninterrupted, faultless or error free. Consultations are dependent on mobile networks and/or the internet which may perform unpredictably at times and which may from time to time prevent access to the Consultation.
Indemnity
We are not liable for, and you indemnify Us against any and all claims, actions, proceedings, losses, liabilities and expenses (including legal expenses on a full indemnity basis) in any way arising from or relating to:
your inability to use the Services offered by us;
any breach of these Terms & Conditions by you;
your failure or refusal to answer any questions truthfully, or to provide any information reasonably requested by the midwife.
Copyright and trade marks
All intellectual property rights in content on the Services, including (without limitation) text, graphics, information, architecture and coding (including any copyright), is owned by Dial a Midwife.
You may access and download the material on the Services where available, but may not modify, publish, transmit, distribute, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the content in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the owner of the material.
The Services may contain trademarks owned by Dial a Midwife. You may not display or use in any manner any trademarks featured on the Services without the prior written permission of the trade mark owner.
Availability and accuracy of information
Because the internet is not a secure environment, we cannot guarantee that the Services are free from viruses or other harmful code, or the security of any information you transmit to Us. Access to and use of the Services is at your own risk.
Severance
If any provision of these Terms & Conditions is held to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, under any law, then such provision or part shall be deemed not to form part of these Terms & Conditions but the legality, validity and enforceability of the other provisions in these Terms & Conditions shall not be affected. In that event, the parties shall replace the unlawful, invalid or unenforceable provision or part thereof with a provision or part thereof that is lawful, valid and enforceable and that has, to the greatest extent possible, a similar effect as the unlawful, invalid or unenforceable provision or part thereof, given the contents of these Terms & Conditions.
Entire agreement
These Terms & Conditions constitute the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to its subject matter and replaces and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements or undertakings regarding such subject matter.
Governing law and jurisdiction
These Terms & Conditions are governed by and will be construed in accordance with the laws applicable in the State of New South Wales and the Commonwealth laws of Australia and the parties irrevocably and unconditionally submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of those courts and courts hearing appeals from those courts.
Disputes/Complaints
If you have any dispute or complaint arising out of your use Dial a Midwife, you may notify us by email.
You must notify us of the nature of the dispute as soon as practicable;
We will discuss the dispute with you; and
if that discussion fails to resolve the issue, then the matter must be referred to NSW Fair Trading if it relates to payment of Fees; or the NSW Nursing and Midwifery Council if it relates to midwifery care provided to You.
You may not commence any proceedings against us in NSW Fair Trading, the NSW Nursing and Midwifery Council any Court or Tribunal unless the process for resolving disputes with Us has been followed.
Eligibility
You may only use the Service:
for yourself being aged at least 16 years, or for your baby who is aged less than 6 weeks; and
you are currently pregnant or you have given birth within the last 6 weeks; and
You are currently within Australia; and
You have a valid Medicare card OR You agree to pay our Fee.
If We determine that you are ineligible to use our Service, or that the Service is inappropriate for you, then We may refuse you access to the Service.
Midwifery care
Midwives are responsible for all care they provide through the Service, including assessing the suitability of the Service for Your issue and keeping adequate midwifery records.
Telehealth Services
Telehealth services provide a convenient and easy way to access midwifery care, however telehealth is not a substitute for in-person consultations with your primary midwife or doctor.
In some cases, the outcome of a Consultation may be that You need to attend an in-person consultation with your care provider.
If You require urgent medical attention, You should contact your local emergency services.
Acceptable Use
You must use Dial a Midwife only for the purpose for which it was designed
You must not use Dial a Midwife:
for any illegal or unlawful purpose; or
to encourage any other person to do any of those things; or
in a way that damages, or is reasonably likely to damage, our reputation.
You must not record any Consultation.
Termination of Service
We may terminate, limit or suspend your use of the Dial a Midwife Service at any time.
If we terminate your use of the Dial a Midwife Service in accordance with these terms of use, we will continue to retain and deal with your information in accordance with any applicable legislation.
You may terminate your use of the Dial a Midwife Service by following the termination procedure we have in place at the time of termination.
You may not terminate your use of the Dial a Midwife Service if you have any fees outstanding for your use of the Service.
If you terminate your use of the Dial a Midwife Service, you will remain liable for any fees incurred prior to termination.
Confidentiality
You acknowledge that we will store your information, including your Patient Record, in order to provide you with the Dial a Midwife Service.
We will collect, manage and deal with your information in accordance with:
any applicable privacy laws, including laws relating to health information; and
our Privacy Policy, which is available at www.dialamidwife.com.au.
Liability and Indemnity
You acknowledge and agree that:
you are responsible for your use of, and access to, the Dial a Midwife Service;
you are responsible for ensuring that others do not access the Dial a Midwife Service in your name.