SPHS has opened publicly facing pages on social media sites in an effort to deliver meaningful mental health and addiction-related content to our communities. These social media sites include our thrive blog as well as other user-generated content sites (“Social Media Sites”). By accessing, viewing and/or posting any content related directly or indirectly to SPHS on any online Social Media Site, you accept the following terms of use. If you do not agree to the terms of this Agreement, you may not view or post any content to any Social Media Site on the Internet. Your use of Social Media Sites is acceptance of this Agreement and has the same effect as if you had actually physically signed an agreement.

  1. If you are an SPHS employee, patient, student, or client, you must adhere to the Sheppard Pratt social media usage policy.
  2. If you are an SPHS patient, student, or client, you must refrain from engaging with Sheppard Pratt social media profiles while in the care of Sheppard Pratt, a Sheppard Pratt employee, or one of Sheppard Pratt’s affiliates, or while physically at a Sheppard Pratt or Sheppard Pratt-affiliated campus.
  3. You acknowledge that the information contained in SPHS-related Internet and Social Media sites, whether posts or comments, is not intended to serve as advice or a consultation on health or mental health and should not be used for diagnosis, nor should it be considered complete or used in place of a visit, call or consultation with a physician or mental health care provider. 
  4. Employees, faculty, other representatives of Sheppard Pratt, including contractors, and active patients, clients, students and their families are prohibited from posting any content that is personal health information (whether for oneself or for other patients/clients/students), including patient images or identifying information, on any Social Media Site or to disseminate this information through messaging via Social Media. Using the Social Media Site to provide medical advice or medical commentary by non-SPHS clinicians or to use the Social Media Site to make, recommend or increase referrals to clinicians who are not employed by SPHS is prohibited.
  5. As an invited guest posting content to any SPHS-managed Social Media Site on the Internet, you agree you will not: violate any local, state, federal and international laws and regulations, including but not limited to copyright and intellectual property rights laws regarding any content that you send or receive via this Agreement; transmit any material (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) that is unlawful, disruptive, threatening, profane, abusive, harassing, embarrassing, tortuous, defamatory, obscene, libelous, an invasion of another’s privacy or hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable as solely determined in SPHS’s discretion; impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; transmit any material (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships; transmit any material (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party; transmit (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising (including advertising of non-SPHS services or products), promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes” or any other form of solicitation; transmit any material (by uploading, posting, e-mail or otherwise) that contains software viruses, worms, disabling code or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware, telecommunications equipment; harass another; or collect, store or attempt to collect or store personal data about third parties without their knowledge or consent; or to share confidential pricing information of any party.
  6. SPHS reserves the right to monitor, prohibit, restrict, block, suspend, terminate, delete or discontinue your access to any Sheppard Pratt-affiliated Social Media Site, at any time, without notice and for any reason and in its sole discretion. SPHS may remove, delete, block, filter or restrict by any other means any materials in SPHS’s sole discretion. You understand and agree that SPHS may disclose your communications and activities with SPHS in response to lawful requests by governmental authorities, including Patriot Act requests, judicial orders, warrants or subpoenas or for the protection of SPHS rights. You agree that in the event that SPHS exercises any of its rights hereunder for any reason, SPHS will have no liability to you.
  7. By posting any content on any Social Media Site, you grant to SPHS the irrevocable right to reproduce, distribute, publish, or display such content.
  8. You shall defend, indemnify and hold SPHS and its corporate affiliates and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, successors and assigns harmless from and against, and shall promptly reimburse them for, any and all losses, claims, damages, settlements, costs and liabilities of any nature whatsoever (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) to which any of them may become subject arising out of, based upon, as a result of or in any way connected with your posting of any content to a Social Media Site, any third party claims of infringement or any breach of this Agreement.
  9. YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY RELATED TO THE SECURITY, PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY RISKS INHERENT IN SENDING ANY CONTENT OVER THE INTERNET. By its very nature, a website AND THE INTERNET cannot be absolutely protected against intentional or malicious intrusion attempts. SPHS does not control the THIRD PARTY SITES AND THE Internet over which you may choose to send confidential personal or health information OR OTHER CONTENT and, therefore, SPHS DOES NOT WARRANT ANY SAFEGUARD AGAINST ANY such interceptions or compromises to your information. When posting any content on an Internet site, you should think carefully about your own privacy in disclosing detailed or private information about yourself and your family. FURTHERMORE, SPHS DOES NOT ENDORSE ANY PRODUCT, SERVICE, VIEWS OR CONTENT DISPLAYED ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA SITE. 
  10.  You agree that any claim or dispute relating to your posting of any content on a Social Media Site on the Internet shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland without regard to its conflict of laws or provisions and you agree to be bound and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the local, state or federal courts located in Maryland.
  11.  You may not provide any content to a Social Media Site that contains any product or service endorsements or any content that may be construed as political lobbying, solicitations or contributions; use the Social Media Site to link to any sites for political candidates or parties; or use the Social Media Site to discuss political campaigns.
  12.  THIS POLICY MAY BE UPDATED AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND EACH TIME A USER ACCESSES A SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE, THE NEW AGREEMENT WILL GOVERN USAGE, EFFECTIVE UPON POSTING. By continuing to post any content after such new terms are posted, you accept and agree to any and all such modifications to this Policy.