Welcome to the AHNS Forums. This was established as a quick way for our members to post questions, comments and suggestions in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. This forum is only accessible to AHNS members. Please note that the views and comments expressed on the forum are views and opinions of those posting and not official AHNS viewpoints.
Please read all of the text below. The link to access the Forums is at the bottom of the document.
By participating on this forum, you agree that you have read and will follow these guidelines and etiquette. You also agree to focus on discussions best suited to this forum. Please follow the below guidelines and etiquette when posting to this forum. The principles of professionalism, confidentiality, proprietary information, and patient interactions should be maintained.
- Members will be held accountable for everything posted.Posts should be respectful of other people and professions. No derogatory, slanderous, or tasteless comments or language should be used. Posts should not contain obscene, defamatory, profane, abusive, threatening, or harassing material, or content that would be embarrassing to an individual or organization.
- Posts must respect patient confidentiality and others’ right to privacy. HIPAA regulations apply to social media content. Disclosure of a patient’s PHI or any other information or image is prohibited without explicitly documented permission.
- Inaccurate or incomplete posts should be deleted and if necessary corrected in a future post.
- Posts should be valuable, and serve to provide information, education and/or advice.
- Copyrighted, trademarked, or legally protected intellectual property may not be reproduced without permission.
- Responses to comments should follow the same rules.
- No individual member of the AHNS speaks for or represents the society as a whole.
- No Posts about Fees, Etc.— Do not discuss your fees, charges, amounts you are reimbursed by third party payers, salaries you pay your physicians and other employees, prices for medical equipment or services, or any other similar fee or price-related practice matters. You should also avoid discussions that could be interpreted as planning or facilitating joint responses to or group boycotts of particular payers or companies that sell products or services to you or your colleagues. Such discussions may violate federal or state antitrust laws.
- Keep It Here—Do not forward messages outside the forum.
- No Spam— Spamming is not allowed. This includes using the forum email and private message (PM) system to spam other members.
- Advertising/Marketing— Do not advertise or promote any products, services, or events not affiliated with or officially sponsored by the AHNS. This includes sale of practice or equipment, employment opportunities, referrals, and invites to join other message boards or communities, or any promotion to a website with intent to siphon traffic or make a profit.
- No Campaigning — Neither AHNS candidates nor those supporting candidates can use this forum for campaign purposes.
- Surveys— AHNS Forums cannot be used to conduct surveys of the AHNS membership. Please contact [email protected] for more information about survey requests.
- If it appears that inappropriate posts occurred, the Website & Social Media chair, or his/her designee, will be informed, and an appropriate action will be implemented.
AHNS specifically disclaims any and all liability for any claims or damages that result from postings by participants. Although the forums may include links providing direct access to other websites, AHNS has not participated in the development of these other sites and does not exert any editorial, or other, control over them. Any hyperlinks and any reference to any products, services, or other information by trade name, trademark, supplier, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by AHNS expressly disclaims liability related to the accuracy and content of other sites and use of any products or services referenced in any posting or any linked site.
The Guidelines & Etiquette has been approved by the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) Executive Committee.
Posts that violate the AHNS Forum Guidelines and Etiquette will be removed and may also result in the entire discussion thread being deleted and violators being temporarily or permanently suspended.
If you see what you believe is a violation of these rules in any of the AHNS forums, please notify AHNS staff immediately by emailing [email protected].