Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions

Last Updated on 2nd August 2022

The Online Menopause Centre Ltd, a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 12321723 (“OMC”, “we” or “us”) provides an online service that provides bespoke treatment to women who suffer from symptoms associated with the menopause and perimenopause and as an adjunct treatment for enhancing the treatment of some hormone related conditions such as: Osteoporosis, Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS), Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS), and Endometriosis. It provides this service and related services (the “Services”) through its website at www.onlinemenopausecentre.com (the “Website”), and its medical software partner Heydoc (www.heydoc.co.uk)

The provision of services to you by the OMC and Heydoc, are all subject to these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”).

Please read these terms carefully before using any of the services. If you do not understand or agree to and accept these terms in full, you are not authorised to use or access our services and you should not use them.

These terms form a legal agreement (the “agreement”) between you and the OMC. Please print a copy of these terms for your records and future reference.

Important

Emergency Notice

Our services are not suitable for any emergency medical situation or for any diagnosis or treatment that may require a physical examination.

If you are in an emergency situation (or you think there is the opportunity for the situation to escalate to one considered to be an emergency situation) or you require urgent or emergency treatment, you must contact the emergency services by dialling 999 or seek other emergency medical services.

  1. Definitions

In these Terms the following definitions shall apply:

  • “Advice” means any advice or information provided (whether through voice communication, video or electronically) by the OMC or via the Heydoc system
  • “OMC Clinician/Doctor” means a medical practitioner employed or engaged by the OMC who will devise and implement a Treatment Plan
  • “Services” means those services that we agree to provide to you which may include (without limitation) Advice, providing access to Doctors, formulation of Treatment Plans, provision of Treatments, referrals to specialists, prescribing certain medicines, and the sale of Products.
  • “Treatment” means the Advice, procedures, tests and medications provided to you in accordance with your Treatment Plan
  • “Treatment Plan” means the bespoke treatment plan devised for you by the OMC specialist based (without limitation) on results of tests, medical reports and diagnoses from Doctors, and other relevant information provided by you.
  1. About OMC

The OMC provides a service that:

  • allows users to have online video consultations with Doctors on a paid for and private basis;
  • aims to facilitate the purchase by users of hormone replacement medications; and
  • allows users to choose to collect their licenced HRT prescription from any pharmacy or to have their compounded BHRT prescription sent to them from our nominated compounding pharmacy.
  • We provide treatments to women over the age of 18.

The OMC is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (the “CQC”) under number 10080325814 The CQC monitors, inspects and regulates health and social care services.

All pharmacies are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and information about each of them can be found at www.pharmacyregulation.org/registers/pharmacy. If you require further information about a pharmacy, you can contact the pharmacy directly on the number listed for that pharmacy. All prescription medication dispensed by a pharmacy, and all other products and services supplied by a pharmacy, are dispensed and supplied under that pharmacy’s terms and conditions, a copy of which can be obtained directly by contacting the relevant pharmacy. The OMC is not responsible for the dispensing, supply and/or delivery of any medication, treatment, product or service prescribed to you or ordered by you.

The services and any advice are provided for non-urgent circumstances only. If you require emergency medical attention, any other treatment that is urgent, a physical face to face examination, or if your situation is not suited to remote communication, we strongly advise that you contact your General Practitioner (“GP”), or the emergency services. The services are in no way designed or intended to replace the services of the NHS or services provided by your GP.

If you need any information, require assistance or have a complaint about the website or any of our services, please contact us by one of the following methods: By email: info@onlinemenopausecentre.com or call us on 020 8126 3440 between the hours of 9.00am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday.

  1. Registration and Eligibility

When you register with us, you agree to provide us with the following:

  • your full name, including any middle names, maiden name if married, or any other names you have been previously known by
  • date of birth
  • full postal address including post code
  • your GP name and address
  • a photo ID (passport or driving licence) for identification purposes at the time of consultation
  • a “selfie” type photograph holding the photo ID close to your face so that the wording is clear and readable

You confirm to the best of your knowledge to have exercised all due skill and care that the information you have provided is complete, true and correct.

A copy of your identification will be stored on our secure Heydoc medical software in your medical record for future identification purposes. The Heydoc platform meets the requirements of GDPR.

 

  1. Your Account

You agree, at all times, to provide us with accurate and complete information in your registration and account, and to update such information as appropriate.

  1. Consultations

A few days before your consultation, please ensure that you know how to log on. If you have difficulty, you can contact our admin team who will take you through the necessary steps.

You must have available a photo proof of identity (for example a Passport or Driver’s License) to show the Doctor at the start of your consultation. If the doctor cannot verify your identity, they may choose to cancel the consultation or be unable to issue a prescription. Please therefore ensure that you provide correct and accurate information.

At the beginning of each consultation, the doctor will confirm the address from where you are having your consultation from. The purpose of this is, in the unlikely event of an emergency, the doctor can notify the emergency services of your location.

The OMC provides a service that allows users to consult with a doctor via secure video chat via our software Heydoc.

You agree to always provide any doctors with whom you have a video consultation,
accurate and complete information about you.

The doctor allocated to you will record the results of the consultation as required by law and regulatory requirements. You agree to review and inform us of anything that you believe to be incorrect or inaccurate.

At the time of your consultation:

  • You must make sure that you have good internet access.
  • Consultations need to take place in a private setting. They CANNOT take place if you are driving, walking in the park, in a café or another non-private environment.
  • The doctor will terminate the consultation if the above takes place, and you will need to rebook a new consultation and pay again.
  1. Prescriptions

If the doctor, based on his/her medical assessment, decides that you are suitable for treatment, he/she may issue a private prescription that shall be dispensed by the nominated pharmacy.

You understand and accept that there is no guarantee that you will be approved to receive a prescription following a video consultation. Prescriptions are issued at the sole discretion of the Doctor.

Please note that the only controlled drugs that we can prescribe at OMC are Testosterone and DHEA. These two medications are classified under Controlled Drugs Schedule 4 Part 2.

Other types and classes of controlled drugs (or restricted drugs and substances as classified by The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001), specialist drugs, medications that require closer monitoring, drugs such as benzodiazepines, opioids such as morphine, and other classes of drugs regarded as strong painkillers such as a high dose codeine phosphate are considered unsuitable for prescribing online. This is not an exhaustive list, and there may also be other drugs and medication that doctors will be unable to prescribe. If you require these medications, please do not book an appointment with us as these will NOT be provided and you will still be charged for the consultation.

All medications prescribed will be related to hormone replacement therapy.

You agree and consent to the OMC sharing basic identification data with the nominated pharmacy, for the purposes of enabling the pharmacy to verify your identification on collection of your prescription. The pharmacy will contact you directly to process the prescription, including to confirm your details and, if the delivery option is selected, to arrange delivery.

All prescriptions that are issued by a doctor are only valid at approved UK pharmacies.

Problems with the processing of prescriptions, the dispensing of medication, by pharmacies.

The OMC has no control over or responsibility for any individual pharmacy, or its policies in relation to the acceptance or processing of prescriptions, the dispensing of medication, or delivery or opening times.

If a prescription issued to you by a doctor, is not processed, dispensed or (if applicable) delivered to you correctly; we recommend that you contact the nominated pharmacy. You may, in these circumstances, be entitled to a refund from the relevant pharmacy. You will not, however, be entitled to a refund for the fees you have paid for the video consultation itself.

  1. Fees

The fee for an initial consultation is stated on the website and will be up to 30 minutes.

All licensed medication prescribed to you must be paid for directly to the pharmacy from which you obtain the medication on production of the prescription. All compounded BHRT medication prescribed to you via the nominated Compounding Pharmacy must be paid for on our online portal, at which point, the prescription will be emailed to the pharmacy and the medication posted to you.

You may request to have the licensed medication sent to you via the Compounding Pharmacy, and it will need to be paid for on our online portal.

  1. Video Consultations

For a video consultation, you must make a booking online and choose a time slot. All appointment times are by reference to local UK time.

Following the completion of your booking for a consultation, you will receive an email confirming the date and time of your appointment together with a link to access the secure video consultation. You should receive this email within one (1) hour of making your booking. If you do not receive this email, please first check your email junk folder, and if you still haven’t received the email, please contact us at info@onlinemenopausecentre.com.

At times, due to medical emergencies and other reasons beyond our reasonable control, we may also need to change your appointment time. We reserve the right to do so at any time up to the confirmed start time of your appointment. We will, in such circumstances, write to you or call you to agree an alternative appointment time.

On the date and time of your allocated slot, you must click on the link provided to you to commence your video consultation.

Following the end of the consultation, the doctor will, if required, issue a prescription based on the information you provided. This will be emailed to you.

You may cancel an appointment for a video consultation at any time up to two working days before the confirmed start time of your appointment without incurring any charges.

  1. Cancellation Policy

Any cancellation less than two working days’ notice will incur a full charge.

If you wish to cancel, either call us on 020 8126 3440 during our working hours or email us at info@onlinemenopausecentre.com and provide your name, date of birth and the time of your consultation.

Please note that if you do not attend for your appointment without 48 hours prior notice, you will be charged for the full appointment time, and you will need to rebook at the full rate.

All registration documents MUST be submitted prior to the initial consultation, otherwise your appointment will have to be cancelled and you will be charged for the full appointment time.

  1. Accessing the Heydoc System

Access to the Services relies on you being able to receive data over the Internet via Wi-Fi or a mobile data connection, using a PC, mobile device or tablet. You are responsible for making all arrangements and payments necessary for you to access the services, including internet and network connections, an appropriate mobile device, and any additional software or hardware required.

In order to participate in a video consultation via the Heydoc system, you will need to ensure that the operating system and browser you are using meet the following minimum specification:
Operating System requirements: Windows 10 or Mac OS X 10.11.6 or newer
Browser: Google Chrome

We recommend that you check this prior to the confirmed start time of your video consultation, as we will not be able to refund your fee if you are unable to connect as a result of the operating system and / or browser that you are using, or if you have a poor internet connection.

For the internet connection, we recommend a minimum of 1MB/s of available bandwidth, and at least 3MB/s of available bandwidth for the best connection for a Live Consultation.

In the event of a lost connection, the doctor will endeavour to contact you to re-initiate the consultation or contact you by telephone.

You agree and accept that we are not responsible for:

(i) The availability of the internet or any communications network; or

(ii) For any errors caused by transmission of information, data or communication over telecommunication carriers or poor internet connections.

  1. Unavailability of the Services

We will do our utmost to ensure that availability of the services will be uninterrupted and that transmissions will be error-free. However, due to the nature of the Internet, this cannot be guaranteed. Also, your access to the services may also be occasionally suspended or restricted to allow for repairs, maintenance, or the introduction of new facilities or services. We will attempt to limit the frequency and duration of any such suspension or restriction.

In the unlikely event of a problem with the provision, or the unavailability, of the services:

(i) We will use our reasonable efforts to restore the services and rectify any defects;

(ii) We will try to contact you by telephone to continue the consultation;

(iii) You will not be required to pay or (if applicable) you shall be entitled to a refund for any service or product purchased where we have caused such defect and we were unable to provide you with the service or product following your purchase.

  1. Payment

In order to pay for the services, you will need to provide payment card details. You must have appropriate authority to use the payment card which you use for payment.

Your card will be charged at the time of booking a consultation.

You agree and authorise us to charge your debit or credit card with any charges for services or products that you have purchased. Any failure of authorisation processes will result in the services or products not being provided and any booked consultations will be cancelled.

We do not take payments from insurance companies.

Payment processing services are provided by Stripe. The details you provide to us via the Heydoc System are passed directly to Stripe and will be subject to its terms of use and privacy policy (https://stripe.com/gb/privacy). By inputting payment card details, you are consenting to the use of the payment card details by Stripe for the purpose of paying for your order. If you have any questions relating to these services, please contact Stripe at privacy@stripe.com.

The OMC does not store any of your payment card details on its systems.

  1. Your use of the OMC and the Services

By proceeding to use the OMC, you agree to the following:

(i)  You must disclose all relevant information truthfully to the best of your knowledge. This applies to both the video consultations as well as any other communication with a doctor.

(ii) The services and advice provided to you when you use the OMC is based on the information you have supplied. It is your responsibility to ensure this information is accurate and complete and you accept that failure to do so (whether intentionally or not) will affect the advice given to you and the medicines prescribed to you and, as such, may have consequences for which neither we or any doctor can be responsible for.

(iii) We cannot accept liability and are not liable for any loss, damage or distress that you may suffer as a result of your failure to follow advice provided to you when you use the OMC or from your failure to pass on information to your regular healthcare provider. You accept that the advice given to you by any doctor does not replace the advice you receive from your regular healthcare provider. You must tell your regular healthcare provider about any treatment and/or medication that you receive through use of the OMC.

(iv) We share your personal data with pathology laboratories (e.g. for blood analysis), pharmacies, diagnostic clinics (such as but not exclusive to ultrasound clinics, mammograms and bone scan clinics). In addition, we will share your personal data with appropriate specialists if the need arises.

It is mandatory that we notify your GP of your treatment with us. This is a compliance requirement of the General Medical Council.
We will always offer to notify your GP of any medicines that we have prescribed, but if you decline to take up our offer, it is your responsibility to notify your GP.
At the end of every consultation, the doctor will write a summary including the medication she has prescribed and your next review date. This will be emailed to your GP unless you have specifically requested us not to. A copy of this letter will always be emailed to you for your own records.

We may need to share your personal data with health authorities, NHS Trusts, special health authorities, legal authorities and ambulance services. With your consent and, subject to strict sharing protocols about how it will be used, we may also share your information with social services, education services, local authorities, voluntary sector providers as well as the private sector.

Please note that in an emergency situation, we may need to contact a healthcare professional, social services or the emergency services without your consent, even when you have not consented to contacting your GP.

(v) If medication is prescribed and dispensed to you, you are responsible for checking that the medication dispensed by your nominated pharmacy is the correct medication and that such medicine is not damaged in any way. If in doubt, you must contact the pharmacy to seek advice. You must carefully read all product packaging and labels prior to taking any medication or commencing treatment.

By registering with us, and placing an order through the OMC, you warrant and represent to us that:

(i) you are legally capable of entering into binding contracts;

(ii) you are at least 18 years old;

(iii) you have not registered with us more than once and only for yourself;

(iv) you have provided your legal name and permanent address;

(v) you have answered all questions truthfully and fully and you have not omitted anything of importance; and

You further undertake that:

(i) you will not take part in a video consultation or use the services on behalf of anyone other than yourself;

(ii) you will comply with any instructions given in relation to any prescription provided to you including in particular route of administration, timing and dosages, and you will promptly report any side effects of any prescription to a doctor;

(iii) you will not use any medication prescribed to you after its expiry date;

(iv) you will immediately notify us or the doctor if any information held on the OMC about you is inaccurate or incomplete;

(v) in the interests of maintaining privacy and security of information, you will not make any private copies of any recordings of consultations.

(vi) you will not permit any unauthorised person to access your prescription or use medication prescribed to you.

  1. Limitation of Liability

    OMC’s liability for all warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.OMC shall not be liable to you or be deemed to be in breach of these terms and conditions by reason of any delay in performing, or any failure to perform, any of our obligations if the delay or failure was due to any cause beyond our reasonable control.

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or limits the liability of the OMC:

  • for death or personal injury caused by our negligence;
  • for any matter which it would be illegal for us to exclude or attempt to exclude our liability; or
  • for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Subject thereto:

  • Our total liability in contract, tort (including negligence or breach of statutory duty), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise, arising in connection with the performance or contemplated performance of the Services shall be limited to and not exceed £1,000; and
  • We shall not be liable to you for any loss of profit, loss of business or for indirect or consequential loss whatsoever (howsoever caused) which arise out of or in connection with the Services provided or to be provided to you

While the OMC may prescribe medications and/or recommend treatments and/or products to be supplied by third parties, the OMC is not responsible for the supply and/or delivery of such prescribed medications, treatments or products which shall in each case be the responsibility of the relevant provider.

All Doctors are independent specialists and are registered with the General Medical Council in the UK, and their registration details and status can be found at www.gmc-org.uk. Doctors are not employed by us but are independent contractors, and all are obliged to provide their services with the knowledge, skill and care in accordance with the guidelines and regulations laid down by the General Medical Council, and to carry professional indemnity insurance of at least £1,000,000 per claim. We do not guarantee the availability of any particular Doctor. Advice and services provided or offered to you by a Doctor are the sole responsibility of that Doctor.  Where appropriate the Doctor will provide the OMC Specialists with reports and diagnoses in order that the OMC Specialists can bespeak a Treatment Plan for you. Treatment Plans and Treatments provided or offered to you by OMC Specialists are the responsibility of OMC. 

Subject to the above, and to the extent permitted by law, neither the OMC or a Doctor or any third parties involved in or connected with the provision of the Services shall be liable for:

(i) any loss, damage or distress arising from reliance on information or reliance on availability of the Services; or

(ii) any indirect, consequential or economic loss, damage or distress (including any such loss, damage or distress arising from unauthorised use of or damage to your data or content), incurred by you or any user of the Services as a result of using the OMC.

Subject to the above, and to the extent permitted by law, neither the OMC, any Doctor or any third parties involved in or connected with the provision of the Services shall be liable for any loss, damage or distress or damages arising in circumstances where the Services, Advice or Products are used for any treatment that is urgent, is an emergency or where a physical face to face examination is required or where the issue is suited to non-remote communication. We advise that, in any of these circumstances, you contact your GP, other medical practitioner or the emergency services.

The OMC is a distinct and separate entity to the pharmacies, including any nominated pharmacy; and any other third party referred to in these Terms as a supplier of Products (including, without limitation, Roseway Labs, TDL and Nationwide Pathology).

While the OMC may prescribe medications and/or recommend treatments and/or products to be supplied by third parties, the OMC is not responsible for the supply and/or delivery of such prescribed medications, treatments or products which shall in each case be the responsibility of the relevant provider.

  1. Content on the OMC system

The OMC does not warrant or make any representation as to the accuracy of any information or advice or any material or links to any articles or publications on the Website or any part of the OMC. Any information provided on the Website or any is for educational and informational purposes only, and none of it should be construed or relied upon as medical advice, unless it is directly provided to you by a Doctor.

The OMC does not accept any responsibility for any loss which may arise from reliance on any information contained on the Website.

  1. Links from the Website

Where the Website contains links to other websites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those websites or resources and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

  1. Communication – Written/Email

You accept that communication with us will be mainly electronic and where such information would normally under applicable laws be required to be sent to you in writing you waive this right and agree to receive any such information from us electronically. We will contact you by e-mail or provide you with information by posting notices on the Website. For contractual purposes, you agree to this electronic means of communication and you acknowledge that all contracts, notices, information and other communications that we provide to you electronically comply with any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. This condition does not affect your statutory rights.

The OMC can be contacted by emailing us at info@onlinemenopausecentre.com

  1. Changes

We may make changes to the OMC, any content or material published, or these Terms at any time at our absolute discretion. Depending upon the changes we may require you to read and accept a new agreement for you to continue to use the OMC and Heydoc system.

  1. Use of your Personal Information

You agree to our use of your personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy

In particular, any personal information relating to you that you provide to us or that is generated as a result of your use of the services (e.g. the results of any consultation with a doctor) may be used to:

(i) provide the Services, Advice and/or Products purchased;

(ii) provide information to other healthcare providers and professionals;

(iii) take payment for the services and/or products purchased;

(iv) provide relevant information to doctors and nominated pharmacies involved in conducting consultations with you and / or dispensing prescriptions;

(v) detect or prevent fraudulent activity; and

(vi) comply with requests by any regulatory authority.

If you have any concerns in relation to the way we are using your personal data, please contact us at info@onlinemenopausecentre.com.

  1. Feedback / Complaints

If you wish to provide us with any feedback, please email us at info@onlinemenopausecentre.com

In the event that you wish to make a complaint, you may do so by emailing us at the email address noted above. We request that all complaints are made in writing and as soon as possible after the event so that we may establish what occurred in a timely manner.

We will allocate a senior member of our team to deal with the issue raised in your complaint. The senior member of our team allocated to your complaint will investigate every aspect of the complaint and discuss it with all those concerned or involved.

We endeavour to resolve all complaints quickly. We will acknowledge your complaint within three (3) working days and will aim to have it fully investigated within twenty (20) working days from the date we receive it. We will write to you to let you know of any delays to this timescale.

Upon completing our investigation, you will receive a letter setting out the outcome of our investigation into the complaint, and we will take any and all actions necessary and reasonable to ensure that problem is not repeated.

The details of our complaints procedure is outlined on our website in the Contact Us section.

  1. General

All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature are intended to continue shall survive termination, including terms relating to exclusions and limitations of liability, intellectual property restrictions and on-going use of your data.

Termination of this Agreement or the Services shall not affect accrued rights and liabilities of you or us up to the date of termination.

No provision of this Agreement is intended to be enforceable by any person other than you and us.

We may, without your consent, assign or transfer any or all our rights and obligations under this Agreement to any successor in title of all or part of the services, or intellectual property or other rights or obligations subsisting in relation to the same.

This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes and extinguishes all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations, and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter.

Each party agrees that it shall have no remedies in respect of any statement, representation, assurance, or warranty (whether made innocently or negligently) that is not set out in this agreement. Each party agrees that it shall have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement in this agreement. Nothing in this paragraph clause shall limit or exclude any liability for fraud.

If any provision of this Agreement is found by any court or legal authority to be invalid, unenforceable, or illegal, the other provisions shall remain in force and, to the extent possible, the provision shall be modified to ensure it is valid, enforceable, and legal, whilst maintaining or giving effect to its commercial intention.

We will not be held responsible for any delay or failure to comply with our obligations under these Terms if the delay or failure arises from any cause which is beyond our reasonable control. This does not affect your legal right to have goods services provided within a reasonable time or to receive a refund if services ordered cannot be supplied within a reasonable time owing to a cause beyond our reasonable control.

This Agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales shall have jurisdiction to hear any disputes arising in connection with it.