ASCERTAIN Policy Support Tool — Terms of Use
1. Scope and acceptance
These Terms of Use govern access to the account-based functions of the ASCERTAIN Policy Support Tool (the “Platform”). The Platform is made available by OptiMedis AG, Burchardstraße 17, 20095 Hamburg, Germany (the “Operator”). The Platform was developed in the ASCERTAIN project with contributions from its partners.
You may use the account-based functions only after accepting the current version of these Terms. If you do not accept them, you must not use those functions. The Privacy Notice explains how personal data is processed and is provided separately; acknowledging it does not constitute consent to all processing described in it.
2. Purpose of the Platform
The Platform provides models and analytical tools concerning the pricing, cost-effectiveness, reimbursement, budget impact and access to innovative health technologies. It allows users to enter assumptions, explore scenarios, compare approaches, save assessments and generate reports. The available models and functions may change over time.
The Platform supports research, education and policy analysis. It is not designed to diagnose or treat individual patients and does not replace professional assessment, clinical judgment, regulatory procedures or decisions by competent authorities. Use by organisations, including industry, is permitted subject to these Terms and applicable law.
3. Accounts and responsible use
You must provide an email address you are entitled to use, keep your access credentials confidential and take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised access. You are responsible for activity under your account unless the activity results from circumstances outside your control. Please notify us promptly if you suspect misuse of your account.
You must not use the Platform unlawfully, infringe the rights of others, interfere with its security or availability, attempt to access data or functions without authorisation, or use automated requests in a way that disrupts the service.
4. Inputs and prohibited personal data
You are responsible for the lawfulness, accuracy and suitability of data, assumptions, files, assessment names, notes and feedback that you enter or upload. You must have the necessary rights or permissions to use and share those materials.
Do not enter patient-level information, health data or other sensitive personal data into assessments, uploads, feedback or the AI Assistant. Do not include information that identifies another person unless the relevant Platform function requires it, such as an email address used to invite a collaborator, and you are entitled to provide it.
5. Saved assessments and collaboration
You may save assessments and create or edit versions using the functions available to your account. Saved assessments can include inputs, notes, model runs and generated results. You should review the saved version before relying on it, since changes to inputs, models or the Platform may lead to different results in later runs.
Assessment owners and authorised collaborators may invite others by email and assign the roles offered by the Platform. Depending on their role, invited users may view the assessment and its versions, edit inputs, run models, save versions or manage access. You are responsible for choosing the correct recipients and permissions and for ensuring that you are entitled to share the assessment and its contents with them. You should remove access when it is no longer needed.
Removing a collaborator, leaving an assessment or deleting an assessment does not recall reports or other information already downloaded or copied by another authorised user. Please keep your own copies of information you need to retain. How personal data is stored and deleted is explained in the Privacy Notice.
6. Model results, comparisons and exports — no guarantee
All calculations, estimates, comparisons, charts, AI-generated explanations and exported reports depend on the selected inputs, model assumptions, source data and software version. They may contain errors, omissions or outdated information. The Operator does not guarantee that any result is accurate, complete, current, reproducible or suitable for a particular purpose. Results are provided for information and analysis only, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
You must independently check inputs, assumptions, methods and results before using them in research, publications, policy work or other decisions. You remain responsible for the conclusions and decisions you draw from them. Results are not an endorsement, approval or verification by the Operator, project partners, funders or a public authority.
If you publish or present results, identify the ASCERTAIN Policy Support Tool and the model used. Include the date, the relevant assessment or model version where available, and enough information about material inputs and assumptions to make the analysis understandable. Do not imply that the Operator, project partners or funders approved your conclusions unless they expressly did so.
7. AI Assistant
The optional AI Assistant generates automated responses that may be incomplete or incorrect. Verify important information independently. Do not use it to make individual clinical decisions or submit personal, sensitive or confidential information about patients or third parties.
Where the Platform offers to include current result or parameter values in an AI request, this requires a separate choice for that request. Details of any processing by an external AI provider are described in the Privacy Notice and the relevant on-screen information.
8. Rights in content
You retain any rights you have in data and materials you provide. You allow the Operator to process those materials to provide the Platform functions you choose, including saving assessments, running models, creating reports and sharing assessments with users you authorise, subject to the Privacy Notice and applicable law.
The Platform, its models, documentation and project materials may be protected by rights held by the Operator, project partners or other rights holders. These Terms do not transfer those rights to you. You may use and share your own analysis and exported results in accordance with these Terms, while respecting any rights in third-party material included in them.
9. Availability, security and account access
We aim to keep the Platform available and secure, but do not promise uninterrupted access or that every model or function will remain unchanged. We may temporarily restrict access for maintenance, security or technical reasons.
We may suspend or restrict an account where reasonably necessary to address a security risk, misuse, unlawful activity or a serious breach of these Terms. Where feasible, we will explain the reason and provide an opportunity to resolve the issue. You may stop using the Platform at any time. Requests concerning personal data are handled under the Privacy Notice.
10. Privacy and feedback
The Platform Privacy Notice is available through the Platform and explains the processing of personal data. It is separate from these Terms. If you submit feedback or suggestions, you permit the Operator and the ASCERTAIN project team to use them to operate, evaluate and improve the Platform, without transferring your ownership of any underlying materials.
11. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms when the Platform, applicable requirements or our practices change. We will show the current version and its effective date. For material changes affecting registered use, we will give notice where reasonably possible and ask you to accept the new version before continuing to use account-based functions. Earlier versions and acceptance records will be retained as needed to document the applicable terms.
12. Liability and applicable law
The statements in section 6 describe the limits of the Platform's results and do not exclude rights that cannot be excluded under applicable law. Nothing in these Terms limits liability for intentional misconduct, gross negligence, injury to life, body or health, or other liability that cannot lawfully be limited.
German law applies to these Terms to the extent permitted by applicable law. Mandatory consumer protection and jurisdiction rules remain unaffected.
For questions about the Platform or these Terms, contact toolbox@access2meds.eu.
