Thank you for visiting or using Cleveland Clinic’s website(s) or mobile app(s) (collectively, the “Services”). The Services include all text, data, illustrations, and graphical elements available on such websites and apps. These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) apply to all Services that are linked to these Terms.

All health information posted on the Services is based on the latest research and national treatment standards, and have been written or reviewed and approved by Cleveland Clinic physicians or health professionals unless otherwise specified.

The Services are provided by The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and its affiliates (collectively, “Cleveland Clinic”). Portions of the Services were created with the support of unrestricted educational grants. The granting organization is noted at the bottom of the applicable page(s). This support does not influence the content of the health information on the Services.

The information provided through the Services is for educational purposes and does not replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.

By accessing, browsing and/or using the Services, the individual (on behalf of the individual and any organization associated with such individual) (collectively, “you”) agree to, and are bound by, the Terms, Reprints & Licensing Policy, and the Privacy Policy. You must not access the Services if you do not agree to each of the Terms, Reprints & Licensing Policy, and Privacy Policy.

Ownership

The Services and all intellectual property rights to the same (including trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade dress), that appear in connection with the Services are owned by or licensed to Cleveland Clinic. You do not acquire any right, title, or interest in or to the Services. Any rights not expressly granted to you in these Terms are expressly reserved to Cleveland Clinic.

Access

Cleveland Clinic reserves the right to prohibit, restrict or discontinue your access to certain pages within the Services, or all of the Services, if you violate anything in the Terms or for any other reason. Cleveland Clinic may modify these Terms at any time without notice. The modified Terms will be effective upon posting on or via the Services. To remain in compliance, Cleveland Clinic suggests that you review the Terms, as well as the other policies listed above, at regular intervals.

Prohibited Conduct

You will not use the Services for any type of inappropriate use. Cleveland Clinic has the right to determine whether any particular use constitutes inappropriate use of the Services.

You agree that you will not:

  1. Violate any local, state, federal or international laws or any other applicable laws, rules, or regulations in using this website or accessing any material on this website;
  2. Except as expressly permitted by Cleveland Clinic, use any robot, spider, crawler, scraper, script, or any automatic device or means to harvest, gather, access, copy, or otherwise use the materials and information on the Services;
  3. Except as expressly permitted by Cleveland Clinic as part of a mutually-negotiated agreement, you must only use the Services for non-commercial purposes, which includes a prohibition on (i) using any portion of the Services to develop, create, train, fine tune, or ground (including through a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) model), any large language model, foundation model, deep machine learning, generative artificial intelligence model or algorithm, or any software or tool that incorporates artificial intelligence, (ii) including or summarizing any portion of the Services in the output of any such model, algorithm, or software, or (iii) using a third-party data set created in any part by these prohibited activities;
  4. Transmit or otherwise provide any harmful or objectionable content using the Services, including content that (i) violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others, such as any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, or other proprietary right of any person or entity, (ii) impersonates another or is fraudulent, unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, profane, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise reasonably objectionable, or (iii) encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any law, rule, or regulation;
  5. Take any action that imposes an unreasonably large load on the Services’ infrastructure or otherwise interferes with the proper functioning of the Services or any activity being conducted on the Services;
  6. Use the Services for unauthorized framing of or linking to, or access via automated devices, bots, agents, scraping scripts, intelligent search or any similar means of access to the Services;
  7. Use or attempt to use hacking, password mining, or any other means to gain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to Services or any other system or network or account connected to Cleveland Clinic; and
  8. Use the Services in any manner that is harmful to Cleveland Clinic or any third party.

Medical Disclaimer

IF THIS IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY CALL EMERGENCY PERSONNEL (911) TO GET PROMPT MEDICAL ATTENTION. DO NOT RELY ON ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS OR THE SERVICES FOR ASSISTANCE IN REGARD TO YOUR IMMEDIATE, URGENT MEDICAL NEEDS. THE SERVICES ARE NOT DESIGNED TO FACILITATE MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. CLEVELAND CLINIC CANNOT GUARANTEE RESPONSE TIMES IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE THE SERVICES IN THE EVENT OF A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

Security

Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information related to the security of the Services.

Disclaimer of Warranty

SERVICES, MATERIALS, AND OTHER INFORMATION ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” BY CLEVELAND CLINIC FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

CLEVELAND CLINIC MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

ALTHOUGH OUR HEALTH INFORMATION CONTENT IS REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, CLEVELAND CLINIC DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY, OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS OR FOR THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF SUCH INFORMATION.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT CLEVELAND CLINIC DOES NOT OPERATE OR CONTROL THE INTERNET AND THEREFORE CLEVELAND CLINIC DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR FREE OF TECHNOLOGY DOWNTIMES OR UNAVAILABILITY.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT CLEVELAND CLINIC CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE AGAINST VIRUSES, WORMS, OR OTHER UNAUTHORIZED USERS OR HACKERS ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN ACCESS TO THE SERVICES OR INFORMATION TRANSMITTED TO OR FROM THE SERVICES.

Cleveland Clinic also reserves the right to temporarily or permanently discontinue the Services, any page, or any functionality on the Services at any time and without notice.

Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL CLEVELAND CLINIC BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR MONETARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING FEES, AND PENALTIES IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES. YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SERVICES IS TO STOP USING THE SERVICES. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL APPLY TO ALL MATERIAL AND SERVICES. Some jurisdictions do not permit limitations of liability and in those jurisdictions some of the foregoing limitations may not apply to you. The limitations in these Terms shall apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Cleveland Clinic and its respective directors, officers, agents, and employees, individually or collectively, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, obligations, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) arising out of, related to, or that may arise in connection with any actual or alleged violation or breach of any of the representations, warranties, agreements or promises made by you in these Terms or based on your use of the Services.

Governing Law

You agree that any claim or dispute relating to the Services shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. The parties agree to be bound and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the local, state or federal courts located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

User Name and Password

In the event you access any Service requiring a User Name and Password, you are solely responsible for keeping such User Name and Password strictly confidential.

Children

Except as otherwise indicated, Cleveland Clinic does not knowingly or intentionally collect personal information from children under age 18. The content of the Services is directed at adults, and therefore the Services are intended for use only by adults over the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, please consult a parent or guardian for help in using the Services.

External Links

Please note that Services may be linked to other sites which may have different terms of use. The Cleveland Clinic does not own, control, manage, supervise, direct or otherwise have any involvement in the business or affairs of any third-party site. Cleveland Clinic does not endorse and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of the third-party site. Once you use another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that site. Cleveland Clinic encourages you to be aware when you are leaving Cleveland Clinic site to read the privacy statements of each website that you visit before providing any personally identifiable information.

Trademarks and Copyrights

All trademarks, service marks, and logos or copyrights displayed and used in this site are the property of their respective owners. Nothing in the Services should be construed as granting any right or license to use any trademark or copyright without the written permission of any content of the Services.

Privacy

Any information you provide to us through the Services is subject to our Privacy Policy. Please read the full text of our Notice of Privacy Practices to understand how Cleveland Clinic uses any protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS.

Last updated: 05/14/2025