Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the HOOTL MedicalAssist platform ("the Platform," "we," "us," or "our"). Your agreement to these Terms is recorded when you create an account and check the acceptance box during registration. Access to the Platform is conditioned on that affirmative agreement at the time of account creation.

1. Eligibility and Account Registration

The Platform is intended for licensed healthcare professionals, medical billing specialists, and authorized staff at healthcare organizations. By registering, you represent that:

• You are at least 18 years of age.
• You are authorized to access and manage the patient information you submit to the Platform.
• The information you provide during registration is accurate and complete.
• You will maintain the security of your account credentials and notify us immediately of any unauthorized access.

2. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Platform only for lawful purposes related to medical denial appeal management. You may not:

• Use the Platform to submit false, fabricated, or fraudulent claims or appeals.
• Access or attempt to access another user's account, data, or patient information without authorization.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Platform.
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to access or extract data from the Platform.
• Transmit malware, viruses, or any code designed to disrupt the Platform.
• Use the Platform in any manner that violates HIPAA, state privacy laws, or other applicable regulations.
• Share, sell, or otherwise distribute PHI obtained through the Platform outside of authorized purposes.

3. HIPAA Compliance Obligations

The Platform is designed to support HIPAA-compliant workflows. As a user, you acknowledge and agree that:

• You are responsible for ensuring that your use of the Platform complies with HIPAA and all applicable privacy regulations.
• You will only submit PHI that you are authorized to access and manage.
• You will use appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards on your end (e.g., secure devices, strong passwords, screen locks).
• If you are a Covered Entity or Business Associate under HIPAA, you will execute a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with us prior to submitting PHI.
• You will promptly report any suspected security incident or unauthorized disclosure of PHI to us.

4. Role-Specific Provisions

The Platform supports multiple user roles, each with distinct responsibilities, access levels, and data handling obligations. By registering with a specific role, you agree to the provisions applicable to your role as described below.

4.1 Healthcare Providers and Billing Staff

If you access the Platform as a healthcare provider (physician, nurse practitioner, or other licensed clinician) or medical billing specialist, you acknowledge and agree that:

• You are responsible for the accuracy of all clinical information, diagnosis codes, procedure codes, and patient data submitted to the Platform.
• You will review and verify all AI-generated denial analyses and appeal letter drafts before submission to insurers. AI-generated content is assistive only and does not replace professional clinical judgment.
• You will access only the patient records and case data for which you have a legitimate treatment, payment, or healthcare operations purpose under HIPAA.
• You will comply with all applicable state and federal regulations regarding medical billing, coding accuracy, and truthful claim submissions.
• You will promptly report any suspected unauthorized access to PHI, security incidents, or potential HIPAA violations to your Practice Administrator and to our Privacy Officer.
• You will complete any required HIPAA privacy and security training before accessing PHI through the Platform.

4.2 Practice Administrators

If you access the Platform as a practice administrator, you acknowledge and agree that:

• You are responsible for managing user accounts within your practice, including granting and revoking access, assigning appropriate roles, and ensuring that all users under your practice have completed required training.
• You will ensure that a valid Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is executed between your organization and HOOTL MedicalAssist before any PHI is submitted to the Platform.
• You are responsible for configuring practice-level settings, including role permissions, multi-factor authentication policies, and data access controls in a manner consistent with your organization's HIPAA compliance program.
• You will maintain an accurate roster of authorized users and promptly remove access for any user who leaves your organization or no longer requires access to PHI.
• You will cooperate with HOOTL MedicalAssist in the investigation and resolution of any security incidents, suspected breaches, or compliance concerns involving your practice's data.
• You are responsible for ensuring your practice's compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing the use of health information technology and electronic health records.

4.3 System Administrators

If you access the Platform with system administrator privileges, you acknowledge and agree that:

• You will use administrative access solely for legitimate platform management purposes, including user management, system configuration, security monitoring, and compliance oversight.
• You will not access individual patient records or PHI unless it is strictly necessary for the performance of your administrative duties (e.g., investigating a security incident or responding to a data access request).
• All administrative actions that involve access to PHI will be logged in the audit trail, and you agree to the monitoring and review of your administrative activities.
• You will implement and enforce strong authentication practices, including multi-factor authentication for all administrative accounts, and will not share administrative credentials with any other user.
• You will follow established change management procedures for any system configuration changes that could affect PHI security, access controls, or audit logging.
• You are responsible for reviewing audit logs, monitoring for unauthorized access patterns, and escalating security concerns in accordance with the Platform's incident response procedures.

5. Medical and Legal Disclaimer

The Platform is not a substitute for professional medical or legal advice. Specifically:

• AI-generated denial analyses and appeal letter drafts are provided as assistive tools only. They do not constitute medical opinions, legal advice, or guarantees of appeal outcomes.
• All AI-generated content should be reviewed and validated by a qualified healthcare professional before submission to insurers.
• The Platform does not provide diagnoses, treatment recommendations, or clinical decision-making.
• Appeal outcomes depend on many factors outside our control, including insurer policies, clinical evidence, and regulatory requirements.
• You are solely responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of all appeals submitted using the Platform.

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 Platform Ownership

The Platform, including all software, design, content, trademarks, and documentation, is owned by HOOTL MedicalAssist and is protected by copyright and intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works of any Platform materials without our prior written consent.

6.2 Your Content

You retain ownership of the data and content you submit to the Platform, including case information, appeal letters, and clinical evidence. By submitting content, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to use, process, and store that content solely for the purpose of providing the Platform's services to you.

6.3 AI-Generated Content

Appeal letters, denial analyses, and other content generated by the Platform's AI features are provided for your use in managing denial appeals. You may use, modify, and submit AI-generated content as part of your appeal process.

7. Fees and Payment

Access to certain features of the Platform may require a paid subscription. If applicable:

• Fees are billed in advance on a recurring basis (monthly or annually) as specified at the time of purchase.
• You authorize us to charge your designated payment method for all applicable fees.
• Fees are non-refundable except as required by law or as specified in our refund policy.
• We reserve the right to modify pricing with 30 days' advance notice.

8. Termination

Either party may terminate your account at any time:

• By you: You may close your account by contacting us at support@hootl.com. Upon termination, your access will be revoked, but data will be retained as required by HIPAA and our Privacy Policy.
• By us: We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or if required by law. We will provide notice when reasonably practicable.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory.
• We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components.
• We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of revenue, data, or business opportunities.
• Our total aggregate liability for any claims arising out of or related to these Terms or the Platform shall not exceed the total fees paid by you to us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim.
• We are not liable for the outcome of any denial appeal, insurance decision, or clinical determination made in connection with your use of the Platform.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless HOOTL MedicalAssist and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to your use of the Platform, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any applicable law or regulation.

11. Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms shall be resolved as follows:

• Informal Resolution: The parties will first attempt to resolve any dispute informally by contacting us at legal@hootl.com. We will attempt to resolve the dispute within 30 days.
• Binding Arbitration: If informal resolution fails, disputes shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in the United States and be conducted in English.
• Class Action Waiver: You agree to resolve disputes with us on an individual basis and waive any right to participate in a class action, collective action, or representative proceeding.
• Governing Law: These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict of law principles.
• Jurisdictional Limitations: The arbitration, class action waiver, and governing law provisions above apply to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Residents of jurisdictions whose consumer protection or privacy laws prohibit mandatory arbitration, class action waivers, or choice-of-law clauses may be entitled to additional rights and dispute resolution options under their local law. Nothing in these Terms is intended to limit rights that cannot be waived under applicable law.

11a. Force Majeure

Neither party shall be liable for any delay or failure to perform its obligations under these Terms to the extent such delay or failure is caused by circumstances beyond that party's reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, natural disasters, pandemic or epidemic, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government actions, internet or telecommunications outages, third-party service failures, or labor disputes ("Force Majeure Event").

The party affected by a Force Majeure Event shall: (a) promptly notify the other party; (b) use commercially reasonable efforts to minimize the impact and resume performance; and (c) resume performance as soon as reasonably practicable. If a Force Majeure Event continues for more than 30 days, either party may terminate the affected services upon written notice. Force majeure does not excuse payment obligations for services already rendered, nor does it suspend any HIPAA compliance obligations.

12. Modifications to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the revised Terms on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. For significant changes, we may also notify you via email or an in-platform notification. Your continued use of the Platform after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

13. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us:

• Email: legal@hootl.com
• Support: support@hootl.com