Code of Conduct

Community Rules & Etiquette

Thank you for being part of our community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium. This is a great medium with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our Member Services department via the Contact Us link on this site. Technical questions on association management issues should directed to our helpdesk.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact the member services department. In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership in this community for anyone who violate these rules.

The RULES:

  1. The HOPA discussion group may be used only by HOPA members
  2. Members may use the discussion group to:
    1. Ask questions, share ideas and information, and inform members about important news
    2. Obtain comments or suggestions about hypothetical cases and standard procedures
    3. Obtain general oncology-hematology or general pharmacy/medical information
    4. Discuss therapeutic topics in compliance with HIPAA regulations

      Members must never post any information about a patient that would violate HIPPA or otherwise permit identification of a patient.

  3. After sending a request to info@hoparx.org and obtaining approval from the President-elect, members may use the discussion group to:
    1. Provide information about and contact information for free educational events if event is not within 30 days before or after a HOPA meeting
    2. The event must reflect the interests of hematology/oncology pharmacists and does not conflict with the interest or purpose of the association
  4. Members may not use the discussion group to:
  1. Violate HIPAA or discuss identifiable patients or cases
  2. Advertise fee-based educational programs or promote participation in any program that involves a cost or donation
  3. Advertise employment opportunities
  4. Post commercial messages
  5. Post items for a non-member or outside group
  6. Cross-post messages from or to another outside discussion group

 Polls

  1. Members may use the discussion group for quick polls of no more than 3 questions
  2. Members who wish to conduct longer surveys must refer to the HOPA policy on surveys
  3. The results of any poll that is posted on the HOPA discussion group must be tabulated and reported back to the discussion group within 30 days of the posting

 Etiquette

  1. State the topic of your comments concisely and clearly in the subject line, allowing members to respond more appropriately to your posting and enabling searches in the archives by subject; make sure that all your postings relate to the topic in the subject line.
  2. Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply.
  3. Identify yourself on every message you send to the discussion group; your signature should include your name, affiliation, location, and e-mail address.
  4. Be courteous. Discussions on the discussion group are meant to stimulate conversation, not create contention. Don't post confrontational remarks or challenge or attack others.
  5. Send messages to the discussion group only when all participants can benefit. Send replies like "Thanks for the information" or "Me too" to the email address of the individual who signed the message you are responding to.
  6. Remember that every message posted to the discussion group is sent to every subscriber to the list. Once sent, messages cannot be recalled.
  7. When generating a reply to a personal response, do not forward the personal response to the discussion group without first obtaining permission from the sender.
  8. If you use an automatic e-mail reply program when away from the office, unsubscribe from the discussion group before you leave and re-subscribe upon your return.

 Legal

  1. Defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited.
  2. Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the lists is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
  3. Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants HOPA and users of this discussion group the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.
  4. Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either implies or expressly or implicitly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade. Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate: prices, discounts, or terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins, or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers.

Violations

     A. HOPA reserves the right to suspend or terminate discussion group use for members who violate the rules
     B. HOPA members who believe this policy has been violated should contact HOPA at info@hoparx.org
     C. HOPA will send a warning to members who violate the rules. Should a person violate the policy, he or she will receive an email letter of warning with:

  1. A statement of the proper use of the discussion group as a professional forum where a code of conduct is expected and agreed upon by all who participate.
  2. Provide a summary of the offending post so that the person is aware of which post broke protocol and why.
  3. A link to the copy of the policy and rules of etiquette
  4. A warning that if this should happen again the person will be placed on probation for a certain period of time and kept on file.

    E. Future violations will lead to removal from the HOPA discussion group.
    D. Violators who have been removed from the discussion group may appeal in writing to the HOPA Board of Directors

Disclaimer

This discussion group is provided by HOPA as a service to members. HOPA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others; postings represent the viewpoint of the writer and are not endorsed by HOPA. HOPA disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by HOPA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall HOPA be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.