Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy

Table of contents

Welcome to My Specialist Appinion, a platform connecting healthcare specialists with Users seeking expert medical opinions. 

These Terms and Conditions govern the relationship between My Specialist Appinion Ltd, a limited company registered in England and Wales (company number 13151043) with its registered office at 4 Barton Farm, Andover Road, Winchester, England, SO22 6AX and You in relation to Your use of the My Specialist Appinion app. 

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before using Our App. By accessing or using Our App, You agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If You do not agree to these terms, You must not use Our App.

You will be asked to agree to these Terms and Conditions as part of the registration process for use of Our App. By completing the registration process, You are entering into a legally binding agreement with Us by expressly accepting these Terms and Conditions as set out below. 

Following submission of your initial proforma, You are able to send a Specialist up to five messages per Interaction, should the Specialist request further information from You, via our secure messaging app with regards to the specific medical issue for which You require an expert opinion. You acknowledge that Specialists may not be able to provide a diagnosis or definitive management plan within that Interaction. Users will need to pay for further Interactions should the five message limit be exceeded.

These Terms and Conditions should be read alongside Our Privacy Policy and Pricing Policy. 

Definitions

“Affiliate” means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where “control” means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.

“Account” means a unique account created for You to access Our App or parts of Our App.

“App” refers to the My Specialist Appinion application which has been downloaded by You to Your device and any associated web services.

“Country” refers to the United Kingdom.

“Content” refers to content such as messages, images, or other information that can be posted, uploaded, linked to, or otherwise made available by You, regardless of the form of that content.

“Device” means any device that can access the App such as a computer, a phone or a digital tablet.

“Feedback” means feedback, innovations or suggestions sent by You regarding the attributes, performance or features of Our App.

“Interaction” refers to the communication process between You and the Specialist for each Opinion request.

“Legitimate interest” refers to the legitimate interests of Our business in conducting and managing Our business, to enable Us to provide the App. We make sure we consider Your rights and balance any potential impact on You (both positive and negative) before we process Your Personal Data for Our legitimate interests. We do not process Your Personal Data for Our legitimate interests where Your rights or interests override Ours. You can obtain further information about how we assess Our legitimate interests against any potential impact on You in respect of specific activities by contacting Us.

“Medical emergency” refers to a serious situation involving acute illness or injury and requiring immediate action, including Our non-exhaustive list of medical emergencies. 

“MSA” (referred to as either “MSA”, “We”, “Us” or “Our” in these Terms and Conditions) refers to My Specialist Appinion Ltd (MSA).

“Opinion” or “Appinion” refers to clinical information communicated from a Specialist to You regarding one specific medical issue. For the avoidance of doubt, it is acknowledged that the provision of clinical advice may not lead to a definitive diagnosis or management plan  for the User.

“Personal Data” refers to any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.  For the purposes of GDPR, Personal Data means any information relating to You such as a name, an identification number, location data, online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.

“Specialist” refers to an independent healthcare specialist who is registered and verified on Our App.

“Terms and Conditions” (also referred to as “Terms“) mean these Terms and Conditions that, together with any documents referred to herein, form the entire agreement between You and MSA regarding the use of the App. 

“Third-party Social Media Service” means any services or content (including data, information, products or services) provided by a third-party that may be displayed, included or made available by the App.

“User(s)” refers to individuals seeking Opinions from Specialists through Our App.

“Website” refers to myspecialistappinion.com, accessible from www.myspecialistappinion.com 

“You/Your” refers to the individual accessing or using the App.

Acknowledgment

  1. These are the Terms and Conditions governing the use of Our App and the agreement that operates between You and MSA. 
  2. You represent that You are over the age of 18. You must not use the App if You are under the age of 18.

Our App

 

  1. We provide an App that allows You to engage with a fully qualified UK based medical Specialist (for example Dermatologist, Cardiologist, Gastroenterologist).
  2. The Interaction between You and the Specialist shall take the form of an App-based query and response dialogue on a messaging interface. 
  3. Following the submission of your initial proforma, the Specialist may request supporting information or documents from You, which will allow them to give You an Opinion based on Your query. You agree that the information that the Specialist provides to You is strictly based on the nature and scope of the information that You send to them through the initial proforma and the subsequent Interaction. 
  4. You acknowledge that each Interaction is limited to five messages from You to the Specialist. Should further messages be required, You will need to pay for a further Interaction. You further acknowledge that the outcome of such Opinion requests may, amongst other potential outcomes advised by the Specialist, be a recommendation of an in-person consultation to further assess Your needs and may not lead to a definitive diagnosis or management plan. 
  5. We facilitate a match-making Interaction between You and the Specialist. MSA does not provide clinical services. As such, You agree that MSA shall not be held responsible for any advice, diagnosis or management plan that the Specialist may offer to You during the Interaction. While we facilitate a match-making Interaction, each Specialist will be directly responsible to You for any care or advice provided. 
  6. My Specialist Appinion accepts no vicarious liability for the acts and defaults of Specialists, their employees, agents, or subcontractors.

Information we need from You

  1. We will require some personal information from or about You (such as your name, contact details and information about your health) so that we can facilitate as bespoke and personalised a match-making Interaction as possible. To find out more about how we use this information and how we protect Your privacy, see Our privacy policy.
  2. The information You give Us must be accurate and in English. Please let Us know if any of the information we hold about You is wrong or out of date. Please contact Our support team, info@myspecialistappinion.com,  if You need help using Our App.

Creating a user account

  1. When You create an account with Us, You must provide Us with information that is accurate, complete, and current at all times. Failure to comply with this constitutes a breach of the Terms, which may, at Our sole discretion, result in the immediate termination of Your account on Our App. 
  2. You are responsible for safeguarding the password and details that You use to access the App and for any activities or actions under Your Account or password, whether Your password is with Our App or a Third-Party Social Media Service.
  3. You agree not to disclose Your password to any third party. You must notify Us immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorised use of Your account.
  4. You may not use as a username the name of another person or entity or that is not lawfully available for use, a name or trademark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity other than You without appropriate authorisation, or a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene.
  5. You agree not to create multiple accounts or register more than once to use Our App. This ensures that we keep an accurate record of Your use of our App and any advice Our Specialists have given You.
  6. When using Our App, You agree to ensure that You are located in an area well served by a good WiFi and Internet connection in the United Kingdom (UK). Failure to do so may result in disruptions or delays in the service which MSA will not be responsible for. Should You experience any connection issues which significantly disrupts Your use of the service, please contact Our support team. 

Pricing and Payment

  1. Use of Our App is chargeable. After submitting Your question or query to the Specialist, You agree to make full payment for the Interaction, after which You will receive a response. Please see Our Pricing Policy. Should the Specialist request more information, You will be able to submit this to them in the same Interaction.
  2. If You require another Opinion You will need to pay for another Interaction. Every Interaction with a Specialist is chargeable, as per the Pricing Policy.

Use of Our App

You can request an Opinion 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  MSA will endeavour to match You with an appropriate Specialist to provide You with an Opinion on Your query as soon as possible. We aim to do so within 24 hours.  
  1. Our support team operates between the hours of 0800-1800 (GMT), Monday to Sunday.
What we do not do
  1. We do not currently offer Opinions for persons under the age of 18.  You must not use the App on behalf of a person under the age of 18.
  2. The scope of the App may change in future, for example, to reflect changes to Our product, Users’ needs and/or Our business priorities.
  3. You acknowledge that we are not able to offer You Interactions with Specialists if You are located outside of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) at the time of the consultation.
  4. We currently do not offer telephone or video Interactions within the App.
  5. MSA will not share medical information about You with Your GP.  You therefore agree to be responsible for sharing any significant information with Your GP in a timely, appropriate, safe and responsible manner. A PDF summary of each  completed Interaction can be obtained in a downloadable form that can be shared with Your GP or any other medical person to whom You have given authority.
  6. Before submitting an Opinion request to the Specialist, You agree and declare that it does not represent a Medical emergency (see our non-exhaustive list of medical emergencies) that may need to be managed in an accident and emergency department.  If You are advised by a Specialist to seek urgent medical attention, You agree to follow this advice in a timely manner.
  7. You agree that all information supplied to the Specialist must not be of an obscene or offensive nature, and should be directly pertinent to the medical query.
  8. You accept that any images You send to the Specialist will not be of a sensitive, obscene, or offensive nature as per our User Policy on File and Image Submissions.  Images will only be accessed by the Specialist involved in Your interaction. All images will be deleted from the system once the Interaction has been completed as per the Terms of Our Privacy Policy.
Troubleshooting and access to Our App 
  1. Please contact Our support team if You encounter a problem and we will take reasonable steps to address it.
  2. From time to time, You may be unable to access Our App for reasons including but not limited to:
  1. Our App is undergoing planned maintenance;
  2. There are system outages which are outside Our control;
  3. We have suspended Your access to and use of Our App in accordance with these Terms; and/or
  4. We have otherwise deemed it reasonably necessary to suspend Your access to and use of Our App, including, for example, while a data security risk is being investigated.
  1. We will provide You with reasonable notice of any planned maintenance undertaken.  In all other cases, we will provide You with updated information as to when access to the App will resume insofar as we are reasonably able to.
Liability 
  1. We provide the App as described and we do not make any other guarantees.  If we break these Terms we will only be responsible for any losses that could have been foreseen when we entered into the Terms.
  2. You agree that we cannot be held responsible for:
    • Loss or damage as a result of You not following the instructions for using Our App for anything other than its intended use.
    • Business losses to You (Our App is for personal use only).
    • Any loss or damage as a result of Your own breach of these Terms or Our Privacy Policy.
    • Loss or damage from using other websites we may link to from Our App or website, including any retail partners we might work with or invite You to access. 
    • The acts or omissions of Specialists, who are directly responsible to You for any care or treatment that they provide. 
  1. MSA does not recommend or endorse any websites or products that we link to. You must make Your own decision about whether You want to access or use these.
  2. As far as we can under the law, MSA excludes any other terms (express or implied, written or otherwise) that are outside of these Terms.
  3. Except for losses that cannot be limited by law, notwithstanding any damages that You might incur, the entire liability of MSA and any of its suppliers under any provision of these Terms and Your exclusive remedy for all of the foregoing shall be limited to the amount actually paid by You through the App.
  4. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall MSA or its suppliers be liable for any special, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages whatsoever (including, but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, loss of data or other information, for business interruption, for personal injury, loss of privacy arising out of or in any way related to the use of or inability to use the App, third-party software and/or third-party hardware used with the App, or otherwise in connection with any provision of these Terms), even if MSA or any supplier has been advised of the possibility of such damages and even if the remedy fails of its essential purpose.

Your Feedback to Us

    1. If You would like to give Us some feedback on Our App, please provide this in the Feedback section of the App. 
    2. You assign all rights, title and interest in any Feedback You provide MSA. If for any reason such assignment is ineffective, You agree to grant MSA a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty free, worldwide right and licence to use, reproduce, disclose, sub-license, distribute, modify and exploit such Feedback without restriction.

Making a complaint

If You have a complaint, please provide this in the Complaints section of the App or contact Us by email at complaints@myspecialistappinion.com and we shall respond in a timely manner. 

How we contact You

  1. We will contact You in English through the App or by the email or phone number registered on Your Account. 
  2. We strongly advise that You enable notification permissions on Your phone or other Device for this App. We may send You notifications to indicate new activity (e.g. a Specialist’s response or a payment confirmation) that You may need to respond to.  If You do not respond to a Specialist’s message to You within seven (7) days, the Interaction will automatically end. 

Your Right to submit Content

  1. Our App allows You to submit Content. You are responsible for the Content that You submit to the App, including its legality, reliability, and appropriateness.
  2. By submitting  Content to the App, You grant Us the right and licence to appropriately and lawfully use and share such content with Specialists.
  3. You retain any and all of Your rights to any Content You submit, post or display on or through the App and You are responsible for protecting those rights. You agree that this licence includes the right for Us to make Your Content available to Specialists on a confidential basis, who may themselves use Your Content to inform their medical advice to You, subject to these Terms.
  4. You represent and warrant that:
    • The Content is Yours (You own it) or You have the right to use it and grant Us the rights and licence as provided in these Terms, and; 
    • The submission of Your Content on or through the App does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person.
  5. You consent that Your Content will be processed and stored in accordance with Our Privacy Policy.

Content Restrictions

  1. MSA is not responsible for the content of the App’s Users. You expressly understand and agree that You are solely responsible for the Content and for all activity that occurs under Your Account. 
  2. You expressly agree to guard against the use of Your Account by any third party.
  3. You agree that any Content that You submit shall be directly pertinent to the medical query in question. 
  4. You may not transmit any Content that is unlawful, offensive, upsetting, intended to disgust, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable. Examples of such objectionable Content include, but are not limited to the following:
    • Unlawful or promoting unlawful activity.
    • Defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content, including references or commentary about religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, national/ethnic origin, or other targeted groups.
    • Spam, machine – or randomly – generated, constituting unauthorised or unsolicited advertising, chain letters, any other form of unauthorised solicitation, or any form of lottery or gambling.
    • Containing or installing any viruses, worms, malware, trojan horses, or other content that is designed or intended to disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of any software, hardware or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorised access to any data or other information of a third person.
    • Infringing on any proprietary rights of any party, including patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity or other rights.
    • Impersonating any person or entity including MSA and its employees or representatives.
    • Violating the privacy of any third person.
    • False information and features.
  1. MSA reserves the right, but not the obligation, to, in its sole discretion, determine whether or not any Content is appropriate and complies with Our Terms, refuse or remove this Content. 
  2. MSA further reserves the right to make formatting and edits and change the manner of any obscene or offensive Content which is impertinent to the medical query in question.
  3. MSA can also limit or revoke the use of the App if You post such objectionable Content. As MSA cannot control all content posted by Users and/or third parties on the App, You agree to use the App at Your own risk. 

Content Backups

  1. Although regular backups of Content are performed, MSA does not guarantee there will be no loss or corruption of data.
  2. Corrupt or invalid backup points may be caused by, without limitation, Content that is corrupted prior to being backed up or that changes during the time a backup is performed.
  3. MSA will provide support and attempt to troubleshoot any known or discovered issues that may affect the backups of Content. But You acknowledge that MSA has no liability related to the integrity of Content or the failure to successfully restore Content to a usable state.
  4. You may wish to maintain a complete and accurate back-up copy of any Content in a location independent of the App.

Retention of Your Personal Data

  1. MSA will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in the Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with Our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain Your Personal Data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce Our legal agreements and policies.
  2. Once You have registered with the App if You do not use the App within the first 2 years of registration, Your Personal Data will be removed.
  3. The Personal Data from your Interactions will be kept for up to 8 years.
  4. MSA will also retain Usage Data (see Privacy Policy for further information) for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our App, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Intellectual  Property

1. Intellectual Property Infringement

  • We respect the intellectual property rights of others. It is Our policy to respond to any claim that Content posted on the App infringes a copyright or other intellectual property infringement of any person.
  • If You are a copyright owner, or authorised on behalf of one, and You believe that the copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement that is taking place through the App, You must submit Your notice in writing to the attention of Our copyright agent via email info@myspecialistappinion.com and include in Your notice a detailed description of the alleged infringement.
  • You may be held accountable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) for misrepresenting that any Content is infringing Your copyright.

2. Intellectual Property

  • The App and its original content (excluding Content provided by You or other Users), features and functionality are and will remain the exclusive property of MSA and its licensors. We license use of Our App to You only as permitted by these Terms and draw Your attention to the following licence restrictions:
  • You agree that You shall not rent, lease, sub-license, loan, provide, or otherwise make available, Our App in any form, in whole or in part to any person without prior written consent from Us.
  • You agree that You shall not translate, copy, reverse engineer, merge, adapt, vary, alter or modify, the whole or any part of Our App, nor permit Our App or any part of it to be combined with, or become incorporated in, any other programs.
  • The App is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the Country and foreign countries. 
  • Our trademarks, trade names, logos, get-up and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of MSA.

Links to Other Websites

  1. Our App may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by MSA.
  2. MSA has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that MSA shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such websites or services.
  3. We strongly advise You to read the Terms and Conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that You visit.

Termination

  1. We reserve the right to terminate or suspend Your Account immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reasons including, without limitation, if You breach these Terms and Conditions.
  2. Upon termination, Your right to use the App will cease immediately. If You wish to terminate Your Account, You may simply discontinue using the App.

“AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” Disclaimer

  1. The App is provided to You “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” and with all faults and defects without warranty of any kind. 
  2. To the maximum extent permitted under applicable law, MSA, on its own behalf and on behalf of its Affiliates and its and their respective licensors and suppliers, expressly disclaims all warranties, whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise, with respect to the App, including all implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement, and warranties that may arise out of course of dealing, course of performance, usage or trade practice. 
  3. Without limitation to the foregoing, MSA provides no warranty or undertaking, and makes no representation of any kind that the App will meet Your requirements, achieve any intended results, be compatible or work with any other software, applications, systems or services, operate without interruption, meet any performance or reliability standards or be error free or that any errors or defects can or will be corrected.
  4. Without limiting the foregoing, neither MSA nor any of MSA’s suppliers makes any representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied: (i) as to the operation or availability of the App, or the information, content, and materials or products included thereon; (ii) that the App will be uninterrupted or error-free; (iii) that the App, its servers, the content, or e-mails sent from or on behalf of MSA are free of viruses, scripts, trojan horses, worms, malware, timebombs or other harmful components.
  5. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in these Terms shall limit Your rights under applicable consumer laws.

Governing Law

  1. These Terms shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

Dispute Resolution

  1. If You have any concern or dispute about the App, You agree to first try to resolve the dispute informally by contacting MSA by email at complaints@myspecialistappinion.com.
  2. The Courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute that arises under or in connection with these Terms.

For Users who are non-UK residents

  1. If You are a non-UK resident consumer in the UK at the time of using the service, You will be subject to the mandatory provisions of the law of England and Wales.

Severability

  1. If any provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable or invalid, such provision will be changed and interpreted to accomplish the objectives of such provision to the greatest extent possible under applicable law and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Waiver

  1. Except as provided herein, the failure to exercise a right or to require performance of an obligation under these Terms shall not affect a party’s ability to exercise such right or require such performance at any time thereafter, nor shall the waiver of a breach constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach.

Changes to These Terms and Conditions

  1. We reserve the right to make changes to these Terms, such as to reflect changes in regulatory requirements or to implement adjustments and improvements to the App. If a revision is material We will make reasonable efforts to provide at least 30 days’ notice prior to any new terms taking effect. 
  2. By continuing to access or use Our App after those revisions become effective, You agree to be bound by the revised Terms. If You do not agree to the new terms, in whole or in part, You must stop using the App.

Transfer of this contract 

  1. We may assign, transfer, or subcontract any of Our rights, benefits, or obligations under these Terms without Your prior written consent. You may not assign, transfer or deal in any of Your rights, benefits or obligations under these Terms without Our prior written consent.

Third party rights 

  1. These Terms do not give rise to any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 for third parties to enforce these Terms.

Medical Emergencies 

  • My Specialist Appinion Ltd (MSA) does not provide emergency medical services and does not manage urgent or life-threatening conditions.

 

  • If a user is experiencing a medical emergency (e.g., chest pain/heart attack, difficulty breathing, stroke, severe injury, heavy bleeding, or loss of consciousness), they should immediately call 111 (UK) or attend the nearest Emergency Department (ED).

 

  • MSA is a matchmaking platform, connecting users who would like an opinion on non-urgent or non-emergency medical presentations.

 

  • For urgent medical help, users should contact the NHS (UK) or their local emergency services.

 

  • The following is a non-exhaustive list of potential emergencies: –
    • Chest pain, suspected heart attack, or cardiac arrest
    • Stroke symptoms (e.g., facial droop, arm weakness, speech difficulty)
    • Severe breathing difficulties or choking
    • Major trauma or injury (e.g., fractures, head injury, severe burns)
    • Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
    • Uncontrolled bleeding
    • Loss of consciousness or seizures

 

  • Users are advised to exercise their own judgement regarding urgent or emergency concerns and seek emergency services where appropriate.

User Policy on File and Image Submissions – My Specialist Appinion Ltd

1.⁠ ⁠Purpose

This policy explains how patients may upload documents or images to the App. It is designed to ensure that all material submitted is appropriate, relevant to your healthcare query, and handled securely in accordance with our Privacy Policy and professional standards.

2.⁠ ⁠Permitted Submissions

When submitting your initial request, you may upload up to five (5) documents or images.

These should be in the following format: JPEG, PNG or PDF.

These should be directly related to your medical question or concern (for example, referral letters, scan results, test reports, or photographs of a relevant clinical area).

If your Specialist requires additional information, you will be invited to securely upload further documents or images during your consultation within the App.

3.⁠ ⁠Prohibited Content

You must not upload or submit any of the following:

  • Indecent, obscene, or sexually explicit images, including those unrelated to your medical issue.
  • Offensive, abusive, or discriminatory material of any kind.
  • Non-medical or irrelevant personal media, such as selfies or unrelated photographs.
  • Copyrighted material not owned by you or without appropriate permission.
  • Any content intended to harass, intimidate, or embarrass others.

Submissions that breach this policy may be deleted without notice and could result in suspension or termination of your account.

4.⁠ ⁠Clinical Use and Confidentiality

All documents and images you submit are viewed solely for the purpose of providing your medical opinion.

For images captured with a phone camera, please review before sending them, ensuring: –

  • They appropriately capture the body part as well as the issue in question.
  • They are clear and of good quality, preferably taken under good lighting.
  • There is no sensitive or inappropriate material captured in the background around the main issue in focus.

Your files are stored securely and handled in compliance with UK data protection laws (GDPR) and relevant NHS digital governance standards.

Please ensure any files you upload do not contain unnecessary personal data (e.g., information about third parties).

5.⁠ ⁠Reporting and Enforcement

If you accidentally upload an inappropriate file, please contact our support team immediately for removal by emailing info@myspecialistappinion.com.

Repeated or deliberate breaches of this policy may result in permanent suspension of your access to the App.

6.⁠ ⁠Acceptance

By uploading any file or image, you confirm that you have read and agree to comply with this User Policy.