Terms of Use

Effective: April 27, 2026 · Last updated: April 27, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using ForThePatient.org (the "Site"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Site. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and ForThePatient.org, a Georgia 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation ("we," "us," "our").

2. Service Description

ForThePatient.org publishes independent quality scores for Medicare-certified healthcare facilities in the United States. Our scores are derived from publicly available data published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other government sources. The Site provides an interactive map, facility search, quality scores, component breakdowns, and contextual information.

The Site is provided free of charge. We do not charge users for access, and we do not charge healthcare facilities for inclusion, exclusion, or modification of their listings.

3. Permitted Use

You may use the Site for personal, non-commercial purposes, including researching healthcare facilities for yourself or your family. You may also use the Site for journalistic, academic, or public-interest research purposes, provided you attribute information to ForThePatient.org.

You may link to the Site or to individual facility pages without prior permission.

4. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

  • Use automated tools (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access the Site at a rate that degrades service for other users. Reasonable automated access for research purposes is permitted if it respects a rate limit of one request per second and identifies itself via a descriptive User-Agent header.
  • Republish our scores or data in bulk without attribution or in a manner that implies endorsement by ForThePatient.org.
  • Use the Site or its data to mislead patients or the public about the quality of any healthcare facility.
  • Attempt to interfere with, compromise, or disrupt the Site's infrastructure, database, or hosting services.
  • Use the Site to send unsolicited communications to healthcare facilities or their staff.
  • Impersonate ForThePatient.org or misrepresent your affiliation with us.

5. Intellectual Property

The ForThePatient.org name, logo, scoring methodology, and website design are the intellectual property of ForThePatient.org. Our composite quality scores, component weights, and scoring engine represent original analytical work.

The underlying CMS data used in our analysis is public-domain government data and is not subject to our copyright claims. Our analysis, interpretation, and presentation of that data is original work protected by applicable copyright law.

Our methodology is published in full for transparency. You may reference, critique, or build upon our methodology for non-commercial purposes with appropriate attribution.

6. Data & Accuracy

We make every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy of our scores and data. However, our scores are derived from CMS datasets that may contain errors, lag real-world conditions by up to 3–6 months, or omit facilities that have recently opened or closed.

If you believe a score or data point is incorrect, please use our dispute process. We commit to investigating all disputes within 30 days and publishing a resolution.

Facilities classified as "Unrated" have insufficient data for a composite score. This classification does not imply poor quality — it means the data needed for scoring was not available in the most recent CMS release.

7. Disclaimers

THE SITE AND ITS CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

ForThePatient.org scores are not medical advice. They are statistical summaries of publicly reported quality data. Please read our medical disclaimer for important limitations.

We do not guarantee that the Site will be available at all times or that it will be free from errors or interruptions.

8. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FORTHEPATIENT.ORG, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND VOLUNTEERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES.

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ForThePatient.org and its directors, officers, employees, and volunteers from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Site, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third-party rights.

10. Modifications to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.

11. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Fulton County, Georgia.

12. Contact

Questions about these Terms should be directed to:

ForThePatient.org
Atlanta, Georgia
legal@forthepatient.org