TERMS OF SERVICE

VIRTUAL PATIENT EDUCATION

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern authorized use of the Virtual Patient Education (“VPEd”) website, application, and related services. “VPEd” refers to VPEd Design, Inc. Additional signed agreements and clinical consents may apply to particular users or services. These Terms do not replace legally required informed consent, professional obligations, or institutional agreements.

1. ABOUT THE SERVICES

VPEd coordinates real-time supervised clinical education experiences involving adult participating patients, graduate students, and licensed speech-language pathologists (“SLPs”). Services may include patient recruitment and screening, student-patient matching, scheduling, supervised telepractice, clinical documentation, communications, and educational reporting. VPEd arranges supervising SLPs and patient participation; it is not solely a software provider.

Students engage in clinical activities only within their training, demonstrated competencies, assigned supervision, and applicable law. Participating academic programs remain responsible for academic credit, student progression, and degree requirements. The allocation of clinical responsibilities is further described in applicable clinical and institutional agreements.

2. ACCOUNT ELIGIBILITY

Patient participation is limited to adults aged 18 or older. Other users must meet role-specific identity, authorization, and eligibility requirements and supply accurate, current information. Students must be approved for participation under a university arrangement or an authorized individual student subscription, as applicable. Supervising SLPs must maintain all required licenses, credentials, and qualifications. Patients must complete applicable screening, disclosures, and consent procedures.

Participation may be limited by patient location, clinical appropriateness, available supervisors, licensure, and other legal or operational considerations. VPEd may decline or defer participation where suitable services cannot be provided.

3. ACCOUNTS AND ACCEPTABLE USE

Users must protect their credentials, use only their own authorized accounts, maintain accurate information, and access information solely for assigned clinical, supervisory, educational, or administrative purposes. Harassment, impersonation, unauthorized access, disruption, malicious uploads, and sharing of confidential information outside approved channels are prohibited.

Users may not independently record, photograph, screenshot, copy, distribute, or upload identifiable patient information to unauthorized services, including generative AI tools, without VPEd authorization and all legally required consent. Approved clinical recording is governed by Section 8 and separate patient consent. Suspected privacy or security incidents must be reported promptly to admin@virtualpatienteducation.com.

4. STUDENT OBLIGATIONS

Students must prepare for sessions, attend punctually, follow assigned supervisors’ clinical direction, maintain patient confidentiality, document accurately and on time, communicate absences and concerns promptly, and participate in feedback and evaluation. Clinical evaluations, treatment plans, recommendations, and records are subject to supervisor review and approval as required. Students must promptly report patient safety issues, technical failures, and suspected privacy incidents.

VPEd may notify the participating academic program of performance, attendance, conduct, or safety concerns consistent with applicable permissions and agreements. Corrective action, reassignment, suspension, or removal may follow established procedures. VPEd does not guarantee a particular patient match, number of clinical hours, academic credit, graduation, or professional certification or licensure.

5. SUPERVISING SLP RESPONSIBILITIES

VPEd-arranged supervisors must maintain appropriate professional qualifications and provide oversight consistent with applicable licensure laws, professional standards, VPEd procedures, and signed supervision agreements. Supervisors exercise independent professional judgment about clinical appropriateness, student readiness, treatment plans, documentation, patient safety, and necessary intervention. They review and approve student work and verify qualifying clinical hours as required.

Supervision frequency, direct observation, evaluations, incident response, and documentation are governed by applicable standards and written operational procedures; no single supervision percentage is guaranteed by these Terms.

6. PATIENT PARTICIPATION AND CONSENT

VPEd serves adult patients who voluntarily participate in supervised clinical experiences. Patients are informed that graduate students may conduct clinical activities under qualified SLP supervision. Before participation, patients must receive and complete a separate informed-consent process addressing student involvement, telepractice, relevant risks and limitations, privacy, permitted educational uses, recording where applicable, and how to discontinue participation. Patients may decline a student activity or request to withdraw, subject to appropriate clinical transition and legal obligations.

Patient participation is currently offered without charge. VPEd may introduce patient fees in the future only after providing applicable advance disclosures, obtaining any required agreement or consent, and updating relevant terms; no new fee is imposed by this draft.

7. TELEPRACTICE AND EMERGENCIES

Telepractice depends on technology and may not be appropriate for every patient or clinical circumstance. Video or connectivity failures can interrupt assessment or treatment. VPEd is not an emergency response service. For a medical emergency, users should contact local emergency services immediately. Supervisors must follow approved clinical emergency and escalation procedures.

VPEd currently collects some, but not necessarily all, patient location and emergency contact information. Before implementation of a final emergency protocol, VPEd must define what information is required, when it is verified, how urgent concerns are handled, and who is responsible for responding.

8. PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND RECORDING

The VPEd Privacy Policy, applicable health privacy notices, patient consent documents, confidentiality agreements, institutional contracts, and law govern information handling in addition to these Terms. Users may access and disclose information only as authorized for their responsibilities. Privacy and security concerns must be reported promptly to admin@virtualpatienteducation.com.

Clinical sessions may be recorded only when VPEd has authorized the recording and obtained appropriate patient consent and other required permissions. Any permitted recording, storage, viewing, educational reuse, retention, or deletion must comply with the applicable consent and VPEd procedures. A patient’s agreement to participate does not automatically authorize recording or unrestricted classroom use.

9. SCHEDULING, CANCELLATIONS, AND TECHNOLOGY

Participants must attend scheduled sessions, promptly communicate anticipated absences, and follow VPEd scheduling instructions. Session availability depends on patients, students, supervisors, clinical appropriateness, and system availability. VPEd will make reasonable efforts to address cancellations, missed appointments, and technical interruptions, but cannot guarantee rescheduling, replacement hours, uninterrupted service, or a particular match.

VPEd does not yet have an approved formal cancellation or no-show policy. Specific notice periods, repeated-absence consequences, rescheduling priorities, technical failure rules, and escalation contacts must be established before publication and communicated to affected users.

10. UNIVERSITIES AND CLINICAL HOURS

Participating universities may have separate agreements addressing student authorization, placement, supervision, academic evaluation, reporting, payment, confidentiality, and recordkeeping. VPEd documents actual qualifying clinical activities and supervisor-verified hours in accordance with applicable procedures. Universities retain responsibility for determining how reported experiences count toward academic, accreditation, graduation, and certification requirements. Students may not claim hours that were not completed or that do not meet applicable criteria.

Where a signed institutional agreement conflicts with these Terms, the applicable agreement’s express order-of-precedence provision controls to the extent legally permitted.

11. FEES, BILLING, CANCELLATION, AND REFUNDS

VPEd may offer university-paid subscriptions and direct-to-student subscriptions under separate written offers or agreements. Applicable prices, service periods, included hours or access, invoicing, payment schedules, cancellation rights, and any refunds must be stated in the relevant subscription agreement or checkout disclosures before purchase. University and student payment terms may differ. Patient services are currently provided without charge, as noted in Section 6.

VPEd has not yet adopted a general written subscription cancellation/refund policy. These Terms do not create a refund entitlement or a no-refund rule beyond applicable law and the parties’ existing written agreements. No automatic renewal is authorized by this draft; any future recurring billing requires clear disclosures and legally compliant authorization.

12. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND USER CONTENT

VPEd and its licensors retain rights in the platform, trademarks, training materials, blank forms, clinical templates, and other proprietary materials except where a separate written agreement provides otherwise. Users receive a limited permission to use authorized materials for their VPEd participation. Users retain rights in content they lawfully contribute, subject to rights and permissions necessary for authorized services and applicable clinical, educational, and privacy obligations. Nothing in these Terms alone transfers ownership of patient records or institution-controlled education records.

Whether students may retain or reuse blank VPEd clinical templates after their placement ends has not been decided. Until a written policy is adopted, these Terms grant no post-placement license to reproduce, redistribute, publish, or commercially reuse those materials.

13. ACCESS RESTRICTIONS AND TERMINATION

VPEd may reasonably restrict, suspend, or terminate access when needed to protect patients, users, data, clinical integrity, or legal compliance, including serious misconduct or unauthorized disclosure. Where practicable and appropriate, VPEd will provide notice and a route to discuss or correct the issue. Termination of platform access does not automatically erase records subject to lawful retention requirements.

Any suspension or termination affecting active patient services must be handled consistently with applicable patient safety, continuity-of-care, and record-access duties. University reporting and student documentation needed for authorized educational purposes will be handled under applicable agreements.

14. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

VPEd may use approved vendors for hosting, authentication, video sessions, communications, scheduling, payments, reporting, and security. Vendor services may be governed by additional applicable notices or agreements. VPEd will address its own contractual and legal responsibilities for third-party processing and will not treat vendor involvement as eliminating its obligations.

15. UPDATES TO TERMS

VPEd may revise these Terms as services, legal obligations, and operational practices evolve. Approved updates will show an effective date and will be communicated, and renewed acceptance obtained, when required by law or applicable agreement. Material changes to patient fees, recording practices, or other matters requiring separate consent will not be implemented solely by posting updated Terms.

16. CONTACT

Virtual Patient Education

Legal entity: VPEd Design, Inc.

Mailing address: 5104 76th St. SE, Caledonia, MI 49316

Support inquiries: Admin@virtualpatienteducation.com

Privacy and security reporting: admin@virtualpatienteducation.com

Website: https://www.virtualpatienteducation.com