Conditions of participation
and statutes (articles of association)

Published on:

Valid from:

23.04.2023

immediately

This edition of the terms and conditions of participation is basically identical in content to the previous version. All adjustments are solely due to the conversion of the Tracheal Stenosis Self-Help Group into an association and to make it easier to read.

The statutes are now an integral part.

Introduction

Dear member, dear applicant

We are looking forward to a valuable exchange with you.

The Self-Help Tracheal Stenosis Association, based in Weinfelden (Switzerland), operates this website as a meeting place and platform for people who suffer from idiopathic subglottic stenosis. The association also wants to increase awareness of the condition of idiopathic subglottic stenosis, particularly among clinics and doctors.

To ensure that all members feel comfortable at all times, all applicants and members must accept a few essential additions to the statutes (association statutes) . These are

“Rules for the video meetings of our self-help group” and the
“Group agreements” of the self-help group for tracheal stenosis,
the following restrictions on content and medical responsibility,
the rules on confidentiality and data protection.

Membership

Membership in the Self-Help Tracheal Stenosis Association is a mandatory requirement for access to the member pages of this website and participation in group discussions.

Members of the association can be natural and legal persons as well as partnerships that recognize and promote the purpose of the association.

These include patients, carers, doctors and clinics.

Commercial use of the platform, club membership fee

The Tracheal Stenosis Self-Help Association is not a commercial organization. It only advertises on its own behalf and does not serve medical organizations or pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The costs of running this website are covered by the membership fee. This fee is decided annually by the general meeting. Failure to pay the membership fee will result in expulsion from the association.

The current contribution is CHF/EUR 20.-- (as of April 23, 2023)

Content, medical responsibility

All information on this website is to be viewed solely as experience and advice and therefore as the personal opinion of the affected persons. Treatments or medications not mentioned are not considered unsuitable, but simply do not exist and are not shared here.

The Tracheal Stenosis Self-Help Group expressly disclaims any medical responsibility with regard to all content. They are only reviewed by trained specialists in exceptional cases. Each member must consult their doctor about the options and consequences of a treatment or medication.

This restriction also applies to information communicated at physical and virtual group meetings.

Confidentiality & Data Protection

All personal data is generally subject to the data protection laws of Switzerland ( DSG-CH and the version valid from September 1, 2023 ) and the EU ( GDPR ).

Click here to read the privacy policy of the Tracheal Stenosis Switzerland self-help group.

The aim of these regulations is to protect the personality, privacy and integrity of the persons concerned. These are particularly at risk when personal data that is particularly worthy of protection is passed on. Personal data that is particularly worthy of protection includes information about a person's state of health.

When using the forums on this website ( www.trachealstenose.ch/www.trachealstenose.com ) and other means of communication used in this context for the exchange between members (e.g. virtual video meetings, chat groups), it is inevitable that particularly sensitive personal data will be disclosed to the participating club members. Each member decides for themselves which information they want to disclose about themselves and via which channel. There is never any pressure to disclose personal data.

In addition, each member of the association undertakes to use the personal data (namely the personal data that is particularly worthy of protection) of other members only for the purposes of the Self-Help Tracheal Stenosis Association (i.e. only for exchange between members of the association) and not to disclose it to any third party. No recordings, screenshots or copies of other members' personal data may be made. Participation in group meetings must take place in the absence of third parties, ideally in a closed room. Access to the members' area and the links to the online meetings may not be shared or passed on to third parties.

Excluded from this confidentiality rule are anonymized information that neither directly nor indirectly refers to a data subject nor can it be traced back to such a person. Caution should be exercised here, as even a combination of apparently anonymous information can identify a data subject.

So that we can be sure that no fake members are accepted into the club, applicants must present a valid ID card with a photo for identification via the upload function on this website before being accepted. We store this in the member database as proof.

What is a fake profile?

Behind a fake profile is not the person they claim to be. Anyone can open an email account under any name and use this to register, because they have access to the emails. The transmission takes place over secure connections and is safer than sending by post. We just want to know that there appears to be at least one ID with your name on it.

Information collected through fake profiles can be put to good use in socializing calls, for example with the elderly mother of a patient: "Your daughter is very ill, she needs an urgent and immediate operation, but a deposit must be paid first. I would bring this money to the clinic." Forget about the clinic, you can imagine the rest.

By accepting these conditions of participation, the applicant confirms that he/she has read, understood and agreed to all the rules for our meetings ( “Rules for the video meetings of our self-help group” , “Group agreements” of the Swiss/Thurgau self-help group) and the above-mentioned rules for using the homepage.

Likewise, the association statutes (association articles of association) are deemed to be accepted.

Changes to the conditions of participation and statutes

The conditions of participation can be adjusted by the board of the Self-Help Tracheal Stenosis Association at any time and without prior notice with a transition period of at least four weeks. Members will be informed of changes by email and forum post.

The statutes (association statutes) can only be changed by the general meeting.

If a member does not want to accept the changed conditions of participation, he or she must actively report to the board within the transition period. Without reporting, the new conditions are deemed to be accepted.

If the conditions are not accepted, this will be deemed as withdrawal from the Tracheal Stenosis Self-Help Group at the latest upon expiry of the transition period.