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CSCC Catalyst Forum – Terms of Reference (ToR)

PDF version of ToR

Background

The CSCC Catalyst is a forum for remote discussion of topics related to the practice of clinical biochemistry, including education and research. The Forum is hosted by Discourse.org (Civilized Discourse Construction Kit, Inc.). All CSCC members are eligible to subscribe. Posted information is not pre-screened before distribution; content submitted to the Forum is automatically posted and members are notified through their email accounts. Members should therefore treat posted content as broadly shared within the member community and avoid including confidential, sensitive, or unnecessary personal information.

Members may opt out of participating by contacting CSCC office and requesting to be unsubscribed from CSCC Catalyst Forum.

Discussion topics are determined by members’ postings on the Forum and are vast. However, most fall under the following categories:

• Professional discussions and experience sharing related to the practice of Clinical Biochemistry
• Searching for a reference laboratory to perform a specific test
• Identifying a vendor or determining product availability
• Phases of testing process: Preanalytical, Analytical or Post-analytical
• Sharing of methods and standard operation procedures (SOPs)
• Polls and surveys for information gathering and consensus building (e.g. salary surveys)
• CSCC Special Interest Groups and Working Group Communication Forum
• Announcements from CSCC Head Office (e.g. career opportunities, committee position openings, professional development program reminders, abstract deadlines for conferences, new journal issues and table of contents, call for papers)

Terms of Reference

7. The purpose of the CSCC Catalyst Forum is to provide a timely discussion forum for members to exchange information related to clinical biochemistry practice, education, and research. Its advantages over other modes of communication are its speed and reach, as it allows timely discussion among a large group of people.
8. Forum content is determined by CSCC members and is not to be seen as representing the views or opinions of CSCC. Members must remember that the Forum reflects on the CSCC and that messages may be retained, forwarded, or accessed through members’ email systems. By subscribing, posting, or remaining subscribed to the Forum, members acknowledge to be bound by these Terms of Reference and as well to use the Forum responsibly.
9. CSCC does not endorse, verify, monitor, or assume responsibility for user-generated content posted by a member and must not be seen in any way to represent the policies, procedures or views of CSCC.
10. For the purposes of these Terms of Reference, personal information includes information about an identifiable individual, such as a person’s name, affiliation, email address, contact details, technical information associated with Forum activity, or any clinical, institutional, or contextual information that could reasonably identify a patient, member, colleague, or other individual.
11. Forum content should be related to clinical biochemistry practice, education, or research. Members must use discretion when posting and must not include patient-identifiable information, confidential institutional information, personal information about another individual, or other information that should not be broadly distributed.
12. The following represents unacceptable uses of the Forum:
    (i) Solicitation of Forum members for commercial purposes.
    (ii) Posting of personal employment requests (career opportunities / job advertisements via CSCC head office are acceptable).
    (iii) Posting content that discloses confidential, sensitive, or unnecessary personal information without appropriate authority or consent.
    (iv) Posting material that could compromise privacy, security, legal obligations, or the reputation of the CSCC or its members.
13. Members posting to the Forum must include their full name.
14. Members are responsible for ensuring that any information they post is in accordance with these Terms of Reference and appropriate for distribution to the Forum community. Where a discussion requires the exchange of sensitive details, members should move the conversation to a more appropriate and secure communication channel.
15. The Forum is hosted through a third-party platform on servers that may be located outside Canada. Members use of the Forum shall be subject to the privacy, security, acceptable-use, and technical administration practices of the hosting institution or service provider. Additionally, all postings by a Member on the Forum shall comply with all Federal, Provincial and Territorial privacy legislation.
16. CSCC cannot control the Forum material of a Member subsequent to its posting on the Forum including copies retained in member mailboxes, email archives, institutional systems, backups, or server logs. Members should therefore assume that posted content may be retained beyond the original distribution and should avoid posting information that is confidential, sensitive, or unnecessary.
17. Member names, affiliations, email addresses, and technical information associated with Forum activity may be used for the purpose of the administration of the Forum, communication with members, responses to inquiries or concerns, to maintain service reliability, and to support compliance with these Terms of Reference.
18. The CSCC does not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer member personal information for commercial purposes. That said, such Information may be shared in matters relating to the administration of the Forum; to comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or institutional policy; to enforce these Terms of Reference; or to protect the rights, property, safety, privacy, or security of the CSCC, its members, or others.
19. Discourse forum content will be periodically backed up and stored in accord with the existing policies and procedures of the Council in effect from time to time.

Members may contact CSCC Head Office with questions about Forum-related personal information, privacy concerns, requests to update or remove subscription information, or concerns about inappropriate use or disclosure of information.

Content Review Process

The appropriateness and acceptability of posted content by a member is determined by feedback from Forum members and by review under these Terms of Reference. If a member finds a posting inappropriate or has a concern about privacy, confidentiality, security, or misuse of member information, the member should flag the post on the Forum in order to be queued for review by the Head Office. Alternatively, or if the matter needs urgent attention, the member may submit a copy of the post with a brief explanation to CSCC Head Office by email (info@cscc-sccc.ca).

The following will then occur:

1. CSCC Head Office will direct the concern to the Head of Publications.

2. The Head of Publications will review the concern and consult the CSCC Executive to assess the appropriateness of the posting, including any potential negative impact on the CSCC, its members, or affected individuals and whether the post deviates from these terms of reference. Depending on the outcome, a request to correct or clarify the post may be made by the forum administrator(s) on behalf of the original author. Additionally, the forum administrator(s) may authorize a temporary or permanent hiding of the post; a reminder of member responsibilities; a removal or suppression of further discussion where applicable and feasible, or suspension of the author’s Forum subscription.
3. The Head of Publications will notify CSCC Head Office of the decision and any recommended follow-up, including whether the complainant or posting author should receive a response.