The following information will help you make decisions as you use the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) website and social media channels. Sharing information is an important part of our work, and we strive to do so in the most responsible way possible.
Website
Our website offers information only. It does not provide medical advice, nor is it intended for the purposes of diagnosing or treating any health-related condition or concern. If you have a condition or concern, we recommend that you consult a qualified health care professional.
Throughout the website, there are links to external internet sites hosted by other organizations or institutions. We cannot guarantee that the information on these sites is accurate or available and we assume no responsibility for their content. We do not endorse any commercial products that may be featured on any other internet sites.
All are welcome to visit our website and to provide comments and feedback. However, our services are offered to the people of Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka. Therefore, we cannot respond to requests for information or resources outside our legislated boundaries. If you are looking for health information and reside outside Simcoe County or the District of Muskoka, we encourage you to contact your local health unit.
AI Assistant (SAM)
Our AI assistant provides general information about the services we provide. It does not deliver medical advice or information. If you have specific questions about a medical condition, or you believe you may require medical attention, you must seek assistance from a qualified medical professional.
Conversations with this AI assistant may be recorded.As such, we ask that you do not share any personal information, including medical information, in this chat. If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy practices, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
While we strive for accuracy, the information provided by the AI Assistant may not always be complete, up-to-date, or applicable to specific situations. Users should verify any information and assume responsibility for their use of the AI Assistant responses.
The AI Assistant may suggest links to external resources or websites. SMDHU does not control or endorse these sites and cannot guarantee the accuracy or availability of their content. Use of these external resources is at the user's discretion.
We encourage a respectful and safe environment for all users of the AI Assistant while discouraging harmful or threatening communication. Please be aware that any comments or questions that appear to involve criminal activity or matters of public safety may be flagged for review.
HealthSTATS
While we make every effort to post accurate and reliable data, it does not guarantee or warrant that the data on HealthSTATS or data which may be downloaded from this website is complete, accurate or up to date. The data are obtained from a number of sources and are provided on an ‘as is’ and ‘as available’, basis. The accuracy of any user’s statistical analysis and any reported findings are not the responsibility of the health unit. SMDHU does not accept liability for any direct or indirect damages in the use of the data due to errors and/or omissions in HealthSTATS content.
Social Media
Comments and images posted by others on our social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X) do not necessarily represent the views of SMDHU. Links to other internet sites from our social media sites do not constitute official endorsement.
Individuals posting comments or sharing information on social media are reminded that content is not confidential. Further, individuals are reminded that these platforms are non-secure and are therefore cautioned against sharing personal identification or personal health information.
Our goal is to share ideas and information and encourage dialogue with as many individuals as possible. Our policy is to accept the majority of comments made to our social media platforms. While we encourage people to ask questions and to share thoughts and opinions on the SMDHU social media sites, we expect that this will be done in a respectful manner.
A comment or image will be removed if it contains:
- hate speech
- offensive or discriminatory language, profanity, obscenity or vulgarity
- nudity in profile pictures
- defamation to a person or people
- name calling and/or personal attacks
- comments intended to promote or sell a product
- comments or images that infringe on copyrights
- spam comments, such as the same comment posted repeatedly on a profile
- spreading of misinformation or false/misleading information that could compromise public health and safety, security or operations
- other comments that SMDHU deems inappropriate.
All links posted as comments on SMDHU's posts will be reviewed and may be removed.
Repeated violations of SMDHU's comment policy noted above may cause the author to be blocked or banned from posting content to our social media sites. We may not see an inappropriate comment right away, and we are trusting in the maturity of our community to ignore personal attacks and negative speech or respond politely.
At any time SMDHU may make the decision to deactivate the comment feature on any of its social media accounts if it feels it has become an unsafe online space for legitimate discourse due to rude, abusive, disrespectful, harassing or bullying behaviour and/or the continual spread of misinformation and non-credible sources of information by some of its followers.
