VetChange is an online self-management program to help Veterans and active duty military learn skills to better manage their drinking and PTSD symptoms. Non-Veterans and non-Servicemembers can also use VetChange.

This version of VetChange enables mental health professionals ("providers") to directly incorporate their patients’ use of VetChange into treatment. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD ("we" or "us,") provides this service. In these Terms of Service, "your provider" means the mental health professional who invited you to work together in VetChange.

By signing up for an account on VetChange, you are acknowledging and agreeing to these Terms of Use that describe important cautions for you about using VetChange with your provider, and information about the privacy and security of your personal information.

DISCLAIMERS: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT USING VETCHANGE WITH YOUR PROVIDER

1. Your provider will be able to observe all the information you enter in VetChange if you agree to these terms and create a VetChange account that is linked with your provider. You or your provider may terminate this link at any time, and that will immediately disable your provider’s access to your account and all your information. If the link to your provider is terminated, you may still use VetChange on your own as a self-guided program, and all of your information will still be there.

2. Except for the guidance your provider gives you, you will not have contact with other mental health professionals to guide you or answer questions about the information presented or your personal situation. If you feel that you need personal help, consult your provider or visit resources for information on finding more assistance.

3. VetChange is designed to help you gain control over drinking by either cutting down or stopping. If at any time while using VetChange you find that your drinking is increasing instead of decreasing, you could be at risk for experiencing more serious problems and you should consult your provider or seek other personal assistance.

   Some individuals may become physically dependent on alcohol if they have been drinking for a period of time. When a person is alcohol dependent, they may experience alcohol withdrawal if they suddenly stop drinking or drastically cut down. Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal usually begin within a few hours of decreasing drinking and may include: tremors, sweating, elevated pulse and blood pressure, nausea, insomnia, anxiety, seizures, and possibly delirium. Stopping or cutting down on your own can be medically dangerous if you are physically dependent on alcohol.

   If you suspect that you may be physically dependent on alcohol or you experience any withdrawal symptoms, please consult your provider or seek other professional help before trying to stop or cut down drinking on your own.

4. VetChange is focused on drinking, not drug use. If you are frequently or heavily using recreational drugs or are misusing medications (using more than prescribed by your doctor or using medications not prescribed for you), VetChange may not be suitable for you even if you are also having alcohol problems. Examples of recreational drugs include cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, or club drugs such as Ecstasy. Examples of commonly misused prescription drugs include pain killers (such as Oxycodone), tranquilizers (like Valium), stimulants (such as Adderall) or drugs to block withdrawal (like Suboxone).

   Regular use of drugs is likely to interfere with your ability to stop or cut down on drinking, and stopping without medical intervention could be dangerous to your health. If you want or need help for drug problems, please consult your provider or visit resources.

5. VetChange helps you learn new skills to manage moods and possible emotional reactions to serving in combat. If at any time while using VetChange you feel overwhelmed by your emotions or believe that you have symptoms that are worsening (for example, feelings of sadness are getting more frequent or intense), you should consult your provider or seek other professional assistance.

   If you feel at any time that you want to hurt yourself anyone else, go to the nearest emergency room or call 911. You may also call the Veterans Crisis Line at any time at 1-800-273-8255.

PRIVACY AND SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION

1. Information we ask you to provide when registering
   To use VetChange and grant your provider access to your information, you must register for a VetChange account by providing a user ID you create (it does not have to be your real name), your email address, your age and your sex. We use your email address to send you automated notifications about your use of the system. We use your age and sex to provide you with automated personalized guidance. We also ask you to voluntarily enter your ethnicity and Veteran status, for group data about who is using VetChange. You may also opt to provide your mobile phone number to receive automated text messages about your use of the system..

   If you do not want to provide your email address, you can register for a VetChange account without an email address at VetChange.org. This will enable you to use the program on your own, but you will NOT be able to link to your provider and grant them access to your information.

2. Information you may provide when using VetChange
   To gain the most benefit from VetChange, once you register you have the option to enter additional personal information such as a record of how much you drink, or your thoughts, feelings, and plans about cutting back or stopping your drinking. The main purpose for collecting this information is so we can provide feedback on your drinking and what it might mean for you, and also suggest new ways of approaching things that may help you decrease any alcohol misuse or trauma-related problems that may trigger drinking. Some of the information that is saved will be presented to you again in future sessions. Information that you enter into the optional self-assessment questionnaires will be used to present you with helpful feedback.

   We will also collect anonymous summary statistics about patterns of use on the tools and pages on VetChange, in order to improve the service.

3. How we protect your information
   Your participation and all your information will be kept confidential. Only authorized people (as explained in section 4 below) have access to your information.

   We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. These measures conform to generally accepted standards to protect personal information submitted to us during transmission and once it is received. However, because no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuses, we cannot guarantee complete security for personal information provided. VetChange uses secure databases and servers to store your data, and all data is transmitted, stored, and processed in a secure environment. All of your information is protected by firewalls, encryption, authenticated access, physical access control, policies for technical personnel, and other means to prevent access by anyone who is not supposed to see it. All systems are patched, monitored and scanned routinely for vulnerabilities and intrusions. We do not employ third-party cookies or IP addresses to track behavior on the website..

   Your email address, and mobile phone number if you provide it, may tie your identity to the information you enter. Emails and text messages sent by VetChange are not encrypted and should not be considered secure. Because of this, we only send emails and text messages with general wording that doesn’t mention alcohol or other specific health concerns, and only refers to your provider by their name, avoiding any wording suggesting that they are a mental health professional.

   It is also important that you help maintain the privacy of your data on VetChange by keeping your login username and password secret, and also securing access to your email account and mobile phone number. If you are worried that someone else may be using your login information, please let us know immediately, or change your password yourself through the My Profile setting page.

4. Who has access to your information
   You have continual access to your own data, by entering the user name and password you created at registration.

   In general, under federal law, identifiable health information is private. However, there are exceptions to this rule. In some cases, others may see your identifiable health information for purposes of administrative oversight, quality control, public health and safety, or law enforcement. VetChange administrators and contractors (computer programmers) will have access so that they may perform maintenance, troubleshooting, and updates to VetChange. We share your health information only when we must, and we ask anyone who receives it from us to protect your privacy. We will never sell, rent, or lease your information.

5. Browser Cookies and IP Addresses
   VetChange employs browser cookies to keep you logged into the website and to anonymously associate your browsing activity with your stored data in order to personalize the information you see. VetChange does not link browser cookies with any information you submit during your site visits.

   VetChange logs IP addresses, or the location of a computer on the Internet, whenever someone requests a web page from VetChange.org. For security reasons, VetChange records your logged IP address when your register for an account, and stores it in your data record. We do not use IP address logs to otherwise track your user sessions or behavior on our site, nor to personally identify you. We use IP addresses solely for security systems administration and troubleshooting purposes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT

By voluntarily providing information on VetChange.org you are consenting to the Veterans Administration’s use and disclosure of that information in the manner described in these terms of use.

Please visit the contact page to reach a VetChange program administrator with questions about these terms of use.

Click the Close button to return to the registration page.

Updated: 3/1/2018