This code of conduct lays down the ground rules for participation and cooperation with National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) and other stakeholders on www.nationalehelth.org, all of its affiliate pages, and any other online NeHC-sponsored activity. By participating on the NeHC website, you are agreeing to abide by this code of conduct.

This code of conduct covers behavior in all comment, blog, calendar or knowledgebase information submissions; discussion forums; document archives; online community group activities; mailing lists; wikis; and public or private correspondence.

Be considerate. In order for collaboration to be successful, we must depend on the work of others. Any action we take may affect users and colleagues, and we should take those consequences into account when participating.

Be respectful. National eHealth Collaborative and its stakeholders treat one another with respect. Everyone can make a valuable contribution to our collaboration and information sharing activities. We may not always agree, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It is important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. We expect NeHC’s stakeholders to be respectful when participating online.

• Be collaborative. Collaboration is central to NeHC. We encourage individuals and teams to work together whether inside or outside the NeHC Collaborate online community and workspace. This collaboration reduces redundancy and improves the quality of our work. Internally and externally, we should always be open to collaboration. Our work should be done transparently and we should involve as many interested parties as early as possible. If we decide to take a different approach than others, we will let them know early, document our work and inform others regularly of our progress.
• When we disagree, we consult others. Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively and with the help of the community and NeHC staff. When our goals differ dramatically, we encourage the creation of new uploaded documents, new discussions, new wiki pages, and if deemed necessary, the creation of new groups.  Our goal here is to always include others in contributing to the discussion.
• We ask for help when we need it. Nobody knows everything but many NeHC stakeholders are extremely knowledgeable about a variety of health IT and health information exchange topics. Asking questions is encouraged. Those who are answering questions should be responsive and helpful. However, when asking a question, care must be taken to do so in an appropriate forum.
• Step down considerately. The activity and contributions of members of every project or collaborative group effort ebb and flow. When somebody leaves or significantly disengages from a group or project, in whole or in part, we ask that they do so in a way that minimizes disruption. This means they should tell people they are leaving and take the proper steps to ensure that others can pick up where they left off.

Any questions or concerns about the National eHealth Collaborative Code of Conduct should be directed to NeHC’s CEO Kate Berry.