Terms & Conditions

Company Overview & Governing Entity

The website Meridian Health Insights ("Meridian", "we", "us", "our") is a medical and healthcare market research platform operated, managed, and governed by Fazco Healthcare, a healthcare research and services enterprise registered in India.

Fazco Healthcare holds full operational, financial, and legal responsibility for all services offered under the Meridian brand, including qualitative research, quantitative research, patient insight studies, and healthcare professional (HCP) research services.

By engaging with Meridian's services, you acknowledge that you are entering into a legal agreement with Fazco Healthcare as the contracting party.

Definitions

• "Client" — Any individual, company, or organisation that engages Meridian / Fazco Healthcare for research services.
• "Vendor" — Any third-party panel provider, freelance researcher, recruiter, or field agent engaged by Fazco Healthcare to execute study components.
• "Project" — A defined research engagement agreed upon between the Client and Fazco Healthcare via a signed proposal, purchase order, or written agreement.
• "Study Completion" — The point at which all agreed fieldwork, data collection, and deliverables have been submitted to the Client for review.
• "Client Approval" — Written confirmation from the Client (email accepted) that the delivered study meets the agreed scope and quality standards.
• "TAT" (Turnaround Time) — The period within which payment must be made from the date of invoice issuance.

Scope of Services

Fazco Healthcare, operating under the Meridian brand, provides the following research services to international and domestic clients:

• Qualitative research — in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), ethnographic studies
• Quantitative research — online surveys (CAWI), telephone interviews (CATI), face-to-face interviews (CAPI)
• Patient insight studies — treatment journey mapping, patient-reported outcomes, adherence research
• HCP & physician research — prescribing behaviour, concept testing, KOL interviews
• Data analysis, reporting, and insight delivery

The specific scope, methodology, sample size, and deliverables for each engagement shall be defined in a written project proposal or statement of work (SOW) agreed upon by both parties prior to project commencement.

Client Payment Terms

All payment obligations for Clients engaging Fazco Healthcare / Meridian are governed by the following terms:

Invoices shall be issued in the agreed currency (INR, USD, GBP, EUR, or AUD) as specified in the project proposal. All applicable taxes, including GST where applicable, shall be added to the invoice amount.

Failure to make payment within the 60-day TAT may result in suspension of ongoing services, withholding of deliverables, or interest charges at 1.5% per month on the outstanding balance, at Fazco Healthcare's discretion.

Advance Payment & Project Commencement

No project shall commence — including study design, recruitment, fieldwork, or any vendor engagement — until the 50% advance payment has been received and cleared by Fazco Healthcare.

This policy exists to protect both parties: it ensures commitment from the Client and allows Fazco Healthcare to engage vendors, allocate resources, and initiate fieldwork with confidence.

• The advance is calculated as 50% of the total agreed project value as stated in the signed proposal or purchase order.
• Upon receipt of the advance, Fazco Healthcare will issue a confirmation of project commencement within 2 business days.
• The advance is non-refundable once fieldwork or recruitment has commenced, except in cases of project cancellation initiated by Fazco Healthcare.

Vendor Payment Terms

Fazco Healthcare engages third-party vendors — including panel providers, field researchers, recruiters, and specialist interviewers — to execute components of research projects on behalf of Clients.

Specifically, vendor payments are governed by the following conditions:

• Payment to vendors shall only be released after the Client has formally approved the completed study (written confirmation via email is accepted as approval).
• Fazco Healthcare shall not be liable to vendors for payment delays caused by delayed Client approval, Client disputes, or non-payment by the Client.
• Vendors must submit accurate invoices within 7 business days of study completion to be eligible for timely payment.
• Fazco Healthcare will process approved vendor payments within 30 days of receiving Client Approval and the vendor's invoice.
• Any quality disputes raised by the Client that relate to vendor deliverables may result in partial or conditional vendor payment pending resolution.

Vendors engaged by Fazco Healthcare are bound by separate Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and vendor agreements and are not in direct contractual relationship with the Client.

Project Turnaround & Delivery

Project timelines, including fieldwork duration, data processing, and final delivery, shall be agreed in writing in the project proposal prior to commencement. Standard turnaround timelines are indicative and may vary based on study complexity, sample size, respondent availability, and geographic scope.

• Fazco Healthcare shall notify the Client in writing if any delay to the agreed timeline is anticipated, with a revised delivery date.
• Delays caused by Client-side factors — including late approval of screeners, discussion guides, or questionnaires — shall not constitute a breach by Fazco Healthcare and may result in timeline extension.
• Final deliverables shall be submitted via email or agreed secure file transfer. The Client has 7 business days from delivery to raise material objections. Silence after 7 business days constitutes deemed approval.

Cancellation & Refund Policy

• Cancellation before commencement: If the Client cancels the project before fieldwork begins and before vendor engagement, the full advance payment will be refunded minus any administrative costs incurred.
• Cancellation after commencement: If the Client cancels after fieldwork or recruitment has begun, the 50% advance is non-refundable. The Client may be liable for additional costs incurred up to the point of cancellation.
• Cancellation by Fazco Healthcare: In the rare event that Fazco Healthcare is unable to deliver a project, a full refund of the advance payment will be issued within 14 business days.

Confidentiality & Data Protection

Fazco Healthcare treats all Client information, study briefs, research data, and respondent data as strictly confidential. We operate in compliance with applicable data protection regulations, including GDPR for EU/UK clients and India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) 2023.

• All respondent data is anonymised or pseudonymised before delivery to the Client.
• Fazco Healthcare will not share, sell, or transfer Client data or study data to any third party without written consent.
• Both parties may be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) prior to project commencement, particularly for sensitive therapeutic areas or proprietary research objectives.

For full details, refer to our Compliance & Data Protection page.

Intellectual Property

Upon receipt of final payment in full, all research deliverables, reports, datasets, and findings produced under a project are the intellectual property of the Client.

Fazco Healthcare retains the right to use anonymised, aggregated, non-identifiable insights for internal benchmarking and capability development, unless the Client explicitly requests otherwise in writing.

All proprietary methodologies, tools, templates, and processes used by Fazco Healthcare remain the intellectual property of Fazco Healthcare and are not transferred to the Client.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Fazco Healthcare's total liability to the Client for any claim arising out of or related to a project shall not exceed the total fees paid by the Client for that specific project.

Fazco Healthcare shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of revenue, loss of data, or business interruption, arising from the use of or reliance on research deliverables.

Research findings are provided for informational and decision-support purposes. Strategic or regulatory decisions made by the Client based on research outputs are the sole responsibility of the Client.

Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms & Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these terms shall first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith negotiation between the parties within 30 days of written notice of a dispute.

If the dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation, it shall be referred to binding arbitration in New York, NY, in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The language of arbitration shall be English.

Amendments

Fazco Healthcare reserves the right to update or amend these Terms & Conditions at any time. Clients will be notified of material changes via email or notice on the Meridian website. Continued engagement with Meridian services after notification of changes constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

The version and effective date at the top of this document indicate the current applicable version.

Contact

For any questions, concerns, or formal notices relating to these Terms & Conditions, please contact Fazco Healthcare at: