Hospital Privacy Policy

O’CONNOR HOSPITAL PRIVACY POLICY
Your privacy is important to O’Connor Hospital (“O’Connor”), and O’Connor is committed to maintaining the privacy of personally identifiable information. O’Connor has developed this privacy policy to inform you of its policy about collecting and using such information on its Web site.

I. Information O’Connor gathers
O’Connor collects and uses certain information on its Web site. This information includes your IP address, information about your browser (i.e., whether you are using Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.), and information about your Internet Service Provider (i.e., AOL, PacBell). An IP address (Internet Protocol Address) is a unique number that is used to represent every single computer in a network. All computers on the Internet have a unique IP address. None of the foregoing information will be used by O’Connor in any way, or in connection with any other information, to identify you personally.

O’Connor may collect information about you through various on-line forms that you may voluntarily complete. Completion of these forms is entirely optional. If you supply any personally identifiable information to us on these forms (e.g. name/address/e-mail address), O’Connor will not use this information to contact you unless you have specifically stated that we may do so.

II. How the information is used
O’Connor uses the statistical information gathered about you and all of its users for internal statistical purposes only, e.g., to track where users go on the Web site. This information is not linked to specifically identifiable individuals. This type of information will be used to aid O’Connor in adding information to its Web site that will be useful for site users and that will improve the performance of our Web site.

Any personally identifiable information which you voluntarily and knowingly submit to O’Connor will be used, with your permission, to send you health information and health updates, both general information and information focused on specific health matters, such as, for example, high blood pressure. Your personally identifiable information may also be used to send you timely appointment reminders for specific health-related tests, such as pap smears. Submission by you of any personally identifiable health information is completely voluntary.

III. With whom information is shared
O’Connor is the sole owner and user of all information collected on the Web site. O’Connor does not sell, give, or disclose the information (statistical or personal) gathered on the Web site to any third party.

IV. Cookies
A cookie is a small data file automatically and without notice written on your hard drive when you visit certain Web sites. A cookie allows the Web site to recognize you each time you visit the Web site and to personalize the Web site for you. The only personal information a cookie can contain is information you voluntarily supply yourself on the Web site. A cookie cannot read data off your hard drive or read cookie files created by other Web sites. Cookies are used widespread on the Internet.

O’Connor does not use cookies on the public portion of its Web site. No cookies will be written to your hard drive when you visit this Web site. However, O’Connor does use cookies on the secure portion of its Web site, which can be accessed only by authorized O’Connor staff.

V. Security measures
O’Connor takes reasonable precautions to protect your personally identifiable information. When users submit personally identifiable information, it is protected both on-line and off-line.

All user electronic information is protected behind a firewall, and the data input on our Web site is also encrypted. O’Connor also protects user information off-line. Only employees who need the information to perform a task are granted access to personally identifiable information. O’Connor employees must use password-protected screen-savers when they leave their desk. When they return, they must re-enter their password to re-gain access to your information. Furthermore, all employees are trained on O’Connor’ privacy and security practices. Finally, the servers we use to store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment behind locked doors, and only authorized individuals have access to the servers.

VI. Correcting and updating information
If, at any time, a correction needs to be made to existing personal information that you have voluntarily provided to the Web site, users may email the webmaster at Webmaster. and request that the information be changed or deleted.

VII. Notification of Changes
O’Connor will use the information collected from you in accordance with the privacy policy in effect when the information was collected. However, O’Connor may change its privacy policy, for example, in light of new technology or a change in applicable law. If O’Connor decides to change the type of information it collects, how we use it, or under what circumstances, if any, we may disclose it, we will post these changes on our homepage so that our users will be aware of these changes. Users will have 30 days after we post the change within which to decide whether or not O’Connor may use their information in accordance with the new policy. If a user does not wish O’Connor to use his or her information in accordance with the new policy, the user may e-mail O’Connor Webmaster and let us know. O’Connor will refrain from using the information in accordance with the new policy and will use the information only in accordance with the policy in effect at the time the information was collected. If you do not let us know within 30 days that you object to the new policy, you will be deemed to have consented and agreed to the new policy.

VIII. Links to Third Party Sites.
Our Web site contains links to third party Web sites. Once you leave our Web site, our privacy policy no longer controls, and you will be subject to the privacy policies, if any, of the third party Web site to which you have linked. We are not responsible for the privacy of your information once you leave our Web site.

Please see our Terms and Conditions of Use for other terms and conditions governing your access to and use of our Web site.