ACP Privacy Policy
Purpose
To inform web site visitors of ACP's efforts to protect the privacy of information collected at College web sites. Please note that some of the links on College web sites connect to other web sites. Once you leave any ACP web site and enter another web site (whether through an advertisement, co-brand, service, or content link), be aware that any information you disclose on or through those sites is not subject to this privacy policy. ACP does not endorse and is not responsible for the privacy practices of any third party web sites to which we may link. You acknowledge that such other web site locations are not under the control of ACP and agree that ACP shall not be responsible for any information or other links found at any linked site. ACP provides such links only as a convenience to you and has not tested any software or verified any information disclosed on or through such sites. You should always review the privacy policy for those sites to understand how they treat your personal information. Within College web sites, this privacy policy applies only to the information described below.
Policy
The American College of Physicians is committed to protecting the privacy of its members and customers. This document describes the information we collect from our web site and how we use it.
Information collected when you visit ACP web sites
When you view pages and graphics on our web sites, the following information is recorded in a log file:
- The time and date of your request
- The internet address of your computer
- The browser and operating system you are using
- The page which you are viewing
- The previous page that you visited (the referrer)
If you have logged into a password-protected part of our web site, we also record your user name.
Cookies
ACP web sites send all visitors a cookie (small computer file) that contains a unique serial number. Each time our web server receives a request for a page, it checks to see if the cookie is present-this enables us to determine how much of our traffic is from repeat visitors.
Additional cookies may be sent by College web servers to facilitate interaction between your web browser and the College's web servers. For example, the Annual Session Day Planner uses cookies to keep track of which courses you have added to your schedule. The Shopping Cart uses cookies to keep track of items to be included in your order.
You may use the College's web sites without accepting cookies. The "Help" function in your web browser explains how to manage cookies while using the Internet. Please note, however, that some services, such as the Annual Session Day Planner and the Shopping Cart, will not work if your browser will not accept cookies.
ACP uses cookies exclusively to make its web sites easier and faster to use. The College does not use cookies to monitor the use of its web sites by individual users.
Personal information
Personal information is information that can be used to identify or contact you. Registration for ACP web sites is open only to College members and subscribers to College journals or online products; it requires only the provision of a valid member or customer number and, for verification purposes, personal information already contained in College member or customer records, such as name or birth date. New personal information is not collected as part of the registration process. In the course of using College web sites, however, you may be asked to provide personal information in order to purchase a product, participate in a College activity, or otherwise interact with ACP. This information will not be shared with other organizations as the result of your use of a College web site unless the form used for collecting it explicitly states that it will be shared with another organization.
Important note for College members: ACP maintains a membership database independent of its web operations. The information in this database is drawn from membership applications, dues payment forms, product orders and other transactions between the College and its members. Using this database, the College occasionally shares member data with other organizations. You may instruct the College not to share your personal information by contacting Customer Service at 1-800-523-1546 or custserv@acponline.org. In rare instances, personal information may be disclosed for legal or other reasons; these circumstances are noted at the end of this document.
The College will not share your e-mail address with any other organization. From time to time, the College may send you e-mail regarding items of interest to the membership, including urgent health matters.
How information is used
We use the information noted above to facilitate effective operation of College web sites, to improve the design and performance of our products, and to measure usage by members. We also review use of our site by individual users if a user's account is associated with 1) attempts to violate the security of ACP computer networks, 2) activity that degrades the performance of College web sites, or 3) activity that may be related to copyright violation.
Information we record is collected into reports that enable us to monitor usage and security. Usage statistics are distributed within the College. They may be shared with advertisers for the purpose of showing them how many hits their ads have received. We do not release any information that would allow identification of individual users to outside companies.
Security and e-commerce
Our secure server enables you to transmit a credit card number to us with confidence. Our secure server certificate is issued by VeriSign. We do not store your credit card number after your transaction has been processed.
If you have a question about our privacy policy, send e-mail to interpub@acponline.org.
Disclosure of personal information contained in member and customer records
Disclosure required by law or emergency circumstances -
Personal information is information that can be used to identify or contact you. ACP may release personal information to third parties: (1) to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; or (2) in special cases, such as a physical threat to you or others. In the event that we are legally compelled to disclose your personal information to a third party, we will notify you unless doing so would violate the law or court order.
Disclosure in the context of mergers and acquisitions -
ACP may disclose personal information to an organization with which it merges, or which acquires ACP or substantially all of its assets. Any personal information provided to such organization will be provided subject to that organization taking reasonable steps to keep personal information private.
Disclosure to ACP operations and maintenance contractors -
ACP operations and maintenance contractors sometimes have limited access to your personal information in the course of providing products or services to ACP. Access to your personal information by these contractors is limited to the information reasonably necessary in order for the contractor to perform its limited function for ACP. We also contractually require that our operations and maintenance contractors 1) protect the privacy of your personal information, and 2) not use or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than providing us with products and services.
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