Website Privacy Policy
Last updated: November 20, 2024
Stanford Health Care respects your right to privacy. This privacy policy discloses how we gather, use and disclose information about you when you access or use our website located at https://stanfordhealthcare.org or other websites owned by Stanford Health Care (the “Site”).
This Privacy Policy describes our information practices with respect to the Site and applies to data you provide through the Site. This Privacy Policy is in addition to, and does not replace, our Notice of Privacy Practices, which explains how we use and disclose our patients’ protected health information (“PHI”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). To the extent of a conflict between the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Notice of Privacy Practices with respect to PHI, the Notice of Privacy Practices will control how we use and disclose your PHI.
Please review this Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into and made part of our Terms of Use. By accessing or using the Site, you consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. If you have questions about our Privacy Policy or our Terms of Use, please contact us at web@stanfordhealthcare.org. If you do not agree to our Privacy Policy or Terms of Use, you may not use the Site.
What Information Does Stanford Health Care Collect?
Information You Give Us
We collect information you provide directly to us. The personal information we collect may include, but is not limited to, full name, street address, email address, telephone number, birth date or age, and other information that you provide to us. We may also collect other personal information that will be identified on applicable page(s) of this site.
Information We Collect Automatically When You Use Our Website
During your visits to our Site, we may automatically collect the following information:
- Log Information. We may automatically collect or allow other providers to collect information about your use of our Site or other websites including your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, login information, demographic information (e.g., age or gender), your device’s model and manufacturer, location information, MAC address, web browser, and operating system, performance issues, and your activity on the Site.
- Visit Information. When you visit the Site, we may automatically collect information about your visits, including the URL, pages viewed, links clicked, access times, page response times, length of visits to certain pages, methods used to browse away from the page, domain names, and other statistical data involving the use of our Site. We may also collect information about you such as your communication preferences.
We may also collect information about you from other sources to optimize our engagement with you; however, we treat all your personally identifiable information as confidential, and we secure it in accordance with this policy.
How Does Stanford Health Care Use Information?
Stanford Health Care uses the information about you for various purposes, including to:
- Provide the Site, including website management and administration and to improve the content and overall performance of our Site;
- Distribute email newsletters, publications or press releases;
- Process requests to unsubscribe from email newsletters, publications or press releases;
- Print and deliver a greeting card to a patient with information you may submit to the Site;
- Monitor and analyze trends, usage and activities in connection with our Site;
- Detect, investigate and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities and protect the rights and property of Stanford Health Care and others; and
- Conduct any other purpose described at the time the information was collected.
Please note, our use of your PHI is governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices.
How Does Stanford Health Care Share Information?
We do not share personally identifiable information with anyone other than those who provide support for the operations of Stanford Health Care. We do not sell your personally identifiable information.
Children’s Privacy
Stanford Health Care is committed to children’s privacy. Please be aware that our Site is not intended for or designed to attract children. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13. If you are under 13, do not send your information to us unless you are registered as an emancipated minor or a minor receiving services you are legally allowed to receive without parental consent. If we learn that we have improperly collected personal information from a person under age 13, we will delete the information. If you believe that we may improperly have information from or about a person under the age of 13, please contact us at web@stanfordhealthcare.org.
How Your Information is Protected
Stanford Health Care uses industry-standard tools to secure our Site. We store personal information data with Transport Layer Security (TLS)/Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate technology and encryption to protect information you may submit on our Site. Using a variety of physical, administrative and technical measures, we will take all reasonable steps to protect your privacy in accordance with the applicable U.S. data protection laws. You acknowledge that the laws of the United States may not protect your privacy to the same extent as the laws in the country from which you are accessing the Site.
Stanford Health Care does not share your personal information with anyone besides our third-party service providers, who have separate agreements with us.
Non-identifiable information in our aggregate database will not be deleted. We maintain backup files as a protection against natural disasters, equipment failures, or other disruptions. Backup files lower the risk of losing valuable data. Removing a record from our main files does not remove that record from any backup systems. It may take up to six months before all information in a backup record is completely erased through the normal recycling of backup files. In the meantime, backup records receive the same privacy and security protections as our other records.
Your Choices
Newsletters
Upon your request, we may send you information about Stanford Health Care via email. You may unsubscribe from receiving marketing or other commercial emails from us by following the instructions included in the email. However, even if you opt-out of receiving such communications, we retain the right to send you non-marketing communications (such as important transaction information or changes in Site terms).
Fundraising
Consistent with our Notice of Privacy Practices, as part of fundraising activities, Stanford Health Care or the Stanford University Office of Medical Development may contact you to make you aware of giving opportunities for Stanford Medicine. Please see the email for information on how to opt out of fundraising communications.
How We Use Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
We may use "cookies” or web beacons to make our sites and services more useful to you. Cookies are small data files placed on the computer hard drives of users of our sites. Cookies help us to tailor our sites to be more helpful and efficient for you. We may also use cookies for the marketing purposes of our Site. The cookie consists of a unique identifier that does not contain information about you or your health history. We use two types of cookies:
- Session cookies help customize your experience on our site. Session cookies are temporary, and expire after the session ends and you close your browser or app.
- Persistent cookies remain on your hard drive after you exit from our website.
You may have software on your computer that will allow you to decline or deactivate cookies and beacons. If you do so, some features of the Site may not work properly for you. For instructions on how to remove cookies from your hard drive, go to your browser's website for detailed instructions. Further information regarding cookies may be available on other websites or from your Internet service provider.
Stanford Health Care is Not Responsible for Links to or From Other Sites
This Site may contain links to other websites, and other websites may provide links to this Site. These links are provided for your convenience only. Stanford Health Care does not control these other sites and assumes no liability or responsibility for them, including any content or services provided to you by such websites. You should not consider any link to or from another website as an endorsement of that website by Stanford Health Care.
Do Not Track Signals
This Site does not respond to Do Not Track signals. Currently, there is no universally accepted technological or regulatory standard for recognizing or honoring Do Not Track signals. Once such technology is created and has received applicable regulatory approval, we will consider (a) whether it is possible; and (b) if so, how it can be incorporated within our Site in the future.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our programs and practices. The updated Privacy Policy is effective when posted on this Site. Our use of personal information is subject to the then-current version of the Privacy Policy. Your use and continued use of Stanford Health Care’s Site reflects your agreement to this Privacy Policy and any modifications of the policy made by Stanford Health Care.
How to Contact Us
If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you can contact us:
Stanford Health Care
Attention: Web Center
300 Pasteur Drive
Palo Alto, CA 94304-5547
web@stanfordhealthcare.org