ASCRS Privacy Policy
Your privacy is important to us. The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (“ASCRS,” “we,” or “us”) understands your concerns with regard to how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will use and share information about you carefully and sensibly. This Privacy Policy describes what information we collect about you, how we collect it, how we use it, with whom we may share it, and what choices you have regarding it. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and is a part of the Terms of Use of our Web site (the “Site”). We encourage you to become familiar with this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. By accessing and using the Site, you agree that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy and that you accept and consent to the privacy practices (and any uses and disclosures of information about you) that are described in this Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected at this Site. It does not apply to any other websites. We are not responsible for, and this Privacy Policy does not apply to, the privacy practices of those other websites. We encourage you to seek out and read the privacy policy of each website that you visit.
1. What information do we collect, and how do we collect it?
We and our third party service providers (“Contractors”) may collect certain identifying information from or about you in connection with your use of or submissions to the Site, including, but not limited to, your name, title, street address, company, telephone and fax numbers, email addresses, and credit card information (together, “Collected Information”). In addition, we and our Contractors may retain the content of, and metadata regarding, any correspondence you may have with us or our representatives, regardless of the mode of communication by which such correspondence was made. This information helps us to improve the Site and the online content, materials, and services that we make available on the Site, and to more effectively and efficiently respond to both current and future inquiries.
As with many other websites, the Web servers used to operate the Site may collect certain data pertaining to you and the equipment and communications method that you use to access the Internet and our Site. For security reasons and to confirm the integrity of the Site, we and our Contractors may combine components of these data with Collected Information, which may identify you. Unless otherwise described in this Privacy Policy or our Terms of Use, such identifying information will be used solely for our business purposes. In addition, the information we and our Contractors collect may reveal such things as the Internet protocol (“IP”) address assigned to your computer, specific pages that you accessed on the Site or prior to visiting the Site, and the length of time you spent at the Site. We and our Contractors may use this information to help administer the Site and the servers that provide the Site, generate statistical information, monitor and analyze Site traffic and usage patterns, and improve the Site’s content and content delivery, including any online content, materials, and services that we describe or make available on the Site.
In addition, our Site may send one or more “cookies” to your computer to improve the utility of the Site by storing user preferences and tracking user trends. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. Please note that you may not be able to access the full functionality of our Site if cookies are disabled on your browser.
To better understand our users, we have enabled Google Analytics Advertising Features including Demographics and Interest reporting in addition to data collected through a standard Google Analytics implementation. If you would prefer that your demographics and interests not be collected by Google Analytics, you may opt out.
2. How will we use the information you provide to us?
In addition to the uses described above or in our Terms of Use, we and our Contractors may use the information that we collect from or about you to analyze and improve the content, materials, and services that we make available on the Site, to notify you of changes made to the Site, to evaluate user needs and customize the Site content delivered to you according to those needs, to send you promotional materials that you request from us, and for other legitimate and lawful business purposes. If you contact us for support or assistance, we may use information about you or your system that you provide or that we collect for purposes such as verifying whether your system meets the minimum requirements needed to use the Site and our various services.
We and our Contractors may store Collected Information for as long as needed for the purposes indicated in this Privacy Policy, which may be indefinitely. We and our Contractors may store Collected Information in the United States, or we may transfer it to other countries.
3. With whom do we share the information we collect?
We may share Collected Information with our Contractors and affiliates in order to provide services to you, and for other lawful business reasons.
We may decide from time to time to utilize a number of business and marketing partners in delivering the content, materials, and services available on or through the Site to you. We may share Collected Information with these business and marketing partners for any lawful purpose, including to communicate with you or to fulfill your requests for our services. We and our Contractors may also produce reports on Site traffic or usage patterns and share these reports with our business and marketing partners and others.
We may disclose Collected Information to the proper authorities if we become subject to a subpoena or court order or if we are otherwise legally required to disclose such information. We may also use and disclose information about you to establish or exercise our legal rights, to enforce the Terms of Use, to assert and defend against legal claims, or if we believe such disclosure is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take other action regarding actual or suspected illegal or fraudulent activities or potential threats to the physical safety or well-being of any person.
4. What choices do you have?
When corresponding with ASCRS or our representatives, or when making a request for information or otherwise interacting with us or others through the Site, you choose what information to supply, what questions or comments to submit, whether you wish to receive further information, and by what method of communication such information should be delivered. Please take care to share only such information as is needed or that you believe is appropriate. You are under no obligation to provide us with personally identifiable information, but without it we may not be able to provide you the products or services you request. You may contact us as indicated below if at any time you would like to ask us about our data collection practices and our information security policy.
5. Collected Information.
ASCRS and our Contractors cannot guarantee that the storage and communication of Collected Information will be secure. Hence, we do not guarantee that information that you transmit or otherwise supply to us, or any communications conducted on or through the Site, is or will be secure. If you become aware of any breach of Site security, this Privacy Policy, or the Terms of Use, please notify us immediately.
6. We may change this Notice.
From time to time, we may change our privacy practices, and this Privacy Policy, because of changes in relevant and applicable legal or regulatory requirements, our business practices, or in our attempts to better serve your needs and those of our other members and visitors. Notice of such changes to our privacy practices will be given in the manner described in the Terms of Use, and a revised Privacy Policy will be posted on the Site.
7. Any questions? Please contact us at:
American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
One Parkview Plaza, Suite 800
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Phone: (847) 686-2236
Email: ascrs@fascrs.org
Acknowledgement
BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND CONSENT TO OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES AND TO THE USES AND DISCLOSURES OF INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU, AND YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF USE APPLICABLE TO YOU.
Approved by the ASCRS Executive Council: January 24, 2017