Privacy Policy
The Health Activist Network (www.healthactivistnetwork.org ) (The Health Activist Network) is a joint collaboration between the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) and the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI). JHF and PRHI (collectively referred to hereinafter as “we” and “our” and “us”) strongly believe in protecting data and we have a history of being a leader in terms of health data privacy. We also believe that users of The Health Activist Network have the right to know how their personal information may be used or disclosed. As such, we have created this Privacy Policy which indicates what information we collect, what we might do with it, and what controls you as a user of The Health Activist Network may have over certain components of that information. We encourage you to carefully read over this policy and reach out to us at info@prhi.org if you have any questions or concerns. Unless explicitly indicated, this Privacy Policy applies to your use of The Health Activist Network. Your use of The Health Activist Network means you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
“Information” means personally identifiable information, like your name, address, email address, phone number, and IP address.
This Privacy Policy applies to www.healthactivistnetwork.org . This policy does not apply to any site linked to/from The Health Activist Network, nor to any other website on the internet. It is your responsibility to obtain and evaluate the privacy polices of these sites.
Gathering of Information
Registration
Contributing Content to The Health Activist Network
Interactive Tools
Site Usage Statistics and Cookies
Access to Information
Third Parties/Links
Security
Viewing and Updating Your Information
Gathering of Information
We collect Information and other data from users in different ways and on many different parts of The Health Activist Network including but not limited to: when you sign up for The Health Activist Network, when you participate in a Community, when you comment on content; when you use the search function; when you rate content on the site; when you enroll in a program or educational offering; or when you are just perusing the site and reading content.
Registration
JHF and PRHI collect information from The Health Activist Network users upon registration. This Information may be updated by you at any time. We will not disclose the Information you submit when you register except as provided in this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Use, or as required by law.
By registering, you agree that we may make certain Information (“Profile Information”) visible to other users of The Health Activist Network, including, but not limited to, when they search for users, when you contribute content to The Health Activist Network, and when you use or participate in certain site features and tools, including but not limited to Communities.
Additionally, although we do not provide your supplied email address to other users, we may send you email updates and notices concerning new content posted to the The Health Activist Network and/or products or services that might be of interest to you. The information you supply at registration (or update subsequently) allows us to better understand you, your needs, your organization, and your interests, which enable us to better personalize the content that we create.
Contributing Content to The Health Activist Network
We encourage your participation through submitting content and participating in The Health Activist Network interactive functionality including discussion boards, search features, interactive tools, rating content, sharing audio and video content, improvement stories, resources, and tools. If you contribute any content to The Health Activist Network, including but not limited to documents, tools, and other resources, or if you comment on or rate content on the site, or otherwise post content to The Health Activist Network, you agree to allow us to make your Profile Information publicly available on The Health Activist Network in connection with your activity. You also agree to allow us to use your submitted content and Profile Information (including your profile picture) for ancillary purposes, including but not limited to our newsletters and publications.
Please remember that the text you submit to The Health Activist Network in a discussion board or as a comment on content is immediately viewable on the site by other The Health Activist Network users who have access to the area to which you submitted the content.
You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose any confidential/sensitive Information on The Health Activist Network. We recommend that you never give out your address, phone number, date of birth or social security number. You are prohibited from providing Information about an organization, a patient, or another person or submit other content if you do not have the express authority or permission to share that Information publicly. For example, you are expressly prohibited from sharing information that constitutes Protected Health Information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and its progeny.
Interactive Tools
The Health Activist Network contains various interactive tools and features that empower and enable users to learn new skills and information. Any data/information you input and/or generate through using these interactive tools and features will not be shared with other users and will not be disclosed by us. If, however, you decide to disclose such information/outputs, you are welcome to do so in accordance with the other provisions of this Privacy Policy and the The Health Activist Network Terms of Use.
Site Usage Statistics and Cookies
When visiting The Health Activist Network, your browser automatically sends certain data to the The Health Activist Network hosting server identifying the Internet protocol (“IP”) address of your computer (or the proxy server you use to access the World Wide Web), your computer or mobile device operating system and the browser you are using, your Internet Service Provider or mobile carrier, the page you last visited, the page you are currently visiting, and the next page you navigate to. As a means of monitoring the usage of The Health Activist Network for quality improvement, we catalog this Information on everyone who accesses The Health Activist Network. We may also track and log the search terms used in search forms. In order to assist in these efforts, we make use of a standard feature of browser software called a "cookie" (including flash cookies) that helps us recognize when each unique user visits The Health Activist Network. We store your email address in a cookie file and place the file on the hard drive of your computer. Most browsers accept cookies. However, if you wish, you can set your browser to refuse cookies. If you set your browser to refuse cookies, you will need to login to the site each time you visit, and certain features may not work correctly.
To increase the effectiveness of The Health Activist Network and tailor your experience of The Health Activist Network, we may also include a file, called a web beacon, within The Health Activist Network. These web beacons allow us to conduct anonymized, aggregated auditing, research and reporting on use of us.
Access to Information
The employees, third-party consultants, interns, and volunteers of JHF and PRHI may from time-to-time have access to The Health Activist Network user information and other data that users submit or that we collect regarding users’ use of The Health Activist Network on an as-needed basis as a part of their respective obligations to JHF and PRHI. We use all of this Information and data to administer and improve the operations of The Health Activist Network. Your information will never be sold or transmitted for a commercial purpose.
Anonymous aggregate-level Information or data on visitors to our site and how the site is being used, including the pages users are viewing, will also be logged.. We may share aggregate Information or data with market analysts, business partners, sponsors, and any other third parties.
We may also share any Information as required by law or to cooperate with legal authorities in a criminal investigation.
Third Parties/Links
The Health Activist Network links to other sites. Some of these links have been vetted and created by our staff, while other links are created by other users and have not been vetted by our staff. We do not and cannot ensure the accuracy or safety of any website linked to from The Health Activist Network. If you have any concerns regarding the security or privacy of any site linked to from The Health Activist Network, we encourage you to review their privacy policies or contact the site’s owner directly. JHF and PRHI are not responsible for the privacy practices, data collection, security or content of other websites. We treat any Information we receive from third parties as carefully as do we with the Information users provide to us directly and we encourage you to do the same.
Security
The Health Activist Network uses a variety of technical and physical safeguards to protect the information stored on the site, including but not limited to industry-standard SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption technology and a secure server. Yet no security system is perfect. As such, we cannot guarantee the security of our databases, nor can we guarantee that the Information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted to us while in transmission over the Internet.
In an effort to further protect user information stored on The Health Activist Network, we encourage The Health Activist Network users to engage in information privacy best practices. For example, keep your password private and do not share it with anyone.
Viewing and Updating Your Information
You may view and correct your Information by accessing the "Profile" link on the footer of the website. Please note that you must login with your private user name and password to access and modify your Profile.
By using The Health Activist Network, you consent to the collection and use of your Information as we have outlined in this Privacy Policy and in our Terms of Use, which are incorporated by reference. If you do not agree to our policy, you may not use The Health Activist Network and you must discontinue your use of the site immediately. We may change our policies at any time and without prior notice. If we decide to change this Privacy Policy, we will post the changes to The Health Activist Network so that users may be aware of our actions. Your continued use of The Health Activist Network following a posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will mean that you accept those changes.