At Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, your privacy is important. That's why we're making this "Pledge of Trust," which outlines the information gathering and dissemination practices we follow and your rights as a user of our Web site.
What Information We Collect
When you visit our Web site, we may collect two types of information: personal information you provide if you become a member and Web site-use data that is automatically collected as you browse our site.
Personal Information You Choose to Provide
If you choose to register as a member, you will be asked to provide your name, address, e-mail address (under "contact information") and other optional information, such as your age. Additionally, if you correspond with us by e-mail, we may also save the contents of your messages, as well as your e-mail address and our replies to your inquiries. Your answers to any surveys or questionnaires on our Web site might be retained too, so that we can adjust the information we provide or improve our services for you.
Web Site-Use Information
Along with the information you choose to provide us with, our Web site automatically collects information as you browse. We utilize both "cookies" and Web server logs to collect data about how our site is being accessed and used. This information is gathered through cookies, and Web server logs may include the name of the domain from which you access the Internet, the date and time you access our site, the pages you view, how much time you spend at our Web site and, if you linked to our Web site directly from another Web site, the Internet address of the Web site that connected to ours. In this way, we are able to determine how many of our patients and families we are serving through our Web site and what information is of most interest or use to you.
How We Use Your Personal Information
We use your contact information to respond to your questions or to send you material and information you request, as well as to help us determine ways to restructure the Web site so it better serves you.
We may also use it to notify you of changes to our Website or new services we think you may be interested in. You may elect not to receive these communications, either when you initially register as a member with our site or at any time thereafter.
We also use your website information in order to help identify problems with our Web site. We may use all information we collect to analyze statistical use patterns and demographic data, including where our visitors come from and what demographic characteristics they have and to improve our Website to better serve our customers.
Disclosing Your Personal Information to Others
We may share your personal information among our affiliates as necessary to provide you with the information and services you requested. Except in the limited circumstances listed, we do not provide unaffiliated third parties with personal information about our Web site visitors.
These circumstances may include:
- We may disclose information about you if and when we believe it is necessary to comply with any law, rule, or court order or subpoena; to enforce our legal rights or the rules of this Web site; or to protect our business, property and operations.
- We may prepare and keep statistical records and other data about you and users of our site, but we do it in a way that does not identify you or any other user personally.
- We may hire third parties to help us collect and analyze such data, and we may share such statistical data with third parties. Again, such statistical data will not specifically identify you or any other user.
Use of Cookies
"Cookies" are small bits of information generated by our web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. Cookies can "remember" what information a user accesses on a Web page to simplify subsequent visits by the same user.
We use cookies to recognize you as a repeat visitor, to store your log-in ID and to provide certain features that make your use of our Web site more efficient.
These cookies are not required to use the Web site in any manner and are only an option to make your browsing easier. If you would not like to receive cookies, you may decline by adjusting the browser settings on your computer.
User Login
If you register at our site and select a password, you must remember to keep your log-in and password a secret. If you share those with others, or store them in or around your computer in a way that others may easily access them, then your personal information may also be accessible to them without your knowledge or authorization.
We have no control over your use of your log-in ID and password, and we cannot tell if someone is using them without your permission. As such, we can only advise you to please exercise common sense and practical judgment to protect your privacy. You should change your password periodically just for safety, and if you think somebody has learned your password, you should change it immediately.
It is very important to note that no one at Froedtert & the Medical College will ever ask you for your password.
Links to Other Sites
On our Web site, we may create links to other Web sites that we think may be of interest to you or provide further information. Please note these are only suggestions, and we do not endorse any other Web sites.
We will tell you when you are leaving our Web site and whether we are affiliated with any other Web site to which we provide links. We feel it is important to make this distinction as we have not reviewed the privacy policies of any Web sites we link to our Web site, and you should exercise care when visiting any other Web site. We would like to hear from you if you find any Web sites linked to ours objectionable.
Your Consent and Permission
By using our Web site, you consent to our collection and use of your personal information as described in the Privacy section of the website. We want to make every effort to keep you informed and aware of how we are protecting your privacy and the ways in which your personal information is used.
Thus, if we change our privacy policy and procedures, we will quickly post those changes on our website to keep you up-to-date on what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we may disclose it.
Asking Your Permission
It is our policy to always ask permission prior to retaining personal information or addresses of those using this Web site. Site features with high functionality often require that you "register" in order to access the feature and the information you've provided. In such cases, it is our policy to provide a mechanism that allows the user to "opt out" of the feature at any time in the future.
Your Right to Object
If you believe we are using your personal identity information in a way that is not authorized in this Privacy section, please contact us at once.
You can e-mail us at comphotl@fmlh.edu, call us at 414-259-0220, or write us at:
Froedtert Hospital, Compliance Offices
9200 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53226
We will promptly investigate and take corrective action if we find that we have not been following our procedures.