Our policies regarding your privacy
Yale New Haven Health is dedicated to providing you with healthcare
information and referral services of the highest quality, while at the
same time protecting your privacy.
We insist that our staff observe patient confidentiality—respecting
your right to privacy about your medical records and experience with this
hospital.
Notice of Privacy Policy Yale New Haven Health. Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in order to read the file.
Web Site Privacy Policy
While you may be asked to provide personal data
in using this Web site, we can assure you this information will be
treated with the same care we treat all patient information. Any data
we collect about you will be used only to help us develop customized
programs and services suited to your needs and interests.
We will not share your personal data with any party outside Yale
New Haven Health System.
What personal information do we gather from those who visit
this site?
1. Information you have provided
We collect and store any information you enter on our Web site,
or provide to us in offline contacts we have with you. Information
is collected from visitors to the site in the following areas:
We also collect information from those who fill out requests at booths
or events sponsored by Yale New Haven Health hospitals where we ask for permission
to mail information about hospital services. In some cases, our
communication may be by e-mail and utilizing the Web site.
2. Information gathered automatically
When
you browse our Web site, you do so anonymously. We do log automatically
your IP address (the Internet address of your computer), the Web
pages you visit and the time of your visit, but we do not link this
information to anything that could identify you personally. The
only other type of information automatically provided to us is the
type of computer and operating system you are using. Your browser
supplies us with this information, which we use to improve the performance
of our site. In aggregate, this information helps us understand
how our site is being used and which parts of the site are of most
interest to those who use it. Analysis of this information helps
us to make continual improvements on the site.
Some have expressed concerns about "cookies." In our Physician Referral
Online feature, we make use of "cookies" to store the zip code
you provide (as well as your name and address if you provide it) so we can customize subsequent screens for your use. For example,
we use the information retained in the cookie to fill in the satisfaction
survey screen for you if you provided information earlier in your
session. If you return at a later date to this feature, you will
not be required to re-enter the information. If you have not asked
for our involvement in obtaining a physician referral, then the
only use we make of this information is to measure in the aggregate
how many unique individuals are using this online service and
what types of physicians are being sought. No individual identifications
are made.
3. Information from your e-mail communications with us
On every screen of our site, you have an opportunity to communicate
with us by e-mail. E-mail contact is offered via:
NOTE:
The security of e-mail communications on
the Internet cannot be assured, however once your e-mail enters the Yale New
Haven Health system, it is protected by a firewall that ensures
the security of the sensitive patient information contained
in our electronic information systems.
Communications with the site editor
The information you provide is used to assist the editor
in triaging your request to the most appropriate department. While
retained in hard copy for our records, the information from this
interaction (such as your name or e-mail address) will not be used
in any way other than to address the specific request you have made
and to monitor the quality of our interactions.
Communications with the Yale New Haven Health Call Center
The information you provide is used by the Call Center staff to
respond to your inquiry—be it a request for a physician referral,
a request for additional information or followup on a HealthLINK
topic you have read about. The Call Center maintains strict confidentiality
standards regarding the information consumers share with its staff
in order to obtain appropriate medical care. Your interaction with
the Call Center will be maintained in their system's electronic
files. Because you have interacted with the Call Center previously,
you may be contacted at a later date with additional information
they believe may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to be
contacted by the Call Center at a later date, please let us know.
If you are concerned about the security of your message before
it reaches the hospital network, we invite you to instead call
our referral coordinators:
Yale New Haven Health Call Center
(203) 688-2000 or toll free 888-700-6543
Communications with "Ask the Expert"
Visitors to our "Ask the Expert" forums on breastfeeding
and women's heart issues have the opportunity to post a message to the forums and receive
a posted reply from either YNHH lactation specialists or nursing staff of our Call Center's nurse triage program. Your message is posted to the forum and the specialist/nurse is notified
a new message is waiting there. You may sign your message (question or reply)
with any name or initials you choose. We explain at the time you
post your question or reply that we need your e-mail address in
order to notify you of replies to your message. We may use your
address to notify you of events or opportunities in which we think
you might be interested. If you prefer that we not use and retain
your address, leave the line blank and select "Do not send any replies."
Your question or reply will still appear on the forum, but it will
be up to you to check the forum for a response from our specialists/nurses.
Your control of our communications with you
We will make appropriate and reasonable use of the information
collected through our various channels (Call Center, Web site, events,
etc.) to continue to provide you with information you have indicated
you have an interest in receiving. In marketing terms, this is called "opt-in"—in
effect, you have chosen to hear from us.
How secure is the information we have collected about you?
Most of our interactions with those who visit this site do not involve overly sensitive
information. You have already read how we handle information and the
cautions we suggest about information transmitted by e-mail. In some
cases, however, we have elected to provide an extra level of security.
At present, information you provide in Appointments Online and
on the maternity pre-admission form is protected by Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) software, which encrypts the information you
input.
Children
Federal Trade Commission rules prohibit us from
collecting any identifiable information from anyone under the age of
13 without parental permission. We abide by those rules, and so we request that information on this site of interest to children be requested
by their parents or guardians.
More about privacy on the Web
Yale New Haven Health's Web site operates in compliance with the principles established by the Health on the Net Foundation.
Questions?
Questions about this site's information gathering
and privacy practices can be addressed to the site
editor.
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