Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Website Privacy Policy
Informational Website Privacy Policy
At Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s, your privacy is important to us and we take important steps to protect the privacy and security of your information.
This Informational Website Privacy Policy will tell you what information our public-facing informational website at www.danafarberbostonchildrens.org (the "Website") collects, how it is used, how it is shared, and your options about the collection and use of your information when you use the Website. By using the Website, you agree to the collection, use and sharing of your information in accordance with this Informational Website Privacy Policy.
We may occasionally make changes to our Informational Website Privacy Policy. Whenever a change is made to our Informational Website Privacy Policy, we will update the information on this page, so please review this page regularly. To learn how we use or disclose your protected health information ("PHI"), as defined under the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act and related regulations please visit:
- For Dana-Farber: Dana-Farber's Notice of Privacy Practices. If you have any questions about Dana-Farber's Notice of Privacy Practices, please contact Dana-Farber at privacy@dfci.harvard.edu.
- For Boston Children’s: Boston Children’s Notice of Privacy Practices. If you have any questions about Boston Children’s Notice of Privacy Practices, please contact Boston Children’s at privacy@childrens.harvard.edu.
All references to 'us,' 'we' or 'our' in this Informational Website Privacy Policy are references to Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s. All references to 'you,' 'your' or 'user' in this Informational Website Privacy Policy are references to any individual who accesses or uses this Website.
Types of Information We Collect
In order to better serve you, we may collect the following categories of information through the Website:
(i) contact information you provide (such as name, mailing address, e-mail address, or phone number), (ii) any subscription preferences if you receive communications from us, (iii) any surveys you respond to with feedback, and (iv) Online User Activity as described below.
If you provide us with information regarding another individual, you represent that you have that person's consent to provide such information and to permit us to use it in accordance with this Informational Website Privacy Policy.
How We Use Information We Collect
We may use the information we obtain about you for purposes and to the extent allowed by applicable laws, including:
- Provide the Website to you, including to provide information and the services offered through the Website or otherwise by Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s, and provide other important notices;
- Respond to your requests, questions and comments;
- Monitor the performance of the Website including metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, and demographic patterns;
- Tailor the content we display through the Website and in our communications, including any content or advertising that we believe may be of interest to you;
- Operate, evaluate and improve our Sites, and diagnose or fix technology problems; and
- Comply with and enforce as needed applicable legal requirements, industry standards, our policies and our contractual rights.
We may also use or share information in an aggregate manner or as may otherwise be permitted by law for many purposes such as research, analysis, modeling, marketing, and improvement of the Website.
How We Share Information
We may share your information with third parties in the following circumstances:
- We may share your information with service providers that we believe need the information to perform a technology, business, or other professional function for us (examples include IT services, maintenance and hosting of our Sites, payment processors, marketing partners, and other service providers).
- If you voluntarily share or submit any content for public posting through the Website (e.g., picture, story, commentary), or link it to any social media platforms, that post and any content or information associated with it may become available to the public.
- We also may disclose information about you (i) if we are required to do so by law or legal process, (ii) when we believe disclosure is necessary to prevent harm or financial loss, (iii) in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent or illegal activity; or (iv) under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of our staff, patients, users of the Website or the public.
- We reserve the right to transfer the information we maintain in the event of an organizational change of control (e.g., merger or acquisition). If we engage in such a change of control, your information will be transferred subject to this Informational Website Privacy Policy.
Where appropriate and possible, we will limit sharing of your information in accordance with the choices you have provided us.
Confidentiality and Security
The confidentiality and security of your information is important to us. We maintain information security programs designed to protect information you choose to provide through the Website. The safeguards we have implemented to protect the information we collect include maintaining a secure firewall and using reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access to information collected through the Website. We also encrypt and secure the confidentiality of user-supplied information transmitted to us when required by law or as we otherwise deem appropriate.
Online User Activity
We, our service providers, and advertising partners may collect certain information about the device(s) you use to access our Website and your use of our Website by automated means, including but not limited to cookies and other similar technologies (“Online User Activity”).
“Cookies” are small data files that online services can store on, and retrieve from, a user's computer or mobile device through the web browser. Cookies are very commonly used by websites and most browsers are configured to accept cookies.
When you use the Website, the information we may collect by automated means includes, for example:
- Usage details about your interaction with our Website (such as the date, time, and length of visits, and specific pages or content accessed during the visits, search terms, frequency of the visits, referring website addresses);
- Device information including the IP address and other details of a device that you use to connect with our Website (such as device type and unique device identifier, operating system, browser type, and mobile network information); and
- General location information if your device shares information about its location.
Cookies and these other technologies can help us automatically identify you when you return to our Website. Cookies help us review website traffic patterns and improve the Website. To the extent permitted by law, we can also use such information to deliver customized content and advertising to users of the Website whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area. Our Website works to help us track and analyze visitor activity on the Website, measure the effectiveness of our advertising efforts, and support the optimization of our digital marketing campaigns.
You can turn off tracking cookies from our Website in your browser by clicking here or with the settings button on the cookie banner which appears when visiting the Website. Please note that some peripheral sites (i.e., subdomains) accessible through our website may not support cookie preferences, so cookies on those sites will not be affected by your settings. As an alternative, most browsers allow the visitor to reject cookies. In either instance, if you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features our Sites provide. Because there is not yet a consensus on how companies should respond to web browser-based do-not-track ("DNT") mechanisms, we do not respond to web browser-based DNT signals at this time.
International Data Transfers and Use
Our Website is controlled and operated by us from the United States. By using this Website, and providing us with information, you understand and agree that your information may be stored and processed, transferred between and accessed from the United States and other countries which may not guarantee the same level of protection of information as the one in which you reside and you consent to the transfer of this data to the United States for processing by us in accordance with this Informational Website Privacy Policy.
Links to Other Websites or Content
Our Website may contain links to other websites, apps or online services, including social media. This Informational Website Privacy Policy applies only to this Website. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other websites, apps or online services, and we encourage you to be aware when you leave our Sites and to read the privacy statements of any linked website, app or online service.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions, concerns or comments about this Informational Website Privacy Policy, our respective Notices of Privacy Practices, or if you would like us to update information or preferences your provided to us, please contact us at:
For Dana-Farber:
- Contact us by email at privacy@dfci.harvard.edu
- Call us at 617-632-6593
For Boston Children’s:
- Contact us by email at privacy@childrens.harvard.edu
- Call us at 857-218-4681
In order to verify your identity, we may require you to provide us with certain information prior to accessing any records containing information about you.
Last Updated February, 2023