Website Privacy Policy

A Note to Children and Parents

The UF Health Web sites are operated by UF Health and affiliated entities (see Site Definitions below). In general, the Web sites are intended for use by adults, unless they are specifically labeled for children. UF Health does not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 13. If we learn that we have collected Personal Information of a child under the age of 13 that was not supplied to us voluntarily, we will delete that data from our systems. See the section below labeled Children’s Online Activities and Programs for more specific information.

Children – Some internet sites may ask you to share information about yourself. Before sending any information about yourself over the Internet to us or anyone else, be sure to ask your parents for permission.

Parents – UF Health recommends that parents take an active role in their children’s use of the Internet. We encourage you to talk to your children about safe and responsible use of their personal information while using the Internet. Here are some tips:

• Teach children never to give Personal Information (such as name, address, phone number, school name, etc.) unless supervised by a parent or responsible adult.
• Know the sites your children are visiting and which sites are appropriate.
• Look for website privacy policies and know how your child’s information is treated.

Commitment to Privacy

UF Health values individuals’ privacy and actively seeks to preserve the privacy rights of those who share information with us. Your trust is important to us and we believe you have the right to know how information submitted through the hospital’s Web site is handled.

We provide the following privacy notice to define UF Health’ Web-based information policies and practices, and to assist you in protecting your privacy.

Privacy Notice

The following information explains the Internet privacy policy and practices UF Health has adopted for its official Web sites. However, in legal terms, it shall not be construed as a contractual promise, and UF Health reserves the right to amend it at any time without notice. Privacy and public records obligations of UF Health are governed by applicable Florida statutes and U.S. federal laws.

Site Definitions

UF Health’ Web space includes hundreds of sites with varying levels of involvement and commitment as outlined below.

Official UF Health Web Sites

Except as noted, the information in this privacy notice applies to all official UF Health Web sites, which are defined as the Web pages of UF Health departments, divisions or other units. Official pages are generally recognizable by a standard page header and/or footer carrying the UF Health logo, the web address ending with UFHealth.org, contact information and reference to this privacy statement.

The Information We Collect

When you access official UF Health Web pages, certain client information and essential and nonessential technical information (collectively referred to as access information) listed below is automatically collected. No other information is collected through our official Web sites except when you deliberately send it to us (for example, by clicking a link to send us an e-mail). Examples of the information you might choose to send us are listed below as “optional information.”

Access Information (automatically collected)

Client information: the Internet domain and Internet address of the computer you are using.

Essential technical information: identification of the page or service you are requesting, type of browser and operating system you are using; and the date and time of access.

Nonessential technical information: the Internet address of the Web site from which you linked directly to our Web site, and the “cookie information” used to direct and tailor information based on your entry path to the site.

Optional information (deliberately sent)

E-mail: your name, e-mail address, and the content of your e-mail.

Online forms: all the data you choose to fill in or confirm. This includes information shared when requesting a medical or dental appointment online such as your name, phone number, and details about your appointment request. This may also include credit or debit card information if you are ordering a product or making a payment, as well as information about other people if you are providing it for delivery purposes, etc. See below for more specific information about children’s online activities.

The Way We Use Information

As a general rule, UF Health does not track individual visitor profiles. We do, however, analyze aggregate traffic/access information for resource management and site planning purposes. UF Health reserves the right to use log detail to investigate resource management or security concerns.

Google Analytics

We use a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about use of this site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit this site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to this site. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve this site. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Although Google Analytics plants a permanent cookie on your web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit this site.

Access Information

Client information is used to route the requested Web page to your computer for viewing. In theory, the requested Web page and the routing information could be discerned by other entities involved in transmitting the requested page to you. We do not control the privacy practices of those entities.

We may keep client information from our systems indefinitely after the Web page is transmitted, but we do not cross-reference it to the individuals who browse our Web site. However, on rare occasions when a “hacker” attempts to breach computer security, logs of access information are retained to permit a security investigation. In such cases the logs may be further analyzed or forwarded together with any other relevant information in our possession to law enforcement agencies.

Essential and nonessential technical information lets us respond to your request in an appropriate format [or in a personalized manner] and helps us plan Web site improvements. To expedite this process, some official UF Health Web sites use “cookies.” Usually a cookie enables UF Health Web site to tailor what you see according to the way you entered the site.

We also use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our Web site. For example, we may determine that X number of individuals visited a certain area on our Web site, or that Y number of men and Z number of women filled out a particular registration form. But we do not disclose information that could identify those specific individuals.

Optional Information:

Optional information enables us to provide services or information tailored more specifically to your needs, to forward your message or inquiry to another entity that is better able to do so, and to plan Web site improvements.

We use the information you provide about yourself or about someone else when placing a request for service only to complete that order or request. We do not share this information with outside parties, except to the extent necessary to complete that order or request.

We generally use return e-mail addresses only to answer the e-mail we receive. Such addresses are generally not used for any other purpose and by UF Health policy are not shared with outside parties.

Finally, we never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the purpose described without a clear notice on the particular site and without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.

Public Records Notice: Providing Information is Your Choice

There is no legal requirement for you to provide any information at our Web site. However, our Web site will not work without routing information and the essential technical information. Failure of your browser to provide nonessential technical information will not prevent your use of our Web site but may prevent certain features from working. For any optional information that is requested at the Web site, failure to provide the requested information will mean that the particular feature or service associated with that part of the Web page may not be available to you.

Children’s Online Activities and Programs

Some UF Health Web sites present UF Health-sponsored information or activities that are specifically designed for children. However, the Web sites are intended to be used only by adults to voluntarily share information online, so that a child who is under the age of 13 can participate in these activities (e.g., clinic appointments) or so that the child can receive information mailed or e-mailed from UF Health (newsletters, recruitment information). When a parent or legal guardian voluntarily signs their child up for one of these programs, the parent may be asked to provide:

• The child’s full name
• Full home mailing address
• Phone number
• Birthdate
• School, current grade level
• Email address
• Parent or legal guardian’s name and e-mail address

The parent or legal guardian supplying the child’s information will be asked to acknowledge that they are, in fact, the parent or guardian who is legally authorized to disclose this information about the child. UF Health, through its Web sites, does not condition participation in any of our online activities on the disclosure of more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in the activity. This information will not be transferred, disclosed or shared with a third party and will not be used for other purposes.

Parents or guardians have the right:

• To review personal information that has been recorded by a UF Health Web site about their child,
• To refuse to allow further collection of the information,
• To be given the choice of consenting to the collection and internal use of information, but prohibiting the disclosure of that information to third parties (unless disclosure is integral to the site or service, in which case, this will be clearly stated), and
• To require the deletion of any information that has been recorded.

Contact information for UF Health is available below. Contact information for specific Web sites is generally posted prominently on the site.

Our Commitment To Data Security

UF Health is dedicated to preventing unauthorized data access, maintaining data accuracy, and ensuring the appropriate use of information. We strive to put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial safeguards to secure the information we collect online. These security practices are consistent with the policies of UF Health and with the laws and regulatory practices of the State of Florida.

How To Contact Us

Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies and practices, please call us at (352) 627-9050 or 1-888-329-3569 (toll-free), or send us an e-mail at privacy@shands.ufl.edu.

If you wish to review or change information gathered about you via an official UF Health Web site but you do not know how, the Privacy Office will assist in locating the persons responsible for that site so that you may make your request directly to them.