Acupuncture Canada Policy Concerning Members’ Personal Information
Acupuncture Canada is dedicated to maintaining high standards of confidentiality with respect to the information that has been provided to it. This Policy Statement has been prepared to affirmAcupuncture Canada’s commitment to maintaining the privacy of Members and others and to inform you ofAcupuncture Canada’s practices concerning the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information provided toAcupuncture Canada.
For the purposes of this statement, “Member” means an individual who has been accepted for membership inAcupuncture Canada, those who seek to become a member ofAcupuncture Canada, and those who are students ofAcupuncture Canada but do not hold member status.Acupuncture Canada’s obligations also apply to all directors, officers, employees, contractors and agents who provide services to or on behalf ofAcupuncture Canada in connection with its delivery of products and services.
What is Personal Information?
Acupuncture Canada considers “Personal Information” to mean any information, recorded in any form, about an identified individual or an individual whose identity may be inferred or determined from such information, and can include name, title, business name, business address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address and credentials. Certain information pertaining to a Licenced Professional and their licence with their regulatory body is required to determine eligibility when registering for membership and education and for access to areas of the website restricted to members only.
Why Acupuncture Canada Collects Personal Information?
Acupuncture Canada collects information provided in writing and via its website or verbally about Members to fulfill its objectives and mandate. Information is used for:
– Communicating with and determining the needs of Members;
– Providing products and services to Members;
– Managing its relationship with Members;
– Meeting legal and regulatory requirements;
– Providing information as to member qualifications to regulatory bodies and insurers (as authorized by members);
– Providing contact information to other Acupuncture Canada members seeking contact with other members of Acupuncture Canada where authorization is granted;
– Providing contact information to the public seeking a Licensed Professional from whom they can receive acupuncture services where authorization is granted; and
– Such other purposes consistent with the foregoing purposes.
How Acupuncture Canada Uses Personal Information
Acupuncture Canada only collects, uses and discloses Personal Information for purposes that would be considered reasonable in the circumstances and only such information as is required for the purposes of providing products and services to or about its Members and as stated above. Acupunture Canada will use only fair and lawful methods to collect Personal Information.Acupuncture Canada‘s use of Personal Information is limited to the purposes described in this Statement.
When Acupuncture Canada May Disclose Personal Information
As a general rule, all information concerning a Member is held in strict confidence and, except in limited circumstances including those outlined in this Privacy Statement, is not revealed to anyone unless expressly or implicitly authorized by the Member. Acupuncture Canada does not lease the name, address, telephone number and e-mail address of Members to affiliated organizations, Preferred Suppliers and other reputable organizations.
Consent
Unless permitted by law, no Personal Information is collected, without first obtaining the consent of the individual concerned to the collection, use and dissemination of that information. If a Member consents, his/her personal information shall be used for the purposes indicated in this statement. If a Member does not consent, then his/her personal information shall be used by Acupunture Canada for purposes of communicating with the Member only and shall not be provided to anyone else. If a Member wishes to withdraw his/her consent to have his/her Acupunture Canada information disclosed the Member can do so by electronic means or should contact Acupunture Canada.
The Accuracy and Retention of Personal Information
Acupunture Canada endeavours to ensure that any Personal Information provided by its Members and in its possession is as accurate, current and complete as necessary for the purposes for which Acupunture Canada uses that information. If Acupunture Canada becomes aware that Personal Information is inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date, Acupunture Canada will request that the member revise or Acupunture Canada shall at the request of the Member revise the Personal Information through ‘My Profile’ on the website. Information about a former member is not actively maintained and, for so long as it is held by Acupunture Canada, Acupunture Canada cannot assure the accuracy of such information. Acupunture Canada shall keep your Personal Information only as long as it is required for the reasons it was collected. This period may extend beyond the end of a Member’s relationship with Acupunture Canada but it will be only for so long as it is necessary for Acupunture Canada to communicate with former Members or to have sufficient information to respond to any issues that may arise at a later date.
When Personal Information is no longer required, Acupuncture Canada shall destroy, delete, erase information in a secure manner or convert it into an anonymous form. Currently, the principal place in which Acupuncture Canada holds Personal Information is the City of Toronto.
Protection of Personal Information
Acupuncture Canada endeavours to maintain appropriate physical, procedural and technical security with respect to its offices and information storage facilities so as to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification of Personal Information. This also applies to our disposal or destruction of Personal Information. Acupuncture Canada further protects Personal Information by restricting access to it to those directors, officers, employees, contractors and agents that the Privacy Officer of Acupuncture Canada has determined need to know that information in order that Acupuncture Canada may provide its products and services. If any director, officer, employee, contractor or agent of Acupuncture Canada misuses Personal Information, this will be considered as a serious offence for which disciplinary action may be taken, up to and including termination of employment.
Access To Personal Information
Acupuncture Canada permits the reasonable right of access and review of Personal Information held by us about a Member at the Member’s request.Acupuncture Canada will endeavor to provide the information in question within a reasonable time and no later than 30 days following the request. Where information will not or cannot be disclosed, the individual making the request will be provided with the reasons for non-disclosure. Further information concerning Acupuncture Canada’s access policy and procedures may be obtained by contacting our Executive Director. Acupuncture Canada will not charge a Member for verifying or correcting his/her Personal Information.
Visiting Acupuncture Canada’s Web site
A visitor to Acupuncture Canada’s web site (http://acupuncturecanada.org) is not required to reveal any individually identifiable information, such as name, address, or telephone number. Nor is such information collected passively by electronic means. In order to access and use the Members-only portions of the site, members will need to provide certain Personal Information. Such personal information will only be used for providing services and at the consent of the Members as stated in this statement.
Use of Cookies
In browsing the Internet, one will encounter a technology called “cookies” which can be used to provide specific information from a Web site as well as provide the operator of a web site with information about the user. “Session” cookies are temporary bits of information that are erased once one exits the Web browser window or otherwise switches their computer off. Session cookies are used to improve navigation on Web sites and to collect aggregate statistical information. This site uses session cookies to only record session information. Most Internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If one does not wish to accept cookies, adjust settings to refuse cookies or provide and alert when cookies are being sent.
Web Site Usage Reporting
Acupuncture Canada’s web server does collect visitor information in the form of the Internet Protocol (IP) address and does collect information regarding which pages are being accessed. This information is used internally, only in aggregate form, to better serve visitors by helping Acupuncture Canada to –
– Manage the Site;
– Diagnose any technical problems; and
– Improve the content of the Site.
Following its use, the information collected is not retained but, rather, is discarded in a secure manner.
How Acupuncture Canada collects information on its website
Information is collected when an individual voluntarily provides it in the following circumstances on the website:
– When registering/purchasing membership or education
– When purchasing products and services
– Your computer leaves a data trail when you access the site
– When using the ‘Contact Us’ web page
– When Members update their personal information
Information is collected, used or disclosed in a manner consistent with this statement. E-mail addresses are also collected during the membership and/or education registration and are needed so Acupuncture Canada can confirm a successful registration. Otherwise, Members and others may indicate that they do not wish to receive any unsolicited electronic communication.
Individuals who wish to purchase products and services of Acupuncture Canada are requested to supply one or more pieces of information such as personal or business identification and financial information (e.g. credit card information; or any other payment information for billing purposes). This information is collected for billing purposes as well as to permit us to contact the individual with respect to actions taken by us to complete your request. If you purchase products and services through the Acupuncture Canada’s web site using a credit card, your credit card information is used only for credit card processing purposes and is not stored or retained by Acupuncture Canada. For the transfer and receipt of certain types of sensitive information such as financial information, visitors will be re-directed to a secure server of the appropriate institution.
Through use of email addresses,Acupuncture Canada can provide Members and others with information about new products and services and information related to the practice of acupuncture.
Evolving Practices
This statement is in effect as of September 24, 2007. Acupuncture Canada will from time to time review and revise its privacy practices and this statement. In the event of any amendment, a notice will be posted onhttp://acupuncturecanada.org and published in appropriate Acupuncture Canada publications. Policy changes will apply to the information collected from the date of posting to the Acupuncture Canada’s web site as well as to existing information held by Acupuncture Canada.
Other sites you can link to fromhttp://acupuncturecanada.org are not covered by this privacy statement. If you link to another site it is recommended that you review their commitment to privacy.
In the event of questions about information provided on the website or access to your Personal Information, our collection, use, management or disclosure of Personal Information, or this Privacy Statement, then please contact Acupuncture Canada using the Contact Us web page or by sending an email to info@acupuncturecanada.org