Digital Privacy Policy

Stanford Medicine Children's Health respects your right to privacy. This privacy policy discloses how we gather, use and disclose information about you when you access or use our website located at www.stanfordchildrens.org (the “Website”) and/or the Stanford Medicine Children’s Health mobile application (the “App”).

Please note that this Privacy Policy describes our information practices with respect to the Website and App. This Privacy Policy applies to data you provide through the Website or App. This Privacy Policy is in addition to, and does not replace, our Notice of Privacy Practices, which explains how we use and disclose our patients’ protected health information (“PHI”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). To the extent of a conflict between the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Notice of Privacy Practices with respect to PHI, the Notice of Privacy Practices will control how we use and disclose your PHI.

Please review this Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into and made part of our Terms of Use. By accessing or using the Website and/or App, you consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy or our Terms of Use, please contact us at web@stanfordchildrens.org. If you do not agree to our Privacy Policy or Terms of Use, you may not use the Website or App.

Your use of Stanford Medicine Children's Health social media platforms is subject to the additional terms of Stanford Medicine Children's Health’s Social Media Use policy.

What Information Does Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Collect?

Information you give us

We collect information you provide directly to us. For example, we collect information when you: use the interactive areas and features of our Website or App, subscribe to a newsletter or email list, participate in a survey or events, or otherwise communicate with us.

The personal information we collect may include, but is not limited to, full name, street address, email address, telephone number(s) (e.g., home, work, mobile and/or fax), birth date or age, and other information that you provide to us. We may also collect other personal information that will be identified on applicable page(s) of this website.

Information we collect automatically when you use our website or apps

During your visits to our Website, we will automatically collect the following information:

• Log Information. We may automatically collect or allow other providers to collect information about your use of our Website, App, or other websites including your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, login information, demographic information (e.g., age or gender), your device’s model and manufacturer, location information, MAC address, web browser, and operating system, performance issues, and your activity on the App.
• Visit Information. When you visit the Website, we may automatically collect information about your visits, including the URL, pages viewed, links clicked, access times, page response times, length of visits to certain pages, methods used to browse away from the page, domain names, and other statistical data involving the use of our Website. We may also collect information about you such as your communication preferences.

We may also collect information about you from other sources to optimize our engagement with you; however, we treat all your personally-identifiable information as confidential, and we secure it in accordance with this policy.

Information Collected from Other Sources

We may also obtain information about you from other sources. For example, we may collect information about phone numbers used to call certain Stanford Medicine Children’s Health phone numbers and the length of duration of the call. Additionally, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health participates in the Health Information Exchange for treatment purposes. If you have an existing medical record at a provider outside of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, we may use that medical record to augment your record at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, which will make some of that information, such as certain test results, available from within our App through MyChart. Additionally, you may be able to view your COVID-related information and test results from your outside organization, or from state registries, within our App. Once we combine information from other sources with your information collected pursuant to this Privacy Policy, we apply this Privacy Policy to the combined information.

How Does Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Use Information?

Stanford Medicine Children’s Health uses the information about you for various purposes, including to:

• Provide the Website and App, including website management and administration and to improve the content and overall performance of our Website and App;
• Distribute email newsletters, publications, or press releases;
• Process requests to unsubscribe from email newsletters, publications, or press releases;
• Monitor and analyze trends, usage and activities in connection with our Website and App;
• Detect, investigate and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities and protect the rights and property of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and others; and
• Conduct any other purpose described at the time the information was collected.

Please note, our use of your PHI is governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices.

How Does Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Share Information?

With respect to sharing information, we do not share personally-identifiable information with anyone other than those who provide support for the internal operations of the Website and App and our agents (e.g., contractors who provide fulfillment services or technical support to the Website).

Children’s Privacy

Stanford Medicine Children’s Health is committed to children’s privacy. Please be aware that our Website and App are not intended or designed to attract children. In addition, we do not collect personal information from any person known by Stanford Medicine Children’s Health to be a child under the age of 13. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a person under the age of 13, please contact us at privacyofficer@stanfordhealthcare.org.

How Your Information is Protected

Stanford Medicine Children's Health uses industry-standard tools to secure our Website. We store personal information data with Transport Layer Security (TLS)/Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate technology and encryption to protect information you may submit on our site. Using a variety of physical, administrative, and technical measures, we will take all reasonable steps to protect your privacy in accordance with the applicable data protection laws.

Stanford Medicine Children's Health does not sell, lease, or share your personal information with or to anyone else, except to our third-party service providers, who have executed separate agreements with us.

Non-identifiable information in our aggregate database will not be deleted. We maintain backup files as a protection against natural disasters, equipment failures, or other disruptions. Backup files lower the risk of losing valuable data. Removing a record from our main files does not remove that record from any backup systems. It may take up to six months before all information in a backup record is completely erased through the normal recycling of backup files. In the meantime, as long as backup records exist, they receive the same privacy and security protections as our other records.

Your Choices

Account Information

You may request an amendment to information about you by contacting our HIM Release of Information Office at (650) 497-8079 or visiting our Patient Privacy page for steps and appropriate forms. You also have the option to deactivate your MyChart account. However, doing so does not delete medical information and associated data and, if you have granted any proxies access to your medical record, they will continue to have access. We may continue to store information about you as required by law and for other lawful purposes.

Newsletters

Upon your request, we may send you information about Stanford Medicine Children’s Health via email. You may unsubscribe from receiving marketing or other commercial emails from us by following the instructions included in the email. However, even if you opt-out of receiving such communications, we retain the right to send you non-marketing communications (such as important transaction information, or changes in Website or App terms).

Fundraising

Consistent with our Notice of Privacy Practices, as part of fundraising activities, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health or the Stanford University Office of Medical Development may contact you to make you aware of giving opportunities for the Medical Center. Please see the separate Privacy Policy for Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health for information on how to opt out of fundraising communications.

Location Information

Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, if you consent, may use your location to display our nearest health care facilities and to help you navigate within the hospital when actively using our App. Our App through MyChart may use your location data to notify front desk staff when you arrive for an appointment or to suggest health care providers that are near you.

You control the use of this information, by permitting the use of your location information one time, only while the App is in use, or never. You can also change your selection at any time in the general settings of your mobile device. Please note: disabling location services may cause some features of our App to no longer function.

Native Applications on Mobile Device

Our App may use certain native applications on your mobile device, such as the camera, microphone, photo storage, etc. Before engaging these features, you will be asked to consent to use of the native applications on your mobile device. You can change your selection at any time in the general settings of your mobile device. Please note: disabling the access of these applications may cause some features of our App to no longer function.

How We Use Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

We may use browser "cookies,” web beacons (also called pixels), and/or other tracking technologies to make our Website and services more useful to you. Browser cookies are small data files placed on the computer hard drives of users of our Website and Apps. Cookies help us to tailor our Website and Apps to be more helpful and efficient for you. The cookie consists of a unique identifier that does not contain information about you or your health history.

More information regarding our cookie and web beacon practices are available within our Terms and Conditions of Use.  Additionally, we may also use other tracking technologies to keep track of your preferences on, improve your experience with, and for the marketing purposes of our Website and Apps.

You may have software on your computer that will allow you to decline or deactivate cookies and beacons. If you do so, some features of the Website or the App may not work properly for you.

Links to Third-Party Websites

All links to other websites are intended to provide you with convenient access to other websites that might interest you. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health is not responsible for the content of these linked websites and such linkage does not constitute endorsement of those sites by Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. Likewise, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health is not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites. We encourage you to be aware of this when using social media platforms and to read the privacy policies of every website you visit.

Do Not Track Signals

Stanford Medicine Children’s Health does not respond to Do Not Track signals to the extent received from a web browser. Because there currently is not a universally accepted technological or legal standard for recognizing or honoring Do Not Track signals as reflections of user choice, we do not respond to them at this time. Once such technology is created and has received applicable regulatory approval, we will consider (a) whether it is possible; and (b) if so, how it can be incorporated within our environment in the future.

Your Consent

By using our Website or App or by making a gift or by otherwise providing us with your personal information, you consent to the use of that information as set out in this Privacy Policy.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

Stanford Medicine Children's Health reserves the right to change this policy from time to time without notice. Please check back periodically for updates. If you use the Services after we post changes to this Privacy Policy, you accept and agree to be bound by the then-current policy.

Access to Your Information and How to Contact Us

You have the right to access your information held by us and, where necessary, to have it amended or deleted. You will also need to provide us with proof of your identity. If you would like to update, delete, or correct your information, or modify your communication preferences, or if you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy or the use of information collected, you can contact us:

Stanford Medicine Children's Health
725 Welch Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304
(650) 497-8000
web@stanfordchildrens.org