Helpful definitions

Terminology in privacy policies can be daunting. We've included terms from our policy that we believe deserve more explanation. Let us know if you encounter a word or phrase you don’t understand or need further explanation. If you don't understand something, chances are someone else doesn't either, and we will certainly add it below.

Activity logs: Logs typically record user details including time, date, and location (IP address) of a change anytime PHR data are created, accessed, modified, deleted, released, or exported.

Aggregate data: This is used to develop information about groups of patients. It allows researchers to identify common characteristics that might predict the course of the disease or provide information about the most effective way to treat it. 

Cookies: Many "flavors" of cookies are placed on your computer for various reasons. Some improve your user experience by remembering passwords etc., others for understanding user patterns, and some for marketing purposes. Some can identify you, and others provide anonymous data.

1. Session cookies: A line of code that a website places on your computer to improve your user experience (i.e. remembers your passwords, what language you use, items in a shopping cart, etc.). These cookies don't gather information about you that could be used for marketing.

2. Flash cookies: These cookies are a way of tracing your movement and storing a lot more information about you than with normal cookies. They’re not shown in the list you can see when you take a look at the cookies currently saved in your web browser. Therefore, you can’t delete them like other cookies. 

3. Analytics cookies: These cookies are used to gather information that helps understand user patterns. These cookies don't collect information that identifies you. The information collected is anonymous and is grouped with the information from everyone else’s cookies.

4. Affiliate cookies: These cookies are marketing cookies that track you when you click on an ad that takes you to another site. The other site often pays the original site a fee for the "referral.”

5. Third-party cookies: These cookies track your movement from website to website and collect data that can later be sold to marketing firms to create profiles about you and send you targeted advertisements.

Encryption: Encryption provides a secure way for users to exchange information with websites via their web browsers by “scrambling” the information as it’s submitted.  This makes it unusable to anyone who doesn’t possess a protected decryption key to “unscramble” the information. 

HIPAA: The Health Portability and Accountability Act is a set of federal rules designed for healthcare providers, health insurance companies and other identified “covered entities” that control who can look at and receive your health information. HIPAA regulations also ensure that your privacy is protected to the greatest extent, with best-practice policies and safeguards in place to minimize any exposure or misuse. HIPAA doesn’t control your use of your health information. HIPAA grants you the legal right to view and access your legal health record. 

Personal Health Record (PHR): An individual’s collection of health information that can be drawn from multiple sources and that is managed, shared, and controlled by or for the individual.

PHR data

PHR data may include, but isn’t limited to:

  • your name and contact information (i.e. address, phone number, and email address)

  • your medical history (i.e. conditions, treatments, and medications)

  • your insurance claim data (i.e. health plan account numbers and bills)

  • demographic information(i.e. age, gender, ethnicity, and occupation)

  • computer information (i.e. IP address, and “cookie” preferences)