Hennepin Healthcare Website Privacy Policy

Purpose

Your privacy is important to us. This website privacy policy describes how we handle and protect Personal Information collected from you when you visit our website.

“Personal Information” is information that you provide about yourself or information that can be used to identify or contact you. This may include an address, phone number, email address, and other information when associated with a person’s name. (see below HHS Tennessen Warning) Though the information collected on our website typically is not health related, in some contexts it may include or be considered “Protected Health Information” which may include medical information. The term “Protected Health Information” is defined in our Notice of Privacy Practices. It describes how that information is collected, used, or disclosed, your rights regarding such use or disclosure, and how you may access your information.

Consent to Collect Information on This Website

Please review this policy before using our website. By using our website you are consenting to the collection, use and disclosure of your Personal Information as described in this policy. If you do not agree with this policy, do not use our website.

Types of Personal Information Collected on This Website

When you use our website, we may collect your Personal Information when you click on or enter certain links or web pages or provide information in response.

You can decline to participate in any online activity that asks for Personal Information (for example, surveys or emails). Declining to participate won’t affect your ability to access information on our website or limit your ability to receive healthcare services from us but will impact access to HHS internal systems (HHS Tennessen Warning).

Disclosure of Personal Information

We do not sell or rent your Personal Information to other parties, nor do we share it with them for their own direct marketing purposes. We may disclose your Personal Information to third parties who complete transactions or perform services on our behalf or for your benefit.

We may disclose your Personal Information to legal or government regulatory authorities in response to their requests for such information or to assist in investigations of theft, fraud or abuse; or to third parties in connection with claims, disputes or litigation, if we are required by law to do so. We may also disclose your Personal Information if we determine its disclosure is necessary in an emergency.

Links to Other Sites

Our website contains links to websites operated by other parties; including vendors that we contract with to provide services. Those websites may be hosted by us or branded with our logo and hosted by such parties. When you visit their websites, they may collect information about your visit and use it to provide advertisements to you. This policy does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, the practices of other parties that collect your personal information. Each of those linked websites may maintain its own policies about the collection, use and protection of your personal information. We encourage you to check the privacy policies of such parties to learn about their practices.

Cookies and Other Information About Your Use of Our Website

Our website uses “cookies” to customize the browsing experience. Cookies are small files stored by web browsers when a user first visits a website. They provide a method of distinguishing among visitors to websites. They are also used to identify web users and optimize their experience on the website by remembering what they have viewed there. Web browsers normally accept cookies, unless the user has specifically turned them off. We also use Google Analytics, a web analysis tool that helps us understand how visitors use our website and provides searching capabilities on the website. We do not use web beacons or other technology that could identify you.

Our web servers automatically collect the IP address (Internet Protocol) of the computer accessing our website. An IP address generally identifies only the computer using the website. We use aggregate IP address information to help us understand how our site is being used and how we can provide better service to those using our website. We collect information about the internet domain you use to access our website (e.g. “Comcast.com”, “companyname.com” etc.). We also collect information on the type of web browser and operating system you use to access our website along with the date and time of your access and the web pages that you view.

We may also analyze keywords you use in a search on our webpage to make the website more useful to our visitors.

Use of Aggregated and De-Identified Information

Hennepin Healthcare may use information gathered through this website to create a compiled, aggregate view of the audience and visitor usage patterns. We use aggregated and/or de-identified information in our analysis to better understand the visitors to our website as we develop new products and services. We may also share aggregated and/or de-identified information with our third-party service vendors. Aggregate and de-identified information is not personally identifiable.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is not targeted to children or minors under the age of 13 and we do not intentionally collect personal information from children except for where a child has requested access to MyChart or is an emancipated minor. If we discover a child has provided us with personal information online through this website, we will take reasonable steps to delete this information.

Security

We use industry standard administrative, physical and technical measures to protect the security and confidentiality of Personal Information you provide us with through our website. Portions of our website may use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology, a commonly employed method of encrypted communication used on the Internet, to encrypt during transmission, sensitive Personal Information you input, including credit card numbers. We take reasonable steps to protect Personal Information you provide us. We cannot ensure or warrant our ability to make our sites completely secure or “hacker proof” and we cannot guarantee your Personal Information will not be disclosed or misused, whether by accident or intentional unauthorized acts of others.

HHS TENNESSEN WARNING FOR INDIVIDUALS SEEKING ACCESS TO HHS CAMPUS OR SYSTEMS

(Data Practices Advisory: Minnesota Statute §13.04, Subd. 2)

Because you are requesting access to HHS Campus or access to EPIC and other HHS systems, you will be asked to supply private or confidential personal information. Before supplying such information, you are hereby informed that the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statute § 13.04 subd. 2, requires that an individual asked to supply private or confidential data concerning the individual be informed of: (a) the purpose and intended use of the data within the collecting government entity; (b) whether the individual may refuse or is legally required to supply the requested data; (c) any known consequence arising from supplying or refusing to supply private or confidential data; and (d) the identity of other persons or entities authorized by state or federal law to receive the data. You are therefore informed as follows:

PERSONAL INFORMATION

You will be asked to provide your Name/Name Change, Social Security Number (SSN), E-mail Address and Birthdate: This information is necessary to verify your identity on the systems used by HHS, to contact you for work-related matters and to send you work related documents. You are not legally required to provide this information. The consequences for refusing to supply your name or SSN or for supplying data that is not true or correct will result in denial or revocation of HHS systems access. This may adversely affect your ability to do your job. People who may have legal access to your data include supervisors, management, administrators and other individuals within HHS that have a need to know; attorneys representing any of the above individuals or entities; municipal, county, state and federal agencies and governments; and any other person or entity authorized by law or court order.

Changes to This Policy

This privacy policy may be changed or amended as needed to better inform you or comply with new laws or regulations. The effective date at the end of the policy notifies you that the policy has changed. We encourage you to visit our website periodically to view the latest version of this policy.

Questions or Concerns?

If you have questions about our privacy practices, this policy or our Notice of Privacy Practices, please contact us at privacyofficer@hcmed.org or 612-873-3737.