Privacy Policy

We do not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) about you when you visit our Web sites unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do collect some data about your visit to our Web site to help us better understand how the public uses the site and how to make it more helpful. We never collects information for commercial marketing or any purpose.

Type of Information Collected

When you visit any Web site, certain information about your visit can be collected. This website automatically collects and temporarily stores the following type of information about your visit:

• Internet address and domain from which you visited the This website Web site
• Information about the operating system and browser used
• Date and time of the visit
• Pages visited
• Internet address of the Web site that connected you to the This website Web site
• Words searched

This information is used to measure the number of visitors to the various sections of our site and improve organization, coverage, system performance or problem areas. This information is not used for associating search terms or patterns of site navigation with individual users. When search features offer suggested terms, these suggestions are based on aggregated data only. This website periodically deletes its Web logs. On occasion, This website may provide aggregated information to third party entities it contracts with for the purposes of research analysis. Aggregated data cannot be linked back to an individual user.

If your electronic medical record (EMR), patient health record (PHR) or other system links you to MedlinePlus, your diagnosis codes or other information, such as medications or procedures names, are sent to our site in order to link you to the most appropriate information. No personally identifiable information is collected in this process. We may review information in order to make improvements to our site and better meet user needs, but such information is reviewed at an aggregated level.

Cookies

When you visit any Web site, it may place a small text file, known as a "cookie" on your computer. The cookie allows the Web site to "remember" specific information about your visit while you are connected or when you return to that site.

The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of Web pages. Cookies from This website Web pages only collect information about your browser's visit to the site; they do not collect personal information about you. While visiting certain This website sites, you may occasionally encounter a Web page that automatically employs cookies to make it easier to use the dynamic features of these Web pages.

This website Web sites may use either single session (temporary) or multi-session (persistent) cookies. Session cookies last only as long as your Web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.

Session Cookies: We use session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through our site. The OMB Memo 10-22 Guidance defines our use of session cookies as "Usage Tier 1 -- Single Session." This tier encompasses any use of single session Web measurement and customization technologies.

Persistent Cookies: This website uses persistent cookies to enhance the Web experience for our users. Persistent cookies remain on your computer between visits to This website until they expire. The OMB Memo 10-22 Guidance defines our use of persistent cookies as "Usage Tier 2 -- Multi-session without Personally Identifiable Information" (PII.) This tier encompasses any use of multi-session Web measurement and customization technologies when no PII is collected.

How to Opt Out or Disable Cookies

If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them at any time from your Web browser. If you opt out of cookies, you will still have access to all information and resources at This website, but may be unable to use cookie-dependent features.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

If you choose to send us personal information by email, or by filling out a form on our Web site, we use that information to respond to your message and to help us provide you with information or material that you request. If provided, personally identifiable information is maintained in a database that is regularly purged. Third party contractors may have access to this information in order to provide a response to your question or comment. These contractors are held to strict policies to safeguard the information and provide the same level of privacy protection as guaranteed by This website. On occasion, we may conduct a study concerning the types of questions sent to us. These studies help us to improve our Web sites in order to make them more responsive to the needs of our users. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party unless required by law.

Links to Other Sites

This website provides links to other Internet sites that provide health information. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.

Security

Third-Party Web Sites and Applications

Third-Party Web sites and Applications (TPWA) are Web-based technologies that are not exclusively operated or controlled by This website. They may be hosted on a non-government Web site or embedded on an This website Web page. TPWA technologies may make personally identifiable information (PII) available to This website, regardless of whether we request or collect it. In addition, other official Government Web sites we link to or cooperate with may use a third-party to handle some aspect of an information collection (for example: contest nomination process). As a result, our stated privacy policy/notice may not apply.

We use these technologies to communicate and interact with you. Examples include social media Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Your activity on these non-government sites is governed by the security and privacy policies of those sites. When you use them, you are often sharing information with the general public, other users, and/or the group operating that site or application. We recommend you review the privacy policies of these sites before using them to ensure you understand how these third-party sites and applications might use your information. You may be able to adjust the privacy settings on your account.

The list below includes the applications we use and their purposes. For any sites or applications that collect PII, this list also includes details on the information they collect and how This website protects your private information.