Privacy Statement

Introduction

This Privacy Statement describes how Kaiser Permanente collects and uses the personal information you provide on, and other information that is collected from your use of the website. It also describes the choices available to you regarding our use of your personal information and how you can access and update this information.

Personal information means information that is individually identifiable. Information that has been de-identified by Kaiser Permanente or others is no longer personal information and is not covered by the terms of this Privacy Statement.

Kaiser Permanente is committed to protecting the privacy of the users of the Pathways Study website. We will use and disclose your personal information as stated in this Privacy Statement.

Pathways Study Privacy Statement

Our use and disclosure of an individual’s personal information is limited as required by state and federal law. We do not sell or rent personal information about visitors to the Pathways Study website.

Security

The Pathways Study website have security measures in place that are intended to help protect against the loss, misuse, unauthorized access or alteration of information under our control both during transmission and once the information is received. These measures include encryption of data using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) system, and using a secured messaging service when we send your personal information electronically to the Pathways Study website. Despite these measures, the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to or from us via the Pathways Study website by Internet, text message or email cannot be guaranteed. At your discretion, you may contact us at the mailing address or telephone number listed in the “Questions, complaints, and contacts” section at the end of this Privacy Statement.

Revisions to the Privacy Statement

Any revised Privacy Statement will apply both to information we already have about you at the time of the change, and any personal information created or received after the change takes effect. We include a version number on this Privacy Statement consisting of the date (year, month, and day) it was last revised. We encourage you to periodically reread this Privacy Statement, to see if there have been any changes to our policies that may affect you.

The Pathways Study website visitor data

In addition to web logs, described below, Kaiser Permanente routinely gathers data on website and visitors such as how many people visit the site, the screens they visit, where they come from and how long they stay. The data is collected on an aggregate basis, which means that no personally identifiable information is associated with the data. This data helps us improve our content and overall usage. The information is not shared with other organizations for their independent use.

The Pathways Study website do not honor a browser’s signal or header request not to track the user’s activity.

Collecting and using the disclosing personal information

Except as disclosed in this Privacy Statement, we do not collect any personally identifiable information about visitors to the Pathways Study website. The policies, sources, uses and disclosures of information are outlined in Sections 1 through 13 that follow:

  1. Web logs
  2. As is true of most websites, we gather certain information automatically. We maintain standard Web logs that record data about all visitors and customers who use the Pathways Study website and we store this information for no longer than reasonably useful to carry out its legitimate business purpose, or as legally required. These logs may contain the Internet domain from which you access the site (such as aol.com, abc.org, etc.); the IP address which is automatically assigned to your computer when you get on the Internet (a static IP address may be identifiable as being connected to you, while a dynamic address is usually not identifiable); the type of browser and operating system you use; the date and time you visited; the pages or mobile screens you viewed; and the address of the website you linked from, if any. If you sign on to the the Pathways Study website, our Web logs will also contain an individual identifier and show the services you have accessed.All Web logs are stored securely and may only be accessed by Kaiser Permanente employees or designees on a need-to-know basis for a specific purpose. Kaiser Permanente uses Web log information to help us design our web experiences, to make the website more useful to visitors and for security purposes.

  3. Internet cookies
  4. We and our partners may place Internet “cookies” or similar technologies on the computer hard drives of visitors to the Pathways Study website. Information we obtain helps us to tailor our site to be more helpful and efficient for our visitors. The cookie consists of a unique identifier that does not contain information about your health history. We use two types of cookies, “session” cookies and “persistent” cookies, along with other similar technologies.Persistent cookies remain on your hard drive after you’ve exited from our website, and we use them to enhance your experience.

  5. Web beacons
  6. We may also occasionally use “Web beacons” (also known as “clear gifs,” “Web bugs,” “1-pixel gifs,” etc.) that allow us to collect non-personal information about your response to our email communications, and for other purposes. Web beacons are tiny images, placed on a Web page or email, that can tell us if you’ve gone to a particular area on our website. For example, if you’ve given us permission to send you emails, we may send you an email urging you to use a certain feature on our website. If you do respond to that email and use that feature, the Web beacon will tell us that our email communication with you has been successful. We do not collect any personal health information with a Web beacon, and do not link Web beacons with any other personal health information you’ve given us.Since Web beacons are used in conjunction with persistent cookies (described above), if you set your browser to decline or deactivate cookies, Web beacons cannot function.

  7. Messages
  8. Comments or questions sent to us using email will be shared with Kaiser Permanente staff who are most able to address your concerns. We will archive your messages once we have made our best effort to provide you with a complete and satisfactory response.

  9. Data integrity and correction
  10. Requests to view and correct personal information from the Pathways Study website may be submitted using the contact information in the “Questions, complaints, and contacts” section below.If your personal information changes, or to update or request deletion of information collected on our Pathways Study website, or if you believe a third party has provided us with your personal information and you would like to request that it be edited or removed from our database, please use the contact information in the “Questions, complaints, and contacts” section below. We will respond to all access requests within 30 days.

  11. Children
  12. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13. If Kaiser Permanente is made aware of collecting information from a child under 13 we will delete this information.

  13. Disclosures
  14. We may disclose personal information to any person performing audit, legal, operational, or other services for us. We will use information which does not identify the individual for these activities whenever reasonably possible. Information disclosed to vendors or contractors for operational purposes may not be re-disclosed to others by such a vendor or contractor, except as permitted by Kaiser Permanente and applicable law. We may also disclose your personal information to third parties who provide services on our behalf to help with our business activities. These companies are authorized to use your personal information only as necessary to provide these services to us. These services may include:

    • providing customer service
    • sending marketing communications
    • providing cloud computing infrastructure we may also disclose your personal information:
    • as required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, or similar legal process
    • when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect you or others from threats of imminent harm, investigate fraud or other activity in violation of the law, or respond to government requests (including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements)
    • to protect the security and reliability of the Pathways Study website
    • if Kaiser Permanente is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets. You will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our Pathways Study website any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information
    • to any other third party with your prior consent to do so
  15. Opt out
  16. If you request to receive information about a service through email (for example, blog notices, virtual event notices, etc.) in an ongoing manner through the Pathways Study website by providing an email address, you may make a request to discontinue receiving similar messages in the future. All such materials sent to you by email or text message will contain information about how to opt out.

  17. Data retention
  18. We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

Questions, complaints, and contacts

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, our policies and practices concerning the Kaiser Permanente Pathways Study website, you can contact Kaiser Permanente Pathways Study at 866-206-2979, send an email to dor-pathways@kp.org or by mail at 4480 Hacienda Drive, Pleasanton, CA 94588

Updated: December 31, 2023