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Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes the privacy practices of Ebix DBA Oakstone Publishing and its affiliates (referred to collectively as “Oakstone,” “us,” “we” and “our”) in relation to your use of our websites, mobile applications and other resources intended for use by healthcare professionals and which we refer to as the “Oakstone properties,” including the information and services made available to users of the Oakstone properties, such as medical news, reference content, clinical tools, applications, sponsored programs, email communications, continuing medical education, market research opportunities and discussion forums (collectively, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to our properties and services that display a link to a different privacy policy.

We provide the Services as a professional resource intended to support healthcare professionals in their efforts to provide high quality medical care to patients and meet/maintain applicable board certifications. You can choose whether or not you want to use the Services. If you do choose to use the Services, you must agree to the Oakstone properties Terms of Use which is a contract between us and users of the Services. By agreeing to the Oakstone Properties Terms of Use, you confirm that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy which explains how we collect, disclose, transfer, secure and use information about you in connection with your use of the Services and the rights and choices you have regarding these activities. If you do not want us to collect and use information about you as described in this Privacy Policy, then you should not use the Services. By using the Services, you acknowledge that we will store, use and otherwise process your information in the United States and any other country from where the applicable Oakstone property is operated. Please be aware that the privacy laws and standards in certain countries may differ from those that apply in the country in which you reside. Unless otherwise specified herein or on the property from which you have accessed this Privacy Policy, Ebix DBA Oakstone Publishing is the controller of the personal information that we collect about you as described in this Privacy Policy.

The Privacy Policy does not apply to written correspondence or telephone conversations, or any other method of obtaining information that you voluntarily provide to us, but strictly to information gathered online from the Website.

What Information We Collect.

Some features on the Website ask you for personal information. Below is a listing of information collected:

  • Registration. In order to use the Services, you may be required to register an account and provide certain personal information such as your name, email address, zip/postal code, profession, occupation, specialty and depending on your country of practice, your medical license number or equivalent. You may choose to update or supplement the personal information that you provided at registration at any time through your account settings or by contacting Oakstone Customer Service.
  • Services Information. We automatically collect and store information about your use of the Services, such as your engagement with particular content, whether you opened a particular email, clicked on a link, your search queries and how often and when you engage with the Services. We also collect information about your device when you access the Services including IP address, browser information (including referring URL), cookie information. We use cookies and other tracking technologies, such as pixels, tags, web beacons and software development kits, to collect the information about your use of the Services and your device.
  • Market Research. You may be invited to participate in market research surveys conducted by us or on our behalf for our own internal business purposes. For some surveys, you may be asked to provide personal information for re-contact (e.g., by e-mail or phone) or payment fulfillment purposes.
  • Information from Third Party Sources. We may obtain additional information about you from third party sources to assist us in providing the Services. For example, we may use third party information to verify and update your registration information, for research purposes or to personalize the Services, including advertising.
  • Non-registered Users. You must register with Oakstone properties to access our Services, however, you may be able to access certain limited Services without registering. Even if you have not registered, we collect information about your use of the Services through the use of cookies and other tracking technologies. The information we collect includes the referring website, if applicable, the type of browser you use, the material viewed, and the time and date that you accessed the Services.

How We Use This Information.

We use this information to better serve our customers.

  • Provision of the Services & Communications. We may use the information collected about you to provide and improve the Services, and to develop new Services. Communication may be conveyed through a variety of channels, subject to applicable law.
  • Member Profiles. We may associate information that we have collected about your use of the Services with your registration information and any other information we have about you, as described in this Privacy Policy, thereby creating a profile of you that we may update from time to time ("User Profile").
  • Personalize the Services. We may personalize the Services, on third party websites and in our email communications, based on information included in your User Profile. We partner with third parties to manage and conduct our advertising activities on third party websites. These third parties may use cookies and other tracking technologies to deliver this messaging based on your activities and interests as inferred from your use of the Services and other information they have about you.
  • Verification Purposes. We may use your information in conjunction with information from third parties to recognize you as a registered member when you visit one of our properties and to verify your identity and/or professional credentials.
  • Account Management. We may use your information to administer your account, respond to your inquiries, fulfill your requests and send you administrative communications about the Services.
  • Investigations. We may use your information to detect, investigate and defend against fraudulent or unlawful activity, violations of Oakstone Terms of Use and to otherwise establish, exercise and defend our legal rights.
  • The above excludes text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

How We Store This Information.

We understand the importance of protecting personal data and ensuring it is stored securely. All customer information collected by us is stored using industry-standard security measures to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure. This includes the use of encryption, firewalls, and other security protocols to safeguard your data. We only collect the minimum amount of information necessary to provide our services. In the event of any data breaches or security incidents, we have established procedures in place to promptly investigate and respond to the situation. We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of our customers' information and continually strive to improve our security measures to ensure the protection of your data.

We Protect Your Privacy.

Oakstone does not sell or trade your personally identifiable information to any third-party. In some circumstances, Oakstone does share collected information with trusted partners who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business and providing more targeted services to our customers. Additional details include:

  • Service Providers. We work with third party service providers to help us provide the Services and to otherwise assist us in the operation of the Oakstone properties, including in the areas of email management and deployment, analytics, marketing, advertising, market research, identity and professional credential validation, content distribution, customer service, payment fulfillment, premium or gift card associated with purchase delivery, website maintenance and data storage and security. We may provide these service providers with personal information about users of our Services so that they can fulfill their responsibilities to us, however, we do require that they agree to limit their use of this personal information to the fulfillment of these responsibilities.
  • Market Research. If you receive remuneration for participating in a market research program offered through our Services, we may provide your personal information to our payment fulfillment vendor so that it can process and deliver your payment to you and for its recordkeeping and regulatory compliance purposes, and also to the program sponsor (or the market research company acting on its behalf) for its recordkeeping and regulatory compliance purposes. If you choose to access a survey that is conducted by a third party market research company, we may identify you to this company. Also, certain market research opportunities require us or the market research company to contact you directly to conduct the survey, including by telephone. We will inform you in the research invitation if you will be required to provide additional contact information, e.g., phone number, to participate so that you can decide at that time if you wish to proceed with the opportunity. We do not disclose your survey responses to the sponsor in a manner that identifies you.
  • Continuing Medical Education. Oakstone Publishing (“Oakstone”) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the ADA American Dental Association, AGD Academy of General Dentistry and FCLB Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Board deliver continuing education for the healthcare team (collectively, "CME/CE"), which CME/CE activities are hosted by Oakstone. As an accredited entity, Oakstone is required to periodically submit personal information about CME/CE participation to the relevant accrediting entities. Oakstone and its affiliates that develop independent medical education content (“IME”), may provide your personal information to accredited providers that certify CME/CE offered through the Services as required to process your credits, fulfill their reporting obligations to the relevant accreditation bodies, and for their internal recordkeeping and regulatory purposes. We may share your personal information among our affiliates for the purpose of sending you a survey with respect to a CME/CE or IME activity.
  • Consent. We may disclose your personal information to a third party in a manner not addressed by this Privacy Policy subject to your consent at such time.
  • Aggregated Information. We may provide aggregated information about users of our Services to third parties as we deem appropriate in our sole discretion.
  • Social Widgets. We may include social widgets within our websites and apps which enable you to interact with the associated social media services, e.g., to share an article. These widgets may collect browsing data which may be received by the third party that provided the widget, and are controlled by these third parties. You may be able to manage your privacy preferences directly with the applicable social network platform.
  • Business Transfers and Affiliates. We may share your information with any member of our group of companies (meaning our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries) for their use for the purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy, including to market to you through a variety of channels as described herein, subject to applicable law. In connection with a corporate change in control resulting from, for example, a sale to, or merger with, another entity, or in the event of a sale of assets or a bankruptcy, we reserve the right to transfer your personal information to the new party in control or the party acquiring assets. In the event of such a change, your personal information will continue to be treated in accordance with this Privacy Policy, as may be modified as described below.
  • Legal Requirements. We may release personal information when we believe release (i) is required to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order and to meet national security or law enforcement requirements; or (ii) is reasonable in response to a physical threat to you or others, to protect property or defend or assert legal rights of us or others.

Customer Choice.

  • Account Information. You may update your registration information at any time through the Account Management feature available on each of our properties. You may also contact Customer Support at oakstoneservice@ebix.com and request that your registration information be updated or deleted. Note that if we delete your account, we may maintain certain de-identified information about you for internal business purposes including research, analytics and reporting. We may also maintain record of credits earned to support any future ACCME, board or license requirements.
  • Email Communications. If you no longer wish to receive a particular type of email communication from us, you may unsubscribe by clicking the "unsubscribe" link located at the bottom of the email and following the instructions. Note that certain email communications that we send to members are service-related and as long as you are an active subscriber of the Service, you may not unsubscribe from such emails such as a product renewal. Also, if you have provided us more than one email address, we may continue to contact you using the other email address not associated with the emails from which you have unsubscribed, until you unsubscribe from emails sent to that other address.
  • Push Notifications. We may send you push notifications from time-to-time to notify you of upcoming events or promotions we think may be relevant to you. If you no longer wish to receive these types of notifications, opt-out by clicking on the hyperlink at the bottom of any email you receive or you can send an email to oakstoneservice@ebix.com requesting to be unsubscribed from any further emails. Please note that you cannot opt-out from emails regarding your account information and order status.
  • California Residents. Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code requires select businesses to disclose policies relating to the sharing of certain categories of your personal information with third parties. If you reside in California and have provided your personal information to us, you may request information about our disclosures of certain categories of personal information to third parties for direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year. You can submit such request by sending an email to oakstoneservice@ebix.com or by speaking to a customer service representative during business hours at 800-633-4743.

Cookies.

To enhance your online experience we use cookies. Cookies are text files we place in your computer's browser to store your preferences. Cookies are commonly used by websites to improve the user experience and have not been known to transmit computer viruses or otherwise harm your computer. Many cookies last only through a single website session or visit. Others may have an expiration date, or may remain on your computer until you delete them. Cookies, by themselves, do not tell us your e-mail address or other personally identifiable information unless you choose to provide this information to us by, for example, registering at one of our sites. However, once you choose to furnish the site with personally identifiable information, this information may be linked to the data stored in the cookie.

We use cookies to understand Internet usage and to improve our content, offerings and advertisements. For example, we may use cookies to maintain continuity during your session, personalize your experience at our Web pages (e.g., to recognize you by name when you return to our site), save your password in password-protected areas and enable you to use shopping carts on our sites. We also may use cookies to offer you products, programs or services. Our cookies will track only your activity relating to your online activity on this Website, and will not track your other Internet activity.

We use cookies to help keep track of items you put into your shopping cart including when you have abandoned your cart and this information is used to determine when to send cart reminder messages via SMS.

If you do not want cookies, most Web browsers include an option that allows you to not accept them. However, if you set your browser to refuse cookies, some portions of our site may not function effectively. We may occasionally use other companies to set cookies on our websites and gather cookie information for us. We use the cookie information gathered by these companies in the same manner as stated above.

DMD Healthcare Communications NetworkSM Privacy Statement

This digital service participates in the DMD Healthcare Communication NetworkSM (the “Network”), and as such has implemented various technologies for universal registration/login among all Network member websites. These technologies are managed by DMD Marketing Corp. (“DMD”), and may involve the collection, receipt, and sharing of information with DMD, its clients and other Network members. If you would like to understand how this digital service’s participation in the Network affects your privacy, please click here:

http://usersupport.dmdconnects.com/PrivacyPolicy.htm

Please note that the Network registration/login system may be different from the registration/login used by this digital service for other products and services. To the extent that anything in this privacy policy conflicts with the policy for the Network technologies, the conflict will be resolved in favor of the policy applicable to the Network technologies.

Encrypted Credit Card Purchases.

If you use a credit card to purchase a product from this Website, the credit card number is encrypted as it passes over the Internet. We work closely with our payment processing provider to ensure our site is a highly secure ordering environment, so you can purchase with confidence.

Acceptance of the Privacy Policy.

By your online usage of the Website, you agree to accept the Terms of this policy. Any improper conduct or misuse of the Website will not be tolerated and we reserve the right to release to third parties any personal information regarding users who violate the terms of the policy, or use the Website for fraudulent or illegal purposes.

Indemnification.

You will indemnify, hold harmless and defend Oakstone and its subsidiaries, operating divisions, affiliates, attorneys, licensors, successors, or assigns from and against any claim, action, demand, cause of action, suit, proceeding, loss, cost, expense, damage, debt or liability, including reasonable legal costs and attorneys' fees, alleged or asserted by any person or actually incurred by Oakstone, which arises out of or relates to: (a) your use or of the Website; (b) your breach or violation of any of these Terms; or (c) your breach or violation of any third party right, including any property, publicity or privacy right. Additionally, Oakstone reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any action, proceeding or matter subject to indemnification by you, whereupon you agree to cooperate with Oakstone in asserting any available defense.

Changes to Privacy Policy.

Oakstone may revise or modify this Privacy Policy, either in whole or in part, at any time without prior notice to you, and such revisions and modifications will supersede this version. You will be bound by any such revisions or modifications and should, therefore, visit this page each time you access the Website to review the then-current Privacy Policy. Print off or save a local copy of the then-current Privacy Policy for your records.

Questions about the Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Customer Service
Ebix | Oakstone
P.O. Box 190165
Birmingham, AL 35219
Email: oakstoneservice@ebix.com

Last Revised December 21, 2022