This policy explains how we collect, use and protect information about individuals that visit our websites, and use our electronic services, tools and applications, including mobile applications (these will collectively be referred to throughout this policy as our “Technology”).  

PLEASE REVIEW THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY. When you access and/or submit information through Penn State Health’s Technology, you consent to the collection and processing of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Penn State Health believes that it should: 

• Inform you how we use Personal Information.
• Collect, store, and use the minimum amount of Personal Information necessary for our legitimate business purposes, and to comply with legal obligations.
• Take reasonable steps to ensure the Personal Information we manage is accurate and up-to-date.
• Limit who has access to the Personal Information in our possession to only those who need it for a legitimate business purpose.
• Protect Personal Information through reasonable and appropriate physical and technical security. 

Details about how your medical information (known as Protected Health Information or PHI) may be used and disclosed, as well as how you can access it, are provided in the Notice of Privacy Practices – HIPAA section above.

What Type of Information Do We Collect

The information we receive about you depends on how you use our Technology. When using our Technology, you may provide us with certain information, including, without limitation, the Personal Information or identifiers listed below: 

• Name;
• Address;
• Geolocation;
• All elements of dates related to an individual, including birthdate, admission date, discharge date, date of death, and age;
• Telephone number;
• Fax number;
• Email address;
• Social Security Number;
• Medical record number;
• Health plan beneficiary and Insurance information;
• Account number;
• Certificate or license number;
• Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers;
• Device identifiers and serial numbers;
• Finger or voice print;
• Photographic image;
• Government Issued Documents;
• Information about other people, such as dependents or emergency contacts;
• Financial Information;
• Account credentials, such as username and password;
• Job Applicant and Employee Information; and
• Any other information about you or another person, or that could uniquely identify you or another individual.

You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information you submit to us. Submitting inaccurate information or failing to maintain the accuracy of information that changes (for example, a change of email address) may disrupt your ability to use our Technology or services. It may also affect the information you receive from us and may impact our ability to contact you. You can update your Personal Information at any time by logging into and visiting your user account page, as applicable, or by contact us.

Information that might automatically be collected and stored when you visit our Technology may Include, without limitation: 

• The Internet domain;
• IP addresses;
• The type of browser you use;
• The date and time of visit;
• The address of the website used to link to our Technology;
• Information provided by third-party sites used to connect to our Technology, including advertising and marketing providers (ex: Google Analytics, and Google Adwords);
• Content viewed during the visit;
• Date and time of visit;
• Amount of time spent on the website;
• Visitor location based on IP address;
• Demographic information; and
• Search terms entered on the website. 

How We Use Your Information

We use information that we collect about you, or that you provide to us, including any Personal Information:

• to make our Technology and content available to you, and to improve the design and functionality of those sites.
• to provide you with information, products or services.
• to personalize your experience on our Technology and allow you to participate in our interactive features.
• to improve customer service.
• to send you communications, including texts, emails and newsletters.
• to communicate with you regarding, bills, class registrations, donations, products or services.
  to process an application for employment, volunteer work or for an educational program.
• to carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered between you and us, including for billing and collection.
• to monitor medical conditions, or general health and wellness, using electronic programs in which you have volunteered to self-report information (examples include blood pressure readings and blood glucose values)
• to fulfill any other purpose for which you provide the information.
• in any other ways we may describe when you provide the information.
• for other purposes permitted by law or with you consent.

With Whom This Information Will Be Shared

Penn State Health does not sell or rent your Personal Information. We may, however, share your Personal Information in limited circumstances, such as with service providers that support our business activities. Your information may be de-identified, aggregated and shared with third parties for the purposes outlined above.

We may also share your Personal Information when required by law, or when we believe sharing will help to protect the safety, property, or rights of Penn State Health, members of the of our workforce, our guests and the community.

How We Collect Information 

Penn State Health strives to limit the information we collect to the information needed to support our business. We collect Personal Information through our websites in the following circumstances: 

• Automated Processes: This includes information collected through electronic tools such as cookies placed on your computer when you visit our websites.
• Directly from you: When you provide the information to us directly, such as when you provide an email address, home address or phone number through online forms. 

Mobile Application Location Data

Some features found on one or more of our mobile applications require background location access. This allows you to benefit from services offered through the application such as giving you the ability to find Penn State Health locations near you, receive notifications through your phone when you are on or near our facilities, or to check in when you are at the location of an appointment. These functions may run even if the mobile application is not running.

Do Not Track

Our Technology do not currently respond to a Do Not Track requests. Do Not Track is a privacy preference that you can set in your web browser to indicate that you do not want certain information about your webpage visits collected across website Technology.

SMS Texting Services

You may decide to subscribe to one of our short code mobile message programs (the “Program”) to receive SMS/text messages. If you choose to opt-in and consent, such as by providing your telephone number to us or clicking submit online, we will collect information about your interactions with the SMS/text messages we send you as part of the Program(s) in which you are enrolled. Information gathered in SMS campaigns will not be shared for Marketing Purposes. Additional terms and conditions related to SMS texting can be found in the Penn State Health SMS Terms and Conditions section below.

Cookies and Other Technology

Some Technology uses “cookies” and other performance or tracking tools during site or application visits. A cookie is a small file containing a string of characters that is sent to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website or use an online service. Once a cookie is placed on your device, the cookie allows previously visited Technology to recognize your browser or device. Cookies may store unique identifiers, user preferences, and other information. Penn State Health may use “session cookies” or “persistent cookies.” Session cookies are temporary and expire once you close your browser or once your session ends. Persistent cookies remain on your device for much longer or until you or your browser erases them. Persistent cookies have varying durations that are dependent on their expiration date. Cookies are used in the following ways: 

• Strictly necessary cookies – these cookies are for usability purposes and to comply with subscription preferences that our visitors have given us. No personally identifying data is collected and the “cookie” is erased when the visit ends.
• Analytical cookies and scripts – analytical cookies and scripts measure website use and performance, including recording user sessions on the Technology.   
• Functional cookies – these cookies remember choices you make (e.g., the country you visit our Technology from, your language and any changes you have made to text size or other parts of web pages that you can customize) to improve your experience with our Technology and to make your visits and use more tailored and enjoyable.
• Tracking cookies – our Technology and some of our third-party service providers may use tracking “cookies” on a limited basis to measure the effectiveness of our advertising and to deliver targeted advertising to users who have visited specific pages of the Technology. Where videos are embedded on the Technology, some of our third-party service providers may also collect video viewing information and your device ID or other identifiers. You can turn off tracking cookies in your browser preferences at any time without affecting performance of this Technology if you wish to do so.
• Social Media Plugins – Some of the pages on our website have embedded social media sharing buttons. Social media platforms use cookies or other tracking technologies when a button is embedded on our website. We do not have access to, or control of, any information collected through these buttons. Social media platforms are responsible for how they collect and use your information. For specific privacy controls on how these plugins collect information or track you, review the privacy policies of each social media site.  
• DoubleClick Cookies – DoubleClick, which is run by Google, uses cookies to improve advertising. The cookies collect information specific to your browsing activity and keep it linked to your unique cookie ID. Review the relevant privacy policies on their website to learn more about how they collect and use your information and options you have to opt-out of these cookies.
• Google Analytics, SiteImprove and Crazy Egg Cookies – Google Analytics and Crazy Egg cookies count visits and traffic sources, as well as monitor trends of what information people are engaging with on our website, in order to measure and improve the performance of our website. Review the relevant privacy policies on their websites to learn more about how they collect and use your information and options you have to opt-out of these cookies.
• Web Beacons and Pixels – Some Technology pages may contain small electronic files or scripts known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit us, for example, to count users who have visited those pages and for other related statistics (i.e., recording the popularity of certain content and verifying system and server integrity). We also use these technical methods to analyze the traffic patterns, such as the frequency with which our users visit various parts of the Services. These technical methods may involve the transmission of information either directly to us or to a third party authorized by us to collect information on our behalf. We may also use web beacons in HTML emails that we send to determine whether the recipients have opened those emails and/or clicked on links in those emails.

Some web browsers provide settings that allow a user to reject cookies or to alert a user when a cookie is placed on the user’s computer, tablet or mobile device. Most mobile devices also offer settings to reject mobile device identifiers. Although users are not required to accept cookies or mobile device identifiers, blocking or rejecting them may prevent access to some features available through the Technology. You can update your settings on your internet browser, such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, to choose what types of cookies you want to allow on your computer. On most browsers, you’ll find these settings under “Internet Options” and “Privacy Settings.” 

Please note that third-party tracking technologies, such as tracking cookies and pixels, are not used on Penn State Health on authenticated websites or apps, such as your patient portal.   

Payment Processors

Our Technology uses third-party payment processors to perform payment-related services for Penn State Health. These third-party payment processors collect the necessary personal information such as first name, last name, credit card/bank account number and other information needed to process purchases/payments on the Technology. Third-party payment processor use of Personal Information may be subject to a separate privacy policy and terms of use. We recommend that you review each applicable third-party payment processor's privacy policy and terms of use before using those services.

Links to Other Sites

This Privacy Notice applies only to your use of Penn State Health Technology. Our Technology may contain links to other sites, including sites that may indicate a connection to or business relationship with us. Similarly, certain Penn State Health Mobile Applications, including Penn State Health’s version of “MyChart”, are operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites or operators. You should read the privacy notices of each site you visit or mobile application you access to determine what Personal Information that site may be collecting about you.

How Information Is Secured 

Penn State Health recognizes the importance of maintaining the security of the information it collects and maintains, and we endeavor to protect information from unauthorized access and damage. We strive to ensure reasonable security measures are in place, including physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to protect your Personal Information. 

You are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that no unauthorized person shall have access to your Penn State Health passwords or accounts. It is your sole responsibility to: 

1. control the dissemination and use of activation codes and passwords;
2. authorize, monitor, and control access to and use of your Penn State Health account and password; and
3. promptly inform us of any need to deactivate a password.

Children's Privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. The Penn State Health website is intended for adults and young adults age 13 and over. It is not intended for or designed to attract persons under the age of 13. We do not permit registration by, nor do we collect personally identifiable information from, any person we actually know to be under the age of 13.

Changes in our Privacy Policy

From time to time, we may use customer information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at some time in the future, we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt-out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, please check our Privacy Policy periodically.

Other Terms and Conditions

As Penn State Health offers new Technology, some may have additional and specific terms and conditions associated with your access and use of that Technology.   Prior to using any Technology, please be sure to review specific access terms and conditions that may be applicable to your use of all technology offered by Penn State Health.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this website or your interaction with this website, contact:
Web Solutions Office: [email protected]

When you sign up for text messages from Penn State Health and its affiliated entities (“Penn State Health”), you are signing up to receive text messages related to your relationship with Penn State Health, including the following:

• updates related to patient visits;
• account updates;
• one-time passcode;
• billing notifications;
• prescription reminders; and
• care management.

You can opt-out of SMS messages by texting STOP to respective short code. Your opt-out request will generate one final message confirming that you have been unsubscribed. You will no longer receive SMS messages from the short code you opted out from. If you want to join again, sign up using MyChart by Penn State Health or text HELP to the short code for instructions. 

If you are experiencing issues with the messaging program you can reply with the keyword HELP for more assistance, or you can get help directly at 844-614-3742.  

Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. 

Message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. Message frequency may vary. 

Contact us at: 844-614-3742.

Overview

Penn State Health is committed to safeguarding your privacy on our websites. We operate under the following set of privacy principles:

• A visitor can access and browse our entire site at any time without providing any personal information. The only information Penn State Health obtains about individual visitors to its websites is that supplied voluntarily by visitors.
• In cases when Penn State Health may need personal information to provide visitors with customized content or to inform them about new features or services, visitors are explicitly asked for that information.
• Personally identifiable information provided by visitors (name, e-mail or home address, etc.) will not be disclosed to anyone unless visitors indicate that Penn State Health may do so.
• Personally identifiable information will not be shared at any time without the visitor's permission. Penn State Health employs strict security measures to safeguard online transactions.
• The Penn State Health website is intended for adults and young adults age 13 and over. It is not intended for or designed to attract persons under the age of 13.

View Privacy Policy

Personal information

A visitor can access and browse our entire site at any time without providing any personal information. The only information Penn State Health obtains about individual visitors to its websites is that supplied voluntarily by visitors. In addition, Penn State Health does not share any personally identifiable information of any individual with any third party unrelated to Penn State Health, except in situations where we must provide information for legal purposes or investigations, or if so directed by the patient through a proper authorization.

• Forms: Our website contains forms through which users may request information or supply feedback to us. In some cases, telephone numbers, email addresses or return addresses are required so that we can supply requested information to you, and in other cases, correct names and addresses are required to process credit card payments. After you complete a form, we may contact you with follow-up information. We do not provide any information supplied on our Web forms to any outside organization for any reason, other than where we may be required to by law or as necessary to process credit card information. We do not save this personal information for any other reason.
• E-Commerce and E-Healthcare transactions: Some Penn State Health site features may use applications to collect data to facilitate an e-commerce or e-healthcare transaction. We will ask your explicit permission to transfer this data to the third party to facilitate this transaction. Penn State Health may store this information to verify the transaction for customer service and accounting reasons and may use this information to help personalize your experience on our website.
• Public forums: Penn State Health may provide users with chat rooms, forums, message boards and/or news groups. Please remember that any information disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.
• Surveys: Occasionally, we may survey visitors to our site. The information from these surveys is used in aggregate form to help us understand the needs of our visitors so that we can improve our site. We generally do not ask for information in surveys that would personally identify you. If we do request contact information for follow-up, you may decline to provide it. If survey respondents provide personal information (such as an email address) in a survey, it is shared only with those people who need to see it to respond to the question or request.

• Email: Unsecured information transferred over the internet is similar to a postcard being sent through the mail. We recommend that you do not send sensitive personal health information to email addresses found on the Penn State Health website or anyone else using unsecured means. Should you choose to supply confidential information in this manner, you do so at your own risk. If you feel that this type of information is necessary to provide to us, please call our CareLine at 800-243-1455 to speak directly to the party with whom you want to receive the information. 

  "Phishing" is a scam designed to steal your personal information. If you receive an email that appears to be from Penn State Health asking you for your personal information, do not respond. We will never request your password, user name, credit card information or other personal information through email.

• Choice/Opt-in: Our website gives users the opportunity to opt-in to receive communications from us which requires information from you. This may include use of third-party websites to manage the subscription and delivery of information via email, and if so, you should carefully review the privacy policy of that Website. We make every effort to ensure that privacy policies of Web services we use for communication purposes have privacy policies consistent with our privacy policy, and that they comply with U.S. CAN-SPAM laws. All opt-in email communication services will provide a method for you to opt-out/unsubscribe and/or change your contact information from every email message you receive. We do not sell, trade, rent or share personal information about our users to or with any other organizations. We will use your email address only to send you the e-newsletters which you have chosen to receive.
• User name and password: In the event you access any service requiring a User Name and Password, you are solely responsible for keeping such User Name and Password strictly confidential.
• Security: The Penn State Health website has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. Penn State Health employs strict security measures to safeguard online transactions.

Non-Personal information

Automatic collection of information:  As you browse our website or download information, our system will automatically gather and store certain information about your visit. This information does not identify you personally and is used in aggregate only to help us understand Website visitor behavior and interests, leading to improvements for future visits to our website.

Cookies: Cookies are used to track user activity throughout our website. They are not used to associate individual user activity with personal or identifiable information to be shared with any other organizations. We use the data provided to understand user session activity and help us improve the website visitor experience in general. We do not automatically gather individual names, email addresses or other individually identifiable information.

The following information is automatically collected and recorded during your visit:

• Aggregate information on which pages are accessed
• Web browser software name and release number (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.)
• Operating system (Windows, Mac, etc.)
• Date and time of website visit
• Website address that linked to us (referrer URL)
• IP Address: All computer identification on the internet is conducted with IP addresses, which allow computers and servers to recognize and communicate with each other. An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you access the internet. Penn State Health collects IP addresses in order to conduct system administration and to conduct site analysis. To maintain visitor anonymity, Penn State Health does not associate IP addresses with records containing personal information. We use this information internally to improve our services. Although these statistics may be provided to others, they do not contain, and cannot be used to obtain, personal information about any individual website user.

How do we use the information we collect?

The information we gather automatically is used only by a select group of Penn State Health employees to:

• Monitor, review, measure, and analyze website utilization
• Modify and enhance the website
• Improve the content and design of our website
• Determine the need for new programs and services
• Monitor and improve our customer service efforts
• Study general usage habits and demographic information for our own marketing research purposes
• Determine the effectiveness of health promotion and marketing programs

External links

Some Penn State Health websites provide links to other internet sites that provide health information. Penn State Health is not responsible for the content or privacy statements of those websites. If you are asked to supply personal information to those websites, we suggest you carefully read the privacy statements of those websites. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.

Children's privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. The Penn State Health website is intended for adults and young adults age 13 and over. It is not intended for or designed to attract persons under the age of 13. We do not permit registration by, nor do we collect personally identifiable information from, any person we actually know to be under the age of 13.

Changes in our privacy policy

From time to time, we may use customer information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at some time in the future, we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, please check our Privacy Statement periodically.

Contacting the website

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this website, or your interaction with this website, contact:

• Web Solutions Office: [email protected]

Website access agreement

Please see our Website Access Agreement for other terms and conditions governing your use of the Penn State Health website

No medical advice

The information on this website is provided for general informational purposes only and SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical advice, evaluation or care from your physician or other qualified healthcare provider. Nothing on this website should be used for treating or diagnosing a medical or health condition or for replacing any relationship with your physician or other qualified healthcare provider. The health information furnished on this website and the interactive responses (if any) furnished by or through, this website are not intended to or implied to be professional medical advice. You are encouraged to consult other sources and confirm the information contained within this website. Consult your own physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition. For medical concerns, including decisions about medications and other treatments, you should always consult your physician or other, qualified healthcare professional. In serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a physician or other qualified healthcare provider immediately. YOU SHOULD NEVER DISREGARD MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON THIS WEBSITE. No medications, diet supplements or treatments as may be described on this website should be taken or begun without first consulting your physician or other healthcare provider. No information on this website should be considered or shall be deemed to be an endorsement or recommendation by Penn State Health of any medication, diet supplements, treatments, products, tests or otherwise.

No warranties

The information on this website is not exhaustive and is provided "AS IS" and without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied. All implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose or use are hereby excluded.

Disclaimer of Liability of Penn State Health, if any, for damages (including without limitation liability arising out of tort, strict liability, negligence, contract or patent or copyright infringement) shall not exceed the lesser of (i) the fees paid, if any, to Penn State Health for the particular information or service provided on this website or (ii) $100. Penn State Health shall not be liable under any theory of indemnity. In no event shall Penn State Health be liable for any damages other than the amount referred to above. All other damages, direct or indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive are hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law, even if Penn State Health has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Penn State Health expressly disclaims and DOES NOT WARRANT that the functioning of this website will be uninterrupted or error free; that any errors will be corrected; that any information on this website is complete, accurate (although Penn State Health strives for accuracy), or timely (or will be updated); and that this website, or the server that makes it available, is or will be free of viruses or other harmful components. You are solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from downloading any material from this website.

YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT PENN STATE HEALTH, ITS LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS AND BUSINESS PARTNERS (IF ANY) ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RESULTS OF YOUR DECISIONS RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS WEBSITE OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, YOUR CHOOSING TO SEEK OR NOT TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL CARE, OR YOUR CHOOSING OR NOT CHOOSING SPECIFIC TREATMENT BASED ON THE INFORMATION ON OR ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEBSITE.

Offensive or explicit content

This website may contain scientific, medical or health information which you may find sexually explicit or otherwise offensive. The information on this website is meant for adults, or for mature teenagers under parental supervision. Penn State Health accepts no responsibility for such materials. You are solely responsible for compliance with the laws applicable to you where you reside.

Disclaimer of endorsement

Links to other websites are provided, if at all, for your convenience only, and should not be considered and shall not be deemed as an endorsement or recommendation by Penn State Health of such other websites or their content. Penn State Health is not responsible for the availability, the content or the damage which may be caused by such other websites.

Penn State Health, its licensors and suppliers (if any) make no representations or warranties as to the satisfaction of government regulations requiring disclosure of information on prescription drug products (if any) with regard to the information contained on, or accessed through, this website.

Agreement not to access unauthorized sites

As an additional condition to accessing this website, you agree not to attempt to gain unauthorized access to any areas of this website, computer systems or networks connected to this website.

Agreement not to violate copyright

The materials on our website are copyrighted and may be downloaded or reprinted for personal, non-commercial use only. Permission to reprint or electronically reproduce any document or graphics in whole or in part, for any other reason is prohibited unless prior written consent is obtained from Penn State Health.

This Agreement is subject to change without notice.

View Privacy Policy

Help us protect the privacy and safety of all our patients and caregivers

The capabilities of hand-held smart devices such as phones and tablets make it very easy for us to connect with our surroundings. We love to take pictures and videos of things we see and do as a way to record and remember important moments. Some of these moments happen right here at Penn State Health. 

To ensure your privacy and safety, we ask all patients and visitors to be extremely cautious when using their mobile devices to document experiences in patient care areas on Penn State Health property and to refrain from recording their experiences without the consent of everyone involved, including Penn State Health physicians, nurses, and other staff. Realize that recording videos in patient care areas may be a violation of the law and could disrupt caregivers. 

What should be done?

To ensure the privacy and safety of everyone visiting and working at Penn State health we ask that you follow these simple rules:

• Always respect the privacy and rights of others. Realize that taking unwanted photographs and videos of patients, visitors and Penn State Health workforce members may violate law and disrupt the treatment of patients.
• Always receive consent from anyone you wish to photograph or record.
• Do not take photographs of or record anyone who has declined consent or is not able to consent.
• Do not take photographs or record videos in public areas where others may be accidentally included. Public areas include, entry ways, cafeterias, corridors and waiting rooms.
• Patients and visitors are welcome to take photographs and record videos in private treatment areas when no other patients, visitors or Penn State Health workforce members are present.

Following these rules will: 

• Protect the legal rights and privacy of people visiting and working at Penn State Health.
• Prevent legal action from being taken under state or federal law.
• Contribute to a safe and comfortable environment for our guests and workforce.
• Prevent you from being be asked to leave our property.