(941) 917-9000

Privacy policies

 

Patient Privacy
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) went into effect April 14, 2003. The privacy component of HIPAA puts you in charge of who sees your health information. Learn more about your rights, as well as certain responsibilities that Sarasota Memorial has regarding your medical information and our patient privacy notice:
Notice Of Privacy Practices (pdf)

Spanish version:
Adviso de Practicas sobre la Privacidad (pdf)

Notice To All Users
The information included at this website is not intended to be nor should it be construed as a substitute for medical treatment by a health care professional. The information should not be considered at any time a diagnosis of any particular medical condition. Because of the individual needs of each person, before using any medical information from this site, the reader should consult his or her personal physician to determine the appropriateness of the medical information for the reader. Every effort has been made to provide accurate and up-to-date information. Due to the constant changes in technology and medicine, however, the reader is encouraged to research other sources for additional information. The web site is for informational purposes only and the reader assumes all risks associated with the use of this web site. No portion of this web site may be used or disseminated without the express written permission of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. Copyright Sarasota Memorial Health Care System 2001.

Information Collection and Use
Sarasota Memorial Heath Care System is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. SMHCS collects information from our users at several different points on our website. We will not sell, share, or rent this information to others as disclosed in this statement. Any individual or organization supplying information to SMHCS can feel secure in knowing all information is considered confidential. Files or information are not supplied to any unauthorized individuals.

All employees of the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System have a duty to faithfully adhere to the highest standards and conduct in their respect for the rights of privacy of others and the confidentiality of information gained in the pursuit of their professional duties.

Electronic Communication
Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing:

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Communications and Public Relations
1700 S. Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, Florida
3239
(941) 917-1515

Registration
No registration is required to use this website.

Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's hard drive containing information about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our site. Once the user closes their browser, the cookie simply terminates. For instance, by setting a cookie on our site, the user would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. If a user rejects the cookie, they may still use our site. The only drawback to this is that the user will be limited in some areas of our site. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site.

Log Files
We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information. Sharing We will share aggregated demographic information with our partners and other healthcare institutions. This is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person.

Links
This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site. This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information.

Surveys & Contests
From time-to-time our site requests information from users via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code, age level). Contact information will be used to notify the winners and award prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.

Supplementation of Information
In order for this website to properly fulfill its obligation to our customers, it is necessary for us to supplement the information we receive with information from third-party sources.

Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on our Homepage so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify users by way of an e-mail. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected. SMHCS Privacy Statement If you feel that this company is not abiding by its posted privacy policy, you should contact the Communications and Public Relations Department at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System by e-mail at: webmaster@smh.com.