Consent
Whenever you give Doctors.net.uk personal data, you are consenting to its collection and use in accordance with this privacy policy, including Doctors.net.uk contacting you by e-mail and SMS to let you know about its services and to provide information (including promotional information) about other goods and services in which you may be interested, for example those of organisations such as professional colleges, DH, GMC, NICE, other government bodies, NHS Trusts, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, financial services companies and medical indemnity organisations.
You do, however, have the right at any time to opt out of Doctors.net.uk contacting you in this way for marketing purposes, except where this information is included in the Doctors.net.uk bulletin.
How does Doctors.net.uk use your personal data?
In addition to the specific uses mentioned elsewhere in this policy, or for which you have given permission, Doctors.net.uk uses your personal data to provide services to you, to carry out membership administration, to let you know about other goods and services in which you may be interested, to inform you about changes and improvements to the Doctors.net.uk website and services, and for direct marketing purposes (but you do have the right to opt out of this).
Doctors.net.uk may also use personal data to monitor the use of the site, to record traffic flows and to carry out research about member demographics, interests and behaviour. Doctors.net.uk does this to better understand the needs of members.
To whom might Doctors.net.uk disclose your personal data?
Doctors.net.uk has agreements with sponsors and medical information companies, regulating how they may use your personal data.
If you choose to participate in certain programmes run on the website (for instance by accessing the materials published in connection with it) your participation in that programme, together with your personal identifier, may be passed on to the sponsor of that programme or its associated companies and data processors. You will always be able to refuse permission for this data to be passed to the sponsor if you so wish. Some of the sponsors may be located outside the European Economic Area.
Sponsors undertake to use such data only for assessing your access (and the frequency of that access) to material provided by them via the Doctors.net.uk website for their internal auditing purposes.
Except as set out above, or with your permission, Doctors.net.uk will not disclose your personal data unless obliged to do so by law, or where Doctors.net.uk needs to do so in order to run its business (for instance where Doctors.net.uk outsources services for the processing of data.)
Confidentiality
Doctors.net.uk respects the confidentiality of members and uses systems to help keep all data secure. With the increased use of electronic data collection, storage and distribution in the NHS, there is a need to ensure that information transmitted from doctor to doctor is only seen by those whom the sender intends to see it. As more data is generated, so the chance of it going astray increases. Any information exchange may result in a breach of security, but most complaints of a breach of confidence by health professionals are due to casual conversations in public places and not because of failures in electronic security.
Doctors.net.uk protects the confidentiality of information members send and receive by using a system of password protection for the website and a data storage solution with in-built security features. However, members are reminded of the GMC and BMA guidance that they should not send any patient identifiable data across the Internet and you should not post such information in the Forum area.
Security
Doctors.net.uk has security measures in place to help protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of personal data under Doctors.net.uk's control.
Registration
Members set up an account using their GMC number to verify identity. Doctors.net.uk uses additional security details to verify your identity should you request support from the Doctors.net.uk Helpdesk. Doctors.net.uk also collects details about your seniority and speciality. This is used to tailor your experience of the Doctors.net.uk website.
Updating profile information
Doctors.net.uk gives members the option to change and modify information previously provided. To update profile information, click the 'Update Your Profile' link on your Homepage. In order to provide a service appropriate to your personal circumstances, you will be asked periodically to update information about your speciality, seniority and location.
Member Directory
The Member Directory on the website is available to all Doctors.net.uk members. This directory provides the full name, medical school, speciality and seniority of Doctors.net.uk members. Members are able to send and receive e-mails to and from other members, without any personal mail addresses being displayed. You may choose not to be listed in the Member Directory.
Measuring website activity
Statistics are collected on how and when members use Doctors.net.uk in order to administer the website and to improve services.
Website links
This website contains links to other websites. Please note that Doctors.net.uk is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.
Cookies
A cookie is a small piece of data or message that is sent from a web server to your browser and is stored on your hard drive. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. Cookies do not damage your system.
You can reset your browser so as to refuse any cookie or to alert you to when a cookie is being sent. Doctors.net.uk only uses cookies within its e-mail service to track use of the service and to improve the function of the service for you. However, if you choose not to accept cookies the service will work as effectively for you.
The Forum area
The Forum is the part of the website where much of the Doctors.net.uk community discuss their views. Comments are always annotated with the username of the member commenting, and cannot be posted anonymously. Unless specifically indicated, the forum is only provided for GMC-registered doctors.
Remember that, once a comment has been posted, it cannot be retrieved. Although the website is accessible only to GMC-registered Doctors, you must respect other members' and patients' confidentiality. To assist members, the Terms and Conditions for the whole website are available in the Forum area. These specifically ban the advertising of services, and the posting of irrelevant, libellous or malicious information.
Direct marketing
Doctors.net.uk may contact you by e-mail or SMS to market its goods and services, and other goods and services in which you may be interested, but you may at any time request that Doctors.net.uk stops using your personal data for direct marketing purposes. If you wish to do this please contact help@doctors.org.uk.
Communications data
Doctors.net.uk may retain Communications Data (such as records of the websites you have visited, services you have used, e-mail addresses to which you have sent messages, telephone numbers called, location data, and installation data) in accordance with the Retention Of Communications Data (Code of Practice) Order 2003, as amended from time to time.
Access to your personal data
Individuals have certain rights of access to their personal data. If you want to request any information about your personal data, please contact help@doctors.org.uk.
Inaccuracies and corrections
Doctors.net.uk would like to keep your personal data accurate and up to date. If you become aware of any errors or inaccuracies please let Doctors.net.uk know by contacting help@doctors.org.uk.
Contacting Doctors.net.uk
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please e-mail Doctors.net.uk at help@doctors.org.uk.
This is the website of Doctors.net.uk Limited, a company registered in England under number 3527430. Our registered office is at 90 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 4RY. We are registered for VAT under number 685853774.