1. Introduction
Abbott respects and upholds your rights to privacy in accordance with the National Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988. The National Privacy Principles apply to us from their introduction in late 2001. This policy describes how we manage any personal information we have about you. By visiting our website (“myfreestyle.com.au” or related websites) (Site), you are accepting the practices described in this privacy policy.
2. What personal information about me may Abbott hold?
Abbott may hold information on individuals who fall into one of three main groups: health professionals, members of the general public and others. The information typically held in respect of the various groups include:
Health Professionals
Your name, business address, business telephone number(s) and email address; professional details; Practice speciality including areas of interest; membership of professional associations; Practice and/or business details including product usage; dealings with Abbott - for example: details of medical enquiries, adverse event reporting, clinical trial involvement, details of sales representative appointments and Abbott sponsored programs such as seminars and meetings.
Consumers and the General Public:
Your name, relevant address, telephone number(s) and email address; dealings with us such as: medical enquiries, adverse event reporting, patient support scheme participation, clinical trial participation and product complaints.
Other persons such as third party contractors and job applicants:
Your name, business address, business telephone number(s) and email address; dealings with Abbott: work and employment references, reports and assessments. Abbott will not collect other sensitive information about you without your consent, such as personal information about your health, race, political opinion, etc.
3. Security
Information collected about you will be stored securely and access will only be allowed to those authorised and then only for the purpose for which you have provided consent. Abbott will delete from its records personal information no longer required or in use for the purposes listed below other than information, which we are required to retain. If at all possible such information will be retained in a way that you cannot be identified.
Please note that, while Abbott has implemented a number of security measures to secure information (such as personal details or other similar information) that you have provided to us via this Site, the Site is linked to the Internet which is inherently insecure. Accordingly, Abbott cannot provide any definitive assurance regarding security of the information. So while Abbott strives to protect such information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you do so at your own risk. Abbott will not be liable in any way in relation to any breach of security or unintended loss or disclosure of information due to the Site being linked to the Internet.
The Site may contain links to other websites. Abbott is not responsible for the privacy practices, policies or content of those sites.
The information held about you is collected directly from you if at all possible but may on some occasions be collected from other sources, some of which you may be unaware, including:
Publicly available directories and listings such as telephone directories; newspapers, magazines, professional journals and the electronic media; the internet and other electronic communications such as: articles and information pieces in which you feature on a website such as a health information site or a medical professional site; the date, time and domain from which you access Abbott’s website; personal communications with Abbott staff.
4. What does Abbott do with my personal information?
We use personal information about you:
- for maintaining a record of medical queries, complaints and adverse event reports relating to Abbott’s products and reporting these to relevant regulatory bodies related companies or other companies which market the same product as may be required or prudent;
- to administer the Site; and
- to analyse the use of the Site.
In the case of Health Professionals:
- for sending you material and contacting you regarding Abbott’s activities and products or developments in pharmaceutical treatments which may be of interest to you and tailoring marketing services to suit your needs;
- supplying you with clinical samples of products;
- administering clinical trials or other research organised by Abbott and which you agree to participate in or be involved with;
- administering conferences, symposia, expert panels, seminars or other meetings or events organised by Abbott.
- Where you have asked that we do so, advising the community of your interest in assisting individuals in addressing their weight management issues (this may include posting your name and contact details on one or more of our websites;
- administering disease awareness/management programs or other similar programs organised by Abbott; notifying you of matters that Abbott may be required by law to notify you of (eg product recalls);
- managing, planning and arranging meetings between you and Abbott’s sales representatives;
- monitoring and reviewing Abbott’s compliance with relevant regulations and codes of conduct in its dealings with you;
- generating customer lists for the purposes of our own market research.
Abbott will not disclose personal information about you to any person except in the following circumstances and then only that information which is necessary:
- Regulatory authorities (such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration and State and Territory drug and health authorities) where Abbott is under a legal obligation to provide your personal information to the particular authority;
- to third parties that we use in the ordinary operation of our business, such as for conference organising, marketing, data processing and associated printing and mailing;
- to another company for the purpose of ensuring continuity of product supply and /or service if the supply of the product or service has been transferred to that company;
- to such third parties otherwise permitted or required by law; to companies related to Abbott for the same kinds of purposes as listed above.
Subsequent use and disclosure by the related company will be generally in compliance with the National Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act. It may also be provided to Clinical Research Organisations for the purposes of medical research. We will only provide your personal information to reputable third parties and then only on a confidential basis where we are satisfied that those third parties will similarly comply with the National Privacy Principals and Privacy Act.
At any time you may opt out of receiving any communications from us (other than as required for the operation of our business, eg regarding account payment if you have one with us), although we may then be unable to provide you with all of the information regarding our programs, events, services or products which may be of benefit to you.
5. Cookies
The Site uses persistent cookies to make using the Site an easy experience. For example, persistent cookies are used to remember you when you next visit the Site.Persistent cookies are stored in your internet browser cookies cache and may be retrieved by the Site next time you visit the Site.Cookies collect information about you, including your habits when accessing the Site and any information provided in customising the Site. However, per-session cookies do not give the Site access to anything else on your computer. Only the website which issued the cookie may retrieve it. Persistent cookies are cached by your internet browser and you may delete the cookies from your cache through the security or privacy settings of your internet browser.You can also prevent this collection of information by setting your internet browser to not accept cookies. This will not prevent you from accessing the Site, however it may prevent you from utilising all features of the Site.
6. Openness
You may request access to personal information we hold about you by writing to “The Privacy Officer” at the address below. Your request must detail your name, contact details, your former name or alias if any and the information you believe Abbott may hold on you. You do not have to provide a reason for requesting access. Where we hold information that you are entitled to access, we will endeavour to provide you with a suitable range of choices as to how you access it (eg emailing or mailing it to you). In any event we undertake to respond within 10 working days of receiving a written request.
If you believe that personal information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then you may request we amend it. We will consider if the information requires amendment. If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment, then we will add a note to the personal information we hold stating that you disagree with it.
In certain circumstances, we may not be required by law to provide you with access or to correct your personal information. If that is the case, we will give you our reasons for that decision.
Any questions about this policy, or any complaint regarding treatment of your privacy by Abbott, should be made in writing to the address below:
Abbott Australia Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 5016
Botany NSW 1455
Toll-free #: 1800 225 311
Phone: 02-9384 9700
Fax: 02-9384 9800
7. Miscellaneous
In this policy “personal information” has the same meaning as under the Privacy Act. References to “Abbott”, “we”, “our” and “us” are references to Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN 95000180389), which has issued this policy.
This policy represents our policy as at 24 October, 2011. We may change this policy from time to time. Although we intend to observe this policy at all times, it is not legally binding on Abbott in any way. From time to time we may regard it as necessary or desirable to act outside the policy. Abbott may do so, subject only to any statutory rights you have under the Privacy Act or other applicable legislation.
Medical disclaimer:
The information, data, behavioural recommendations, and materials on this website are not, nor are they intended to be, a medical evaluation, examination, advice, consultation, diagnosis, or treatment and Abbott recommends that you consult a physician or other health care provider for all medical and health related matters. Abbott will not be liable, and you waive any claim for, any personal injury, damage, and/or liability arising out of your use of or your reliance on the information, data, behavioural recommendation and materials made available to you on this website.