Privacy Issues Environmed Research
From the Land of the Eagle,
British ColumbiaReports Introduction
We protect the privacy of the information provided to us through our secure online order system and through email support. We do not share or release information to any other company or individual. All order information is kept in a protected database. All information provided in report and consultation requests is confidential. All information provided by course participants is kept confidential and will not be revealed to any third party; the course tutor may request information or advice on your behalf from a senior staff advisor and again you confidentiality is protected.
We believe that the Internet has opening new and exciting possibilities for self-responsible health care. In theory, the Internet can truly democratize information and empower individuals in unprecedented ways. The Internet promises to create new and exciting opportunities for patients and therapists alike to interact toward creating a new order of health benefits. The intelligence use of free communication makes relatively unprecedented demands on the intellectual resources of the participants. We hope this trend continues until all participants are better informed, more open-minded, and better adapted to rapid changes in the way intelligent people think and do things.
The first challenge is to revise contracts that are formed through electronic media. We have in mind a mature, responsible kind of interaction that only intelligent, consenting adults can manage. The problem of offering any form of health-care or medical advice on-line is that the new legal relationships that emerge are not well-defined. The possibility of e-mail interception and other invasions of privacy on the Internet has been well discussed. In a practical perspective, there is such a huge volume of e-mail and other Internet transactions that privacy and anonymity is almost assured if you are sending and receiving at your own computer.
If you are a part of a local network, you may be concerned about local snooping. The idea that "big-brother" will monitor a large number of Internet users is simply impractical and will not happen in the foreseeable future - the amount of information available would overwhelm any organization large or small. The only exceptions would arise when a well-motivated and well-funded person or agency was determined to get information about an individual or a very select group of individuals.
Privacy and Security
We subscribe to the American Better Business Bureau (BBB) privacy policy to protect personal information you provide online. It is BBB policy that personal information, such as your name, postal and e-mail address or telephone number, is private and confidential. Accordingly, the personal information you provide is stored in a secure location, is accessible only by designated staff, and is used only for the purposes for which you provide the information.
No Release of Information to Third PartiesNo Computer Tracking of Identifiable Information: Our computer is not set up to track, collect or distribute personal information about its visitors. It does recognize the home server of visitors, but not e-mail addresses. For example, we can tell which Internet Service Provider our visitors use, but not the names, addresses or other information about our visitors that would allow us to identify the particular visitors to our sites. Online Store Orders are transacted securely and order information is not stored online where it may be accessed by hackers.