The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco (“UCSF”) and The Open MS BioScreen (OMSB) Team (collectively known as the “OMSB Team”) know that you care about how your information is used and shared. The OMSB Team takes protecting your privacy very seriously. Please read the following to learn more about how the OMSB Team uses and protects information collected through The Open MS BioScreen and its website openmsbioscreen.org (the “Site”).

By using the Site in any manner, you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in The Open MS BioScreen Privacy Policy (this “Privacy Policy”).

You consent that the OMSB Team will collect, use, and share your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy covers the treatment of personally identifiable information ("Personal Information") that the OMSB Team gathers when you are accessing or using the Site. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of companies or institutions that the OMSB Team does not own or control, or those which are not members of the OMSB Team.

Your use of the Site will allow you to provide the OMSB Team with Personal Information, which may include but is not limited to information about your identity and other demographic information, your medical conditions, prior surgeries, your medications, and answers to health and well-being-related surveys. The Site collects your Personal Information for the purposes of allowing you to see and track your information. This information might eventually be used for “The Open MS BioScreen Study” (the “Study”). If you choose to use the Site to provide the OMSB Team with any Personal Information, you must first review and acknowledge the informed consent form for the Site, which will be presented to you within the Site.

The OMSB Team does not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from anyone under the age of 18 or knowingly allow such persons to register for The Open MS BioScreen. If you are under 18, you are not allowed to register for the Study. In the event that the OMSB Team learns that the OMSB Team has collected Personal Information from a person under age 18, the OMSB Team will delete that information. If you believe that the OMSB Team might have any information from or about a person under the age of 18, please contact the OMSB Team at openmsbioscreen@ucsf.edu.

The Site will obtain information from you in two ways. The first is information that you manually enter into the Site. The second is information that the Site collects automatically about you. 

The OMSB Team receives and stores information you manually enter into the Site. For example, the OMSB Team collects Personal Information that directly identifies you, including your email address, and birth date. The OMSB Team collects this information i) in order for you to log-in to the Site, ii) so that the OMSB can contact you, and iii) to verify that you are at least 18 years of age. In addition to these direct identifiers, the OMSB Team gives you the option to enter information including, but not limited to, disease status, medical measurements, medications, symptoms, race, ethnicity, gender identity, current healthcare provider, etc. You are free to respond to whichever questions you wish and decline to do so for those questions you do not wish to respond, with the understanding that you might have limited use of the Site without answering questions and the Study benefits the most when you share the most information that feels comfortable/appropriate for you.

This Site may also automatically receive technical information relating to your usage of the Site such as your operating system, device, features used, content viewed and downloaded, the dates and times of your interactions with the Site and other information. The OMSB Team may use this information to understand, customize, and improve user experience with the Site and the Study.

The Open MS BioScreen currently utilizes 256-bit secure socket layer (SSL) protocol which protects all data transmission.

The OMSB Team endeavors to protect the privacy of the Personal Information that the OMSB Team holds in its records, but cannot guarantee complete security. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of your Personal Information at any time.

The Site may contain links to educational websites. However, it must be noted that the OMSB Team is not responsible for the privacy policies and/or practices on websites that may be accessed through these links. When following a link to another website, you are responsible for reading that website’s privacy policy and making sure that you agree with it and can abide by it.

Please note that all information collected by the Site will be processed in the United States, and this may be done by another entity under contract with UCSF. During the Study, only UCSF and its sub-contractors engaged by UCSF will be able to compile data you generate or provide through or with the Site. You should only transmit data for the Study if you are in the United States and US territories at the time you transmit such data. If you transmit data for the Study while you are outside of the United States and US territories, then laws in the United States and US territories may not protect your privacy to the same extent as the laws in the country from which you have transmitted data to the Site. For this reason, we strongly discourage you from transmitting data when you are outside the United States and US territories, and in that regard you must know that you may not have the same privacy protections as when you transmit data within the United States.

As part of your participation in the Study, and per your informed consent form for the Study, the OMSB Team may share your coded study data (data without personal identifiers) with researchers outside of UCSF under criteria established by UCSF.

The information collected by the Site will not be shared with or sold for advertising purposes.

The OMSB Team reserves the right to disclose information collected through the Site as required by law, when the OMSB Team believes disclosure is necessary to comply with a regulatory requirement, judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on us. The OMSB Team may also be required by law to disclose information to protect the safety, rights, or property of UCSF or the public.

Through the Site, you may access, and in some cases, edit or delete the following information you’ve provided to us:

• email address and password
• user profile information, including your demographic information, and health information

When you update or delete information, however, the OMSB Team may maintain a copy of the unrevised information in our records to track the data entry into the Study and to assure the integrity of the Study. The information you can view and update may change as the Site undergoes further development. Please note that any information that is automatically uploaded from the Site cannot later be changed or updated. If you have any questions about viewing or updating information that the OMSB Team has on file about you, please contact us at openmsbioscreen@ucsf.edu.

You may be able to add, update, or delete certain information. When you update or delete information, the OMSB Team may maintain a copy of the unrevised information in our records.

The OMSB Team may use your Personal Information to contact you to ask if you would be willing to participate in additional research opportunities, including linking your participant data with other health data. If you are interested, we will obtain your consent before enrolling you in the research study and linking your data with your other health data.

When you register for the Site, you choose a unique email and password to visit the Site solely for your personal, non-commercial use in connection with the Site. By visiting the Site, you agree that you will not do anything to interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Site, you agree that you will provide only accurate and current information through the Site, and you agree that you will not impersonate anyone else in your use of the Site. You further agree not to transmit content that you do not have the right to transmit or that infringes the rights of any party, and you agree to use the Site in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. You understand that the Site or portions of it may be subject to patent, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property protections and that the ownership of software and other intellectual property related to the Site, as well the goodwill associated therewith, remains with UCSF or its licensors. You agree that any improvements or other changes to the Site or the Study itself are the sole property of UCSF.

Effective Date and Changes to this Privacy Policy This Privacy Policy is effective as of December 1, 2017. The OMSB Team may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. New versions of this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted to our website at the following link: http://openmsbioscreen.org/privacy. Unless stated in an updated version, use of information that the OMSB Team collects will be subject to the version of the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is collected.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the topics addressed in this privacy policy, please contact us at openmsbioscreen@ucsf.edu.