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  II. Sponsorship and Other Funding
The France Foundation adheres to ethical standards of sponsorship/advertising when determining the eligibility of products or services for posting on any of The France Foundation Web sites.

Sponsorship/advertisement space on Web sites owned by The France Foundation is offered when such inclusion will not interfere with the mission or objectives of The France Foundation, its partners, or any works in which The France Foundation has a role.

Placement of sponsorship/advertising is within the guidelines set forth by the accrediting bodies of continuing education credits.

To maintain the integrity of The France Foundation Web site, promotional materials, representatives, and manufacturers cannot influence editorial decisions or editorial content. Any decision to obtain financial support is made independent of and without information pertinent to specific content. Potential financial supporters are given no knowledge of editorial content prior to committing their support.

The France Foundation will not place advertising next to or within editorial content
on the same topic. In addition, viewers will not be sent to a commercial site unless they
choose it.

An advertisement on any of The France Foundation Web sites is neither a guarantee nor endorsement by The Foundation or its alliances for the product, service, company or claims made within the ad.

The France Foundation reserves the right to decline any advertisement or sponsorship, and to discontinue the posting of any advertisement or sponsorship it has previously accepted.

Advertising
Digital advertising may be placed on The France Foundation Web site(s).

Digital advertisements may appear as a fixed banner or a rotating banner.

The France Foundation limits digital banner advertisements to one per screen viewing.

Digital advertisements are readily distinguishable from editorial content.

The France Foundation will not place digital advertisements adjacent to, or in line with, editorial content on the same topic, and will not link digital advertisements with editorial content on the same topic.

Advertisements may be linked to additional promotional content that resides on Web sites owned by The France Foundation.

Advertisements may link to commercial Web sites. In such cases, viewers will be provided with a buffer page so they may proceed by clicking on the link, or go back to The France Foundation page by clicking on the “back” button on the browser. Such linking neither implies endorsement nor assumes any responsibility on the part of The France Foundation for any material contained on the Web site to which it is linked. The buffer informs the viewer of the following: “You are leaving The France Foundation Web site. If you do not wish to leave the France Foundation Web site, please click the ‘back’ button on your browser.”

The France Foundation will not link with any site that disables the viewer’s capacity to use the “back” button or that redirects the viewer to Web sites the viewer did not intend to visit.

The France Foundation reserves the right to refuse links or to remove links to other sites from any site that The France Foundation owns.

The France Foundation does not allow advertisements or promotional icons on the Web site home page or the home pages of the CME library, CME archive, CME network or other applicable CME pages, as directed under CME guidelines.

The France Foundation logo as well as those of its partners may not be used on commercial Web sites or in any other form without prior written consent from the trademark holder.

Sponsorship
In accordance with guidelines set forth by accrediting bodies, The France Foundation clearly acknowledges all financial or material support for electronic collections of articles, Web site content, and other types of online products, such as material on CD-ROM, condition-specific Web sites, and online databases.

Acknowledgment of support appears on the Web site in accordance with policies and guidelines for continuing educational offerings. Acknowledgments of support make no claim in support of a company product. Final wording and positioning is at the sole discretion of The France Foundation. Wording may be similar to “Produced by The France Foundation (in alliance with accredited partner) with support from XYZ Company.” Acknowledgments will not be linked to any other materials or sites.

Additional acknowledgments and disclosures may be required as deemed necessary by The France Foundation.

The France Foundation will not post a logo without prior written approval by the individual, institution, or company responsible for the logo.

III. Web Site Privacy and Confidentiality
The France Foundation is committed to maintaining site visitors’ rights to privacy and the confidentiality of personal information. Used in this context, privacy refers to the right of each site visitor to choose whether to allow personal information to be collected by The France Foundation or by its partners, and to know what type of information is being collected and how that information will be used. Confidentiality is the right of each visitor not to have personally identifiable information disclosed without that individual’s expressed consent.

Use of Information
Information about Web site use may be tracked in aggregate and at the individual level. Aggregate data will be used to help The France Foundation understand site use and improve the experience of the viewer. Individual user information will be used for personalization of the site related to an interest, need, or concern of a specific viewer. Health and medical Web sites have specific obligatory guidelines to protect privacy and confidentiality of individuals who provide personal information for customization purposes. To this end, The France Foundation will not collect personal information without the expressed consent of the viewer. In addition, The Foundation will not provide personal information about a viewer to any third party.

Protection of the patient’s right to confidentiality is fundamental to The France Foundation. Case studies presented on this site will be of fictional patients. In rare cases where real patient cases are presented for educational reasons, The France Foundation will not post the case without the expressed consent of the patient.

The sharing of patient information in FAQs, chat rooms, and e-lists, while it may improve clinical care or improve a general state of knowledge, is not permitted on The France Foundation Web site. The France Foundation advises all who post information to our FAQs, chat rooms, and e-lists not to use personally identifiable data.

Privacy
A link to this privacy policy of the Web site is provided from each page of the Web site. The Web site adheres strictly to the privacy principles posted below.

Individuals responsible for posting advertising to The France Foundation Web site will be aware of current technology and access possessed by any third party with regard to posts and links. Such access and linking by third parties will adhere to The France Foundation Web site privacy policies.

The France Foundation Web site does not collect names, e-mail addresses, or other personal information unless voluntarily provided by visitors after they are informed about the potential use of such information.

The France Foundation Web site currently collects personal information to determine the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns for the Web site. We do not share personal information collected with any third party. We reserve the right to adjust our policy in the future and will provide clear indication of our new policy to site visitors.

Unidentifiable visitor data may be collected and used in aggregate to help shape and direct creation and maintenance of content and to determine types of information seen by the site visitors while on The France Foundation Web site.

Survey information may be used by The France Foundation to improve the site. It will not be shared with or sold to other organizations for commercial purposes.

The France Foundation uses voluntarily provided e-mail addresses to notify viewers about updates, products, services, activities, or upcoming events within the viewer’s areas of interests. Site visitors who do not wish to receive such notifications by e-mail are able to opt out of receiving such information at any time.

Market research conducted by The France Foundation or its agent(s) to enhance the site will be clearly identified as such.

While The France Foundation does not monitor e-lists or chat rooms, the Foundation does not allow third parties to collect or discuss what the Foundation views to be personal medical information that may include conditions, behaviors, drugs/therapies, or medical devices.

The France Foundation uses cookies to help customize the Web site to specific viewers.
Because e-mail messages sent to a Web site, specifically general e-mail addresses, may not be secure, site visitors are discouraged from sending confidential information by e-mail. Visitors sending e-mail accept the risk that a third party may intercept their e-mail messages.

All France Foundation e-mail alerts and newsletters contain an “unsubscribe” option.

Confidentiality
Content published within The France Foundation Web site adheres to the same privacy and anonymity principles as formal medical publications and informal interactive communication permitted on the Web, including online discussion groups, chat rooms, or e-lists.

The France Foundation wishes to make all who participate aware that when information is provided about individual medical situations in the context of discussion, that information could be linked with a personal identifier. The France Foundation does not collect this type of information. When site moderators or site monitors are in doubt regarding the information, the moderator or monitor will query the participant providing the information as to the sensitivity of the information. When there is doubt, expressed consent will be requested.

Patient information, including descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees is not published online, unless the information is essential for the scientific purpose in which it is presented and the appropriate consent is provided.

Nonessential identifying details are omitted from information posted on The France Foundation Web site; however, data essential to educational purposes is altered in order to maintain anonymity. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve and informed consent will be obtained if there is any possibility that identifiable information may be disclosed.

Expressed consent, once obtained, is indicated in the posted Web content.

IV. Principles of E-commerce
The France Foundation e-commerce principles are intended to ensure users of information, products, or services on the site that they will have access to secure, efficient transactions for online and remote customer fulfillment. All such transactions adhere to The France Foundation’s policy for privacy and confidentiality listed above.

The France Foundation prominently displays a link to its policy on privacy and confidentiality.

Users are able to select whether The France Foundation may retain its user name and password. Users are able to opt in and out of functions that track personal information.

In the interest of quality customer service, The France Foundation clearly indicates its customer service contact information (e-mail, telephone, fax, mail), including hours of operation and provides an email link to customer service. The France Foundation will reply to all customer service inquiries within 2 business days.

Before proceeding with an order, the customer must accept the terms for use of e-commerce on The France Foundation Web site.

The France Foundation provides all transaction information on prices, totals, shipping, handling or other expenses for a product or service for the customer’s review and approval before any sale is completed.

Upon completion of a transaction, users are provided relevant purchase information, as well as a shipping tracking number, if appropriate, on an order summary page and by follow-up e-mail.
Users are notified on-screen when entering or leaving a secure site. Users have the option to proceed or remain on the current site at the current level of security.

If a user’s browser does not support a secure connection, no financial transaction will be permitted using The France Foundation Web site.

The France Foundation will respond to customer service questions within 2 business days. Order fulfillment times will be provided for each specific order.

All product promotions are in keeping with the Advertising and Sponsorship Guidelines listed above. Promotion of a product on The France Foundation Web site is not an endorsement or cobranding of that product by The France Foundation, and should not be construed as such.

References:
Eysenbach G, Diepgen TL. Toward quality management of medical information on the internet: evaluation, labelling, and filtering of information. BMJ.
1998;317:1496-1500.

Jadad AR. Promoting partnerships: challenges for the internet age. BMJ. 1999;319:761-764.

Muir Gray JA. Hallmarks for quality of information. BMJ. 1998; 317:1500.

Arunachalam S. Assuring quality and relevance of internet information in the real world. BMJ. 1998;317:1501-1502.

AMA Guidelines for medical and health information sites on the Internet. www.ama-assn.org. Accessed March 5, 2002.

Federal Trade Commission Privacy Initiatives. www.ftc.gov/privacy/index.html; www.jipdec.or.jp/security/privacy/index-e.html; http://cs3-hq.oecd.org/scripts. Accessed March 6, 2002.

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