Disclaimer/Copyright Notice and Privacy Statement
This Disclaimer/Copyright Notice and Privacy Statement applies to the Proto website.
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is proud to present a digital version of its Proto Magazine. The purpose of the Proto Magazine website (referenced herein as this “website” or “site”) is to provide an interactive experience to individuals interested in learning about advances in medicine and biotechnology. While this site contains scientific articles, illustrated with photos and graphics, it is not intended to be a medical journal, as it also contains human-interest stories as well as features about certain clinicians and scientists responsible for some of the significant advances described and discussed throughout this site.
We reserve the right to change or update this Disclaimer/Copyright Notice and Privacy Statement from time to time without notice, so please review it periodically to keep informed of any changes. By using this website, you acknowledge your acceptance and agreement with this Disclaimer/Copyright Notice and Privacy Statement and any such amended versions thereof. Please read the following carefully before using this site.
Disclaimer
This site may cite non-MGH sources and may contain links to other parties’ Websites. MGH and its affiliates do not endorse the content provided by these other sources or appearing on external sites and they are not responsible for the availability or accuracy of such content.
This site is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice, and it should not be used to make a diagnosis or to replace or overrule a qualified health care provider’s judgment. Use of this site does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. You should not rely upon this site if you might need emergency medical treatment. You should call 911 for medical emergencies and consult with a qualified health care professional for answers to personal questions.
The information appearing on this site is being provided for reference and educational purposes only. You assume full responsibility for using any such information, and you understand and agree that MGH and its affiliates are not responsible or liable for any claim, loss or damage resulting from its use by you or any other user. MGH disclaims any warranty concerning accuracy, timeliness and completeness, and any other warranty, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. MGH also does not warrant that access to this site will be error- or virus-free.
Copyright Notice
Material on this site is protected by copyright law. Unless otherwise stated, you may print or download information from this site for personal, non-commercial use only, provided you identify the source of the material and include a statement that the material is protected by copyright law if sharing the material with third parties. Reprinting or otherwise reproducing any document in whole or in part is prohibited, unless prior written consent is obtained from the copyright owner.
Privacy Statement
We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it in accordance with the following principles.
Information We Collect and How We Use It
You may review content appearing on this site without having to provide us with any personal information that identifies you (such as your name, social security number, mailing address, email address or telephone number). We do not collect any such personally identifiable information unless you provide it to us voluntarily.
If you choose to use one of our online forms to submit a subscription request, register for a special event or provide feedback on our site, you may be asked to provide personally identifiable information, including your name, mailing address, email address and/or telephone number. You may also be requested to provide certain demographic information. By submitting personally identifiable information, you grant MGH the right to transmit, monitor, retrieve, store and use your information in connection with the operation of this website and to fulfill your requests, respond to your inquiries and feedback, and in other ways as required or permitted by law.
Again, we do not collect any such information unless you provide it to us voluntarily and the requested information on voluntary forms is used to provide services that you request, such as subscriptions to our publication(s) and event registration, and to respond to comments and questions that you submit to us. Additional questions may be included on these forms, and your answers will help us improve the services we offer; however, you may opt not to answer these questions and we will still process your request(s).
We do collect information that is not personally identifiable; meaning, the information cannot be traced to a unique, individual user. We collect this information on an aggregate and anonymous basis that includes all website visitors. Our primary goal in collecting such aggregate information is to be able to perform certain analyses of the website which will allow us to improve the site’s design, layout and functionality and make it more user-friendly.
Cookies. “Cookies” are small computer files that a website can transfer to your computer. We use cookies to determine the number of times a page on this site has been accessed. Examples of information we collect include the number of times a user visits this site and which parts of this site they view. We use this information in the aggregate to understand how our visitors as a group use different resources. They also allow us to tailor a website or advertisement to better match your interests and preferences. These reports do not contain any personally identifiable information. Most Internet browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can set your browser to refuse them or to alert you when they are being sent. You can access the information on this site without enabling cookies in your browser; however, this may prevent you from having access to some of the functions and features on this site.
Session Logs. When you visit this site, the server housing the pages automatically generates a “session log.” We use session logs to help us determine how people travel through this site. In this way, we can structure our pages so that the information most frequently visited is easier to find. By tracking page visits, we can also determine if the information we are providing is being used. The only data gathered is your Internet Protocol (IP) address (the numerical label assigned to the device that you are using to access the Internet and this site), which contains no personally identifiable information, the website that referred you, the pages you visited while on this site and the date and time of your visits.
Other Tools. This website may use a third-party click tracking analytics tool (such as DART, Omniture tags, DoubleClick, and Google Analytics) to capture click-through statistics. This site may also use spot light ads/web beacons/GIF/pixel tags which are website instrumentation tools that help us to determine, for instance, whether a page has been viewed or not and, if so, how many times. In general, any electronic image viewed as part of a webpage, including an ad banner, can act as a web beacon. These tools do not collect personally identifiable information from users.
Website metrics for this site may be shared with MGH’s affiliates. The information shared will be aggregated data and will not identify you.
Third-Party Vendors/Content Providers
MGH engages third-party vendors to help manage this website, provide content and information and enable us to interact better with you. Third-party vendors are permitted to use information we provide them for the sole purpose of performing website analytics and compiling reports of the aggregated data. The third-party vendor is restricted from using such data in any other way other than to provide these services to MGH and they may not share or resell this data.
Data Security
Safeguarding the personally identifiable information you submit to us is important. Accordingly, we have implemented systems, policies and procedures and use a secure firewall as well as industry standard security and encryption technologies to maintain the integrity of such information and to protect this information from loss, misuse or alteration.
Although we endeavor to protect your personally identifiable information, MGH cannot warrant the security of any information you transmit to us through online forms or email, and you do so at your own risk. Depending on the nature of the inquiry, your communication could be discarded or archived. If you wish, you can contact us at this email address and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Please note that e-mail is considered a non-encrypted, and therefore unsecure, form of communication, as it can be accessed and viewed by others without your knowledge and permission. To protect your privacy, please do not use e-mail to communicate information that you wish to keep confidential.
Newsletter/Press Release Subscriptions
If you subscribe to a newsletter, publication, press release or RSS feed published by MGH and distributed by e-mail or RSS feed, we will maintain your e-mail address in a private distribution list. Messages sent electronically do not reveal recipients’ e-mail addresses or any other personal information. We will send messages to only those who have opted to subscribe and provided their e-mail address to us directly.
Links to External Websites
In order to provide our users with other helpful information, this site contains links to other websites. However, MGH provides no authority over such external organizations’ websites and this Privacy Statement does not apply to them. We encourage you to read the privacy policies and notices of any such external websites you visit before providing them with your personal information.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this Disclaimer/Copyright Notice and Privacy Statement, or have any questions regarding the contents of this website please contact us at this email address and we will respond as soon as possible.
