Introduction

The American College of Veterinary Dermatology^® (ACVD) is committed to individual privacy and protecting your personal information. This policy provides information on how we collect, use, share, secure and store your information when you visit our website or use our services.

Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our privacy practices and know that you can contact us if you have any questions or concerns about privacy.

To help you understand this policy, know that:

• the terms “we,” “our” and “ACVD” refers to the American College of Veterinary Dermatology^® and our affiliated organizations, including the ACVD Research Foundation;
• the terms “you” and “user(s)” refers to a person or entity that uses a website, application or Service;
• the term “Personal Information” refers to information that identifies or can be used to identify a person, indirectly or directly, including, but not limited to first and/or last name, email address, gender, phone number, address, date of birth or other demographic information;
• the term “Non-Personal Information” refers to information that, on its own, does not directly associate with a specific individual;
• the term “System(s)” refers to websites, applications or systems that are owned, operated and/or managed by or for ACVD;
• the term “Service(s)” refers to the services and products that are offered through our Systems—made available either at a cost or for free—including, but not limited to, ACVD membership, event registration, ACVD Store products, email newsletter subscriptions, journals, webinars, webpages, interactive tools, applications, widgets, content, blogs, social networks, or other online, mobile, or wireless offerings that post a link to the ACVD Privacy Policy, whether accessed via computer, mobile device, or other technology.

In general, ACVD:

• Collects, uses, and stores the minimum amount of personal data that is necessary or to comply with legal obligations.
• Limits who has access to the personal data in our possession to only those who need it for the purposes for which it was collected.
• Protects personal data through physical and technical security measures tailored to the sensitivity of the personal data we hold.
• Communicates with our employees, diplomats, and other customers, suppliers, business partners and others about how we intend to use personal data in our day-to-day operations.
• Takes reasonable steps to ensure your personal data is accurate and up-to-date.
• Integrates privacy in the design of our activities and projects that involve the use of personal data.

For residents of the EU or the EEA, we are the controller of the processing of your data and our processes relating to your personal data are governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). If you have any questions or inquiries, contact us at:  admin@acvd.org

You must be at least 18 years old to use this site. We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personally identifiable information about visitors under 18 years of age. We may incidentally process personal data of children, for instance where participants to our events travel with family. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with personal data without their consent, please contact us at: admin@acvd.org. If we become aware that a child has registered for our services and has provided us with personal data without the consent of their parent or guardian, we will delete such information from our files.

2. Types of Information Collected

Depending on the context of your interactions with ACVD, we may collect and use different types of personal data.

Types of information we collect:

ACVD diplomate information. When applying to become a BOARD CERTIFIED VETERINARY DERMATOLOGIST® or maintaining the same, including without limitation, using Find a BOARD CERTIFIED VETERINARY DERMATOLOGIST®, you will be asked to complete the appropriate form providing your name, contact and professional information. In certain instances, to receive membership or enrolled services, you will be asked to provide photograph(s), bank details or credit card information. We may also require your authorization to verify professional information with your state or country licensing authority or other relevant entities.

Registration for events, conferences, and the annual meeting. In order to register for our events, symposia, workshops and conferences, you will be asked to provide your name, contact details, accommodation and diet preferences, bank details or credit card information, as well as your ACVD membership identification number.

Product purchases via the ACVD website. In order to purchase physical and digital products via the ACVD website (“Website”), you will be asked to log in with the account tied to your ACVD membership identification number or will need to create a free non-member account. You will need to provide your name, contact details including phone, email, billing, and shipping addresses as well as credit card information.

Publications and Listservs.  ACVD will collect your name and e-mail address if you register to receive news, membership information, and other information delivered directly to your e-mail inbox through the ACVD Website.

Job Listings. This service is available to ACVD diplomates and members to help search for and recruit BOARD CERTIFIED VETERINARY DERMATOLOGIST®. We allow employers to search active resumes during the time their ad is active, and to post their contact details allowing candidates to view and directly respond to them.

Donations and Sponsorships. Information regarding donor or sponsor identity and payment information may be collected in order to process financial contributions, and for legal reporting and record maintenance requirements. Personal data may include your name, name for purposes of recognition, address, tax identification number, e-mail address and payment information, such as credit card number, billing address and security codes.

Marketing Activities. Your e-mail address and information about your interaction with our communications (such as IP addresses and click-through data) may be collected as part of our marketing activities. In addition, we may send surveys and collect various responses to these surveys, which may include your contact and professional information.

Information collected automatically. There is other information that we collect automatically when you visit our site or receive our e-mail marketing communications, through the use of cookies or similar technologies. These technologies allow us to collect additional information such as your IP address, device and browser type, pages visited, or how many e-mails that we sent were opened or viewed. See our Cookies Notice in Section 4 below for more information.

3. Use of Information Provided

The purposes for which we collect and use your personal data may vary depending on the type of relationship you have with us, whether you are an ACVD Diplomate or a member of the public looking for information or utilizing our Find a BOARD CERTIFIED VETERINARY DERMATOLOGIST®

 referral and community systems.

ACVD Member Accounts. Personal data collected through our membership accounts on our website are used for purposes of managing the applicable member’s membership account and providing membership-related services.

Registration for events, conferences, and the annual meeting. Personal data collected from registrants for our events is processed for purposes of providing services at the event.

Product purchases via ACVD Website. Personal data collected from product purchases is used to validate eligibility to purchase certain products and processed to provide products to eligible purchasers.

Publications and Listservs. Personal data collected in the context of our publications (e.g. through abstract and article submissions) and listserv or mailing lists is used to process your subscription to the publication or similar electronic communication.

Website Account. Personal data collected through free online non-member accounts is used to facilitate the requested services associated with the account, including publication and newsletter distributions and consultation requests as may be requested by you as the user of the account.

Job Listing. Personal data collected through Job Listing section of the ACVD Website is used to facilitate the search and recruitment of BOARD CERTIFIED VETERINARY DERMATOLOGIST® for open positions and fellowships, or sale of a business. Information may also be used for the maintenance, support and improvement of the job listings platform

Donations. Personal data collected from potential donors or sponsors is used to process the donation request and maintained for legal reporting and compliance purposes.

Marketing Activities. Personal data may be processed for purposes of marketing activities to promote the ACVD’s membership, services, and activities. Marketing activities may include single use mailing list rentals by third parties for purposes of communicating product and service information relevant to the practice of plastic surgery. Personal data may be used to send communications to the ACVD’s members and others who interact with ACVD and may be collected from such recipients about their use of marketing communications.

Financial Transactions (Generally). To process these credit card and other payment transactions, personal data we collect from you may be used by us or directed to a third party we have contracted to provide payment processing services in order to fulfill your request.

4. Cookies Notice.

Personal data collected through cookies placed on our Website may be processed to support the operation of our website and to analyze the traffic patterns to our site. Cookies are pieces of data placed on your device when you visit the Website that help us recognize you when you come back to the Website, allowing us, for instance, to remember the email address and password you use when you log in on a specific computer.

We and other third parties use cookies, pixel tags, session replay technology, and other similar tracking mechanisms to automatically collect information about browsing activity, device type, and similar information within our Website and Services. This information, which may be considered personal information in some jurisdictions, is used, for example, to analyze and understand how you access, use and interact with our Website and Services; to identify and resolve bugs and errors in our Website and Services; to assess, secure, protect, optimize, and improve the performance of our Website and Services; for marketing, advertising, measurement and analytics purposes; and to personalize content on our Website and Services. We may also deidentify or aggregate such information to analyze trends, administer our Website and Services, gather broad demographic information for aggregate uses and for any other lawful purpose.

ACVD may use aggregate statistics about Website visitors, such as volume, traffic patterns, login activity, referral sources and related site information to support the operation of our websites. It may also provide this aggregate information to third-party vendors for further analysis and service support.

We also use pixel tags. Pixel tags (sometime called web beacons or clear GIFs) are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies. We may use these tracking technologies to understand users’ activities, help manage content and compile usage statistics, and in emails to let us know when they have been opened or forwarded so we can track response rates and gauge the effectiveness of our communications.

We also use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and other, similar technologies to collect information about Website use anonymously and reports website trends, without identifying individual visitors. You can learn about Google’s practices by going to https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, and opt out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

We and third parties may use the information we collect about you within our Website and on other third-party websites and services to help us and these third parties identify other devices that you use (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet, other computer, etc.) to interact or engage with us or the Website.

5. Disclosures to Third Parties

At times, we engage third-party contractors, service providers and other vendors to help us accomplish our business objectives. There are other circumstances in which we are required by law to disclose personal data to third parties such as public bodies or judicial authorities.

We engage with our agents, representatives, contractors, service providers or other third parties for the following services: authorization of credit card transactions, order fulfillment and continuing medical education. Our third-party vendors include credit card processors, warehouses/fulfillment centers, online education systems, e-mail marketing systems, publishers, meeting registration systems, exhibitor management systems, speaker presentation systems, research grant application systems and registries systems. Our current service providers are located in the United States. If the engagement involves the transmission of personal data, we require the service provider to treat that data consistent with this Privacy Policy. It is ACVD’s policy to execute a contract to protect personal data before any data is disclosed.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, ACVD may also disclose information in special cases when it has a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; (b) protect and defend our rights or property; (c) enforce the terms and conditions of use for any of the ACVD website, as applicable; or (d) act to protect the interests of our users or others.

In addition, ACVD may be required by law enforcement or judicial authorities to provide personally identifiable information to the appropriate governmental authorities. We will disclose such information upon receipt of a court order, subpoena, or to cooperate with a law enforcement investigation. The ACVD Parties reserve the right to report to law enforcement agencies any activities that we in good faith believe to be unlawful.

6. Your European Privacy Rights

If you reside or otherwise find yourself in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, ACVD is committed to processing your personal data lawfully and facilitate the exercise of your rights granted by the European data protection law. You can contact us at any time to discuss your privacy concerns or to exercise these rights.

Legal basis for data collection and use: We collect and use personal data only when there is a fair and legal basis for its collection and use, for instance, when the collection of personal data is necessary to become a member of ACVD, to meet our legitimate interests, to send marketing materials, to comply with legal obligations or when we have your authorization. See below the legal basis for each collection:

• ACVD Membership. Personal data is collected on the basis of a contract with each member to provide membership-related services, and the ACVD Parties’ legitimate interest in providing you membership services.
• Registration for events, conferences and the annual meeting. Personal data is collected on the basis of a contract with each registrant for administration of the event, and the ACVD Parties’ legitimate interest in providing event-related services to all attendees.
• Product purchases via ACVD Website. Personal data is collected on the basis of a contract with each eligible purchaser in order to validate eligibility to purchase certain products, and the ACVD Parties’ legitimate interest in processing orders for eligible purchaser.
• Publications and Listservs. Personal data is collected on the basis of a contract with subscribers of such publications.
• Website Account. Personal data is collected on the basis of a contract to provide additional log-in only services selected by the registered user.
• Job Listings. Personal data is collected on the basis of a contract to facilitate postings and responses on the job listing platform.
• Donations and Sponsorships. Personal data is collected in order to fulfill the contractual commitment between donors/sponsors and ACVD to process and accept the contribution, and ACVD’s legitimate interest in facilitating donations and sponsorships, and legal obligations attendant thereto.
• Consultation requests. Personal data is collected where you have provided your consent.
• Marketing Activities. Collection is allowed where you provide consent for email marketing, and collection for marketing conducted other than through email or phone call is based on our legitimate interest.
  No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes.
  All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
• Information collected automatically. Personal data is collected where you have provided your consent.

Privacy rights under the European regulation:

Transparency and the right to information. We provide notice to our members, website users and other third parties who interact with us on how we use personal data in our day-to-day activities at the time of collecting personal data, or as soon thereafter as possible. We also publish this privacy notice for greater transparency.

Right to access, rectification, restriction of processing, erasure and data portability. If you are based in the EEA or Switzerland, we provide you with access to your own personal data. In addition, we will rectify your personal data when it is incorrect or inaccurate, and we will ensure the right to erasure, portability and restriction of processing when these rights are not incompatible with other legal obligations.

Right to object and withdraw consent at any time: For all marketing materials, you can opt-out any time, free of charge. All marketing e-mails provide a link to manage your e-mail preferences in the footer of the communication. The right to object to other processing activities will be balanced to ensure that it is not incompatible with local regulations or our legitimate interests.

These requests should be submitted as follows:

Opt-out of marketing communications: you can opt-out anytime by following the opt-out instructions in our commercial e-mails or contacting us at: admin@acvd.org. You will still continue to receive emails relevant to course registrations or purchases (e.g. registration confirmations or purchase receipts) or necessary to your continued membership in ACVD (e.g. dues notices). If you believe that SPAM has been sent from us, please contact us at admin@acvd.org so that we can investigate and rectify the situation.

To exercise the rest of your rights: you should send a communication in writing to admin@acvd.org and provide the following information in order to verify your identity: Your first and last name and ACVD member ID number, if applicable. We will attend to your request in a timely manner within 30 days after receiving your request. If for any reason we need to extend this period of time, we will contact you.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement.

7. International Transfers of Personal Data

If you are located outside the United States and you interact with our website or provide us personal data, then your personal data may be transferred to the United States.

We transfer your personal data to the United States whenever you interact with us. The U.S. has not sought, nor obtained adequacy status from the European Union. The level of protection of your personal data is not deemed equivalent to the one in the EEA, unless the receiving organization is self-certified under the EU-US Privacy Shield. ACVD has not sought self-certification under the EU-US Privacy Shield.

Article 49 of the GDPR permits ACVD to transfer your personal data on the basis of the following derogations:

• Explicit consent, for newsletter subscribers and certain processing in relation to organizing events or facilitating access to information, such as storing photos;
• Necessity to enter and for the performance of a contract for registration information to participate in our events; for processing personal data of our members and third-party users to maintain their relationship with our organization, provide them services including when they log in to their member or online user accounts; and also for processing personal data for online and offline courses.

As for safeguards to your personal data, we directly apply the GDPR provisions to your personal data. As a matter of principle, we do not engage in any onward transfers regarding your data, beyond the access that our processors have to your data, except for sharing among ACVD and its affiliates and our membership mailing list rental program. We carefully select our processors and we require that they provide equivalent safeguards.

8. Data Security

The ACVD Parties are committed to the security, confidentiality, and integrity principle. We take commercially reasonable precautions to keep all information obtained from our online visitors secure against unauthorized access and use, and we periodically review our security measures.

The ACVD Parties use PCI DSS and SSL certificates to provide secure, encrypted communication between our websites and any Internet browser. We use high-grade encryption and the secure https protocol to communicate with your browser software, which mitigates the risk of interception of the credit card information you give us. We also employ several different security techniques to protect your personally identifiable information from unauthorized access by users inside and outside the organization. The Web servers for ACVD is located in a secure environment, and computer systems are maintained in accordance with industry standards of like organizations to secure information. You should be aware, however, that “perfect security” does not exist on the Internet, and third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications.

This site contains links to other sites. While ACVD strive to link only to sites that share our high standards and respect for privacy, ACVD is not responsible for the privacy practices employed by other sites.

ACVD DOES NOT MAKE ANY CLAIMS, PROMISES OR GUARANTEES ABOUT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR ADEQUACY OF THE CONTENTS OF ITS SITE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS LIABILITY FOR ERRORS AND OMISSIONS IN THE CONTENTS OF THIS SITE. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, IMPLIED, EXPRESSED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM COMPUTER VIRUS, IS GIVEN WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENTS OF THEIR WEBSITE OR ITS HYPERLINKS TO OTHER INTERNET RESOURCES. REFERENCE IN THEIR WEBSITE TO ANY SPECIFIC COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS, PROCESSES OR SERVICES, OR THE USE OF ANY TRADE, FIRM OR CORPORATION NAME IS FOR THE INFORMATION AND CONVENIENCE OF THE PUBLIC AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ENDORSEMENT OR RECOMMENDATION BY ACVD.

9. Retention Periods

ACVD applies the storage limitation principle in order to retain personal data in our records only for the length of time required to fulfill the purpose for which the data was collected.

According to our document retention policy, we keep personal data in our records only as long as they are necessary for the purposes for which they have been processed. The retention period depends on the context in which we process data and on specific circumstances such as regulations requiring retaining information for a certain period of time. These circumstances may include local laws, the reasonably anticipated future business needs for the data, the benefit to the user to have the data available, legal requirements to hold the data, or similar circumstances. For example, credentialing documents, including examination documents, are typically stored for no more than three years.  The same period applies to correspondence and the rest of the information is stored for a maximum period of three years, unless relating to active dispute, in which case until resolution. Only Diplomate Disciplinary Files are stored permanently for archiving purposes according to our internal regulations.

10. Changes to this Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. We will duly inform you of any changes.

ACVD may occasionally update this privacy statement and other statements referenced by it as new services and programs are introduced. These changes will be notified to you via e-mail communication and/or by placing a prominent notice on the site. The time stamp you see on the policy will indicate the last date it was revised.

11. Contact Information

If you have any concerns or questions about how your personal data is used, please contact us at:

American College of Veterinary Dermatology
https://acvd.org

admin@acvd.org

Last Updated: February 1, 2024