Personal Data
Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) personal data is defined as:

“any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person”.

How We Use Your Information
This privacy notice tells you how we, AGA, will collect and use your personal data to:

Improve website user experience.
• Provide member benefits.
• Sell mailing lists.
• Market products.
• Customize communication.
• Deliver emails for related events, products or services.
• Complete financial transactions.
• Verify ads are viewed by physician members.
• Improve article recommendations.

Why does AGA need to collect and store personal data?
In order for us to provide you with service and improve your membership experience, we need to collect personal data for correspondence purposes and detailed service provision. In any event, we are committed to ensuring that the information we collect and use is appropriate for this purpose, and does not constitute an invasion of your privacy.

Will AGA share my personal data with anyone else?
We may pass your personal data on to third-party service providers contracted to AGA in the course of dealing with you. Any third parties that we may share your data with are obliged to keep your details securely, and to use them only to fulfill the service they provide you on our behalf. When they no longer need your data to fulfill this service, they will dispose of the details in line with AGA’s procedures.

How will AGA use the personal data it collects about me?
AGA will process (collect, store and use) the information you provide in a manner compatible with GDPR. We will endeavor to keep your information accurate and up to date, and not keep it for longer than is necessary. AGA is required to retain information in accordance with the law, such as information needed for income tax and audit purposes. How long certain kinds of personal data should be kept may also be governed by specific business-sector requirements and agreed practices. Personal data may be held in addition to these periods depending on individual business needs.

Cookies
Cookies are small text files which enable a website to recognize repeat users. Cookies do not collect personally identifying information. They collect information concerning the characteristics of your computer. We use cookies so that an AGA member does not have to retype his/her password when he/she accesses member-only web content.

We use a third-party advertising company, eHealthcare Solutions, who uses cookies to serve ads on our site. Their use of cookies enables them to serve more relevant ads to our users based on their visit to our sites and other sites on the Internet.

AGA also uses a third-party company, TrendMD, to provide article recommendations based on the topics covered in the article that the visitor is currently reading. The core mechanic of this is that AGA has installed the TrendMD recommendations widget on our website by including code. When a visitor then accesses an article, the widget loads a number of recommendations (links to other articles), based on the similarity or close association of the article topics.

In order to improve recommendations quality, TrendMD collects some visitor information (usually generic) and a number of changes have and are being implemented in order to ensure all data collection and processing is GDPR-compliant, before any regulations come into effect on May 25, 2018.

Under what circumstances will AGA contact me?
AGA will use your personal information to contact you to provide member benefits; customize communication; deliver emails for events, products or services; complete transactional services; and other circumstances in line with AGA’s business procedures.

Can I find out the personal data that AGA holds about me?
AGA, at your request, can confirm what information we hold about you and how it is processed. If AGA does hold personal data about you, you can request the following information:

• Identity and the contact details of the person or Organization that has determined how and why to process your data. In some cases, this will be a representative in the EU.
• The purpose of the processing as well as the legal basis for processing.
• If the processing is based on the legitimate interests of AGA or a third party, information about those interests.
• The categories of personal data collected, stored and processed.
• Recipient(s) or categories of recipients that the data is/will be disclosed to.
• If we intend to transfer the personal data to a third country or international Organization, information about how we ensure this is done securely. The EU has approved sending personal data to some countries because they meet a minimum standard of data protection. In other cases, we will ensure there are specific measures in place to secure your information.
• How long the data will be stored.
• Details of your rights to correct, erase, restrict or object to such processing.
• Information about your right to withdraw consent at any time.
• How to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority.
• Whether the provision of personal data is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract, as well as whether you are obliged to provide the personal data and the possible consequences of failing to provide such data.
• The source of personal data if it wasn’t collected directly from you.
• Any details and information of automated decision making, such as profiling, and any meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and expected consequences of such processing.

What forms of ID will I need to provide in order to access this?
AGA accepts any of the following forms of ID when information on your personal data is requested:

• Passport
• Driving license
• Birth certificate

Contact details of the GDPR Owner:
Sarah Manwell
AGA Director Business and Data Analyses
4930 Del Ray Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
DataSupport@gastro.org
301-654-2055

Policy updated May 23, 2018