International Neuromodulation Society Web Content and Information Policies
Purpose of the INS Website
The International Neuromodulation Society (INS) website is intended to serve as a gateway to credible, unbiased, information about the evolving family of neuromodulation therapies. The material is designed to serve the needs of INS members, interested healthcare professionals, patients or prospective patients and their families or caregivers, and the public at large, as well as payers, policy makers, members of the news media, and other groups seeking such information.
Information provided through the website supports the INS aim to increase understanding of the field, its history, and emerging role in the medical management of chronic illness or other health conditions. In addition, the website serves as one portal to the society’s peer-reviewed scientific journal, Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface, and as such, reinforces the society’s aim to advance scientific insight and advance the skills of practitioners.
Information provided on www.neuromodulation.com is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between a patient and his or her physician.
The INS links to announcements of scientific conferences and other professional development events, clinical trials listings, patient groups, publications, and related organizations as a resource for site visitors, but makes no claims regarding information on external sites and is not responsible for the content provided by external sites.
Site Funding Sources
The International Neuromodulation Society website is supported by a combination of member dues, conference proceeds, royalties from its journal content, and unrestricted grants from Abbott; Boston Scientific Corporation; Mainstay Medical; Medtronic, Inc.; Nalu Medical; Nevro Corp.; Saluda Medical.
Expert reviewers and authors are volunteers who belong to the medical society. Content prepared by staff members of the INS executive office is reviewed by volunteer physician members of the society who specialize in neuromodulation.
Advertising Policy
The International Neuromodulation Society website, www.neuromodulation.com, does not host or receive funding from advertising or from the display of commercial content.
Privacy Policy
Last updated on 1 October 2024.
The International Neuromodulation Society, its journal Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface, and affiliate chapters (“INS”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) recognize the importance of protecting the personal information collected from users in the operation of its services and activities and taking reasonable steps to maintain the security, integrity and privacy of any information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. By submitting your information to INS, and by visiting or accessing the INS and Neuromodulation websites (the “websites”), you consent to the practices described in this policy. If you are less than 18 years of age, then you must first seek the consent of your parent or guardian prior to submitting any personal information.
This Privacy Policy describes how INS collects and uses the personal information you provide to INS. It also describes the choices available to you regarding our use of your personal information and how you can access and update this information.
How We Collect Information
INS may collect personal information from you directly from your verbal or written input (such as by submitting a form on the INS website, submitting a manuscript or review via the Neuromodulation editorial website, by participating in a discussion forum, or by consenting to receiving marketing emails).
Information You Provide
The types of personal information that INS collects directly from you may include:
- Contact details, such as your name, email address, postal business or private address and telephone number;
- Internet Protocol ("IP") addresses used to connect your computer to the Internet (We do not associate this automatically recorded data to personal information we obtain from you.);
- Educational and professional interests;
- Usernames and passwords;
- Payment information, such as a credit or debit card number;
- Comments, feedback, posts and other content you provide to INS (including through the INS website and discussion forum);
- Communication preferences;
- Payment history;
- Communications with other users of INS’s services (including through the INS website, and discussion forum);
- Commercial Conflict-of-Interest Disclosures;
- Authorship statements; and
- Reviewer preferences.
In order to access certain content and to make use of additional functionality and features of INS’s website and services, we may ask you to become an INS member by completing and submitting a membership form, which may request additional information. Submitting, reviewing or editing a manuscript in the Neuromodulation editorial system, requires completing and submitting a form, which may request additional information.
You may choose not to provide INS with this information, but doing so may preclude you from accessing the certain website content, participating in INS and Neuromodulation journal activities, and receiving communication from the INS.
Information We Receive From Other Sources
INS may receive information about you if you use any of the websites we operate or the other services we provide. We also work closely with third parties (including, for example, business partners and sub-contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, INS chapter societies, conference organizers, academic institutions, and credit reference agencies) from whom INS may receive information about you.
In connection with a third party providing publishing or conference organization services on behalf INS, INS may receive navigational and transactional information in the form of anonymous, aggregate usage statistics and demographics information that do not reveal your identity or personal information.
Use of Your Information
INS may use your personal information in the performance of any contract we enter into with you, to comply with legal obligations, or where INS has a legitimate business interest in using your information to enhance the services and products we provide. Legitimate business purposes include but are not limited to one or all of the following: providing direct marketing and assessing the effectiveness of promotions and advertising; modifying, improving or personalizing our services, products and communications; detecting fraud; investigating suspicious activity and otherwise keeping our site safe and secure; and conducting data analytics.
In addition, we may use your information in the following ways (after obtaining your consent, if required):
- To communicate with you, in general and to provide you with information about products, events, activities and services that you request from us;
- To provide you with information about our products, events, activities and services we offer that are either (i) similar to those you have already purchased or inquired about, or (ii) entirely new products, events, activities and services;
- For internal business and research purposes to help enhance, evaluate, and develop the INS website (including non-personal usage statistics, such as "page views" on INS’s website), products, and services;
- To notify you about changes or updates to our website, products, events, activities or services;
- To administer our services and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, database administration, data analysis, testing, statistical, and survey purposes;
- To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service;
- To conduct and analyze surveys;
- For the purpose described at the time you provided your personal data; and
- For any other purpose that we may notify you of from time to time.
Personal information will not be kept longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. This means that, unless information must be retained for legal or archival purposes, personal information will be securely destroyed, put beyond use or erased from INS’s systems when it is no longer required or, where applicable, following a request from you to destroy or erase your personal information.
Disclosure and Sharing of Your Information
INS will not disclose to, or share your personal information with, any unaffiliated third party, except as follows:
- Where necessary in connection with services provided by third parties (i) who provide us with a wide range of office, administrative, information technology, production, publication, payment, or business management services, and (ii) who are required to comply with this policy;
- Where you opt in to have your information published in a searchable directory within the password protected, members-only section of the INS website, or in a directory of members on the public section of the INS website;
- Where you voluntarily provide information required to submit a manuscript for peer review, or serve as an editor or reviewer in the Neuromodulation editorial system;
- Where you voluntarily provide information in response to an advertisement from a third party;
- Where your consent has been provided, with a third party such as an INS chapter society, an academic institution, school, employer, business or other entity that has provided you with access to a product or service through an integration or access code, information may be shared regarding your engagement with the service or product, results of assessments taken, and other information you input into the product or service;
- Where you voluntarily opt in to disclose your information to exhibitors and to receive third party communications when registering for an INS Congress or educational event;
- Where INS is required to disclose personal information in response to lawful requests by public authorities and government agencies, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements; to comply with a subpoena or other legal process; when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, to enforce our Terms of Service, or to protect the rights, property or safety of our services, users or others; and to investigate fraud; and
- Where all or substantially all of the business or assets of INS relating to our services are sold, assigned, or transferred to another entity.
Cross Border Transfers
INS may transfer your personal information outside of your country of residence for the following reasons:
- In order to process your transactions, we may store your personal information outside the country where you live. The INS has office locations the United States. INS also has INS chapter societies and service providers located in the United States and other countries. Such processing may include, among other things, the fulfillment of your order, the processing of your payment details, the processing and review of manuscripts, and the provision of support services. Personal information will be encrypted for security.
- In order to satisfy global reporting requirements, INS may be required to provide your personal information to INS affiliates in other countries.
By submitting your personal information, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing of your information. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your personal information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and all applicable data protection laws.
Security
We will use appropriate physical, technical and administrative safeguards to protect your data. Access to your personal data will be restricted to only those who need to know that information and required to perform their job function. In addition, we train our employees about the importance of maintaining the confidentiality and security of your information.
However, INS does not and cannot ensure the security of any information or data. As with any Internet communication, there is an inherent risk that data may be lost or intercepted by unauthorized parties during transmission or after receipt. You confirm that the INS shall have no liability in connection with any intercepted or lost information and data.
Disclosure in Discussion Forums, Member Directories and Editorial Manager
You should be aware that identifiable personal information--such as your name or e-mail address--that you voluntarily disclose and that is accessible to other users (e.g. on social media, discussion forums, member directories or the Neuromodulation editorial system) could be collected and disclosed by others. INS cannot take any responsibility for such collection and disclosure.
Cookies
INS does not collect personal information from site visitors, unless they voluntarily provide their personal details by completing and submitting a form on the INS website or sending us an email. The website www.neuromodulation.com also does not use Internet cookies or store logs of individual visits to the site. The only information gathered is anonymous web traffic statistics for analytical purposes, such as determining what information is most sought-after, and how the site is performing.
Your Rights
You have the right to make a written request to be informed whether or not we hold or process any of your personal information (by emailing [email protected]). In your written request, you may:
- Request that we provide you with details of your personal information that we process, the purpose for which it is processed, the recipients of such information, the existence of any decision-making involving your personal information, and what transfer safeguards we have in place;
- Request that we rectify any errors in your personal information;
- Request that we delete your personal information if our continued processing of such information is not justified;
- Request that we transfer your personal information to a third party;
- Object to decision-making and profiling based on legitimate interests or the performance of a task in the public interest (in which event the processing will cease except where there are compelling legitimate grounds, such as when the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract between us);
- Object to direct marketing from us; and
- Object to processing for purposes of scientific, historical research and statistics.
Where applicable under your local laws, we will not use your personal information for marketing purposes, nor disclose your information to any third parties, unless we have your prior consent, which we will seek before collecting your personal information. You can exercise your right to opt in or opt out by using check boxes on the consent forms that we use when collecting your personal information. If at any point you wish to review or change your preferences you can use the "opt-out" or “unsubscribe” mechanism or other means provided within the communications that you receive from us or by sending an email to [email protected]. Note that you may still receive transactional communications from INS.
Third-Parties
The INS’s website or services may include links to third-party websites. In using such links, please be aware that each third-party website is subject to its own privacy and data protection policies and is not covered by our Privacy Policy. These companies may be placing and reading cookies in the cookie file of the browser on your computer's hard disk or using web beacons or other technologies to collect information in the course of ads being served on their website. These companies may use information other than personal information (e.g., clickstream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to these and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Please note that the INS’s Privacy Policy is reviewed and updated periodically. The INS reserves the right to modify its Privacy Policy at any time without notice. Any changes to the Privacy Policy will be posted on this page and will become effective on the date of posting. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.
Recourse
Any comments, complaints or questions concerning this policy or complaints or objections about our use of your personal information should be addressed by directing your comments to the attention of:
Tia Sofatzis, INS Executive Director and Data Protection Officer
International Neuromodulation Society
2000 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 414
San Francisco, CA 94109 USA
Telephone: +1-415-683-3237
[email protected]
Web Linking Policy
On its INS Links page, the International Neuromodulation Society provides links to related websites as a source of potential information for site visitors, but does not endorse any external content nor vouch for its validity or completeness.
The INS links to books for practitioners, industry associations and trade publications, patient organizations, and medical societies.
In addition, the INS provides links to clearinghouses of clinical trials information and relevant footnotes to document its explanatory content. Footnotes refer to published peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, encyclopedias or dictionaries, and occasionally, a technology innovator, government publication, or leading non-governmental organization’s report.
For further reading, INS also offers bibliographic references on several neuromodulation topics. Selected references include broad, recent, or key research articles or authoritative materials that expand upon topics discussed with additional details and in-depth content.
In its references, INS selects information sources that show their date of preparation and that list the names and credentials of the authorities and experts who provided the factual material presented.
Contact information for recognized patient support groups is also sometimes provided as an additional resource for patients or providers.
Finally, the INS summarizes relevant neuromodulation news in its news briefs section and offers links there to the original content.
Web Content Decisions
Decisions regarding web content are made by the website manager and executive director in consultation with one or more Web Team representatives, who include the society president, secretary, and volunteer expert reviewers who are also members of the society. Members of the Web Team and their credentials are listed on the Web Team page.
While it is the intent and mission of the INS to provide noncommercial, objective, and balanced information through exercising independent editorial judgment, commercial supporters of the INS are acknowledged in a clearly labeled section of the INS Links page. Website pages may include an occasional unbranded image by a neuromodulation company requested by the INS to portray generic patient care; however, the majority of images on the site are either created by the INS or its members, or are from public domain, academic, or similar sources, and photo credits are provided on INS patient fact sheet pages. In addition, all sources of images in the INS Image Bank are identified there.
Organizations requesting links from the INS site are advised to provide the purpose of their site, its funding, and the names, credentials, and interests of their content authors. Requests are considered by members of the INS Web Team on an individualized basis.
Organizations wishing to link to the INS site may do so for educational purposes, as long as no endorsement or commercial intent is implied. Notification to INS at [email protected] is appreciated.
INS Policy on Press Passes for Meeting Attendance by Journalists
Press passes to attend INS scientific meetings or pre-conferences are available on request to journalists who are primarily occupied with gathering news to produce independent editorial coverage for a regularly produced news publication or outlet, and to freelancers working on assignment for a recognized news organization.
Acronyms Related to Academic Degrees or Honors
Acronyms related to academic degrees or honors are detailed in this section.
BChir – Bachelor of Surgery (Chirurgia)
DA - Diploma in Anaesthetics
FANZCA – Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthestists
FFPMANZCA – Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
FFPMRCA – Fellowship of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists
FIPP – Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice
FMedSci – Fellow of the United Kingdom Academy of Medical Sciences
FRCA – Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists
FRCS (Gen Surg) – Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, General Surgery
FRCSC – Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada
HDR - Highest Degree by Research
MB ChB – Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery/Chirurgery
MBBS – Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
MD – Medical Doctor
MSBmE - Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering
PhD – Doctor of Philosophy
Endorsement Policy
To see the INS Endorsement Policy, please visit http://www.neuromodulation.com/ins-endorsement-policy.
Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold INS, its subsidiaries, affiliates, chapters, officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any third party claim, action or demand ("Claim") and all liabilities and settlements related thereto, including without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your use of the Site and/or its Content, or any breach or violation of this User Agreement. INS shall provide notice to you promptly of such Claim and shall reasonably cooperate with you, at your expense, in your defense of any such Claim.
|
