Your Privacy is Important to Us
Broward Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists, operating as Lung Research Florida Clinical Trials and its affiliated research partners and collaborating institutions, is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information. This Privacy Policy is designed to inform you about how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website to express interest in participating in clinical trials. We are committed to complying with applicable privacy laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to the extent applicable.
Information We Collect
When you apply to participate in a clinical trial through our website, we collect the information you voluntarily provide in the application forms. This information may include:
- Personal Identifiers: Your name, email address, and phone number
- Demographic Information: Age, gender, ethnicity, and other demographic details relevant to clinical trial eligibility.
- Health Information: Information about your medical history, current health conditions, medications, smoking history, pulmonary function test results (like FEV1/FVC ratio), eosinophil counts, CAT scores, exacerbation history, and other health-related data necessary to assess your eligibility for specific clinical trials.
- Technical Information: We may automatically collect certain technical information when you visit our website, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring website addresses, pages visited, and access times. This information is primarily used for website administration, analytics, and security purposes.
How We Use Your Information
The information we collect is used for the following purposes:
- Clinical Trial Application Assessment: To evaluate your potential eligibility for specific clinical trials based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of each study.
- Communication: To contact you regarding your application, potential participation in a trial, updates about clinical trials, and to respond to your inquiries.
- Study Operations: If you are enrolled in a clinical trial, your information may be used for study-related activities, data analysis, and reporting, in accordance with the study protocol and ethical guidelines.
- Website Improvement: To analyze website usage trends, improve our website's functionality, and enhance user experience.
- Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, and ethical standards related to clinical research and patient data privacy.
Data Security and Confidentiality
We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the personal information you submit through our website from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include encryption, secure servers, access controls, and regular security assessments.
However, please understand that no website or online service is completely secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. Any information you transmit to us through our website is at your own risk.
We maintain the confidentiality of your health information as required by applicable laws and ethical principles of clinical research.
Information Sharing and Disclosure
We will only share your personal information in the following circumstances:
- Research Personnel: With our research staff, physicians, nurses, and clinical trial personnel who are directly involved in evaluating applications, determining eligibility, and conducting the clinical trials.
- Clinical Trial Sponsors: With sponsors of the clinical trials (pharmaceutical companies, research organizations, etc.) as necessary for study participation, data management, monitoring, and regulatory compliance.
- Regulatory Authorities and Ethics Committees: When required by law or to comply with requests from regulatory authorities (such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)) or Institutional Review Boards/Ethics Committees overseeing the clinical trials.
- Legal Obligations: If we believe disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect our rights or safety, or the rights or safety of others.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact our Research Team at:
Effective Date: February 21, 2025