Who we are
AMEE is an international community of health education professionals comprising of teachers, doctors, researchers, administrators, curriculum developers, assessors and students. Some of our community become members of AMEE which entitles them to personal benefits and opportunities that help AMEE advance education in the health professions.
This Privacy Policy applies to all AMEE’s activities and initiatives, including:
AMEE and ‘Ottawa’ Conferences
Faculty Development Conferences
AMEE Publications such as Medical Teacher, MedEdPublish and AMEE Education Guides
ESME Courses
Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) Collaboration
ASPIRE to Excellence initiative
The AMEE office is based in Unit 1.1 - 1.5 Flour Mill, 34 Commercial Street, Dundee, DD1 3EJ, UK.
We are a charity registered in Scotland (SC031618) regulated by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Purpose
This Privacy Policy explains when, why and how we collect personal information about users of AMEE’s services.
AMEE is a “data controller”. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you. We are required under data protection legislation to notify you of the information contained in this privacy policy.
Our Commitment
AMEE is fully committed to handling personal information in accordance with data protection legislation and data protection and information security best practices. This means that your personal information will be:
Processed lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner
Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes
Only collected so far as required for our lawful purposes
As accurate and up to date as possible
Retained for a reasonable period of time, in accordance with retention policies
Processed in a manner which ensures an appropriate level of security
How do we collect personal information?
We collect information about you in a central database when you use any of the following AMEE websites; AMEE, MedEdPublish, AMEE Connect, to, for example, enquire about membership, committees, conferences, courses, events or if you register to receive our newsletter. In addition, like most organisations that handle personal information, there are various ways in which we collect information from the people we deal with;
Email and written correspondence
Telephone discussions
Social media
Application forms and other information requests
Direct contact at our office, events and elsewhere
In nearly all instances, it will be obvious to you when we are collecting your personal data. We also collect information when you voluntarily complete surveys, provide feedback or provide personal images. Website usage information is collected using cookies.
The personal information most commonly collected includes:
Name and job title
Contact details (including address, business address, e-mail – both work and personal, telephone number)
Demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests
For visitors to our website – your IP address, and information regarding what pages are accessed and when
Other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers
Records of enquiries, meetings and other direct engagement
Copies of physical and electronic correspondence
We collect information about you when you register with us or place an order for products or services. We have a contractual liability to fulfil our contractual obligations with you. We collect information about you to administer your relationship with us, including - processing orders, managing your membership, notifying you of board elections, notifying you of changes to subscription fees, and notifying you of specific AMEE committee and community participation.
Why do we collect personal information?
We may use your information to:
Keep our lists of platforms users and AMEE members up to date
Carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered with you
Notify you of updates, developments and changes to events, courses or services for which you are registered with us
Maintain your personal achievement records of awards, course completion certificates, attendance at conferences and webinars, and other AMEE participation
Seek your views or comments on the products and services we provide in order that we can improve them
Send you communications which we think may be of interest to you. These may include information about events, conferences, or services delivered by AMEE in pursuit of its educational objectives.
Marketing Activity
As an association with specific educational objectives, we will contact you about AMEE’s future conferences, events, courses, other AMEE initiatives and news which we think will be of help in furthering your own, and AMEE’s, educational objectives. We will restrict our e-mail marketing activity with you to the minimum required to keep you updated of AMEE’s developments and activities while being mindful not to burden you with excessive and unnecessary communications.
We will provide you with an opportunity to opt-out of the use of your personal information for these specific marketing purposes and will not share your information for marketing purposes with other organizations. Third parties commissioned by AMEE, such as Conference Organisers and other ‘joint data controllers’ and ‘data processors’, will not share your personal information without your express permission.
We use your information collected from our website to personalise your repeat visits to the website.
What is the lawful basis for AMEE's processing activities?
We will only process personal information where we believe we have a lawful basis to do so. The basis for processing will vary from activity to activity. In some instances, processing may have more than one lawful basis.
The following information summarises the basis on which we process personal information:
Processing is necessary for us to meet our legitimate interests as an association providing services to the users and members registered on our database
General administration for maintaining our membership and user database
Providing members and users with relevant news and updates which further our charitable objectives and which we consider may be of interest to them
Delivering services in pursuit of our educational objectives using our own IT applications and platforms and/or the services of 'joint data controllers' and 'data processors'
Independent review of abstracts submitted for conferences, applications for Fellowship and Associate Fellowship and papers submitted for consideration for publication
Processing carried out in the public interest
Regulatory activity (eg - complying with requirements of OSCR and fulfilling our responsibilities regarding applicable legislation)
Processing necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations
Providing information to statutory bodies (e.g. HM Revenue and Customs)
Providing information to our independent auditors
Providing information to law enforcement agencies
Processing necessary for the performance of a contract with our staff members and individuals enrolled on our conferences, courses and other
Processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out our obligations as a data controller with respect to:
Our staff members in the field of employment
Where we use third party suppliers for processing data such as maintenance of our website, online services and administration of conferences and other events
Corresponding with members and users in respect of the delivery of our services within our terms and conditions e.g. corresponding with an individual in the run up to an imminent conference, ESME course or other AMEE event for which an individual has registered
General administration for maintaining our membership and our user database
Third parties
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties and we will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
When we use third party service providers, we disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the service. A contract is in place that requires them to keep your information secure and not to use it for their own direct marketing purposes.
We may transfer your personal information to a third party if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data to comply with any legal obligation or to enforce or apply our terms of use or to protect the rights, property or safety of our members and customers. However, we will take steps with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected.
Following is a list of the main third parties with whom we share personal information:
Oversight regulators and statutory bodies (e.g. HMRC and OSCR)
Software providers which allow us to operate efficient digital processes such as websites and apps
Approved events management partners who provide digital platforms that help us facilitate our operations and the pursuit of our educational objectives more efficiently. They will include, but not be limited to: Association Management and Engagement systems, conference administration systems, course administration systems and online publication platforms
Academics and researchers who provide valuable input into the delivery and design of our products and services
When you are accessing the AMEE secure online shop via our website, your transaction is processed by a third-party payment processor who specialises in the secure online capture and processing of credit/debit card transactions. If you have any questions regarding secure transactions, please contact us.
How long do we retain personal information?
The periods for which we retain personal information depends on the purpose for which the information was obtained but, in general terms, we will retain personal data for so long as required by law, or as may be required for record keeping and legal claims purposes.
Where do we store personal information?
Information which you provide to us will ordinarily be stored on secure servers. However, we do work with third party contractors, some of whom host and operate certain features of the website. By submitting personal information, you agree to this storing and processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Personal information is mostly processed by our staff online and at our office in Dundee, and online by association users and members that provide their own personal details. To allow us to operate efficient digital processes, we need to store data in secure servers which are linked to cloud based services, all of which are in the EEC. We also work with third party contractors, some of whom host and operate certain features of the website. By submitting your personal data, you are agreeing to this transfer, storing or processing. If we transfer your information outside of the European Economic Area in this way, we will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that appropriate security measures are put in place with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected as outlined in this Policy.
To ensure that your personal information does receive an adequate level of protection we have put in place appropriate measures to ensure that your personal information is treated by those third parties in a way that is consistent with and which respects the EU and UK laws on data protection: For example a binding data sharing agreement which includes data access, data security and information sharing clauses. If you require further information about these protective measures, you can request it using the contact details below.
IP Addresses
We may collect information about the computer or device which is used to access our website. We use this information to improve the user experience and to help us better understand the ways in which our website is used.
This may include information about:
The computer or device type
IP address
Operating system
Browser type and version
Time zone setting and browser plug-in types and versions
This is statistical data about our users' browsing actions and patterns. It is collected on an anonymous, aggregated basis, and does not identify individual users security precautions in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information. We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. When you give us personal information, we take steps to ensure that it is treated securely in order to prevent un-authorised access or disclosure. We have put in place suitable physical, technical and organisational procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect. Any personal information submitted on our website is encrypted and protected with the following software 128 Bit encryption on SSL. When you are on a secure page, a lock icon will appear on the URL bar of the web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, or the web address will start https://Non-sensitive details (your email address etc.) are transmitted normally over the Internet, and this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems. Where we have given (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of our websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential.
We ask you not to share your password with anyone.
Profiling
We may analyse the personal information which you have submitted to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can contact you with information relevant to you.
Cookies
Our website makes use of cookie files to distinguish you from other users of our site, to provide you with a bespoke user experience tailored to your individual preferences. A cookie file (a small file of letters and numbers) will be placed on your computer or other access device each time you visit our site.
We also use analytical cookie files. These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our site and to see how visitors move around our site when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our site works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
If you wish to delete any such cookie files, please refer to the instructions for your file management software to locate the file or directory that stores cookies. Our cookies will contain the domain name amee.org within the file name.
You may refuse to accept cookie files when visiting our site, by activating the setting on your browser which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you choose this setting, you may not get an optimal web site experience and be unable to access certain parts of our site.
Other Websites
Our website and emails may contain links to other websites, such as other medical education associations or carefully selected useful databases or partner organisations. We are not responsible for the content or practices of these other sites and we recommend that you check their own privacy policies. Your rights where we are processing your information in the UK and EU data protection legislation gives certain rights to UK and EU citizens whose information is being collected by AMEE and processed by our approved partners. The following is a quick summary of these rights:
Access to your information – you have the right to request a copy of the personal information about you that we hold. If you would like a copy of some, or all, of your personal information, please email or write to us at the address shown below
Correcting your information – we want to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete, and up to date, and so you may ask us to correct any personal information about you that you believe does not meet these standards
Deletion of your information – you have the right to ask us to delete personal information about you where:
You consider that we no longer require the information for the purposes for which it was obtained
We are using that information with your consent and you have withdrawn your consent – see ‘withdrawing consent to using your information’ below
You have validly objected to our use of your personal information – see ‘objecting to how we may use your information’ below
Our use of your personal information is contrary to law or our other legal obligations
Objecting to how we may use your information – you have the right at any time to require us to stop using your personal information for marketing or newsletter purposes. In addition, where we use your personal information to perform tasks carried out in the public interest, or in exercising official authority vested in us then, if you ask us to, we will stop using that personal information unless there are overriding legitimate grounds to continue
Restricting how we may use your information – in some cases, you may ask us to restrict how we use your personal information. This right might apply, for example, where we are checking the accuracy of personal information about you that we hold or assessing the validity of any objection you have made to our use of your information. The right might also apply if we no longer have a basis for using your personal information but you don't want us to delete the data. Where this right is validly exercised, we may only use the relevant personal information with your consent, for legal claims, or where there are other public interest grounds to do so
Withdrawing consent to using your information – where we use your personal information with your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time, and we will stop using your personal information for the purpose(s) for which consent was given.
Please contact us in any of the ways set out in the ‘contact information and further advice’ section if you wish to exercise any of these rights.
Changes to our Privacy Policy
We keep this policy under regular review and will place any updates on this website. Paper copies of the privacy statement may also be obtained by emailing [email protected] or in writing to our office at:
AMEE
Unit 1.1 - 1.5 Flour Mill
34 Commercial Street
Dundee
DD1 3EJ
UK
This privacy statement was last updated in July 2022.
Your choices
You have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive information from us. If you do not want to receive direct marketing communications from us you can choose to ‘opt out’ from further marketing communications by selecting the ‘opt out’ option which is provided on every communication from AMEE.
You can also change your marketing preferences at any time by contacting us by e-mail: [email protected], or by accessing your personal user account on our online administration system.
Contact Information and further advice
If you have any questions which are not covered in this policy, please email us at [email protected] To help us deal with your query as quickly as possible, we recommend that you include the following in the e-mail subject ‘GDPR Data Request’. If you would prefer to submit your questions in writing, please write to us at AMEE, Unit 1.1 - 1.5 Flour Mill, 34 Commercial Street, Dundee, DD1 3EJ, United Kingdom, addressing your letter to ‘GDPR Data Request, AMEE CEO.
Complaints
While we seek to resolve directly all complaints about how we handle personal information, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office, whose contact details are as follows:
Information Commissioner's Office - Scotland
45 Melville Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7HL, UK
Telephone - 0303 123 1115
Email -
[email protected]