Consumer Health Information Privacy Notice
Effective Date: September 1, 2024
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiaries (hereafter “Ironwood”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your “Consumer Health Data” (defined below). This Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice supplements all other Ironwood Privacy Notices with respect to your Consumer Health Data and applies to our collection of Consumer Health Data subject to the Washington State My Health My Data Act (the “MHMDA”) as well as other similar state consumer health data laws.
This Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice describes the health data that we may collect about you; how we may use that information; and the choices you may make with respect to it.
In this Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice, we use the term “Consumer” to mean: (1) residents of Washington State, and (2) other individuals whose Consumer Health Data we collect in Washington State, consistent with the definition of “Consumer” in the MHMDA. Also consistent with the MHMDA, we use the term “Consumer Health Data” in this Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice to mean personal information that is linked to, or reasonably linkable to, a Consumer and that identifies the Consumer’s past, present, or future physical or mental health status.
This Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice does not apply to any other personal data we collect which may otherwise be covered under one of our other exiting Privacy Notices which you find here https://ironwoodpharma.com/privacy/.
CATEGORIES OF CONSUMER HEALTH DATA WE MAY COLLECT ABOUT YOU
We, or our third-party business partners, may collect the following categories of Consumer Health Data about you:
- Individual health conditions, treatment, diseases, or diagnosis;
- Social, psychological, behavioral, and medical interventions;
- Health-related surgeries or procedures;
- Use or purchase of prescribed medication;
- Bodily functions, vital signs, symptoms, or measurements of health information;
- Diagnoses or diagnostic testing, treatment, or medication;
- Genetic data;
- Information regarding gender affirming care or reproductive or sexual health;
- Precise location information that could reasonably indicate your attempt to acquire or receive health services or supplies;
- Data that could identify you as an individual seeking health care services; and
- Any inferences of the above categories of health data that we may infer or derive from any non-health information.
The types of Consumer Health Data we collect about you depends on your relationship with Ironwood. Not all of the categories of Consumer Health Data may apply to you. If the nature of your relationship with Ironwood changes, additional or different categories of Consumer Health Data may also apply.
If our third-party business partners collect and use your Consumer Health Data on our behalf, this Privacy Notice may not apply and you should consult our third party business partners’ Privacy Notices for more information regarding their privacy practices. See “WHO WE MAY SHARE CONSUMER HEALTH DATA WITH” below for more information.
HOW WE MAY USE YOUR CONSUMER HEALTH DATA:
As described further in our other existing Privacy Notices, we may use your Consumer Health Data: (1) to respond to your requests for information about our products and services or to manage or develop our business relationship with you (e.g., to respond to questions, invite you to events, etc.); (2) to determine your eligibility for certain Ironwood products, services (such as patient assistance programs) or other information; (3) to provide and improve Ironwood products and services; (4) in accordance with the terms and conditions of Ironwood’s programs; (5) to operate, manage, and maintain our business; (6) to respond to your inquiries and fulfill your requests; (7) to send you administrative information and marketing communications whether about a particular Ironwood product or concerning general disease information; (8) for our research, development and collaboration efforts including our clinical studies; or (9) for regulatory reporting, such as adverse event reporting or to communicate product safety information to you or for pharmaceutical transparency reporting.
We may also use your Consumer Health Data for our own business purposes including: data analysis, internal audits, developing new products or services or improving existing products or services, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of promotional campaigns, preventing fraud, and for other everyday business purposes, such as contract management, website administration, fulfillment, analytics, corporate governance, reporting and legal compliance.
Additionally, we may use your Consumer Health Data to comply with applicable law, legal processes, responding to requests from public and government authorities, and to protect our rights, operations, and enforce our terms of service.
Further, we or one of our third-party partners may de-identify or anonymize your Consumer Health Data so that it cannot reasonably be reidentified by us or by another person (“De-Identified Data”), and we may use this De-Identified Data for any reason permitted by applicable law. If we de-identify information that was originally based on your Consumer Health Data, we will maintain and use that information in de-identified form and will not attempt to re-identify the data, except as otherwise permitted under applicable law.
Please Note: Ironwood does not sell, share, or otherwise distribute your Consumer Health Data or other information we collected about you with third parties for their marketing purposes.
OUR SOURCES OF CONSUMER HEALTH DATA
We, or our third-party business partners, may collect Consumer Health Data directly from you, as well as from the following sources:
- Healthcare providers (e.g., doctors and specialty pharmacies);
- Health insurance companies (e.g., health plans and other payors);
- Your authorized/legal representatives, family members, and caregivers;
- Payment processors and other financial institutions;
- Your mobile devices and computers when you are connected to our websites, platforms or applications via the internet;
- Cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies (automatically) when you visit our websites or our third party partners’ websites;
- Third Parties and processors who provide benefits verification, program enrollment, and product fulfillment services in connection with our products and services;
- Third Parties and Processors who help us maintain the accuracy of our data and data aggregators that help us complete and enhance our records;
- Third Parties and Processors who provide digital marketing and analytics services for us using cookies and similar technologies that contain a unique identifier, such as an advertising ID;
- Third Parties and vendors that provide access to information you make publicly available, such as social media platforms; and
- Third Parties and processors who provide us with supplemental consumer data or data analytics and market research services, such as data aggregators.
WHO WE MAY SHARE CONSUMER HEALTH DATA WITH
We may share your Consumer Health Data with third parties, such as:
- Healthcare providers (including doctors or specialty pharmacies);
- Health insurance companies (health plans and other payors);
- Your authorized/legal representatives, family members, and caregivers;
- Third Parties that help administer, manage, and analyze our programs and services;
- Third Parties with whom we have joint marketing or other similar arrangements;
- Third Parties who provide benefits verification, program enrollment, and product fulfillment services in connection with our products and services;
- Payment processors, financial institutions, and others as needed to complete transactions and for authentication, security, and fraud prevention;
- Third Parties who deliver our communications, such as the postal service or other mail couriers (e.g., UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.);
- Third Parties who provide marketing and data analytics services, such as social media platforms used to deliver our ads, website/email optimization providers, email marketing vendors, and data analytics vendors;
- Third Parties who assist with fraud prevention, detection, and mitigation;
- Third Parties as reasonably necessary to facilitate a merger, sale, joint venture or collaboration, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets, or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings);
- Our lawyers, auditors, and consultants; and
- Legal and regulatory bodies and other third parties as required by law.
HOW TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR CONSUMER HEALTH DATA
Subject to certain legal limitations and exceptions, you have the following rights with respect to any Consumer Health Data we may collect about you:
- The right to confirm whether we are collecting, sharing, or selling your Consumer Health Data and to access your Consumer Health Data, including a list of all third parties and affiliates with whom we have shared or sold your Consumer Health Data and an active email address or other online mechanism that you may use to contact these third parties;
- The right to withdraw consent from our collection and sharing of your Consumer Health Data; and
- The right to have your Consumer Health Data deleted.
If you would like to exercise your rights pursuant to the MHMDA or similar consumer health data laws, please submit your request to [email protected]. We will endeavor to fulfill your request to exercise these rights, but sometimes, we may have legal grounds or obligations to reject your request.
We will respond to your requests within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 45 additional days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. Under certain circumstances, Ironwood may ask you for specific information to confirm your identity and ensure the exercise of your rights. This is a security measure to safeguard your Consumer Health Data. We will notify you when your request is completed or if we deny your request to exercise your rights (because, for example, we cannot properly verify your identity).
You may designate an authorized agent to exercise your rights on your behalf. In such case, we will also need to verify your agent’s identity and obtain proof of your authorization. We may need to deny a request from an agent whose identity or authorization we cannot verify.
If you believe that Ironwood has processed your Consumer Health Data in a manner that is unlawful or breaches your rights, or has infringed applicable laws, you may have the right to complain directly with the Washington State Attorney General at: www.atg.wa.gov/file-complaint. Without limiting any rights to complain directly to your state authority, we are committed to protecting your Consumer Health Data and complaints may also be made directly to us.
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any right you have under applicable law.
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE
We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. At a minimum, we will post an updated version on our websites. Ironwood encourages you to review this Privacy Notice regularly. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting of the revised Privacy Notice, and your continued use of our websites or our products or services will be subject to the then-current Privacy Notice.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or about our handling of your Consumer Health Data or other information we collect about you, please contact us at: [email protected].
You may also contact us by mail at the address below. If you choose to contact us by mail, please be sure to provide us with your name, address, email address, and/or phone number you would like us to respond to.
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals
Attn: Privacy Officer
100 Summer Street
23rd Floor
Boston, MA 02110
