RTI Health Solutions (RTI-HS) takes your privacy seriously and is committed to protecting your Personal Information. This Research Privacy Policy (“Policy”) addresses what Personal Data may be collected or acquired during the conduct of our clients’ research projects and how we comply with applicable data protection laws. This privacy policy supplements the RTI Health Solutions Website Privacy Policy.
1 ABOUT RTI HEALTH SOLUTIONS
RTI-HS, a business unit of RTI International, is an independent, non-profit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. We combine scientific rigor and technical expertise to provide research and consulting services to benefit patients and improve public health. RTI-HS is a Data Processor for data collected as part of our clients’ research studies. The client sponsoring the research study is the Data Controller.
2 ABOUT THIS POLICY
This Policy explains what Personal Data (also sometimes called “Personal Information”) we may collect or acquire about you, how we may use it, when we may disclose the information, and the steps we take to ensure that your Personal Data is kept secure when we conduct our clients’ research studies. This Policy also explains your rights with respect to your Personal Data.
RTI-HS defines Personal Data as any information that identifies you either directly, such as name, address, email address, telephone number, or internet protocol (IP) address, or indirectly, such as demographic information, that when combined with other data could allow RTI-HS or its vendor to identify you.
We may also collect the following categories of Personal Data which, depending on the applicable privacy law, may be considered Sensitive Personal Data:
- Health-related information, including but not limited to, information about a physical or mental health condition, treatments you may have received, or safety and health information in relation to client products or services;
- Demographic data, such as your race, ethnicity or sexual orientation;
- Geolocation data that provides your precise location.
3 HOW WE USE AND COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IN RESEARCH
When Personal Data is collected directly from you, whether by RTI-HS or by one of our vendors, an explanation regarding the processing of that data and how you may exercise your rights will be provided to you as part of the consent process. RTI-HS and its vendors will process your Personal Data in accordance with the terms of your consent and any applicable laws.
When the Personal Data is collected by or obtained from vendors or other entities (such as your health care provider) without your direct consent, RTI-HS will receive and process only data that is de-identified, anonymized, or aggregated. The data collected or obtained will not allow RTI-HS to directly identify you.
RTI-HS will treat any Personal Data you provide to us, or we obtain about you, as confidential. We employ legally required technical and organizational measures to protect your Personal Data and your privacy. All Personal Data that we collect about you will be recorded, used, and protected by RTI-HS and its vendors in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, your informed consent, relevant contract terms, and this Policy. Your Personal Data will be retained only for such period as is appropriate for its intended and lawful use.
Any Personal Data that is collected by RTI-HS or obtained from its vendors may be stored, processed, transferred between and accessed from the United States or other countries which may not guarantee the same level of protection of Personal Data as the country in which you reside. This processing of your data will occur for research purposes on the basis of your consent or under Standard Contractual Clauses in place between RTI-HS and the study sponsor.
We reserve the right to disclose your Personal Data as required by law, when we believe disclosure is necessary to comply with a regulatory or legal requirement.
4 RESEARCH INVOLVING CHILDREN AND OTHER VULNERABLE PERSONS
RTI-HS recognizes the need for additional measures to protect the privacy, rights, and well-being of vulnerable persons, including children, who participate in research. RTI-HS will directly involve vulnerable persons, including children, in research only as necessary and appropriate for the specific research project. Prior to any data collection, the consent of the parent(s) or legally authorized representative(s) and the informed and voluntary assent of the vulnerable person will be obtained by the client, RTI-HS, or an RTI-HS vendor. RTI-HS will provide the parent(s) or legally authorized representative(s) and the vulnerable person with information about the research purposes, any personal or sensitive data which may be collected, the way this data will be used, and whether and with whom RTI-HS may share such information.
5 YOUR DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS
Subject to certain exceptions and depending on where you live, you may have the right to request:
- Information about the Personal Data that RTI-HS has collected, used, and disclosed about you. This includes:
- the categories of Personal Data collected;
- the categories of sources from which your Personal Data was collected;
- the categories of third parties with whom RTI-HS shared your Personal Data;
- the specific Personal Data that RTI-HS has collected about you.
- To have your Personal Data deleted.
- To have your Personal Data corrected.
- To have your Personal Data transmitted to another entity or directly to you.
- To withdraw your consent at any time (this will not affect the lawfulness of previous data-processing activities) or object to any use of your Personal Data.
- To limit certain uses and disclosures of your Personal Data.
To exercise any of these rights or withdraw your consent to the use of your Personal Data, please contact RTI-HS at dataprotection@rtihs.org or write to us at the following address:
RTI Health Solutions
Legal and Regulatory Affairs
P.O. Box 12194
3040 East Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194
Your correspondence should include your name, the name of the study in which you participated, and the nature of your request with respect to your Personal Data or your wish to withdraw your consent to participate in the study.
If you stop participation in a research study and withdraw your consent, we will stop collecting new Personal Data from you. Please note that once your data have been anonymized and/or combined with responses from other participants in the study, it will not be possible to identify your data separately or remove it from the study data set.
You may also contact the Data Protection Officer or Privacy Office of the company sponsoring the study in which you participated or the Data Protection Authority for the country in which you live. This information may be located in the study informed consent form, where applicable.
6 CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
RTI-HS complies with the legal, regulatory, and ethical standards that govern our research. As a result, our policies and procedures undergo frequent review. From time to time we may change this Policy. Accordingly, we recommend that you check this page periodically in order to review the latest version.
Please review our Data Protection Policy for further information on the RTI-HS Data Protection framework and approach.
Version effective: June 5, 2024