This policy is generally applicable to our collection and use of information about users of our website at wa.kaiserpermanente.org and our mobile applications. Some of our collection and usage practices vary depending upon the particular functionality offered, as described below. We refer to our website and mobile applications collectively in this Privacy Policy as the "Site." For information about Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington's privacy policies with respect to individually identifiable health information, please see our Notice of Privacy Practices.

Kaiser Permanente is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the users of our Site. This Privacy Policy will advise you about how we collect, use, and share your personal information, and about the choices you have concerning our use of such information. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully.

We try to address commonly asked questions and issues in our privacy policy, but if you have any questions that are not answered here, please send a message to our Webmaster.

We will post changes to our policy here so that you will know what information we gather, how we might use it, and whether we disclose it to anyone. Please refer back to this policy regularly.

Third-party websites, including those that are linked from our Site, are not governed by this privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these third-party sites to understand how your personal information may be used by those sites.

Personally identifiable information: At the current time, we request a limited set of identifying information from you in order to grant access to the secure member portion of our Site, which is accessible only to Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington members, and to customize your experience. The Site allows you to review and change some of your personal information on demand through your secure member website profile.

We may also request personally identifiable information from you in connection with your use of, or participation in, other online services, surveys, forums, subscription registrations, bulletin boards, discussion groups, and requests or suggestions. We may also collect additional information to comply with state or federal regulations regarding the disclosure of personally identifiable health information.

In all of these cases, we will collect personally identifiable information from you only if you voluntarily submit such information to us. With few exceptions (see below), we will not disclose any personally identifiable information, such as your full name, street address, telephone number, credit card number, or e-mail address, to any third party. We disclose personal information to third parties only under the following circumstances:

  • We may use or disclose individually identifiable health information as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.
  • We may disclose personally identifable information to our trusted business partners who have agreed to abide by this privacy policy.
  • We will release specific information about you or your account to comply with any valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, or court order. We may also release specific information to protect our rights or the safety and rights of other users, such as if there is an attempted breach of the security of the Kaiser Permanente site or a physical threat to you or others

If you do provide us with personal information, we may use it to help the Site provide better services to our users.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington does not make underwriting or insurance coverage decisions based on our members' use of the secure member website. We do not monitor individual use of health information resources, such as Healthwise® Knowledgebase* or Kaiser Permanente health information pages.

If you identify yourself to us by sending us e-mail with questions or comments, we may use your personal information to respond to your questions or comments. We may file your comments for future reference, or we may discard the information after we have reviewed it. We will not sell, rent, or otherwise distribute your e-mail address to any outside entity or organization.

Please note that if you give out personal information online — through bulletin boards and/or discussion groups — that information can be collected and used by secure member website participants and visitors to our Site. Although we strive to protect our users' privacy, we cannot guarantee the security of information you post in these forums. You disclose such information at your own risk.

Non-personally identifiable information and the use of cookie technology: We collect non-personally identifiable information through the use of "cookie" technology and/or IP address tracking. Non-personally identifiable information might include the browser you use, the type of computer, smart phone, or other device you are using, your operating system, your Internet service provider, and other similar information. Your member ID number or profile information is not stored in cookies.

We use such information in the aggregate to understand how our users, as a group, use the services and resources provided on our site. "Aggregate" information is information from a group of individuals that has been compiled and processed so that no individual's information can be isolated. We study aggregate information to learn which areas of our Site are most popular, which areas need improvement, and what technologies are being used so that we may continually improve our Site.

Most Web browsers are set to accept cookies. You can set your browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you do so, please note that some features of the secure member website and the Site may not function properly.

Security policy: Protecting your privacy and your information is a top priority. We have taken careful measures to secure both your information and our physical premises. We exercise great care in providing secure transmission of your information from your personal computer or other device to our servers. Our secure server software encrypts information, ensuring that all Internet transactions with our Site remain private (unless sent by an unsecured means, such as e-mail).

Please remember that you, too, must use care to ensure the security of your personal information. You must be responsible for making sure that no one else can learn your password or other log-in information, or otherwise make use of these to access the secure member website. We cannot protect your personal computer or other device from unauthorized access, and our systems cannot see past your login and password to verify that the person using that information is really you.

If you use a public computer, such as a computer provided at a public library or any other shared computer, always log out of the secure member website or other password-protected portions of our Site where you have been viewing health information.

If you access this Site through your employer's computer network, we encourage you to review your employer's policy on Internet usage and/or confidentiality and security policy. Although we have taken strong measures to ensure the privacy of your personal information, we cannot control the monitoring activities that may be conducted by your employer.

Responsible partnering: Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington seeks to work with trustworthy organizations and sites that will abide by applicable law and uphold similar ethical standards.

HealthKit: Certain versions of the Apple iOS mobile application used on the Site can connect to Apple HealthKit; however, our version of the mobile application does not. Our version of the iOS mobile application does not share your health information with HealthKit or with other HealthKit-enabled software.

Acceptance of Privacy Policy; modifications: By using any part of our Site, you signify your acceptance of this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please do not use our Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will indicate that you have accepted those changes.

*Healthwise is a registered trademark of Healthwise, Incorporated.
Last updated: 03/09/2017