Privacy

THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING IFM WITH YOUR INFORMATION. WE UNDERSTAND THIS IS A BIG RESPONSIBILITY, AND WE WORK HARD TO BOTH PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION AND PUT YOU IN CONTROL.

This Privacy Policy is meant to help you understand when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our website, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others, how you can update and manage it, and how we keep it secure. 

We may change this Policy from time to time, so please check back if you have concerns. We will post any changes, and such changes will become effective when they are posted. Your continued use of our website following the posting of any changes will mean you accept those changes. 

Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to info@ifm.org. Alternatively, you can telephone 800.228.0622. 

Who are we? 

We are The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). IFM believes health and vitality are essential to the human spirit. We work to advance the highest expression of individual health by advocating for the widespread adoption of functional medicine for all. 

The Institute for Functional Medicine is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. 

What information is collected from you? 

Information You Give Us: We obtain information about you when you use our website, create an online account, contact us (via email, fax, postal mail, telephone, or onsite), purchase products or services, register for a conference, respond to a survey, make a donation, enter a credit card,  subscribe to one of our email communications, or post on our IFM forums. The information collected might include your name, address, email address, telephone, and company name, as well as general demographic information (e.g., your primary degree). If you make a donation or purchase a product from us online, your card information is not held by us, but it is collected by our third party payment processors, who specialize in the secure online capture and processing of credit/debit card transactions, as explained below. If you are a practitioner and post comments or other correspondence on our forums, courses, or conference livestream chats, we reserve the right to utilize that content anonymously on our website, in advertisements, and/or any other marketing needs. 

Information Collected From Third Parties: We may also receive information about you, such as your name, address, email address, telephone, and company name, when we act as an exhibitor at a conference, either through the host conference or via optional lead capture at our booth. 

Information Collected Automatically: When you interact with us online, certain information about your use of our website is automatically collected. This information includes computer and connection information, such as statistics on your page views, traffic to and from our website, referral URL, ad data, your IP address, and device identifiers. This information also may include how you search for our services, the websites you click on from our site or emails, whether and when you open our emails, and your browsing activities across other websites. 

Much of this information is collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies, as well as through your web browser or device. The tracking technologies employed when you use our website may be first-party or third-party. We use cookies for the following purposes: 

• Essential operation: These cookies are necessary to allow us to operate the IFM website as you have requested. For example, they let us recognize what type of subscriber you are and then provide you with services accordingly. 
• Performance/Analytics: We use these cookies to analyze how the IFM website is accessed, used, or is performing. We use this information to maintain, operate, and continually improve the IFM website. We may also obtain information from our email newsletters, to learn whether you opened or forwarded the newsletter or clicked on any of the content. This information tells us about our newsletters’ effectiveness and helps us ensure that we’re delivering information that you find interesting. 
• Functional: These cookies let us operate certain functions of the IFM website in line with the choices you make. 
• Advertising: Third parties, including Google, Facebook, and other social media platforms, may use tracking technologies on our website to collect or receive information from the IFM website and elsewhere on the internet and use that information to provide measurement services and target ads. 

It may be possible to switch off cookies by changing your browser preferences. Turning cookies off may result in a loss of functionality when using our website, and you may be unable to place an order. 

We use web analytics services, including Google Analytics, on our website. Google Analytics uses cookies or other tracking technologies to help us analyze how users interact with and use the website, compile reports on the website activity, and provide other services related to our website activity and usage. The technologies used by Google may collect information such as your IP address, time of visit, whether you are a return visitor, and any referring website. The website does not use Google Analytics to gather information that personally identifies you. The information generated by Google Analytics will be transmitted to and stored by Google and will be subject to Google’s privacy policies. To learn more about Google’s partner services and to learn how to opt out of tracking of analytics by Google, click here. 

We utilize Microsoft Clarity, a website analysis service that uses tracking technologies to help us analyze how users interact with and use the website and provide reporting on website activity and usage. The technologies used by Microsoft Clarity may collect information such as your IP address, what pages you access, time of visit, and any referring website. They may also capture images of IFM’s website that are recorded during your interactions, such as, by way of example, images of forms displayed or populated by you, or other multimedia content that you may post. The information generated by Microsoft Clarity will be transmitted to and stored by Microsoft Clarity and will be subject to Microsoft Clarity’s privacy policies. To learn more about Microsoft Clarity’s services and to learn how to opt out of tracking of analytics by Microsoft Clarity, click here. Please see our Terms of Service for additional provisions relevant to processing of information by Microsoft Clarity. 

Information from Social Media: When you interact with us or our services through a social media platform (such as by clicking on a social media icon linked from our services), we may collect the personal information that you make available to us on that page, including your account ID or username and other information included in your posts. If you choose to log in to your account with or through a social networking service, we and that service may share certain information about you and your activities. 

Cookies 

We Value Your Privacy. 

We use cookies to help the website to function, enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized content, and analyze our traffic. Please select your cookie preferences. 

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user’s experience more efficient.

The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission.

This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.

You can learn how to disable cookies in your browser here.

Your consent applies to the following domains: www.ifm.org  

Cookie declaration last updated on 12/16/23 by Cookiebot 

How is your information used? 

We may use your information to: 

• Communicate with you, including to respond to your inquiries and fulfill your requests or process a scholarship or job application. 
• Provide and improve our products and services. 
• Provide, maintain, personalize, optimize, and improve our services, including research and analytics regarding use of our website, or to remember you when you leave and return to the website. 
• Provide you with more relevant content in email bulletins to which you may be subscribed. 
• Detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may violate our policies or be fraudulent or illegal. 

We may analyze your information to create a profile of your interests and preferences so that we can contact you with information relevant to you. 

We are legally required to hold some types of information to fulfill our statutory obligations (for example, educational credits and access to course materials). We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with us. 

Who has access to your information? 

By using our services, you consent to the sharing of your information as follows:

Third Party Service Providers working on our behalf: We may pass your information to our third-party service providers, agents, subcontractors, and other associated organizations for the purposes of completing tasks and providing services to you on our behalf (for example, to send a survey or do research on our behalf, process survey results or analyze feedback or data, track CME credits, etc.). However, when we use third party service providers, we disclose only the information that is necessary to deliver the service, and we have a contract in place that requires them to keep your information secure and not to use it for their own direct marketing purposes.

Third Party Product Providers we work in association with: We work closely with various third-party product providers to bring you a range of quality and reliable products and services. When you enquire about or purchase one or more of these products, the relevant third-party product provider will use your details to provide you with information and carry out their obligations arising from any contracts you have entered into with them. In some cases, they will be acting as a data controller of your information, and therefore, we advise you to read their Privacy Policy. These third-party product providers will share your information with us, which we will use in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

When you are using our secure online payment pages, your payment is processed by a third-party payment processor that specializes in the secure online capture and processing of credit/debit card transactions. If you have any questions regarding secure transactions, please contact us. 

We enter into agreements with certain third-party organizations with whom we collaborate on various research and development projects, product offerings and other projects to improve IFM, our platform, and the user experience. Where you have an existing relationship with both IFM and this third-party organization, we may exchange your information, such as degree type, purchase history, membership or certification status, and country, so that both organizations will have up to date information about you and can, among other things, offer you products and services aligned with your needs and interests. This information exchange will be processed through third party service providers who will independently review and match this information and then dispose of the information following the completion of such process.

We may change our ownership or corporate organization while providing the website. We may transfer to another entity or its affiliates or service providers some or all information about you in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, acquisition, sale of assets or any line of business, change in ownership control, or financing transaction. We cannot promise that an acquiring party or the merged entity will have the same privacy practices or treat your information the same as described in this Policy.

We may use or disclose information about you if required to do so by law or on the good-faith belief that such sharing is necessary to (a) conform to applicable law or comply with legal process served on us or our website; (b) protect and defend our rights or property, the website, or our users; (c) act to protect the personal safety of our employees and agents, other users of the website, or members of the public; or (d) comply with patient requests to validate IFM Certification, IFM Membership, or completed IFM course status.

If any practitioner shall choose to opt out of option (d) only, please contact info@IFM.org

Your Choices 

Interest-based advertising is the collection of data across different websites and/or different devices for the purpose of tailoring advertising based on preferences or interests known or inferred from the data collected. 

IFM partners with third parties to use the information you make available to us when you interact with our website to provide you with advertising that is more relevant to you after you leave our website. While IFM will not share information that personally identifies you with unaffiliated third parties for their own uses, such third parties may, with sufficient data from other sources, be able to personally identify you. 

You can learn more about ad serving companies and the options available to limit their collection and use of your information by visiting the websites for the Network Advertising Initiative, the Digital Advertising Alliance, and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Initiative. Similarly, you can learn about your options to opt out of mobile app tracking by certain advertising networks through your device settings and by resetting the advertiser ID on your Apple or Android device. For more information about how to change these settings, go to: 

Apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4228 

Android: http://www.google.com/policies/technologies/ads/ 

Windows: http://choice.microsoft.com/en-US/opt-out 

Please note that opting out of advertising networks’ services does not mean that you will not receive advertising while using our services or on other websites, nor will it prevent the receipt of interest-based advertising from third parties that do not participate in these programs. It will, however, exclude you from interest-based advertising conducted through participating networks, as provided by their policies and choice mechanisms. If you delete your cookies, you may also delete your opt-out preferences. 

Your browser or device may include “Do Not Track” functionality. At this time, IFM does not respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals. 

If you are currently subscribed to marketing communications and wish to change your preferences, you can select your choices by visiting our communications preference center. 

How you can access and update your information 

The accuracy of your information is important to us. We’re working on ways to make it easier for you to review and correct the information that we hold about you. In the meantime, please visit our communications preference center to customize the content we provide to you. 

Security precautions in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of your information 

When you give us information, we take steps to ensure that it’s treated securely. Any financial account information (such as credit or debit card details) is encrypted and protected. 

Non-sensitive details (your email address, etc.) may be transmitted via unencrypted pathways, 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. Where we have given (or where you have chosen) a password that enables you to access certain parts of our website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you to not share your password with anyone. 

Your California Privacy Rights 

Residents of the State of California have the right to request information regarding third parties to whom the company has disclosed certain categories of personal information during the preceding year for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please email info@ifm.org or write to us at The Institute for Functional Medicine, 505 S. 336th Street, Suite 600, Federal Way, WA 98003. 

When This Privacy Policy Applies 

This Policy applies to our website and emails we send, as well as the information we collect when you interact with us through social media or other websites and online services. It does not apply to non-IFM websites and mobile applications that may link to the website or be linked to or from the website; please review the privacy policies on those websites and applications directly to understand their privacy practices. 

In addition, if you linked to our website from a third party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party site. 

Information for Users in Europe and Elsewhere Outside the US 

If you use our website outside of the United States, you understand that we may collect, process, and store your personal information in the United States and other countries. The laws in the US regarding personal information may be different from the laws of your state or country. Any such transfers will comply with safeguards as required by relevant law. If applicable, you may have a right to claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of relevant data protection laws. 

Users in the European Union (EEA) and Switzerland 

If you are a resident of the EEA or Switzerland, the following information applies. 

Purposes of processing and legal basis for processing: As explained above, we process personal data in various ways depending upon your use of our website. We process personal data on the following legal bases: (1) with your consent; (2) as necessary to perform our agreement to provide services; and (3) as necessary for our legitimate interests in providing the services where those interests do not override your fundamental rights and freedom related to data privacy. 

Right to lodge a complaint: Users who reside in the EEA or Switzerland have the right to lodge a complaint about our data collection and processing actions with the supervisory authority concerned. Contact details for data protection authorities are available here. 

Transfers: Personal information we collect may be transferred to, and stored and processed in, the United States or any other country in which we or our affiliates or subcontractors maintain facilities. Upon the start of enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we will ensure that transfers of personal information to a third country or an international organization are subject to appropriate safeguards as described in Article 46 of the GDPR. 

Individual Rights: If you are a resident of the EEA or Switzerland, you are entitled to the following rights once the GDPR becomes effective. Use the contact information below to communicate any such request. Please note: In order to verify your identity, we may require you to provide us with personal information prior to accessing any records containing information about you. 

• The right to request data erasure. You have the right to have your data erased from our website if the data is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, you withdraw consent and no other legal basis for processing exists, or you believe your fundamental rights to data privacy and protection outweigh our legitimate interest in continuing the processing. 
• The right to restrict or object to our processing. You have the right to restrict or object to our processing if we are processing your data based on legitimate interests or the performance of a task in the public interest as an exercise of official authority (including profiling); using your data for direct marketing (including profiling); or processing your data for purposes of scientific or historical research and statistics. 

Contacting IFM 

Please also feel free to contact IFM if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or IFM’s practices, or if you are seeking to exercise any of your statutory rights. 

The Institute for Functional Medicine
505 S. 336th Street, Suite 600
Federal Way, WA 98003
Tel: 1.800.228.0622
Main Office: 253.661.3010
Fax: 253.661.8310
Email: info@ifm.org 

REVIEW OF THIS POLICY
We keep this Policy under regular review. This Policy was last updated on 01/05/24.