ABBOTT AND PRIVACY

Abbott collects Personal Information online and offline in a few different ways:

• Personal Information that you provide. We may collect Personal Information and other information that you provide when you use our Services, attend Abbott programs or events, participate in a clinical trial, and any other data that you may choose to submit or provide.  With your permission, we may also collect data from another source like a device or social media account.  Such information may include, but not be limited to, contact information (such as your name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, user ID and password), date of birth, professional credentials, experiences, activities, skills, preferences, hobbies and interests.
  
  
• Personal Information from public or third-party sources. We may collect data from public sources including, but not limited to, social media and other websites that enable social sharing. We may also collect Personal Information from government agencies, public or third-party information sources, third-party service providers, or business partners.  In addition, we also may collect information from industry and patient groups and associations or combine information we have collected from multiple sources. We may engage third-party service providers to provide certain interactive features on our Services. Your use of these interactive features is voluntary, and we may retain the information that you submit through these features. For example, we may offer an interactive chat feature on our Services to assist you with your order and for other customer service purposes. When you participate in the interactive chat, either with a virtual or live agent, the contents of the chat may be captured and kept as a transcript. By using these features, you understand that our vendors may process the information obtained through the feature to provide the service on our behalf.
  
  
• Personal Information collected from devices you use to connect with us or use our Services.  Abbott collects data through our websites and apps and automatically from devices you use to connect to our Services.  For more information about this, please see our "Cookies and Other Tools” section below.
  
  
• Personal Information collected when you make a purchase.  When you make a purchase on our website, we will collect Personal Information to process, fulfill, and ship your order. 
  
  
• Personal Information collected with business partners.  We sometimes work with other organizations to provide you with our Services.  When that happens, we require that information be protected. 

If you choose to submit any Personal Information relating to other people, you represent that you have the authority to do so and permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

From time to time, we may use or augment the Personal Information we have about you with information obtained from other sources, such as public databases, social media platforms and other third parties. We may also combine information we get from a third-party with information we already have, and we may combine information that we have collected offline with information we collect online.  To protect your privacy, you should not provide Abbott with any information that is not specifically requested. 

You may also give us permission to access certain personal information maintained by other service providers. For example, you may link your social media or Google account to Abbott, which allows us to obtain information from those accounts (such as your friends or contacts).  The information we obtain from these services often depends on your settings or the applicable provider’s privacy policies, so please check those policies before granting Abbott access.  You agree that we are not responsible for any acts or omissions by these social media service providers. 

Abbott’s Research and Clinical Trials

Abbott also collects Personal Information when you participate in a clinical trial or other research Abbott conducts. This may involve collecting data from you, healthcare providers, contract research organization, and clinical trial investigators. Please note, when Abbott collects Personal Information to conduct research or clinical trials, we provide you with more information about how your Personal Information will be used.

Abbott may collect, use, and disclose the following types of Personal Information.

We may use any of the categories of Personal Information listed above for our internal business purposes, such as data analysis, audits, developing new products, enhancing our Services, identifying usage trends and determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns. We may also use inferences drawn from Personal Information to create a profile reflecting your preferences.

At your direction, we may disclose your Personal Information to partners or other organizations with which we jointly develop and/or promote our Services.

We may aggregate, anonymize and/or de-identify data we collect about customers and site visitors and use it for any purpose, including product and service development and improvement activities. We may also combine information we gather about you on our Abbott websites and Services with our offline records, as well as records provided by third parties. We use this consolidated information to help us better design Abbott websites, products, and services to communicate information to you, to enhance our marketing and research activities, to serve you more relevant advertising and for other purposes, as disclosed to you from time to time.

Where required by applicable law, Abbott will only collect your Sensitive Personal Information with your consent. Unless we specifically request or invite it, we ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any Sensitive Personal Information on or through the website, in webforms or otherwise to us.

Abbott does not sell your Personal Information for money, but some of the ways in which we may share your Personal Information with certain third parties that provide services to us, such as analytics and targeted advertising services, may be considered a “sale” under California, Colorado, and Connecticut law, and may be considered a “share” under California law, as those terms are defined under those laws.  We do not have actual knowledge that we sell or share the Personal Information of consumers under 16 years of age.

Abbott may “sell” or “share” with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising the following categories of Personal Information:

• Identifiers
• Internet or other electronic network activity information
• Geolocation data

We “sell” or “share” this Personal Information to third parties for advertising purposes. The third parties to which this Personal Information is “sold” or “shared” are advertisers and analytics vendors.

We may allow certain companies to place tracking technologies, such as cookies or tracking pixels on our websites. Those companies receive information about your interaction with our websites that is associated with your browser or device and may use that data for targeted advertising (i.e., to serve you relevant ads on our websites or others). For more information, please see Abbott’s Cookie Policy.

At Abbott’s discretion, it may also disclose aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information that is not personally identifiable to third parties.

Retention

We will keep your Personal Information in our records for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or otherwise authorized by law. This includes providing you with a service you have requested from us or to comply with applicable legal requirements. It also includes keeping your Personal Information for so long as there is any possibility that you or we may wish to bring a legal claim, or where we are required to keep your personal information for legal or regulatory reasons. We may also retain your personal information where such retention is necessary in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. Where information is used for more than one purpose, we will retain it until the purpose with the latest period expires.

If you wish to receive further information regarding our record retention procedures, please contact us using the contact details provided under the “How Can I Contact Abbott?” section below.

Depending on where you reside, you may have certain rights and choices (with certain limitations and exceptions) regarding our processing of your Personal Information.  Please note that some of these rights may vary depending on your state of residence.

• You may have the right to opt-out of the “sale” of your Personal Information as that term is defined by applicable U.S. state law.  You may also have the right to opt-out of sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes or targeted advertising as those terms are defined by applicable U.S. state law. To opt-out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your Personal Information, please visit the “Global Privacy Control (GPC) Signal” section below or visit www.Abbott.com and click the “Your Privacy Choices” link found at the bottom of the website, and then click the box that reads “Opt-Out of Sale or Sharing and Targeted Advertising.”
• If you are a California resident, you may have the right to limit how Abbott uses Sensitive Personal Information. You can learn more about limiting your Sensitive Personal Information by visiting www.Abbott.com and clicking the “Your Privacy Choices” and then follow the instructions on how to “Limit the Use of Sensitive Personal Information”.
• If you are a Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, or Virginia resident you may also have the right to withdraw your consent for, or opt-out of, our processing of your Sensitive Personal Information/Sensitive Data. To submit a request to withdraw your consent or opt-out of the processing of your Sensitive Personal Information/Sensitive Data use the links below to submit your request to withdraw/opt-out to the applicable Abbott business
  
  
  • To submit your request to withdraw/opt-out to Abbott Diabetes Care, please click here
  • To submit your request to withdraw/opt-out to Abbott Nutrition, please click here
  • To submit your request to withdraw/opt-out to Abbott Rapid and Molecular Diagnostics (KnowMe), please click here
  • To submit your request to withdraw/opt-out to Abbott Medical Devices (Neuromodulation, Cardiovascular, Heart Failure, Electrophysiology Solutions, Vascular, and Structural Heart), please click here
  • To submit your request to withdraw/opt-out to Abbott Family of Companies, please click here

Additionally, residents of California, Colorado, Virginia, Utah and Connecticut have certain rights with respect to the collection and use of their Personal Information. Those rights may vary by state.  Such rights may be effectuated by submitting a request by clicking Privacy Rights Request. The potential rights include the right to:

• Know the categories and/or specific pieces of Personal Information collected about you, including the categories from which the Personal Information is collected, the business purpose for collecting the Personal Information, whether your Personal Information was disclosed to third parties, the categories of Personal Information, if any, that we disclosed to third parties, and the categories of third parties to whom your Personal Information was disclosed
• Access a copy of the specific pieces of Personal Information we retain about you
• Request deletion of your Personal Information
• Request correction of inaccurate Personal Information

Once you have submitted your request, we will respond within the time frame permitted by the applicable U.S. state law. To help protect the security of your Personal Information, Abbott will need to verify your identity in connection with any requests. We may contact you by email to verify your request.  Depending on your request, we may ask you for information such as your name, an email address, or phone number that you have used with Abbott. We take steps to ensure that only you or your authorized representative can exercise rights with respect to your Personal Information. If you are an authorized agent making a request, we may require and request additional information to protect the Personal Information entrusted to Abbott, including information to verify that you are authorized to make that request.

There may be situations where we cannot grant your request, for example, if you make a request for access and we cannot verify your identity, we will not be able to comply with the request. We may also be unable to comply with your request to delete if we have a legal or regulatory obligation to keep your Personal Information, such as when you participate in scientific research. Other reasons your request may be denied are if it jeopardizes the privacy of others or would be impracticable to honor.

Where we deny your request in whole or in part, we will take steps to inform you of the denial and provide an explanation of our actions and the reasons for the denial. If you are a Colorado, Connecticut or Virginia resident, you have the right to appeal Abbott’s decision to deny your request regarding your Personal Information, in whole or in part. To appeal our decision click Notice of Appeal. We will process and respond to your appeal within the time frame permitted by the applicable U.S. state law.

We will not discriminate against you if you exercise your rights as described in this Privacy Policy. For example, we will not deny goods or Services to you, or charge you different prices or rates, or provide a different level of quality of products or Services. We will not restrict or deny you access to our Services or provide a different level of quality of products or Services because of choices and requests you make in connection with your Personal Information. Please note, certain choices may affect our ability to deliver Abbott products and services. For example, if you sign up to receive marketing communications or promotions, then ask Abbott to delete all of your Personal Information, we will be unable to send you marketing communications or promotions. Additionally, requesting to delete your personal information will include deletion of any accounts you may have created with us as well as any memberships in any of our financial incentive programs and you may no longer receive the rewards and promotions related to those programs.

You may exercise any of your applicable rights and choices set forth above in relation to your Personal Information by contacting us using the details provided under the “How Can I Contact Abbott” section below, by clicking Privacy Rights  Request or by visiting www.Abbott.com and clicking the “Your Privacy Choices” link found at the bottom of the website.

Global Privacy Control (GPC) Signal

California, Colorado and Connecticut residents may opt-out of the “sale” or sharing of Personal Information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes and/or targeted advertising as those terms are defined by applicable U.S. state laws. To communicate your desire to opt-out, you may configure your browser to turn on the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) signal, which will transmit your opt-out request to Abbott automatically

To turn on the GPC signal, you can download one of the supported browsers or extensions. You may visit https://globalprivacycontrol.org/#download for a list of the available browsers or extensions.If you choose to use the GPC signal, you will need to turn it on for each supported browser or browser extension you use.

Financial Incentive Programs

Abbott may offer financial incentive programs, such as a benefit or other offering for our use of your Personal Information.  Abbott will enroll you in such programs after obtaining your informed consent, pursuant to the Terms & Conditions of each financial incentive program.

For more information on each financial incentive program, please see the Terms & Conditions that apply to the applicable program.  If you need assistance finding those Terms & Conditions, please email privacy@abbott.com. 

You have the right to withdraw from any of Abbott’s financial incentive programs at any time.  To withdraw, please see the Terms & Conditions that apply to the applicable program.

Marketing

If you no longer wish to receive promotional marketing materials from us, you may opt-out of receiving such materials.  You may unsubscribe from receiving marketing or other commercial emails from Abbott by following the instructions included in the email.  We will work to comply with your request as soon as we can. Please be aware that once you have opted out of these programs, you will no longer receive any associated discounts, coupons or promotional offers that are part of the program.

However, even if you opt out of receiving such communications, we may need to continue to send you certain non-marketing communications (such as information about changes to our Privacy Policy or Terms of Use).

Third Party Marketing

California law permits customers in California to request certain details about how their Personal Information is shared with third parties, and in some cases affiliates, if Personal Information is shared for those third parties’ or affiliates’ own direct marketing purposes. We do not share Personal Information with third parties or affiliates for those third parties’ or affiliates’ own direct marketing purposes. Californians may request information about our compliance with this law by contacting us at privacy@abbott.com. Alternatively, you may send a letter to the following address:

Abbott Laboratories

Attention: Privacy Office, Department EC10 100 Abbott Park Road

Abbott Park, IL 60064-6048

Any such request must include your name and “California Shine the Light Privacy Rights Request” in the first line of the description and, if sent by mail, must include your street address, city, state, and zip code. 

It is Abbott’s practice to take steps to secure our Abbott Services. However, the confidentiality of information transmitted over the Internet cannot be guaranteed.  We urge you to exercise caution when transmitting Personal Information over the Internet, especially Personal Information related to your health. Abbott cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will not gain access to your Personal Information; therefore, when submitting Personal Information to Abbott websites or apps, you must weigh both the benefits and the risks.  Abbott websites or apps may link to third-party websites that are not controlled by Abbott or subject to an Abbott privacy policy. You should check the privacy policies of such third-party websites before submitting Personal Information.

Children’s Information

Abbott does not knowingly collect or use any Personal Information from children (we define “children” as minors younger than 13).  We do not knowingly allow children to order our products, communicate with us, or use any of our online Services.  If you are a parent or guardian and become aware that your child has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us using one of the methods specified under the “How Can I Contact Abbott” section below and we will work with you to address this issue.

Third-Party Sites

We may provide links to websites and other third-party content that are not owned or operated by Abbott.  The websites and third-party content to which we link may have separate privacy notices or policies.  Abbott is not responsible for the privacy practices of any entity that it does not own or control.

If you provide any Personal Information through a third-party site, your interaction and your Personal Information will be collected by, and controlled by the privacy policy of, that third-party site.  We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the privacy policies and practices of any such third parties, which are not governed by this Privacy Policy.

Cookies and Other Technologies

Abbott’s online Services, interactive applications, and advertisements may use cookies and other technologies such as web beacons. We use this information to better understand, customize and improve user experience with our websites, Services and offerings as well as to manage our advertising. This information can make your use of our Abbott Services easier and more meaningful by allowing Abbott and our service providers to provide better service, customize sites based on consumer preferences, compile statistics, provide you with more relevant advertisements based on your interests, analyze trends and otherwise administer and improve our products and Services.  If we have collected your Personal Information, we may associate this Personal Information with information gathered through the Tools.

Your web browser can be set to allow you to control whether you will accept cookies, reject cookies, or to notify you each time a cookie is sent to your browser.  If your browser is set to reject cookies, websites that are cookie-enabled will not recognize you when you return to the website, and some website functionality may be lost.  The Help section of your browser may tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting cookies. To find out more about cookies, visit www.aboutcookies.org

You can also control Flash cookies which we may use on certain Abbott websites and apps from time to time by clicking here. Why?  Because Flash cookies cannot be controlled through your browser settings.  Choices you make are both browser and device-specific.

Here are some of the types of information collected when visiting Abbott Websites:

• Log data:When you use Abbott websites and apps, our servers automatically record information (“log data”), including information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website or app or your mobile app sends when you are using it. This log data may include your Internet Protocol address, the address of the webpages you visited that had Abbott features, browser type and settings, the date and time of your request, how you used websites and cookie data.

• Cookie data:Depending on how you are accessing Abbott’s online Services, we and our service providers may use “cookies” (a small text file sent by your computer each time you visit our sites, unique to your Abbott account or your browser) or similar technologies, to record log data.  For more information see our Cookie Policy. We may use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about use of the Services and report on activities and trends.  This service may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps, and online resources.  You can learn about Google’s practices by going to https://policies.google.com/privacy/google-partners, and opt-out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

• Social media plugins and data: Social media plugins (e.g., the Facebook "Like" button, '"Share to Twitter"' button) to enable you to easily share information with others. The operator of the social plugin can place a cookie on your computer, enabling that operator to recognize individuals who have previously visited our websites. If you are logged into the social media website (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+) while browsing on our websites, the social plugins allow that social media website to receive information that you have visited our websites. The social plugins also allow the social media website to share information about your activities on Abbott with other users of their social media website. Abbott does not control any of the content from the social plugins. For more information about social plugins from other social media websites you should refer to those sites’ privacy and data sharing statements. 

• Linked accounts. If you choose to link your social media or Google account to Abbott, this allows us to obtain information from those accounts (such as your friends or contacts).  The information we obtain from these services often depends on your settings or the applicable provider's privacy policies, so please check these policies before granting us access.

• Device information.We may also collect information about the device you are using to access our Abbott Services, including what type of device it is, what operating system you are using, device settings, unique device identifiers and crash data.  To learn more about what information your device may make available to us, please also check the policies of your device manufacturer or software provider.

Interest Based Advertising

Abbott hopes to deliver to you advertising for products and Services you need or want.  Abbott, its serviced providers and partners, use common tracking tools, such as cookies, pixels, web beacons, and similar technologies, to automatically collect Personal Information about users for purposes of enhancing their online experience and delivering more meaningful advertisements.  Like many companies, Abbott may also utilize third-party advertising vendors and other partners to collect this information.  Certain laws define this as “cross-context behavioral advertising”.

Like many companies, we place advertisements where we think they will be most relevant to customers. One way we do so is by allowing network advertising companies with whom we work to place their own Tools when an individual visits Abbott websites and apps.  This enables the network advertising company to recognize individuals who have previously visited Abbott websites and apps and to serve you ads based on your web browsing activity, purchases, interests and/or other information—a practice commonly referred to as interest-based advertising (“IBA”) or online behavioral advertising (“OBA”).  

These advertising companies may also use these types of technologies to recognize you across the devices you use, such as a mobile phone or a laptop, and serve you ads on websites you visit and applications you use.

Retargeting.  One way in which we deliver more meaningful advertisements is through a common form of online advertising known as “retargeting” or “remarketing.” Retargeting works by serving ads on one site based on an individual’s online activities on a different, unrelated site. For example, if you look at an Abbott product on an Abbott website, you may later see an advertisement for that Abbott product when you visit third-party sites.  To do this, Abbott or its advertising service providers may use a device ID, cookie, pixel, web beacon or similar technology placed by Abbott or our service provider when you visit Abbott websites or apps or third-party websites or apps.  The placing of these cookies or other technologies on your device may enable you to be identified across multiple websites. You should consult the privacy policies of our service providers and other websites that you visit to understand how they collect and use your data.

Opting-Out of IBA, OBA and Retargeting Activities

As a participant of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), we adhere to DAA’s Interest-Based Advertising principles by providing you enhanced notice, transparency and control of our digital marketing practices as stated at http://www.aboutads.info/principles/.  Click here to opt-out of having your online behavior collected for advertising purposes and receiving behaviorally targeted advertisements from our advertising partners. Choices you make are both browser and device-specific.  Also, certain versions of the iOS operating system permit you to “Limit Ad Tracking” in the system settings, and certain versions of the Android operating system allow you to “Opt-out of Interest-Based Ads” in the system settings.  Options you select are browser and device specific.

Abbott Do Not Track Policy. Some browsers have Do Not Track (“DNT”) features that allow you to tell a website not to track you. These features are not all uniform, and some browsers may not be set up to honor such requests.  Abbott honors the AdChoice DNT signals.  Options you select are browser and device specific. Please be aware that limiting the ability of websites to set cookies, however, may worsen your overall user experience, and in some cases the sites will not work properly without cookies, local storage and similar technologies.

Transfer of Personal information Between Countries

Any Personal Information you provide to Abbott may be stored and processed, transferred between and accessed from the United States, where Abbott is headquartered, and other countries which may not guarantee the same level of protection of Personal Information as the one in which you reside.  However, Abbott will handle your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy regardless of where your Personal Information is stored/accessed.

If you have questions about your Personal Information, please contact us by clicking on the “Contact Us” link on the website you are visiting or by e-mailing us at privacy@abbott.com. Alternatively, you may send a letter to the following address:

Abbott Laboratories
Attention: Privacy Office, Department EC10
100 Abbott Park Road
Abbott Park, IL 60064-6048

In all communications to Abbott, please include the email address used for registration (if applicable), the website address or the specific Abbott program to which you provided Personal Information (e.g. Abbott.com, Similac.com, etc.) and a detailed explanation of your request.  We will do our best to respond to all reasonable requests in a timely manner.

Abbott reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time.  If Abbott changes its privacy practices, a new Privacy Policy will reflect those changes and the effective date of the revised Privacy Policy will be set forth at the top of this Policy.