Privacy Statement

Last Updated: July 20, 2023

Overview

Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a Fresenius Medical Care North America), its subsidiaries, and U.S. affiliates (collectively, “FMCNA,” “we” or “us”) value your trust and are committed to the responsible management of Personal Information. This Privacy Statement applies to residents of the United States and explains the information that we collect from or about you; how we use and share that information; how we maintain and protect it; and the choices you may make with respect to it.

This Privacy Statement applies to your interactions with us by or through www.fmcna.com, our other affiliated websites, mobile applications, products, your business interactions, and services that link to or post this Privacy Statement (“Services”).

This Privacy Statement applies to Personal Information we process about consumers in the ordinary course of business, which may include business partners and public website visitors, with some exceptions.  It does not include Personal Information pertaining to employees, job applicants, and medical staff whose Personal Information we process in accordance with separate privacy notices, or to our affiliates outside of the United States who process Personal Information in accordance with their privacy notices and applicable laws.  It also does not include our uses or disclosures of Protected Health Information (PHI) pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which are subject to our separate HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices. You can access our Notice of Privacy Practices here.

Individuals who have a disability may request a copy of this Privacy Statement in an alternative format. We will take reasonable steps to accommodate such requests. You can review our Accessibility Statement https://fmcna.com/accessibility-statement/.

In this Privacy Statement, “Personal Information” means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, with an individual or household and includes Personal Data. Personal Information does not include information that has been “deidentified” in such a way that your identity cannot reasonably be determined or information that has been made publicly available.

We may collect the following categories of Personal Information about you depending on the nature of your personal or business interactions with FMCNA:

Category

Examples

Direct Identifiers

Full name, customer ID, email address, mailing address, phone number, account name, online identifiers, or Social Security Number.

Personal records as defined under various state laws

Signature, password, secret questions and answers, physical characteristics or description, date of birth, subject study ID number, insurance policy number, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information.     

Characteristics of protected classifications under state or federal law.

Race, color, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, sexual orientation, medical conditions, primary language, national origin, citizenship, and family status.

Commercial information

Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.

Internet or other electronic network activity information,

IP address, internet service provider, device ID, browser type and activity, advertising ID, pages viewed, and other information about how you interact with our digital properties.

Geolocation data

Physical location, device location.

Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information

Video recordings when you contact us via telephone, audio recordings or photographic images when you visit us in-person where CCTV recording takes place.

 

Professional or employment-related information

Job title, job location, credentials or references provided, professional license and identification numbers, business contact information, employer, name, and tax identification or employer identification number.

Education information

Highest level of academic achievement attained.

Inferences drawn from Personal Information

Inferences, predispositions, behavior preferences, and sentiments.

Sensitive Personal Information

Personal information that reveals (A) a consumer's social security, driver's license, state identification card, or passport number; (B) a consumer's account log-In, financial account, debit card, or credit card number in combination with any required security or access code, password, or credentials allowing access to an account; (C) a consumer's precise geolocation; (D) a consumer's racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership; (E) the contents of a consumer's mail, email and text messages, unless the business is the intended recipient of the communication; (F) a consumer's genetic data; and (2)(A) the processing of biometric information for the purpose of uniquely identifying a consumer; (B) Personal Information collected and analyzed concerning a consumer's health; or (C) Personal Information collected and analyzed concerning a consumer's sex life or sexual orientation.

We may collect Personal Information from the following categories of sources, again depending on the nature of your personal or business interactions with FMCNA:

  • You, your authorized representatives, and others assisting you, for example when you intentionally interact with our websites, mobile applications, in-person, or by telephone;
  • Third parties with whom you have established a relationship, so we can fulfill an obligation, such as deliver a product or service you requested;
  • Health insurance companies (health plans), payment processors, and other financial institutions;
  • Consumer reporting agencies and other third parties who verify the information you provide to us;
  • Third Parties and Vendors who provide digital marketing services and analytics services for using cookies and similar technologies, or provide access to information you make publicly available, such as social media platforms;
  • Third Parties and Vendors who provide website and online security services or assist with fraud prevention, detection, and mitigation;
  • Third Parties and Vendors who help us maintain the accuracy of our data or provide us with supplemental consumer data or data analytics and market research services;
  • Third Parties and Vendors who facilitate, process, and complete transactions for us or provide program enrollment and product fulfillment services;
  • Social Media platforms, if your user settings permit, when you access our Services through such site.  

We may disclose the following Personal Information to third parties for our business and commercial purposes:

Category of Personal Information Disclosed

Category of Recipients

Identifiers

•      Service Providers

•      Third Parties

•      Governmental Agencies (if required)

Personal records as defined under various state laws

•      Service Providers

•      Third Parties

•      Governmental Agencies (if required)

Characteristics of protected classifications under state or federal law

•      Service Providers

•      Third Parties

•      Governmental Agencies (if required)

Commercial information

•      Service Providers

•      Third Parties

•      Governmental Agencies (if required)

Biometric Information

•      Service Providers

Internet or network activity information

•      Service Providers

•      Third Parties

•      Governmental Agencies (if required)

Geolocation data

•      Service Providers

•      Governmental Agencies (if required)

Audio, electronic, visual, and similar information

•      Service Providers

•      Governmental Agencies (if required)

Inferences drawn from any of the Personal Information listed above                       

•      Service Providers

•      Third Parties

•      Governmental Agencies (if required)

We may collect and disclose Personal Information for the following business and commercial purposes as follows:

  • To carry out our obligations, provide you with the products, services, and information that you request or reasonably expect, such as technical or customer support services;
  • To administer a promotion or program, conduct a survey, market our products or services or the products and services of our subsidiaries or affiliates;
  • To protect the safety and security of our infrastructure, workforce, patients, guests, property, and assets;
  • For testing and analysis to maintain the quality and safety of our services or devices and identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality and similar quality and safety assurance measures;
  • For internal research to develop, improve, upgrade, or enhance the services, products, and devices that we own or manufacture;
  • As necessary or appropriate to protect against fraudulent, illegal or unethical activity, detect and prevent fraud, including monitoring activities in our facilities, devices, networks, communications and resources; performing identity verification; and conducting risk and security control and monitoring;
  • To conduct analytics and measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and communications with you, understand your preferences and interests, and deliver personalized advertising;
  • To perform other internal functions, such as vendor management, accounting, auditing, conduct internal investigations, maintaining records, and exercise and defend legal claims, and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collections;
  • To comply with law, legal processes, including responding to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations;
  • To enforce our Terms of Use;
  • To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by us is among the assets transferred.

We use, and allow certain third parties to set, cookies and other technologies, on our websites to help us improve the functionality of our website, provide you with improved services, and enhance your overall user experience. This Section provides additional details regarding our use of cookies and other technologies.

What are cookies and other technologies and how do they work?

A “cookie” is a small text file stored on your browser or your computer’s hard drive. Cookies are sent by our website to your computer, mobile phone or other device when you visit our website and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

Other technologies refer to web beacons, widgets, and similar technologies. These other technologies can be set by us or by third parties.

  • Web beacons. A web beacon (pixel tag, clear GIF) is a clear graphic image (typically one pixel in size) that is delivered through a web browser or in an e-mail.
  • Plug-ins. A plug-in is software that is used to improve a website’s performance and generally used to add additional features or functionality to the website. Certain Services may link with social media platforms and social media plug-ins (e.g., the Facebook “Like” button, “Share to Twitter” button) (collectively, “Social Media”).
  • Widgets. Our Sites may include widgets, such as the Share this button or interactive mini-programs that run on our site.

How do cookies and technologies work?

Cookies and other technologies work in similar ways. They may collect information about you or your computer, such as user settings, your device and browser, browsing history, and how you interact with our websites or applications, which helps us to, understand and preserve your personal preferences, perform marketing and improve personalized ads based on your personal interests, personalize our services for you; and ultimately, enable us to provide you with improved services.

Links to other third-party websites and applications

We may include links to third-parties’ websites or applications, such as social media plug-ins. If you visit the link, you may be subject to another party’s privacy practices and policies, which may differ from this Privacy Statement.  A link to a third-party website or service does not mean that we endorse that third party, or the quality or accuracy of the information presented on its website or service.

We may sell or share certain Personal Information to our affiliates, subsidiaries or third parties depending upon the nature of your interactions with FMCNA as described and explained in this section.

For purposes of this Privacy Statement,

“Sale” or “sell” means the disclosure of Personal Information for monetary or other valuable consideration but does not include, for example, sharing your Personal Information when you direct us to do so or the transfer of Personal Information as an asset that is part of a merger, bankruptcy, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business.

“Share” means to disclose Personal Information to third parties for Cross-context Behavioral Advertising or Targeted Advertising purposes.

“Cross-context Behavioral Advertising” or “Targeted Advertising” means the targeting of advertising, or displaying an advertisement, to an individual based on Personal Information obtained or inferred over time from the individual’s activities across nonaffiliated businesses, distinctly-branded websites, applications, or services, to predict consumer preferences or interests. Cross-context Behavioral Advertising or Targeted Advertising does not include:

  • Advertising to a consumer in response to the consumer’s request for information or feedback;
  • Advertisement s based on activities within a controller’s own websites or online applications;
  • Advertisements based on the context of a consumer’s current search query, visit to a website, or online application; or
  • Processing personal data solely for measuring or reporting advertising performance, reach, or frequency.

We may sell, share or disclose the following categories of Personal Information for Cross-context Behavioral Advertising or Targeted Advertising purposes:

Category of Personal Information Disclosed

Category of Recipients

Identifiers

•      Advertising Partners

•      Social Media companies

Internet or network activity information

•      Advertising Partners

•      Social Media companies

Geolocation data

•      Advertising Partners

•      Social Media companies

Audio, electronic, visual, and similar information

•      Advertising Partners

•      Social Media companies

Inferences drawn from any of the Personal Information listed above                       

•      Advertising Partners

•      Social Media companies

For purposes of this Privacy Statement, “Deidentified” means information that cannot reasonably be used to infer information about, or otherwise be linked to, a particular individual.

We may de-identify Personal Information that we receive about you and sell or disclose such deidentified information. If we do, we will:

(1) Take reasonable measures to ensure that the information provided to third-parties cannot be associated with an individual or household;

(2) Maintain and use the information in deidentified form and not to attempt to reidentify the information, except that we may attempt to reidentify the information in a manner permitted by applicable law or for the purpose of determining whether our deidentification processes satisfy the requirements of law; and

(3) Obligate recipients of the information to comply with provisions of applicable law.

In addition, we may deidentify individuals’ health information in accordance with one or more of the following methods:

(i) The deidentification methodology described in Section 164.514(b)(1) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, commonly known as the HIPAA expert determination method.

(ii) The de-identification methodology described in Section 164.514(b)(2) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, commonly known as the HIPAA safe harbor method.

FMCNA provides the following notice of financial incentives pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 and California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (collectively, the “CCPA”) and the Colorado Privacy Act of 2021 (the “CPA”).  

Our organization offers eligible consumers the opportunity to participate in our Velphoro Points Program (the “Program”) and earn points that can be exchanged for gift cards. We collect Personal Information as described in this Privacy Statement to administer the Program, such as to provide membership benefits, improve the user experience and relevancy of the materials provided to participants. Participation in our program is entirely optional and the consumer may withdraw at any time. To register for the Program and to learn additional information, including the material terms and conditions as well as the benefits of participation, visit the Velphoro Points Program website.  

This website or mobile application is intended for adults and does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of sixteen.  If you believe this website or mobile application might have any information from or about a child under the age of 16, please contact us by sending us an e-mail stating your request to privacy@fmc-na.com or contacting us in writing at the address provided below. 

We take reasonable precautions to help protect the Personal Information that we collect and store from websites and applications.  However, no system or online transmission of data is completely secure and FMCNA cannot guarantee the security of Personal Information transmitted online. We encourage you to take reasonable precautions to safeguard your Personal Information.

We will store the Personal Information you provide for as long as we believe is necessary or appropriate (i) to carry out the purpose(s) for which we collected it, or (ii) to comply with applicable laws, contracts, or other rules or regulations. 

This Privacy Statement describes how we use and disclose your Personal Information pursuant to United States law. We make no representation that our Services are appropriate or available for use in locations outside of the United States. The privacy laws of the United States may be different from those in your country, and you understand that by using our Services, your Personal Information will be processed in the United States or in the countries where our vendors are located.

You have choices when it comes to certain processing of your Personal Information for the following purposes. Residents of certain states may have additional rights, as outlined in the State Privacy Rights section below.

Marketing Emails, newsletters from us:  If you do not wish to receive marketing-related emails from us, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of a marketing email or email us at privacy@fmc-na.com.  Please note that after unsubscribing from marketing emails, you will continue to receive emails from us about your account or the Services that you request.

Geolocation data linked to website or application use: If you do not want us to collect such data from your device, please delete the mobile application or disable the location settings on your browser or device. Disabling the location setting may affect your ability to access and use our websites or mobile applications.

Disabling or rejecting cookies:  Some web browsers (including some mobile web browsers) provide settings that allow you to control or reject cookies or alert you when a cookie is placed on your computer or device. Such browser settings are typically found in the “options,” “tools” or “preferences” menu of your browser. You may also be able to reject mobile device identifiers by adjusting the appropriate setting on your mobile device. Although you are not required to accept cookies or mobile device identifiers, if you block or reject them, you may not have access to all features available through the Services. If you change computers, devices, or browsers; use multiple computers, devices, or browsers; or delete your cookies, you may need to repeat this process for each computer, device, or browser.

Residents of certain states may have additional rights under their respective state consumer privacy laws, subject to any limitations or exceptions described in those laws.  Those include residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, Utah, and Virginia.

Depending the applicable state law and the nature of the Personal Information, residents in those states may have the following:

Right to Confirm or Know:  You may have the right to request that we disclose to you:

  • The categories of Personal Information we collected about you and the categories of sources from which we collected such Personal Information.
  • The specific pieces of Personal Information we collected about you.
  • The business or commercial purpose for collecting, disclosing, “selling,” or “sharing” (if applicable) Personal Information about you.
  • The categories of Personal Information about you that we “sold” or “shared” and the categories of third parties to whom we “sold” or “shared” such Personal Information (if applicable).
  • The categories of Personal Information about you that we otherwise “sold,” “shared” or disclosed, and the categories of third parties with whom we “sold” or “shared” or to whom we disclosed such Personal Information (if applicable).

Right to Access or Copy:

If we maintain your Personal Information, we will provide you with a copy of this information in a readily useable format, free of charge, twice, within a twelve-month period. If you submit more than two requests within a twelve-month period, we may charge you a reasonable fee or deny your request.

Right to Delete.  You may have the right to request that we delete Personal Information we have collected from or about you.

Right to Correct. You may have the right to request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information that we maintain about you. In some cases, we may request that you provide us with additional documentation to support your request.

Right to Opt-Out of Sale. You have the right to opt-out of any future sale of your Personal Information.

Right to Opt-out of Sharing for Cross-context Behavioral Advertising or for Targeted Advertising. You have the right to opt-out of sharing or disclosing your Personal Information for purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising purposes.

Right to Opt-out of Processing for purposes of Profiling. You may have the right to opt-out of Profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

Right to Limit the Use of your Sensitive Personal Information (California residents). We may use or disclose your Sensitive Personal Information for purposes outside of those listed under California law. You have the right to limit the use of your sensitive Personal Information to only specified purposes.

Right to Appeal. You may have the right to appeal a decision with respect to your rights.

How to Exercise Your State Consumer Privacy Rights

Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, Utah, and Virginia may exercise the state consumer privacy rights that apply to them by submitting this form or by calling 1-800-662-1237, option 1, option 3. We may request information from you in order to verify your request, such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number, and then use that information to match it with information we already have. Depending on your request, we may also ask you for additional identifiers if needed to verify your identity. Also, in certain cases, we may be unable to comply with your request. If so, we will respond and let you know the reasons why, consistent with applicable law.

If you choose to exercise any of your state consumer privacy rights, we will not discriminate against you in any way. If you exercise certain rights, please understand that you may be unable to use or access certain features or services.

Authorized Agents

If you would like an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, the agent may do so by contacting us here or by calling 1-800-662-1237, option 1, option 3. Upon receipt of a request by an agent, FMCNA may ask the agent for written, signed permission that the agent has been authorized by you to act on their behalf. Once written authorization is provided, FMCNA will open a request for you. Depending on the request, we may also verify your identity directly with you and request that you confirm you provided the agent with authority to act on your behalf. FMCNA will respond directly to the individual email address provided by the authorized agent regarding the fulfillment of the request, and not in a platform or portal.

From time to time, we provide services on behalf of another business. If we are a service provider, we may direct your request to the business on behalf of whom we provide services to you.

California law permits California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of certain categories of Personal Information to third parties for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us at privacy@fmc-na.com This request may be made no more than once per calendar year.

FMCNA reserves the right to change this Privacy Statement at any time.  As business needs change, we will review our practices regarding the collection and use of Personal Information and amend this Privacy Statement as appropriate.  The Effective Date is reflected at the top of the page. We will attempt to provide you notice of material changes to this Privacy Statement to the extent required under applicable law.

We welcome your questions and comments about this Privacy Statement, how we collect and use Personal Information, or your privacy choices and rights. Please send us any questions or feedback to:

Fresenius Medical Care North America
920 Winter Street
Waltham, MA 02451
Attn: Privacy Officer

Phone: 1-800-662-1237, option 1, option 3
Email: privacy@fmc-na.com