Website Privacy Policy

Effective Date:  2 February 2023

Policy Scope

This Privacy Policy (Policy) sets forth the Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC) privacy practices regarding the collection and use of personal information in Australia and New Zealand, including online via BSC websites, mobile sites and our applications and in person or offline settings.  When we refer to BSC, we mean Boston Scientific Corporation including our Australia and New Zealand subsidiaries (Boston Scientific Pty Ltd and Boston Scientific New Zealand Limited) and other BSC affiliates and subsidiaries. 

We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained within the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), relevant State and Territory legislation and the New Zealand Information Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 2020 (ANZ Privacy Laws). The ANZ Privacy Laws ensure the protection of confidential personal information and regulate the ways in which personal information is managed.

BSC is dedicated to treating people with respect, transparency, and integrity; therefore, we don’t sell or lease your personal information to a third party. BSC adheres to privacy best practices, including the Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP), and complies with international personal information transfer framework requirements.

This Policy outlines the way in which BSC deals with personal information it collects in Australia and New Zealand and your choices regarding our use of your personal information and how you can access and update that information.

Table of Contents

- Information Collection

-Use and Disclosure

- Data Sharing and Onward Transfers

- Cookies and Similar Technologies

- Access, Correction and Deletion

- Security

- Links to Other Sites

- Minors

- How to make a Privacy Complaint

- Updates to Privacy Policy

- Information Collection

When you interact with BSC, you may provide us with your personal information. Personal information is information or an opinion about an individual from which an individual can be reasonably identified.

BSC collects personal information that is reasonably necessary for or directly related to BSC functions and activities as a provider of a medical device.  BSC may collect personal information about you online or through our interactions with you. 

Depending upon the nature of our interactions with you, we may collect and store the following types of information from you:

  • Identifiers, such as first and last names, home or other physical address, email address, phone number, username, password, and other registration information;

  • Demographic information, such as gender, age, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, income range, and date of birth, some of which may be protected characteristics under anti-discrimination laws;

  • Biometric information;

  • Financial information, such as credit card information and transaction history;

  • Internet and other electronic network activity information, such as information about how you interact with the Sites, and information collected through cookies and other technologies on the Sites;

  • Geolocation data;

  • Contact preferences, such as information voluntarily submitted to us for purposes of considering or ordering a product, receiving services and/or when you register for updates, or contact us;

  • Information about your emergency contacts, such as name and phone number;

  • Recordings of audio/video calls you have with us (where any necessary consent has been obtained);

  • Professional or employment-related information, such as credentials provided on a curriculum vitae or resumé, professional history, professional license and identification numbers, business contact information, job title, and employer name;

  • Surveys and questionnaire responses you provide, which can include sensitive information; and

  • Education information.

Sensitive information, which includes health information, is a subset of personal information to which higher levels of protection apply.  Unless we specifically request sensitive information (and you provide consent to provide such information), we ask that you do not submit sensitive information (e.g., information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, criminal background or trade union membership) on our Site or through other methods. 

If you are a healthcare professional, additional personal information we may collect from you includes: 

  • Where you practice 

  • Your research area and clinical interests 

  • Your clinical specialty  

Licensed medical professionals must provide additional personal information to register (e.g., profession, title, Medical ID and clinical affiliation) in case of websites with restricted access. In addition to the uses mentioned above, we use this data to review and verify your registration. We may obtain additional information about you from other sources through your medical practitioner registration number. We use small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit BSC to collect information about you.

Online collection 

BSC collects personal information you voluntarily give us, such as but not limited to, requesting information via our Sites, resume submission, online event registration, or Site registration. We provide interactive digital health tools through which information is collected from users. We also collect information about your interactions with our Sites and applications (e.g., browsing behaviour). Our Sites automatically track certain behaviour (Usage Data) during visits, such as, referring/exit URLs and we also collect other basic information about you which does not directly identify you but which may correspond with you or a particular device. We use this information to learn more about how our websites and online resources are used and to otherwise improve and administer the site. We also use this information to enable us to deliver information tailored to your interests and preferences, based on your use of the site. For example, we may collect the Internet Protocol Address assigned to your computer by your internet service provider. This address may change each time you connect to the internet (a "dynamic" IP address), or it may remain the same (a "static" IP address). In most cases, this information is collected automatically, for our legitimate business interests. In some jurisdictions, we are required to ask for your consent before collecting this information, in which case you will be presented with a choice as to whether you wish to allow the collection and use of this type of information, generally this will present itself in the form of a consent banner (providing you with a choice to accept or reject such collection). If you are a registered user, we may use your Usage Data with or without your personal information, in order to measure the Site's performance and improve the Site's design and functionality.

-Use and Disclosure

BSC will use your personal information for the primary purpose for which it was collected as described to you at the point of collection, or other related purposes as permitted or required by law, including to: 

  • Comply with medical and regulatory authority requirements including relating to recording medical enquiries, complaints, adverse events and product recalls. 

  • Send you product updates, newsletters, marketing communications, requested product or service information, fulfil services you have requested, and to understand your interests and preferences.

  • Respond to your questions.

  • Administer your account.

  • Conduct surveys or other research and analysis.

  • Improve our Site and marketing efforts, including to:

             - Optimize user experience

             - Display personalized content

             - Deliver promotional material

  • Enable you to post your resume, search job postings, and contact or be contacted by prospective BSC representatives or agents. Job applicant personal information is used solely for the purpose of the employment process. It is retained only for the purpose of considering your application for current BSC positions or as necessary to comply with the law.

  • Notify you of Policy updates.

In only very limited circumstances, such as required by law or in the event of a serious threat to your life or health we may disclose your personal information without your permission.   

We may also collect the email address or telephone numbers from a contact person in order to share information or messages with you.  

When you provide us with personal information about your contacts we will only use it for the specific reason for which it is provided. If you believe one of your contacts has provided us with your personal information and you want to submit a removal request, please contact us at  Globalprivacy@bsci.com.

We may use your personal information to support the activities of unaffiliated third parties that are under contract to perform services for or on behalf of BSC (including to maintain computer database, perform marketing activities when allowed by law, or conduct surveys).  For example, personal information collected through interactive digital health tools we provide may be used to improve these tools and determine payment amounts for vendors who assist us in making these tools available.

- Data Sharing and Onward Transfers

BSC won't sell or lease your personal information to a third party for any purpose.  We will only share personal information as stated in this Privacy Policy and only to the extent permitted under applicable laws.  

We may, from time to time, share your personal information 

  • To BSC affiliates and subsidiaries for purposes consistent with this Policy;

  • In a controlled or secure way, to unaffiliated third parties that are under contract to perform services for or on behalf of BSC (e.g., to maintain computer database, perform marketing activities, or conduct surveys);

  • If we are bound by law to share personal information (including with courts, arbitration tribunals, authorities or legal advisers) or if necessary to exercise or defend against legal claims;

  • In the event of a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event;

  • In order to protect our property or in furtherance of an investigation regarding a breach of the Site rules and policies, unauthorized access to or use of the Site or any other illegal activities; and

  • To other persons as permitted by applicable law or regulation. 

We may share aggregate data with selected third parties. For example, BSC may disclose aggregate Usage Data to third parties to understand how the Site is used or for marketing purposes. See also "Cookies", below. Aggregate data does not identify individuals.

Cross border transfers/Onward transfers

BSC is part of a group of companies located in different countries. We may disclose some personal information to a BSC company or database located overseas. The countries where we are likely to disclose personal information include the United States, India, Ireland, Japan, the Philippines, Japan and Singapore.  

The access granted to our affiliates, subsidiaries, and third parties is limited solely to the purpose for which such information was provided. Furthermore, we require our affiliates, subsidiaries and third parties to uphold and maintain BSC's policies with respect to privacy and the treatment of your personal information. Regardless of their locations or the laws of the countries they are based in, they are contractually required to provide at least the same level of protection as required by the European Union – United States of America Privacy Shield Principles.

- Cookies and Similar Technologies

BSC and our partners use a variety of technologies to facilitate the delivery of services to you via our Sites and applications and to understand and preserve your personal preferences. Use of these is governed by our Policy or the privacy policy of the third party providing the service.

Please check our Cookie Policy

- Access, Correction and Deletion 

BSC takes reasonable steps to ensure the information we hold about you is up to date, accurate and complete. If you wish to access, review, correct or delete the personal information we hold or if you have a related question please contact Globalprivacy@bsci.com

Registered users and those who have provided BSC with personal information may request to review, change or delete information by logging in and modifying their profile, by e-mailing webmaster@bostonscientific.com. Deletion or change requests should be made by you directly. 

We will respond to all access requests within 30 days.

To "opt-out" of (1) having your Site provided personal information disclosed to third parties for promotional purposes, or (2) any other consent previously granted for a specific purpose concerning your personal information on this Site, send an e-mail to BSC at webmaster@bostonscientific.com, or contact us at Globalprivacy@bsci.com. To "opt-out" of receiving a particular marketing or promotional communication, follow the unsubscribe instructions included in the specific communication.

If you wish to update or delete a testimonial you submitted, please contact us at webmaster@bostonscientific.com.

The information you post in publicly-accessible Site blogs or community forums may be read, collected, and used by others who access them. To request removal of your personal information from our blog or community forum, contact us at webmaster@bostonscientific.com. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why.

Data Retention

We retain your information while your account is active or as needed to provide you services. We also retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. BSC destroys or permanently de-identifies personal information that we no longer need where permitted. 

- Security

BSC takes security seriously. We use reasonable and appropriate data protection measures, such as robust technologies, security policies, and procedures, to reduce the risk of misuse, alteration, accidental destruction or loss, and unauthorized disclosure or access to our systems and data. For example, we encrypt the transmission of personal information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). We follow industry standards and best practices to protect your personal information during transmission and once we receive it. Unfortunately, no security method is 100% secure; and while we take reasonable steps to prevent against loss, misuse or alteration to data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please email any Site or application security questions to webmaster@bostonscientific.com.

- Links to Other Sites

This Policy applies only to BSC Sites and applications that link to this Policy. Our Sites include links to both our affiliated sites and to non-BSC web sites, including access to content, products and services of such affiliated and non-affiliated sites (Other Sites). BSC is not responsible for the privacy practices of Other Sites. You should directly contact these Other Sites to read their privacy policies and for more information about their practices.

- Minors

Our Sites and applications are not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18, and BSC does not knowingly collect personal information from those in this age group. If you are under 18, please discontinue the use of our Sites and applications. If we become aware that someone under the age of 18 has registered, we will expunge any related personal information from our records.

- How to make a Privacy Complaint

Please direct privacy related complaints or comments in writing by email to:

Globalprivacy@bsci.com

We will respond to complaints within 30 days. 

- Updates to Privacy Policy

BSC may, in its sole discretion, update this Policy by posting the amended Policy on this Site. We will notify you prior to the changes, where required, of material Policy changes via your account email address or by a Site notice.

This Policy was last updated on the 2nd  February 2023.