Privacy Policy

The Cedars-Sinai mobile application is owned and operated by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on behalf of itself and its affiliates (“C-S”). This Privacy Policy ("Privacy Policy") describes how we collect information from you or about you mobile through our mobile application, why we collect this information, how we will use or disclose this information and how you may update or delete identifiable information about you from our records. By accessing, browsing and/or using our mobile application, you are deemed to accept the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you are not willing to accept the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use our mobile application.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to our information collection and use policy or practices offline. This information is available on the HIPAA Privacy Practices page.

MyChart (My CS-Link electronic medical records software) Privacy Policy: https://www.epic.com/about/privacypolicies#mobile-policy-patient

The information we gather generally can be categorized as either anonymous or personally identifiable.

Anonymous (or sometimes referred to as "aggregate") information is information that cannot be traced back to a specific individual. For example, we know how many times our mobile application and certain portions of our mobile application is visited, but we do not know the names, e-mail addresses or gender of our visitors unless they specifically provide that information. We use this anonymous information to obtain a better understanding of how visitors use our mobile application and to make decisions on how to improve it. Each time a visitor comes to our mobile application, we collect some information in an effort to improve the overall quality of your mobile experience. We collect the visitor's domain name (e.g. whether the user is logged on from yahoo.com, aol.com etc), referral data (e.g., the address of the last URL a user visited prior to clicking through to our mobile application), and browser and platform type (e.g., a Netscape browser on a Macintosh platform). In addition to collecting these types of information, C-S collects aggregate queries for internal reporting. We also count, track, and aggregate the visitor's activity into our analysis of general traffic flows in our mobile application (e.g. tracking where traffic comes from, how traffic flows within our mobile application, etc.).

Personally identifiable information is information you provide that lets us know specific facts about you so that we can respond to your requests. Depending on the portion of the mobile application you visit and the information you provide, this information could range from your name, address and ZIP code, which you provide in order to receive information from us about certain services, to specific health information that you provide to us on an admission form. Personal information collected on our mobile application is used only to allow us to fulfill your request for services. For instance, if you use our mobile physical system to locate a specialist in your area, we use the information you provide to put you in touch with a physician. Similarly, if you complete an admission form that you download from our mobile application and submit it to us, we use the information contained in your admission form for the purposes of admitting you to C-S and to thereafter providing the services your physician prescribes. Another example relates to our gift shop. We collect personal information from you in order to complete transactions you request The information you provide may be furnished to a third party in order to facilitate the transaction. We also may use the personal information you provide to us to send you information that we believe may be of interest to you, based on information you may have provided to us, including newsletters, information about new medical breakthroughs and other items related to C-S and its medical community. You do have a right to opt out of receiving this information, as described below in "Your Opt Out Right." You can visit our mobile application without providing any personal information about yourself. However, there are a number of services that we provide which, if you wish to obtain the full benefit of those services, you must provide certain personal information.

The Cedars-Sinai app provides Medical Center Walking Directions. These are turn-by-turn directions to help you get around the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The Cedars-Sinai app will guide you to valet services, departments, clinics, and points of interest such as cafeterias, and much more. In addition, the Hello Patient feature in the Cedars-Sinai app may use your location data to notify front desk staff when you have arrived for your appointment. This feature allows you to skip check-in to minimize contact. 

Please note that both the Medical Center Walking Directions and Hello Patient features use location services in the background to detect when you have arrived onsite for your appointment. Without using the location services in the background, the Medical Center Walking Directions feature cannot properly locate you in a timely manner and is unable to transition from outdoor to indoor navigation. The Hello Patient feature will not notify the front desk of your arrival and simplify pre-checkin tasks. These location-based features require access to your location even when the app is closed or in the background.

Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze may use your device's identifiers and other personally identifying information for navigation, so we encourage you to review their privacy notices to learn more:

Apple Privacy Policy: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/ Google
Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Waze Privacy Policy: https://www.waze.com/legal/privacy/
Everbridge (Medical Center Walking Directions wayfinding developer) Privacy Policy: https://www.everbridge.com/wp-content/uploads/connexient-privacy-policy.pdf

This information is not used in connection with COVID-19.

With your permission, the Cedars-Sinai mobile app may access your device's Bluetooth while you are using the Medical Center Walking Directions feature to walk around the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center campus.  Additionally, Bluetooth is used to detect other nearby devices to help with appointment arrival. The Cedars-Sinai mobile app will not store your Bluetooth data. This information is not used in connection with COVID-19.

When you choose to include a photo or video in a message you send to your healthcare organization using the Cedars-Sinai mobile app, you may select an existing photo or video from your device or take a new photo or video using the camera app on your device. If you use the camera app on your device to take a new photo or video, it will be saved to your camera app. Any photo or video saved to your camera app remains available in your camera app until you choose to delete it. This information is not used in connection with COVID-19.

The Cedars-Sinai mobile app may use your microphone to capture audio (sound) for video visits. The Cedars-Sinai mobile app does not store your audio data. This information is not used in connection with COVID-19.

The Cedars-Sinai mobile app may use your Wi-Fi permissions for more accurate location tracking while you are using the Medical Center Walking Directions feature to walk around the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center campus. This information is not used in connection with COVID-19.

When you choose to view documents from your healthcare organization (such as letters or images) using our mobile apps, to make the files viewable for you we temporarily store copies on your device in app-private storage. The temporary copies are deleted when you close your session on our mobile apps.

Additionally, the mobile app may access your device's storage if you provide relevant file attachments if you choose to Report an Issue in the Medical Center Walking Directions' Settings. This information is not used in connection with COVID-19.

With the Cedars-Sinai mobile app, you can use your phone to call the phone numbers displayed in the application. The Cedars-Sinai mobile app will not store your call history or other call data. The Cedars-Sinai mobile app will not store your Bluetooth data. This information is not used in connection with COVID-19.

The Cedars-Sinai mobile app lets patients access information stored in their electronic health record (EHR), managed by Epic’s software, including medications, test results, and visit summaries. This app also lets patients send messages, schedule appointments, and check in online. 

Our mobile app was not created specifically for the COVID-19 pandemic. It existed before the COVID-19 pandemic to allow you to access your health information on file with Cedars-Sinai. You can use this app to access COVID-19-related vaccination information, laboratory test results, and documents with illness-related information using our mobile app. You may choose if or how you want to access, display, or use the information – just like you can make those decisions about health information relating to other conditions, services, tests, or vaccinations. The Cedars-Sinai mobile app does not perform any COVID-19 contact tracing or tracking. 

We take precautions to ensure your information remains confidential;

We also do everything reasonably possible to protect user information we collect. All of our users' information, not just the sensitive information, is restricted in our offices. Only individuals who need the information to perform a specific job are granted access to personal information. Access to this information is password protected. Furthermore, all personnel having access to your personal information are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices.

As indicated above, C-S may use the information you provide to send you information and materials that we think may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive any further information or materials from us, such as e-mails or newsletters, you have the right to opt out of such disclosure and additional use of such information. To opt out from receiving such information or materials, you must check the appropriate box provided at the time you are requested to provide personal information. If, at a later time, you wish to change your preference, you may do so by contacting us at the address indicated below.

Our mobile application may contain links to mobile features or websites that are not operated by C-S. You may be asked by these mobile applications to provide personal information or to release information you may have provided on our mobile application. You are never required to release this information, and whether you do is optional and strictly up to you. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of these sites, nor any adverse consequences that may result from your interaction with such third party mobile applications. C-S has no control or influence over the privacy practices of these other mobile applications. This would also apply to these mobile applications' use of cookies and other electronically collected data. We encourage you to be cautious when leaving our mobile application and review the privacy statements of each and every mobile application that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected through those mobile applications.

In accordance with the Federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), C-S will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13 without parental consent. When we do receive information (with parental consent) from users under the age of 13, we will not share their personally identifiable information with third parties, regardless of their stated preference given at registration.

While you use the Cedars-Sinai app, we collect non-identifying information so we can provide customer service to you or your healthcare organization and understand how people use our mobile apps so we can improve our products. This information includes the time you began using the app, the healthcare organization you interacted with, any error messages or codes, the model of device used and its operating system, and the version of our mobile app used. If you use Android devices, we also collect your connection type (cellular or WiFi) during an error. Google Firebase is a tool that this app uses for analytics tracking. Google Firebase uses your device's advertising identifier. This information is not used in connection with COVID-19.

Google Firebase Analytics Privacy Policy: https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy

C-S may use personal information collected or in its possession to contact users in connection with their inappropriate use of our mobile application, noncompliance with our Terms and Conditions, or in connection with a complaint filed about their use of our mobile application by another user.

C-S also may disclose your personal information to another party, such as law enforcement officials, to comply with legal requirements, court orders, government or law enforcement agency requests, to protect or defend C-S, or where we perceive an immediate danger of death or serious physical injury to someone as a result of activity on our mobile application. Our disclosures may occur under circumstances where we may not be authorized to advise you of such action.

We will notify you of changes to this Privacy Policy. If we make material changes in our Privacy Policy that do not affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our mobile application notifying users of the change. If we propose to use your personally identifiable information in a manner materially different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify you via email, and you will have a choice as to whether we may use your information in this different manner.

If you wish to delete or correct your personally identifiable information obtained through this mobile application, you may:

• Send a written request to: Webmaster, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Blvd., SSB-3, Los Angeles, CA 90048
• Send an electronic request to: webmaster@cshs.org
• Submit an electronic request.
• Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 and submit a verbal request. 

With your permission, our Android, iPhone, and Apple Watch apps can connect to Apple Health to receive and send your health information and to share that information with your healthcare providers. You give your permission to continuously sync your health data when you link your Apple Health or Google Fit account to My CS-Link. The sharing of My CS-Link data with your healthcare provider only happens when you initiate it, and it is a one-time snapshot of health information in My CS-Link.

When you choose to use Apple’s HealthKit or Google Fit, we create encrypted identifiers to identify recipients of your Apple’s HealthKit or Google Fit data and store them on your device in app-private storage. If you choose to stop using Apple HealthKit or Google Fit or delete our mobile apps, the identifiers are deleted.

Should you have any questions regarding this privacy statement, the practices of this mobile application, or your dealings with this mobile application, you may contact our Webmaster. 

Send Us a Message

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING USE OF MY CS-LINK

Cedars-Sinai is pleased to provide you with My CS-Link™. My CS-Link provides web-based access to important, but limited portions of information found in your medical record and is a means of communicating with your physician's/provider’s office. This discussion contains important information regarding the use of My CS-Link. Certain features are available only if your physician's office uses My CS-Link.

Protocols for Communications Using My CS-Link and Email

Consent and Authorization:

Your use of My CS-Link constitutes your authorization for your physicians/providers to communicate with you through the means provided by My CS-Link.

Response to Electronic Communication

Messages You Send:

Physicians/providers will provide a timely response to electronic inquiries, however response times may vary from office to office. Accordingly, emergency or urgent situations requiring immediate attention should not be submitted electronically. If you do not receive a response within three (3) business days, please telephone your physician's/provider’s office to ensure the message was received.

Information We Send You:

By participating in My CS-Link you have elected to receive your laboratory test results in accordance with our auto-release process. Please be aware that labs can take between 1-14 days to be processed and returned to your physician. If you had multiple laboratory tests completed, you may receive each of these results at different times. Please contact your physician’s office if you have any further questions regarding any of your lab results. When you have a test and those tests are reportable in My CS-Link, the system will send you an email notifying you that you have a message in My CS-Link. Additionally, as with all clinical tests, if you fail to receive a report of the test result from your physician/provider by the time it was expected, contact your physician's/provider’s office.

E-mail Privacy – Your Role:

As a user of My CS-Link, you will be notified by e-mail when there is new information for you in My CS-Link. This means that any person with access to your e-mail will be able to see the notice. While the e-mail message will just ask you to log in to My CS-Link to retrieve the information, you need to understand that the email will disclose that you have My CS-Link activity. Thus, it will be your responsibility to use an email address that provides you with the level of confidentiality you desire.

Confidentiality – Our Commitment:

We afford the same degree of confidentiality to medical information stored on My CS-Link and through My CS-Link communications as we afford to medical information stored by your physician/provider in any other medium. Your physician's/provider's Notice of Privacy Practices applies to the information in My CS-Link.

Temporary Suspension and Termination of Access:

We do not guarantee that My CS-Link will be continuously available. There may be periods of time when we suspend all users’ access in order to perform maintenance of the system. Additionally, we may terminate the My CS-Link program or your individual access at any time, for any reason, without prior notice. Upon any suspension or termination, outstanding My CS-Link communications will be addressed by other appropriate methods and you will continue to be able to request access to your medical information in our records through traditional means.

Ongoing Conditions Regarding Access by Patient Representatives:

If your My CS-Link access is for another person, for instance a child or an adult for whom you coordinate medical services, your My CS-Link access will be at all times subject to our policies regarding third party access to this information. These policies may change from time to time. If you have questions, please contact your physician's/provider's office.

Determining if You Have Accessed the Secure My CS-Link Site:

The location (URL) field will indicate if you are on a secure website. If the URL begins with https:// (instead of http://), the document is from a secure server. This means your data cannot be read or deciphered by unauthorized individuals. You can determine if you are truly connected to My CS-Link by viewing the digital certificate. This certificate verifies the connection between Cedars-Sinai server's public key and the server's identification.

Your Obligation Regarding the Security of Information:

In order to help ensure that your information can only be accessed by you, you will have a confidential user name and password. As a My CS-Link user, your role in maintaining the security of your medical information includes following common sense, such as keeping your login identification name and password confidential.

Your Obligation to Keep Contact Information Current:

It is your responsibility to keep your My CS-Link profile information indicating your correct email address current. When you change your email address, you must notify your physician's/provider's office. For your privacy protection, we do not allow online changes to your e-mail address.

Web Site Links

My CS-Link may offer links to related medical web sites not managed by Cedars-Sinai. These web site link(s) are for our patients’ informational purposes only. Cedars-Sinai does not endorse and has not verified the accuracy of the information in/on these web sites. Accordingly, you should not rely on any of the information found on the web sites for purposes of treatment or diagnosis.

Updates to these Terms and Conditions

The only current and official version of these Terms and Conditions is the version on the My CS-Link website. We may modify or update the Terms and Conditions from time to time. Your enrollment in, and use of, My CS-Link constitutes your agreement that the most current version of the Terms and Conditions will apply to your use of My CS-Link.