Privacy Statement

Overview
drkoop.com is recognized for our commitment to safeguarding consumer privacy on our Web site. We operate under the following set of strict privacy principles:

• The only personally identifiable information drkoop.com obtains about individual visitors to its Web site is that supplied voluntarily by visitors.
• In cases when drkoop.com may need personal information to provide visitors with customized content or to inform them about new features or services, visitors are explicitly asked for that information.
• Personally identifiable information provided by visitors (name, e-mail or home address, etc.) will not be disclosed to anyone unless visitors indicate that drkoop.com may do so.
• Only statistical information about our visitors as a group (usage habits, demographics) may be shared with any partner of drkoop.com. Personally identifiable information will not be shared at any time without the visitor's permission. drkoop.com employs strict security measures to safeguard online transactions; personal information is stored in a secured database and always sent via an encrypted Internet channel.
• We will notify our users if we make significant changes to our privacy policy that may affect the use of health-related information, and we will obtain consent from consumers for any new uses of that data.

IP Addresses
An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you access the Internet. All computer identification on the Internet is conducted with IP addresses, which allow computers and servers to recognize and communicate with each other. drkoop.com collects IP addresses in order to conduct system administration, report aggregate information to sponsors and advertisers, and to conduct site analysis. If a visitor requests pages from drkoop.com, the drkoop.com servers enter the visitor's IP address into a log. To maintain visitor anonymity, drkoop.com does not associate IP addresses with records containing personal information. However, drkoop.com will use IP addresses to identify any visitors who refuse to comply with drkoop.com's in-house rules or terms of service, and to identify visitors who threaten our service, site, customers or others.

Cookies
Our site places a text file called a "cookie" in the browser files of your computer. Cookies are pieces of information that a Web site transfers to an individual's hard disk for record keeping purposes. Our site uses cookies during your online session to deliver content specific to your interests. Cookies allow us to avoid showing you the same ad or other message repeatedly. Our cookies do not contain personal information. They do enable drkoop.com to relate your use of the site to information that you have specifically and knowingly provided to our site.

Registration
Our site's registration system requires users to give us contact information such as their name and e-mail address, and demographic information such as a ZIP code, sex, age or income level. The customer's contact information is used to contact the visitor when necessary. Users may choose (opt-in) to receive future mailings; see the choice/opt-in section below. Demographic and profile data is also collected at our site. We use this data to tailor the visitor's experience at our site, showing the visitor content that reflects their stated preferences. This information is shared with advertisers on an aggregate basis, but it does not indicate the identity of individual users.

External Links
In order to provide visitors with greater value, drkoop.com may provide links to various third party web sites. However, even if a third-party affiliation exists between drkoop.com and that destination site, drkoop.com exercises no authority over linked sites, each of which maintains independent privacy and data collection policies and procedures. drkoop.com assumes no responsibility or liability for these independent methods or actions and is not responsible for the independent policies or procedures of destination sites. Similarly, drkoop.com cannot take responsibility for the privacy initiatives or the content of such Web sites. These destination links are provided only for your convenience, and as such, you access them at your own risk. However, drkoop.com wishes to ensure the integrity of the drkoop.com web site and its destination links, so any comments pertaining to the drkoop.com web site or any sites accessed through drkoop.com links are greatly appreciated.

Community Partners
drkoop.com Community Partners represent well-respected healthcare organizations across the country. Through these partnerships, drkoop.com provides its web site content and services to enhance the Web sites of our Community Partners. These sites also offer information about local healthcare resources, thereby helping members of their communities take active steps towards improving or maintaining their health.

When registering to become a member of the drkoop.com site, you may also be asked if you would like to register as a member of our partner's "local community." Some of our healthcare partners have their own newsletters and events that you may want to participate in and you will have the opportunity to share your e-mail address with them for this purpose (see choice / opt-in below). drkoop.com also shares aggregate information such as site activity (number of visitors, page view statistics) and demographic distribution of local community members.

See the External Links section above for additional disclaimers regarding third-party Web sites.

Surveys and Questionnaires
Our online surveys and questionnaires may ask visitors for contact and demographic information. The customer's contact information is used to contact the visitor when necessary. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-in section below. Demographic and profile data is also collected at our site. This information is shared with advertisers on an aggregate basis, but it does not indicate the identity of individual users.

Third Party Ad Services
drkoop.com utilizes certain third-party advertising services to display advertising for our advertisers. drkoop.com does not ever share personally identifiable visitor information with its advertising services. Such services may in certain instances specifically ask you to provide to them personal information such as in response to contests or special offers. Such data is not provided to drkoop.com and is not subject to this policy. These services are, however, bound to drkoop.com not to collect personally identifiable information from you in any way other than from your voluntary response to a specific request stating the intended use of the information you provide. These third-party services may also place a cookie on your computer for the purposes of ad tracking and presentation.

Security
The drkoop.com web site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. drkoop.com employs strict security measures to safeguard online transactions; personal information is stored in a secured database and always sent via an encrypted Internet channel.

Choice/Opt-In
Our site gives users the opportunity to opt-in to receive communications from us and our partners at the point where we request information about the visitor.

This site also gives users the opportunity to stop receiving these communications at any time. You will find an opt-out option at the bottom of all communications.

Contacting the Web Site
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this web site, or your interaction with this Web site, contact our parent company:

MDchoice.com, Inc.
68 East Main Street
Somerville, NJ 08876