STI Technologies Limited Privacy Policy

STI Technologies Limited is a healthcare technology company that manages patient benefit programs, patient support programs and related activities. We improve access to medications by leveraging available reimbursement funding and innovative technology to engage patients in their own healthcare. STI offers free prescription savings cards and other program services for the users of pharmaceutical drugs. These programs are funded by participating pharmaceutical manufacturers.

​

STI respects your concerns about privacy and takes the protection of personal information very seriously. We comply with all Canadian federal and provincial privacy laws, and are responsible for the personal information we collect and hold. Our representatives have been trained about our privacy policies and practices. Unless compelled to do so by law or we sell off any part of STl's business operations, STI will never sell your personal information or use it for purposes not described in this policy.

​

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION MAY BE COLLECTED?

 

Personal information is any information that identifies you or by which your identity may be deduced. The personal information we require will include some or all of the following, depending which of STI’s services you are using:

 

• Patient name 

• Mailing address 

• Date of birth 

• Email address 

• Telephone number (home and/or cell) 

• Prescription drug(s) used 

• Health care professional’s name and contact information 

• Pharmacy at which the drug is dispensed 

• Drug insurer information or benefit carrier information (if applicable) 

• Spousal insurance information 

• Income and information about dependents 

• Medical history 

• Advocate information (an advocate is a person you have authorized to act on your behalf) 

 

HOW DO WE USE YOUR INFORMATION?

​

We will use your information to manage your use of any STI services or of any manufacturer programs which we administer. We will also use your information in order to monitor and improve our existing services, and to develop new services.

We may also use your information to conduct research and to develop statistics about our services, manufacturer programs, and the healthcare sector. Though we may disclose or sell those research and statistics to third parties, any information which can identify individual patients will first be completely removed.

​

Here are some additional details about STI’s different types of services, and about how we may collect information about you and use that information in connection with those services:

​

PATIENT BENEFIT PROGRAMS

​

Patient benefit programs provide the same benefits to all patients regardless of their individual circumstances. Typically, no patient information is required in order for a patient to receive their benefit. In some instances, an activation step may be required in order to turn the benefit on, or minimal patient information and consent may be collected in order to communicate with the patient moving forward.

​

PATIENT SUPPORT PROGRAMS

​

Patient Support Programs (PSPs) are programs that require additional patient information and consent in order to enroll the patient in the program and to assign a financial benefit to that individual patient. These solutions often allow customized financial support for each patient. The information which must be collected as part of these PSPs varies by manufacturer.

​

If you enroll in a PSP, you will be required to accept that program’s Terms and Conditions, which are set by the manufacturer, as well as STI's privacy policy. These programs may involve communications with patients (via phone, SMS or email). Any personal information or personal health information provided for the PSP will be stored in STI's secure Patient Management Platform and will be used to support the program services.

​

INNOVICARES™ PROGRAM

​

STI offers a unique program called innoviCares™. innoviCares™ acts like a patient benefit program and allows patients to receive financial support for multiple brands under one card or program. The innoviCares™ program does not require enrolment or registration in order to gain access to its financial benefit; however, innoviCares™ offers added program services and communications that can be made available to the patient if the patient chooses to register their innoviCares™ card as described in the applicable terms and conditions of the respective program. Only once you provide your express consent through your optional registration in innoviCares™ will we collect and use your personal information in connection with the program.

​

INFORMATION FROM PHARMACIES

​

Pharmacies provide STI with claim information in accordance with the standard rules of electronic claims transmission defined by the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA). This is the same information provided to other Canadian insurers and benefits carriers. Claim information is used to determine eligibility for coverage, and to verify, assess, pay and audit claims. We anonymize this personal information before we save it. This means that information ceases to be personal information because it cannot be used to identify you.

​

PRESCRIBER INFORMATION

​

Prescribers are the health care professionals who issue prescriptions. STI may distribute prescription savings cards and program materials to prescribers, which prescribers may in turn provide to their patients. Except in Quebec where prescribers must provide express consent to share their information for reporting purposes, STI may disclose information about the prescribers to whom cards were distributed and the resulting pharmacy claims.

​

CUSTOMER SERVICE

​

If you contact our customer service team, we will ask you for information required only to answer your question or concern. This information may include your name, phone number and/or email address. We will retain this information to personalize your experience with us and better assist you the next time you contact us.

​

GOOGLE ANALYTICS/COOKIES

​

STI collects usage information and traffic data on our websites by using Google Analytics. To learn more about Google Analytics please visit their website: www.google.com/analytics/

​

THIRD PARTY LINKS

​

STI’s websites may contain links to third party websites that are not under our control. We provide links to other websites solely for your convenience and information. STI does not endorse or otherwise accept responsibility for the content or privacy policies of those sites. Other websites may collect and treat information they collect differently, so STI encourages you to carefully review the privacy policy for each website you visit.

​

HOW DO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION?

​

STI uses third party service providers to provide some of its services. As a result, we may need to share your personal information with those service providers, or have them collect that information from you. Those service providers can only use your information to perform services for STI, and STI will always require its service providers to take all the same precautions as we do to keep your information safe and secure.

​

We may also need to share the information you provide us to the manufacturers who sponsor any programs you are participating in. As well, if you report to STI any issues you are having with a pharmaceutical drug, such as side effects or difficulty administering the drug, we will also need to report that information to the manufacturer, so that they can follow up with you.

​

As mentioned further above, your information will also be used to help develop research and statistics which we will share with third parties, but we will always ensure that no information that identifies a patient is included in those research and statistics.

​

SECURITY OF INFORMATION

​

STI employs industry recognized security safeguards to protect any personal information provided to us from loss, misuse and unauthorized alteration. We protect all information stored on our servers from unauthorized access using commercially available computer security products (e.g., firewalls), as well as carefully developed security procedures and practices. Although STI takes reasonable and prudent measures to protect our computer systems and any personal information that we have collected from unauthorized use, access, disclosure, misuse, alteration or destruction, no security measures can provide absolute protection. As such, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information, and are not responsible for unauthorized use, access, disclosure, misuse, alteration or destruction of your personal information. STI relies on industry leading professionals to support our programs, and we enter into detailed agreements with each of them. The agreements oblige those professionals to protect your personal information at least as well as STI does.

 

In certain circumstances, the third parties which assist STI in delivering STI’s services may require delivery of personal information or personal health information by email. As described above, STI takes steps, aligned with industry best practices, to ensure the security of your information; however, it is impossible to guarantee the security of that information. By using our services, you agree to the inherent risks associated with email transmissions.

 

ACCESSING AND UPDATING PERSONAL INFORMATION

 

You have the right to request and review any of the information we may currently have about you. You may update your personal information that has been provided to us or request that we delete it. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that any updates and instructions that you provide are processed in a timely and complete manner.

 

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

 

Financial information and other claim data received by STI will be retained for as long as required by applicable legal requirements, by contractual commitments, or for a period of seven years from the date the information was last used, whichever is longer.

​

Other personal information received by STI for the purpose of providing PSPs will be retained in accordance with the policies of the manufacturer assisting with the specific program, as well as any applicable legal requirements and contractual commitments. The retention period may vary by program.

 

PRIVACY POLICY UPDATES

 

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The current version of the Policy will always be posted on our website at smartsti.com/privacy/. We reserve the right to change our privacy information practices and to apply the changed practices to all information we have about you. By using our services and programs, you agree to be bound by the terms of the most up-to-date version of the Privacy Policy, as located on the website at any given time.

 

CONTACTING STI

 

If you have any questions or concerns about STl's privacy practices or about the personal information which you have provided to us, please contact our Privacy Officer by email at privacyofficer@smartsti.com or write to:

 

STI Technologies Limited

Attention: Privacy Officer
38 Solutions Drive, Ravine Centre Two, Suite 200, Halifax, NS B3S OH1

STI will respond to your inquiry in a timely and complete manner.