The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates ("ECFMG") shares your concerns for maintaining the integrity and privacy of personal information collected on the Internet. ECFMG is committed to protecting your privacy, and the following Privacy Policy ("Policy") is intended to explain our information collection and dissemination practices in connection with the www.ecfmg.org web site (the "Site"). Please review the entire Policy and feel free to contact us at webmaster@ecfmg.org if you have any questions. For privacy practices specific to the Step 2 Clinical Skills Scheduling Web Site, please see this site's User Agreement.
1) Collection of Personal Information from Site Users
While visiting our Site, you may choose to provide personal information to us in the process of completing various on-line forms for ECFMG's program of certification and other programs and services for international medical students and graduates. This information may include, but is not limited to, your name, date of birth, e-mail address, postal address, telephone number, credit card information, social security or national identification number, citizenship and information related to your medical training. By providing your personal information on-line, you consent to allow ECFMG to use that information in accordance with this Policy. In general, applicants are required to respond to all of the questions on our application forms. Applicants, however, are not required to provide information regarding their ethnicity. Providing information regarding your ethnicity is optional and choosing a particular answer or choosing not to provide this information will not affect the outcome of your application. ECFMG uses information about the ethnicity of its applicants for research purposes, and it is kept confidential. If, for any reason, you choose not to provide your personal information on-line, you may download certain of our available forms from the Site and mail them to us.
To request a single copy of any available publication or form, contact ECFMG by telephone at (215) 386-5900, by fax at (215) 386-9196, or in writing at the address listed below in "Inquiries and Concerns."
When a User accesses any of the online services at the Site, ECFMG places two cookies on the User's web browser. A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your computer and allows ECFMG to identify the User. The cookies placed by ECFMG are used solely to identify the same user from web page to web page and to indicate, in the case of Users with a USMLE™/ECFMG identification number, that the User has been properly authenticated. All cookies are removed when a User leaves the Site and the browser is closed. With the exception of the login, payment, OASIS, IWA, IMED, CSA Scheduling, and CVS ON-LINE pages, all non-service web pages are hosted by Verio. For more information regarding Verio's information collection practices, please see Verio's privacy policy at www.verio.net/company/policies/privacy.cfm.
2) Security
As part of ECFMG's pledge to protect your privacy, we employ Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology and password protection to prevent unauthorized access to your personal information. In order to access your personal information, you must first confirm your identity by entering your USMLE/ECFMG identification number and a password. This authentication page is secured by SSL technology. Similarly, as you prepare to pay for your programs and services, you will enter our secure payment web page and will have a limited amount of time to enter the required information. Please note that pages other than the authentication page and payment page are not secured by SSL or other encryption programs. ECFMG uses third-party vendors, such as VeriSign and TeleCheck, in order to process your on-line payments. Please see VeriSign's Privacy Policy at www.verisign.com/truste/index.html and TeleCheck's Privacy Policy at www.telecheck.com/home/privacy_policy.html for more information regarding their security and privacy practices. Please note that, while ECFMG has endeavored to create a secure and reliable site for Users, the confidentiality of any communication transmitted to or from ECFMG via the Site or e-mail cannot be guaranteed. Accordingly, ECFMG is not responsible for the security of information transmitted via the Internet.
3) Use of Personal Information Collected
ECFMG uses the personal information you provide in order to process your applications and requests for services and in order to verify that you meet the minimum qualifications for our programs and services. Additionally, ECFMG may use aggregated personal information for research and statistical purposes. ECFMG does not use your personal information for marketing or promotional purposes.
4) Disclosure of Personal Information to Third Parties
The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is sponsored jointly by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). The NBME exercises review authority over ECFMG's application materials for this multi-step examination. As such, the NBME will have access to your personal information in this capacity. In order to ensure an efficient and accurate examination process for applicants, portions of the personal information you provide to us is retained in a database shared by ECFMG, NBME, and FSMB for the purposes of exam registration and scheduling. Additionally, this information, as well as performance data from the examination, is used by these organizations for research and statistical purposes, although only in the aggregate.
You should also note that by signing and submitting the Certification Statement associated with the USMLE and CSA applications, you authorize ECFMG to transmit the information contained in your application, or that otherwise may become available to ECFMG, to "any federal, state or local governmental department or agency, to any hospital or any other organization or individual who, in the judgment of ECFMG, has a legitimate interest in such information."
ECFMG also shares certain User information (e.g., name, ECFMG applicant number and certification status, medical school and/or date of birth) with the American Medical Association (the "AMA") and the Association of American Medical Colleges (the "AAMC"). These organizations use the data that we provide to update and maintain their medical provider databases. Other than in these two instances, or as ECFMG shall notify User of in the future, ECFMG pledges not to sell, rent, offer, or otherwise disclose any personal information, such as names, e-mail addresses, postal addresses, telephone numbers, credit card information, and other personal information that User voluntarily provides to ECFMG, to any organization or individual without such a legitimate interest (collectively "Third Parties"), except to the extent necessary to comply with applicable laws or valid legal processes, or to protect the rights or property of ECFMG.
As noted above, ECFMG uses third-party vendors to process your on-line payment transactions. In order to process these transactions, your payment information must be disclosed to these third parties. You may review VeriSign's Privacy Policy by clicking here and you may review Telecheck's Privacy Policy by clicking here. By paying for your programs and/or services by on-line check, you authorize TeleCheck to obtain a report of your check-writing history in order to prevent fraud and for other authentication purposes.
5) Access and Ability to Correct Personal Data
Using ECFMG's On-line Applicant Status and Information System (OASIS), properly identified applicants may access and verify or change such personal information as name of record, postal address, e-mail address, fax number and status of their financial account. You may also check the status of your USMLE/CSA applications and score reports, USMLE scheduling permits, TOEFL score acceptance and medical education credentials. In order to add to or change information in OASIS, you must have both your USMLE/ECFMG Identification Number and a password. If you do not have a password, you may obtain one by accessing (OASIS) and following the instructions for establishing a new account. OASIS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the exception of maintenance periods.
Upon a properly authenticated request via postal mail, ECFMG will provide User access to personal information that cannot be otherwise accessed through OASIS, such as credit card information, social security or national identification numbers, which User may then change or update. To request access to your personal information, you may write to us at the address listed below in "Inquiries and Concerns."
6) Links to and from ECFMG
This Site may contain links to other Internet web sites. However, ECFMG does not endorse, and is not responsible for, the privacy practices or the content of these web sites.
7) Inquiries and Concerns
The foregoing Policy is effective as of April 4, 2003. ECFMG reserves the right to change this Policy at any time by notifying Users of the existence and location of the new or revised Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the Site after notice of a change shall constitute your acceptance of any such changes to this Policy.
If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you may contact us at webmaster@ecfmg.org. If you would like to review and/or change your personal information, you may do so on-line (please see Item 5 of this Policy) or you may contact us at:
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
3624 Market Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-2685
USA
Phone: (215) 386-5900
Fax: (215) 386-9196
Email: info@ecfmg.org