Privacy

IMS has a longstanding commitment to healthcare information protection - in more than 100 countries around the world.

A global information solutions provider, IMS is an international leader in health information stewardship, including privacy and data protection. We firmly believe that patient health information used wisely and responsibly advances worldwide medicine and results in real value for healthcare communities. Also, we strongly believe that this information, by its nature, can be highly sensitive to an individual and that privacy must be preserved and protected.

Our business model is to provide objective, authoritative information to the national and international healthcare markets. As a company, we are patient privacy and data protection advocates, and since our founding 50 years ago, IMS has pioneered commercial practices to de-identify individual patients and sensitive data. This is a key component of our core competency in privacy. IMS has privacy officers in the United States, Europe, Canada/Latin America, Japan and Asia Pacific to ensure the leadership necessary to manage this information in a manner that balances a range of societal values, including the promotion of improved healthcare and individual privacy.

IMS Japan Privacy Policy

IMS Japan K.K. (hereinafter "IMS"), as part of a global corporation providing consulting services and database services in the health care and pharmaceutical fields, adopts the following Privacy Policy, aware that protecting Personal Information is an important management responsibility.

1. Governing law
   Personal Information is defined as any information that may be used to identify an individual, such as name, address, telephone number, and email address. This Privacy Policy, including the definition of terms and their interpretation, is governed by the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (hereinafter "Personal Information Protection Act").
2. Collection of Personal Information
   IMS will collect Personal Information by fair and lawful means.
3. Purposes for use
   IMS stores and uses Personal Information for the following purposes.
   1. Provision of consulting services and database services in the health care and pharmaceutical industry.
   2. Marketing and sales of IMS products and services, contract management, client training, and handling of inquiries.
   3. Written and oral surveys on drug utilization and information provision activities for proper use of pharmaceutical products.
   4. Contacts and information exchange with business clients and the media.
   5. Market research by means of questionnaires and interviews, and related remuneration sending.
   6. Questionnaires for improving the quality of products and services and for surveying customer satisfaction.
   7. Announcements and information provision regarding seminars, conferences, presentations and other marketing events.
   8. Hiring of IMS officers and employees, employment management, organization management, benefit programs and other human resource functions
   9. Other incidental duties related to the above.
4. Assurance of accuracy
   IMS will take all reasonable measures to maintain the most current and accurate Personal Information for achieving the purposes of its use.
5. Security administration
   IMS will take appropriate security measures to protect Personal Information against unauthorized access, tampering, leakage, loss or disappearance.
6. Supervision of employees
   IMS will perform appropriate education and instruction of employees for the sake of protecting Personal Information.
7. Supervision of subcontractors
   IMS may outsource to subcontractors operations that include handling of Personal Information. IMS will carry out appropriate education and instruction of subcontractors as well as concluding appropriate contracts and exercising supervision.
8. Provision to third parties
   IMS will not disclose or provide Personal Information to a third party except in the following cases.
   1. With the consent of the individual
   2. In accord with the exclusions in Article 16 Paragraph (3) of the Personal Information Protection Act
      Note: Even when disclosure or provision is made to a third party with the consent of the individual, the obligation of appropriate management of the Personal Information will be carried out through such means as conclusion of a confidentiality agreement with the third party.
9. Joint use
   1. IMS is a user of the membership-based medical database provided by Nihon Ultmarc Inc., which makes joint use of the following Personal Information acquired by IMS.
      
      1. Items of Personal Information included in the data compiled on nationwide hospitals, general clinics, geriatric health services facilities, welfare facilities, public health centers and other health care facilities and on their physicians (physician's name and gender; name, address and phone number of facility where affiliated; area of practice, department, position and title; home address and telephone number; year of graduation and school; birth date and prefecture; year passed national exam for medical practitioners; private practice or hospital-based; year started practice; academic society and medical association membership).
      2. Items of Personal Information included in the data compiled on pharmacists in nationwide hospitals (pharmacist's name and gender; name, address and phone number of facility where employed; department, position and title; home address and telephone number; year of graduation and school; birth date and prefecture).
      3. Items of Personal Information included in the data compiled on sales and distribution of pharmaceutical products at nationwide pharmacies, first-class and second-class drug sellers, distributors, etc. (name, address and telephone number of pharmacy or drug store, type of store and name of proprietor (or representative), name of supervising pharmacist).
   2. The users of the medical database are health care-related companies that are Nihon Ultmarc Inc. members, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmaceutical wholesalers, and medical equipment manufacturers, and market research firms.
   3. The medical database is used for the following purposes as specified by Nihon Ultmarc Inc.
      1. Emergency safety information, product document revisions and other information provision.
      2. Provision, collection and study of information on proper use of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, etc.
      3. Monitoring where pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, etc. are used, and provision of contact network.
      4. Provision, collection and study of health care information and scientific information in the fields of medical and pharmaceutical science.
      5. Provision, collection and study of information for assisting with setting up a practice and with business management.
      6. Provision, collection and study of information for assisting with the use of information technology in the health care field.
      7. Surveys on utilization of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, etc., and of user needs.
      8. Supporting epidemiological studies, research, and development in the fields of medical and pharmaceutical science.
      9. Certification and management of facilities, doctors, dentists and pharmacists in the area of health care consultation.
      10. Member authentication and member management on Internet sites for doctors, dentists and pharmacists.
      11. Other incidental duties related to the above.
10. Disclosure, modification, and termination of use, etc.
    If you would like to request the disclosure or modification of Personal Information, or the termination of its use due to the violation by IMS of Article 16 or 17 of the Personal Information Protection Act, please send such requests by postal mail to the contact address indicated below. Upon confirming the identity of the requestor, IMS will take appropriate actions promptly. Note that a handling fee will be charged for such requests. Go here for contact and fee details.
11. On-going improvement
    IMS continually endeavors to improve our Personal Information protection practices. When changes are made to this privacy policy, the updated policy will be made public by reasonable means.
12. Inquiries
    If you would like IMS to suspend provision of your Personal Information to a third party, please send your request to the contact address below by postal mail. Note that we cannot accept your request via telephone, fax, email, or in person.
    
    Please direct all other questions or requests regarding this privacy policy to the following contact.
    
    Hiroshi Shiomi
    Chief Privacy Officer
    Dept: Management Quality
    IMS Japan K.K.
    Toranomon Towers Office
    4-1-28 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001