RDAS: Rare Disease Alert System Privacy and Security

This is a government resource provided by the National Institute of Health (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). Protecting your privacy is important to us. NCATS complies with the requirement for privacy and security established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This page outlines our privacy policy as it applies to our site, Rare Disease Alert System (RDAS).

RDAS will not collect your personal information unless you choose to explicitly provide it to us by registering and subscribing to our alerting services. In addition, we collect some data about your visit to our website to help us better understand the public use of the site and to make it more useful to visitors.

When you browse the RDAS website, certain information about your visit can be collected. NCATS automatically collects and temporarily stores the following type of information about your visit:

• Domain from which you access the Internet.
• IP address (an IP address is a number automatically assigned to a computer when surfing the Web).
• Operating system and information about the browser used when visiting the site.
• Date and time of your visit.
• Pages you visited.
• Address of the website that connected you to NCATS (such as google.com or bing.com).

NCATS uses this information to measure the number of visitors to our site and its various sections and to help make our site more useful to visitors.

This website uses Google Analytics measurement software to collect the information in the bulleted list under Types of Information Collected. Google Analytics collects information automatically and continuously. NCATS staff and contractors conduct analyses and report on the aggregated data from Google Analytics. The reports are only available to this website’s managers and other designated staff who require this information to perform their duties. NCATS retains the data from Google Analytics as long as needed to support the mission of this website.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo M-10-22, Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies allows federal agencies to use session and persistent cookies.

When you visit any website, its server may generate a piece of text known as a “cookie” to place on your computer. The cookie allows the server to “remember” specific information about your visit while you are connected.

The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of Web pages. Cookies from NCATS Web pages only collect information about your browser’s visit to the site; they do not collect personal information about you.

There are two types of cookies, single-session (temporary) and multi-session (persistent). Session cookies last only as long as your Web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.

Session Cookies: We use session cookies for technical purposes, such as to enable better navigation through our site. These cookies let our server know that you are continuing a visit to our site. The OMB memo 10-22 guidance defines use of session cookies as "Usage Tier 1—Single Session.” The policy says, “This tier encompasses any use of single session Web measurement and customization technologies.”

Persistent Cookies: We use persistent cookies to enable Google Analytics to differentiate between new and returning ncats.nih.gov visitors. Persistent cookies remain on your computer between visits to this website until they expire. The OMB memo 10-22 guidance defines use of persistent cookies as "Usage Tier 2—Multi-session without Personally Identifiable Information (PII).” The policy says, “This tier encompasses any use of multi-session Web measurement and customization technologies when no PII is collected.”

Opt-Out or Disable Cookies: If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them using your Web browser. If you opt out of cookies, you will still have access to all information and resources at ncats.nih.gov. Find instructions for disabling or opting out of cookies in the most popular browsers. Note: By following the instructions to opt out of cookies, you will disable cookies from all sources, not just those from ncats.nih.gov.

Please note that by visiting and registering an account via the RDAS website, you accept the practices described in this Privacy Notice and consent to our collection and use of your information described in this notice. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page, so you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

You do not have to give us personal information to visit or browse the NCATS RDAS website. However, should you choose to subscribe to this alerting service or provide information that identifies you through an email, form, or survey, we will maintain the information you provide as long as needed to respond to you.

NCATS does not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personal information about our visitors unless required for law enforcement or by statute. For further information about the NIH privacy policy, please contact the NIH Office of the Senior Official for Privacy or visit the NIH Privacy Program.

Privacy Act Officer
NIH Office of the Senior Official for Privacy (OSOP)
National Institutes of Health, Office of Management Assessment
6011 Executive Blvd., Suite 601, MSC 7669
Rockville, MD 20852

The U.S. federal government maintains this site. It is protected by various provisions of Title 18, U.S. Code. Violations of Title 18 are subject to criminal prosecution in federal court.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, we employ software programs to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload, change information, or otherwise cause damage. In the event of authorized law enforcement investigations and pursuant to any required legal process, information from these sources may be used to help identify an individual.

Third-party websites and applications are web-based technologies that are not exclusively operated or controlled by NCATS or NIH. NCATS may use these technologies and social media tools to communicate and interact with the public. The use of these applications could cause personally identifiable information (PII) to become available or accessible.

When a visitor accesses or follows an embedded link of a third-party site, you will be subject to the destination site’s privacy policy. Any information you choose to provide to third-party organizations through registration, posting, blogging, or other interactions is voluntarily contributed and is not collected by NCATS. Linking to a non-federal site does not constitute an endorsement by NCATS or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the site.

NCATS does not endorse or recommend any specific commercial products, processes, services, manufacturer, or company on its website. Further, the mention of products does not constitute HHS endorsement or recommendation by any HHS employees. Links with this icon: open_in_new indicate that you are leaving NCATS (website). The link will lead to a non-federal site but provide additional information that is consistent with the intended purpose of a federal site.

NCATS websites may provide links to other non-Federal Internet sites for informational purposes and the convenience of its users. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which includes NCATS, cannot attest to the accuracy of the information on a non-federal site. The information provided on the (NCATS website) is intended to be general summary information for the public. It is not the intent to take the place of either the written law or regulations.

When users select a link to an external website, they leave the NCATS website and are subject to the destination site’s privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the external site.

When visiting the NCATS (‘website’), your Web browser may produce pop-up advertisements. These advertisements most likely were produced by other websites you visited or third-party software installed on your computer. NCATS and the NIH do not endorse or recommend products or services for which you may view a pop-up advertisement on your computer screen while visiting this site.

If you have questions or concerns about the Rare Disease Alerting System (RDAS) website, please contact us at ncatsrdas@mail.nih.gov