Patient Privacy and Informed Consent

ScienceOpen strives to protect the privacy of patients and research participants by ensuring that their personal information and data are handled responsibly and with due regard for their rights and autonomy. The ScienceOpen Patient Privacy and Informed Consent Policy seeks to ensure that participants have provided informed consent for their data to be used in research publications.

1. Definition of terms

• Patient: A person receiving medical treatment or participating in a clinical trial.
• Research participant: A person participating in a research study, including but not limited to clinical trials, surveys, and interviews.
• Personal information: Any data that can be used to identify an individual, including but not limited to name, address, email, telephone number, medical record number, and social security number.

2. Informed consent: Authors submitting research articles must confirm that the research was conducted in accordance with relevant ethical standards and that informed consent was obtained from all research participants. This includes the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information and data. The consent form must clearly state the purpose of the research, how the data will be used, and any risks or benefits associated with participation.
3. Protection of personal information: Authors must take reasonable steps to protect the personal information and data of research participants. This includes implementing appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, or use of personal information.
4. De-identification of personal information: Authors must de-identify personal information and data to the extent possible before publishing research articles. Any personal information that cannot be de-identified must be removed from the article or masked in a way that ensures the privacy of the research participant.
5. Retention and disposal of personal information: Authors must retain personal information and data only for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. At the end of the retention period, authors must dispose of personal information and data securely.
6. Disclosure of personal information: Authors must disclose the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information and data in a transparent manner. Any third-party access or disclosure of personal information and data must be disclosed to the research participants and authorized by them.
7. Compliance with laws and regulations: Authors must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to data protection laws, privacy laws, and regulations related to the conduct of research involving human subjects.

Non-compliance with this policy may result in the rejection of the manuscript, retraction of a preprint or article publication, and other disciplinary action as deemed appropriate by the publisher. This policy will be reviewed periodically and updated as necessary to reflect changes in laws and regulations or best practices.