Website Policies

The American Optometric Association is the leading authority on quality care and an advocate for our nation's health, representing doctors of optometry (O.D.), optometric professionals and optometry students. Our mission is to advocate for the profession and serve optometrists in meeting the eye care needs of the public through education, training, tools, and resources.

To assist us in achieving our mission, we collect and process certain information you provide us. We work hard to be good stewards of your information. This Privacy Policy is meant to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, and how you can update, manage, export, and delete your information.

This policy applies to your use of AOA’s website, Optometry’s Meeting registration system, AOA EyeLearn online learning platform, and any other AOA owned, managed or operated websites and online services.  The policy also describes how AOA processes information from AOA members through the AOA membership signup and renewal process. Finally, this policy describes how AOA complies with the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and equivalent state laws. By visiting this website or maintaining a membership or customer relationship with the AOA, you are accepting the practices described in this privacy policy.

AOA operates or manages websites for certain AOA related organizations, AOA-affiliated state optometry associations (“Affiliates”), and other optometric organizations. This policy applies to your use of all such sites. All references to the “AOA” in this policy also apply to the owners of those sites for the purpose of your use of the sites.

You may contact us about this Privacy Policy: 
Via postal address:
243 North Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, Missouri 63141

By web: Click here to contact the AOA
By telephone: 800-365-2219
By facsimile: 314-991-4101

Anonymous and Aggregated Web Traffic Information

For each visitor to our web site, our web server automatically recognizes only the user’s Internet protocol (IP) address. We collect the IP address of visitors to our web site, aggregate information on what pages users access or visit, user-specific.

information on what pages users access or visit, and information volunteered by users, including from surveys, purchases, contact and update forms, login data, and/or registrations. We also may collect the e-mail addresses of those who communicate with us via e-mail. General traffic, site usage, browser information, length- of-stay information, and location data, is collected and stored in log files. This type of information is collected and shared on an anonymous, aggregated basis meaning that we do not connect this information to your name or other personal information.

Personal Information (non-financial)

We collect all or some of the following personal information: first, middle and last name, date of birth, gender, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone number, email address, and subject of inquiry, in the following contexts:

AOA Member Customized Website: To use our members-only resources and personalization features on the website, we provide a unique user ID and password for members to sign up for online access. AOA’s web server tracks domain names and IP addresses (not the individual e-mail addresses) of members entering the members-only area, but only for purposes of measuring the general number of visits, pages visited, average time spent on the site, etc. As an AOA member, when you personalize the website, the website retains the preferences you select so that you will not have to reenter the information each time you access our website. You can access your profile by entering your username and password each time you use the website. When you’re logged in, we can see your member ID and your IP address.

Registration: If you register to participate in an AOA event, program, or promotion using online or paper registration forms, we collect and store your name, address, phone number, email address, and any additional information you voluntarily provide on the registration form.

Attendance at Sponsored Events

Information about you may be shared with AOA corporate supporters or other sponsors when you attend a sponsored event at an AOA meeting, including but not limited to, lunch symposia, sponsored continuing education, or social events that are explicitly sponsored by a corporate supporter.  This information may include your name and contact information that you provided when registering (either by entering the information or because the information was part of your AOA profile). 

If you do not wish for personal information to be shared with a sponsor, you are advised to refrain from attending sponsored events where your attendee badge is required to be scanned, or sponsored events for which an extra registration is required (e.g. it is an optional event, and you must select attendance during registration for the overall meeting.  The fact of corporate sponsorship will be disclosed during registration and/or at the entrance to the meeting (where badges are scanned). 

See additional information about sponsored events in the “ What we do with the information we collect” section below.

Meeting and Lodging Reservations: When you book a meeting or lodging reservation through our website, personally identifiable information is provided to a third-party site.

We may ask you to provide us with emergency contact information, i.e., the names and contact information of third parties who you would like us to contact in case of an emergency. Please be sure to inform your emergency contact that this information is being submitted to AOA and that if they have any questions about our Privacy Policy, they should either visit our website or contact us. AOA also collects general demographic information on registrants, as well as ADA and dietary needs information.

AOA operates or manages websites for certain AOA related organizations, AOA-affiliated state optometry associations (“Affiliates”), and other optometric organizations. This policy applies to your use of all such sites. All references to the “AOA” in this policy also apply to the owners of those sites for the purpose of your use of the sites.

Education Credit Tracking. If you elect to participate, AOA will track your participation in AOA in-person and online education events. Participants will have the option to have their participation reported to third parties, e.g. for maintenance of licensure. Aggregated or anonymized individual education participation data may be used by AOA to evaluate its education programs, or for other purposes consistent with its mission.

Career Center If you choose to participate in an AOA-run job board or career center as a job seeker or employer, information you provide will be made available to employers or job seekers as needed to connect job seekers with positions. Aggregated or anonymized career center / job board data may be used by AOA to evaluate its employment-related programs, or for other purposes consistent with its mission.

Membership Application: If you apply to become an AOA member, using online or paper application forms, we collect and store information including but not limited to your name, address, phone number, email address, NPI number, employment information, license information, and any additional information you voluntarily provide on the application form.

Requests: We collect information volunteered by users, including from surveys or requests via "Contact AOA." We also may collect email addresses of those who communicate with us via email.

Online Products/Programs: We may collect some contact information you’re explicitly asked to provide in connection with certain AOA online learning products or programs. That covers items including but not limited to EyeLearn, Marketplace, and Para-Certification.

Financial Information

When you place an order online with us, register for a conference,educational course or event, pay your dues electronically, make PAC contributions, or donate to the Foundation through a third-party site, standard credit card information (card number, card type, expiration date, etc.) is collected through a third-party payer who is compliant with Payment Card Industry data security standards. The third-party payer provides us with, and we store, a masked credit-card number and other information provided during the transaction, which is retained for purposes of issuing applicable refunds.

Protected Health Information

The AOA does not collect "protected health information" as defined by the regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) via the website. Health information you may share via AOA.org is neither private nor confidential and should be shared, if at all, only in accordance with applicable laws. The AOA is not a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Text Messaging

From time to time, AOA or its subsidiary or managed organizations may offer you the opportunity to sign up for text messages, or invite you to contact it via text message, for example in order to receive current and future communications via text message. If you contact AOA via text in response to one of these messages, AOA will contact you via an initial text, which will provide instructions for opt out.  Text communications will comply with the requirements of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act as well as state law equivalents, where applicable.

Legal Basis for Processing

We process your information for the legitimate interest of communicating with members, meeting attendees, and other users about, and to provide access to, top- quality education and science via AOA’s in-person conferences and online learning programs, tools for practice management and patient education, publications, and other products and services pertinent to AOA’s mission. The AOA exists for the benefit of its members and through the support of its members, to do the things collectively that would be nearly-if not completely impossible to do individually. Processing your information for the purposes described is necessary for us to do what we do and it’s in both of our interests. When we use your information based on our legitimate interests, we conduct a balancing test based on the legitimate interest, necessity of processing your information, and how such processing impacts you.

Events and Meetings

When you provide information relating to a meeting or lodging reservation, we use this information to process and book your registration and/or reservation and to notify you of your registration/registration status. When you provide personally identifiable information about other people for whom you may be booking reservations, we use this information only to register and/or reserve the room with the hotel.

We provide information about lodging reserved through our web site to the suppliers who will fulfill your lodging reservation. As such, we have not placed limitations on these suppliers from using or disclosing your information without your permission.

Therefore, we encourage you to review the information privacy policies of any lodging suppliers whose products or services you may reserve on our web site. In addition, these travel suppliers may also contact you as necessary to obtain additional information about your confirmed reservation.

Personal information of meetings attendees is provided to certain meal and other event sponsors in order to allow them to comply with the Physician Payments Sunshine Act or similar regulations.

Names and mailing addresses of Optometry’s Meeting® registrants are provided to Optometry’s Meeting® exhibitors in order to allow exhibitors to promote their participation in Optometry’s Meeting® immediately prior to and following a meeting. Exhibitors are permitted to send bulk email communications to meeting attendees by utilizing the services of AOA’s official bulk email vendor.

Certain Sponsored Events

In some special cases, AOA may share additional information about meeting registrants or attendees with meeting or event sponsors as part of a sponsorship contract.  This additional information may include, but is not limited to, email addresses.  In such cases, this use of your personal data will be disclosed during the event registration process and/or on site outside the event space, and you will have the option to choose not to register for or attend the specific event, If you have concerns about this specific policy, please contact the AOA prior to registering for or attending such an event. 

Anonymous Information

Anonymous web traffic information is used to better understand how visitors use the AOA website and make improvements.

New Product or Service Promotion and Awareness

The AOA, its subsidiaries, and its affiliates may use your contact information to alert you to new information, products and services, events, and other opportunities. Please be advised that from time to time, we may also make your contact information available to other reputable organizations whose products or services we think you might find interesting. Notwithstanding the preceding statement, with respect to your e-mail address, we have instituted stringent reviews and opt-out capabilities to ensure that you do not receive unwanted e-mail from the AOA.

As we continue to develop our business, we may buy or sell businesses or assets. In such transactions, confidential customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets. In the event of a transaction involving the sale of some or all of AOA’s businesses, customer and site visitor information may be one of the transferred assets.

Find a Doctor

We disclose contact information to the public that you provide if you participate in the Find a Doctor directory. This directory includes US doctors only.

Vendors

The AOA works with trusted vendors in the following categories to help fulfill our mission and process your information for the purposes described: publisher, conference registration manager, payment processor, bulk email and postal mail communication managers, conferences app developer, online learning manger, syllabi, abstract, and presentation managers, online communities’ manager, volunteer management provider, and survey provider.

You may be asked by AOA vendors to consent to their processing of your information and that processing will be subject to their privacy policy. A particular AOA subsidiary or affiliate may have certain privacy policies different than noted here, which may be indicated on its own website

Other

We’ll ask for your consent before using your information for a purpose that extends beyond what you may reasonably expect from a medical specialty society and that has a more significant privacy impact.

If you have any questions or concerns with us processing your information for this legitimate interest, please contact us using the contact information above.

AOA members should note that in addition to information collected through our website, the above-referenced policies also apply to information we collect via other, non-electronic means, including, but not limited to paper correspondence and oral conveyances. This includes various types of personally identifying information you provide to us including your name, telephone number(s), addresses, third party or emergency contact names and information, credit card numbers or other payment information. The policies listed herein apply to all such information submitted to AOA. Please continue to check our website for any changes to our policies as such changes will only be posted on our website, even if the changes affect use of non-electronically submitted information. If you have any additional questions,  please do not hesitate to contact us.

As part of offering and providing customizable and personalized services, we use cookies and other online tracking technologies to store and sometimes track information about you to:

• Provide you with personalized content based on your use of our website and status as a member
• Enable you to use our website more easily by remembering and using contact information, purchasing information, and registration information
• Evaluate, monitor, and analyze the use of our site and its traffic patterns to help improve our website and services

The types of technologies we use include:

Cookies

A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies enable us to identify your browser as a unique user. Cookies may involve the transmission of information from us to you and from you to us. Cookies may also be used by another party on our behalf to transfer information to us in accordance with their privacy policy. Some cookies are "persistent cookies." They are used by us each time you access our website. Other cookies are called "session cookies." Session cookies are used only during a specific browsing session.

You may disable browser cookies in your browser or set your browser to warn you when a cookie is being sent. You may lose some features or functionality when you disable cookies. If you disable cookies, you may not be able to access certain protected member information. Remember, also, that disabling cookies is browser specific. Disable cookies in one browser does not affect other browsers.

If you are a registered user of the AOA’s website, an AOA member, or attendee, you can review, correct, and change your personal information and your communication preferences by logging into the website and visiting your account profile page.

You may also call us at: (800) 365-2219 or send us a message under the "Contact Us" option on our website to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information that you have provided to us. Please note, we may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect.

AOA vendors, as described in this policy, who you engage with directly, will provide information on reviewing, correcting, or changing your personal information or communication preferences.

You may have heard about “Do Not Track” (DNT), which is a privacy preference that users can set in their web browsers. Our website does not support DNT codes, however, except in the case of cookies used for analytics and remarketing. Our website limits tracking to the internal uses described above and does not track your use across multiple websites. Although, we cannot speak for other third-party websites you may link to from our website. Please review their privacy policies to understand how you may be tracked.

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or used or accessed in an unauthorized way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorized manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

We keep your information only so long as we need it to provide the service you’ve requested of us (including membership, meeting attendance, publication subscription, etc.) and fulfill the purposes described in this policy. When we no longer need to use your information for the purpose for which it was originally collected. and there is no need for us to keep it to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations, we’ll either remove it from our systems or depersonalize it so that we can't identify you. AOA vendors, as described in this policy, may have different retention periods for your information, which you should discuss directly with the applicable vendor.

If you are under 18 years of age, you may not purchase products or services from, and you should not provide information to, the website without the involvement of a parent or guardian. We do not collect online contact information without prior parental consent or parental notification, including an opportunity for the parent to prevent use of the information and participation in the activity. We do not knowingly solicit personal information online from, or market online to, children under the age of 13.

This Privacy Policy includes information applicable to European Union (“EU”) residents or users accessing the website in the EU. If you are an EU resident, this Privacy Policy provides you with information regarding your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

Transfer of Personal Data

The AOA and our websites are based in the United States and, regardless of where you access the website, the information collected as part of that use will be transferred to and maintained on servers located in the United States. The European Commission has determined that the US lacks an adequate level of protection for personal information of EU data subjects. The AOA is not currently certified under the Privacy Shield. By consenting to the use of cookies on this page, you are consenting to the transfer of your personal data to the U.S.

Although there is risk in transmitting your information to a country that does not have adequate protection, the AOA does take steps to secure your personal data.

Your Choices

The GDPR provides you with certain privacy rights. If you wish to access or update your personal information, contact us at the address or number above. You may also request to have your information deleted, although we may retain information for backups, prevention of fraud and abuse, satisfaction of legal obligations or other ongoing legitimate interests. You may decline to share certain personal data; in which case we may not be able to provide you with some features and benefits.

Right to Object

If you are an EU resident, you have the right to object to our processing that is based on legitimate interests by contacting us at the address or number above.

Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you are an EU resident and you believe that AOA has infringed your rights under the GDPR, please contact us by sending message to us under the "Contact Us" option on our webpage or calling AOA at: (800) 365-2219.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in your applicable Member State.

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits our website visitors who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send a message to AOA under the "Contact Us" option on our website. Please make sure to state that you are a California Resident.

The AOA website contains information, communications, software, photos, graphics and other materials collectively known as "Content." This Content is posted for the benefit of the general public and AOA members.

Unless otherwise indicated, the AOA (or in the case of web sites owned by other entities but managed by the AOA, those other entities) reserves full title and ownership of all Content. Such Content is protected by copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual and proprietary rights.

The Content is provided "as is" and without warranties of any kind, to the fullest extent permissible by applicable law.

No representations are made about the suitability of this Content for any purpose. Nor will the AOA, its employees, contractors, officers, and directors be liable for any damages or injury that may result from the use of the website or its Content.

All Content is made available subject to the following terms and conditions:

• Content (one copy only) may be used and/or downloaded for personal, non-commercial, lawful purposes.
• Further transmission or distribution without written consent is prohibited. Content may not be modified or altered in any way.
• Users may not delete or change any copyright or trademark notice.
• Content, including names, trademarks, service marks, and logos may not be used in any advertising or publicity without prior express written permission.
• The content does not, and may not be used to, indicate endorsement of, or affiliation with, any product or service.

We may change this policy from time to time and if we do, we’ll post any changes on this page. If you continue to use our website or maintain your relationship with AOA after those changes are in effect, AOA will assume that you agree to the new policy. If the changes are significant, we may provide a more prominent notice or get your consent, as required by law.