OpenCircle Benefits Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

OpenCircle Benefit Services (formerly known as Mercon Benefit Services) takes your privacy seriously. We comply with provincial and federal privacy laws where applicable, and we have implemented this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our commitment to you and your privacy. This Privacy Policy applies to all our customers and users of our website and mobile application MyBenefitsConnect.

Personal Information is information about you that identifies you as an individual: for example, your name, address, email address, telephone number, or information concerning your benefits and entitlement to benefits. 

We do not automatically gather any Personal Information from you. This information is only obtained if you supply it voluntarily, by contacting us via e-mail, an online form, or through a portal on this website. We do not collect any Personal Information that is not expressly provided to us. 

Personal Information you share with us will be stored on cloud-based servers, through our hosting service provider, Microsoft Azure, California.

We will retain your Personal Information only for so long as is necessary to provide our services or comply with applicable provincial or federal laws.  

OpenCircle Benefit Services will not disclose your Personal Information to any third party without your consent, except when necessary to deliver a requested service or where required or authorized by this Policy, or applicable provincial or federal law. If it becomes necessary to use or disclose your Personal Information for purposes not contemplated at the time it is collected by us, or not authorized by applicable provincial or federal privacy laws, we will seek your ongoing consent at the relevant time.

Your personal information may be used by OpenCircle Benefit Services for the purposes identified at the time of collection, for the purpose of managing and administering benefits, if you are a customer of our services, and for the purpose of providing services to you. 

We may share contact information within our corporate group, including with our parent company, as may be necessary for the purpose of providing or coordinating services or benefits for you. Your personal information is not accessed or used except as strictly required by our personnel for the identified purposes. 

The security of your Personal Information is of central importance to us. We have put into place reasonable and commercially acceptable technological and administrative procedures to safeguard and help prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, maintain data security, and correctly use the information we collect from you. While no technological system is completely secure in today’s digital environment, we believe the measures we have implemented reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of information involved. Any third parties involved in the storage and retention of your data will be required to implement security measures at least as stringent as those identified in this Privacy Policy.

To improve your experience on our site, we use cookies. A cookie is a small file that our site places on your computer as a tool to remember your preferences.

If you wish, you may change the settings on your browser to deny or disable cookies, or to warn you when a site is about to deposit cookies on your computer. Information on the website and functionality may be limited or incorrect if cookies are disabled.

Our website uses Google Analytics to collect information about how you use the website. We do this to help make sure the site is meeting the needs of our users and to make improvements. Analytics does not identify individual users or associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. 

For more information, you can view the Google Analytics privacy policy here: https://policies.google.com/?hl=en&gl=ca

Our other IT service providers may collect and share aggregate information (excluding any Personal Information) for the provision of technical support, maintenance and statistical information, analytic consulting services, reports and statistics to the research community and the health care community’s stakeholders (which includes insurers and governments).

Because this is aggregated non-identifiable information that is not linked to you, we do not consider this to be Personal Information, and we do not correlate or cross-reference to other personal information that we collect about you.

Although OpenCircle Benefit Services may provide links to third party sites or social media platforms, we are not responsible for the content that appears on those sites or their individual privacy policies. Social media accounts are public and not hosted on our servers. If you choose to interact with us via social media, please read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers.

Upon request, we will provide you with the information that we maintain about you, subject to any exemptions in applicable provincial or federal privacy legislation.

If we alter our Privacy Policy, any changes will be posted on this page so that you are always informed of any changes concerning the Personal Information we might collect about you, how we use it, and the circumstances under which we may disclose it.

By becoming a customer of OpenCircle Benefit Services, or using this website, you signify your acceptance of our Privacy Policy, and you agree to adhere to the terms and conditions found in this Privacy Policy. By submitting your Personal Information to OpenCircle Benefit Services, you agree that it will be governed by this Privacy Policy. 

MyBenefitsConnect Terms and Conditions

The GreenShield+TM website (https://www.greenshieldplus.ca/) and GreenShield+ web app and mobile app (together the “Platform”) are owned and administered by Green Shield Holdings Inc and provided to users through Green Shield Canada Insurance. In these terms and conditions “GreenShield”, “we”, “our”, or “us” means, collectively, Green Shield Canada Insurance, Green Shield Association, Green Shield Adjudication, Green Shield Holdings Inc., and all of their subsidiaries. Green Shield Holdings Inc. is the primary company that houses health services and benefits administration businesses, including, but not limited to, GreenShield Pharmacy, Green Shield Health Inc., and Green Shield Administration Inc. Green Shield Holdings Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the not-for-profit Green Shield Association.

‍The GreenShieldTM services available through or in association with this Platform (the “Services”) are available to people who have completed the GreenShield+ registration process and consented to the applicable Privacy Policy and these terms and conditions (“Member” or “you”). These terms and conditions constitute a legal agreement between you and us and, together with any documents and/or additional terms that are incorporated by reference (collectively, these “Terms”), govern your access to and use of the Platform, including any functionality and Services offered on or through the Platform.

‍BY USING THE PLATFORM OR THE SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE, AGREE, AND REPRESENT THAT YOU: (A) HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THESE TERMS; (B) AGREE TO BE BOUND BY AND TO COMPLY WITH THESE TERMS; AND (C) ARE AT LEAST 15 YEARS OLD. BY ACCESSING AND USING THE PLATFORM, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY AND COMPLY WITH THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE PLATFORM.

‍DO NOT USE THE PLATFORM FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES OR IF YOU ARE HAVING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS. IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY OR ARE CONTEMPLATING HARMING YOURSELF OR OTHERS, YOU SHOULD DISCONTINUE USING THE PLATFORM AND CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY OR ATTEND TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM OF THE NEAREST HOSPITAL OR HEALTH CENTRE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU ATTEMPT SELF-TREATMENT BASED ON ANY CONTENT (AS HEREAFTER DEFINED).

I authorize the use of my contact information provided on this platform and consent to OpenCircle Benefit Services (“OpenCircle Benefits”), OpenCircle Membership Services and Workforce Development Association (“OpenCircle”), and their partners using this information to communicate with me regarding their services, my participation under the Plan, or my membership with OpenCircle. 

(a) Access to the Platform. 

‍Platform access is available to a Member if they are (a) a client of GreenShield, an employee of a client of GreenShield or a plan member or dependant with coverage under a health and dental benefits plan insured or administered by GreenShield, (b) a resident of Canada and (c) 15 years of age or older. If for any reason we believe a Member is under the age of 15, we may request proof of age. If proof is not provided, all personal information about that individual may be deleted from our system and the membership of that person terminated.

‍We provide this Platform and the Services for use only by residents of Canada. It is not intended for use in any jurisdiction where its use is not permitted. No prescriptions, products or Services ordered through this Platform will be shipped or provided to those outside Canada.

‍The Platform is provided solely for the purposes set out in these Terms (the “Permitted Use”), including to: (a) help you gather information about the various Services offered by GreenShield through the Platform; (b) if and as permitted by GreenShield and these Terms, enable you to use the Platform and receive any Services offered to you through the Platform; (c) if applicable, facilitate any payments for your use of the Platform or the receipt of any Services through the Platform; and (d) if and as permitted by GreenShield and these Terms, provide feedback and otherwise communicate with us in connection with any Services.

‍By accessing or using this GS+ Platform: (a) you represent and warrant that you are doing so in accordance with the Permitted Uses; (b) you represent and warrant that you are not doing so for any commercial purpose, and no fee will be charged by any person for or related to your use. If you are accessing or using the GS+ Platform on behalf of any other person, then: (a) you also accept and agree to these Terms on behalf of that other person and you represent and warrant that you have the legal authority to do so; and (b) the term “you” in these Terms will refer both to you individually and to that other person.

‍GreenShield grants you a personal, revocable, non-exclusive and non-transferable license during the Term to use the Platform in accordance with these Terms. Subject to these Terms, you grant us a perpetual, transferrable, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid up, worldwide and fully sub-licensable license to access, collect, store and use any data, information, records and files that: (1) you load, or otherwise enter into the Platform, and (2) GreenShield or the Platform collects, retrieves or obtains from your local computer system or from third parties with your permission or on your behalf, and (in each case) including all results from processing such data (collectively, the “User Content”) including for the purpose of: (A) providing Services; (B) complying with applicable law; and, (C) complying with our audit and data retention policies.

(b) User Account.
You will be required to sign up for a user account (the “User Account”) and to create your own username and password login credentials (“User ID”) in order to use the Platform and receive Services. You will keep your User ID secure and will not share it with anyone else. We reserve the right to disable any User Account at any time in our sole discretion. If we disable access to your User Account, you may be prevented from accessing the Platform, the Content, your account details and/or any User Content. You agree to provide true, current, complete and accurate information as requested on any registration form to which the Platform may direct you, and to update that registration information as soon as possible after any information changes. We will not be liable for misdirected communications, including any notices under these Terms, where the information you provided is inaccurate or no longer valid. If we believe that some of our records are inaccurate, we may contact you to verify our records. We may cancel any account for which we have incomplete or inaccurate information. The Services are also available for use by children at the discretion of the Health Service Providers (defined below) or Support Staff (defined below), but the User Account and User ID for all patients under the age of 15 (“minors”) must be the User Account and User ID of the minor’s parent or legal guardian. If you register as the parent or legal guardian on behalf of a minor, you are fully responsible for your User Account’s compliance with these Terms.

(c) General Restrictions on Use.
You may use the Platform only to participate in the Services. You agree that you will not:

  • access or use any part of the GS+ Platform that is (expressly or implicitly) not intended for use by you;
  • use the Services for any unlawful purpose or in any way that interrupts, damages, impairs or renders the Services less efficient or inefficient;
  • take any action that imposes, or may impose, in our sole and absolute discretion, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the Platform, or attempt to impose any charges associated with bandwidth or data in using the Platform, the Services and the Content onto GreenShield;
  • penetrate or attempt to penetrate any security measures;
  • use the Services to transfer files that contain viruses, trojans, logic bombs, worms, corrupted data or other harmful programs or malicious software, or use any non-GreenShield automation code in relation to the GS+ Platform (including any “bot” or “spider”);
  • access, monitor, record or copy the accounts of other users of the Services, or any part of the Platform, the Services and the Content including, but not limited to, any sessions with Health Service Providers, using any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means or any manual process for any purpose without our express written permission;
  • misrepresent your identity in any way, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
  • conduct or promote any illegal activities or activities that are otherwise contrary to law;
  • deep link to any portion of the Platform for any purpose;
  • remove (or permit anyone else to remove) any watermarks, labels or other legal or proprietary notices included in the Platform, the Services and the Content;
  • upload, distribute or print anything that may be harmful to minors;
  • disseminate any content which is defamatory, false or inaccurate or becomes false or inaccurate at any time, obscene, indecent, seditious, offensive, pornographic, abusive, discriminatory, menacing, scandalous, inflammatory, in breach of confidence, in breach of privacy, or may have the effect of being harassing, threatening, or abusive to an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age or disability or otherwise;
  • stalk, harass, harm, threaten harm on, or verbally mistreat another individual, including any provider of Services (such as Health Service Providers);
  • post or transmit material for which you have not obtained all necessary licenses and/or approvals, which constitutes or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, gives rise to civil liability, or otherwise be contrary to the law or infringe the rights of any third party;
  • advertise or promote third party or your own products or services;
  • generate spam, unsolicited e-mail advertisements, junk mail, chain letters, or otherwise duplicative messages;
  • engage in any conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Services;
  • license, sell, rent, lease, transfer, assign, distribute, host, outsource, disclose or otherwise commercially exploit the Services or make the Services available to any unauthorized third party;
  • use the Platform, the Services or the Content as part of any service for sharing, lending or multi-person use, or for the purpose of any other institution, except as specifically permitted by us and only in the exact manner specified and enabled by us;
  • modify, make derivative works of, disassemble, reverse compile or reverse engineer any part of the Platform or Services; or
  • access the Services in order to build a similar or competitive product or service.

You will refrain from doing anything which is fraudulent, negligent or which we believe to be disreputable or capable of damaging our reputation. You acknowledge that we have limited control over the nature and content of information transmitted or received by you or other users of the Platform and Services, including any content provided by Health Service Providers and pharmacists. Although we reserve the right to do so, we do not customarily monitor such content in the usual course of business and will not be liable for any such content. If you have a complaint about another user, a Health Service Provider, or a pharmacist please contact us at support@greenshield.ca.

GreenShield may, in its sole discretion, deny anyone access to the Platform or the Services at any time and for any reason, including for violation of these Terms. You will refrain from any such access immediately on our request.

(d) Security in the GreenShield Network

(i) Encryption.

‍Our GreenShield Platform and websites are secured through encryption. In addition, personal information forwarded to us through the Platform and our websites is also secured in transit using TLS encryption.

‍We recommend that you use the most up-to-date browser version with all of the applicable security patches installed.

(ii) Cookies.

‍Cookies are used by GreenShield to maintain security during a session, ensuring that each session is unique and authorized between you and GreenShield’s web-based systems. GreenShield also uses cookies to track Users interaction with the Platform, including pages visited, time spent on pages, and actions taken. This data is used for analytics purposes, such as understanding user behavior, improving user experience, and optimizing the product, and to suggest actions and services that might be useful to you. For more on our cookie practices, please see our Privacy Policy.

(e) Communications.
GreenShield implements privacy and technological practices and safeguards to protect your information and transactions against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and misuse, and to protect the confidentiality of your communications over our Platform. Although GreenShield generally adheres to accepted industry practices in securing the transmitting data to, from and through the Platform, you understand, agree and acknowledge that GreenShield cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted over the Internet or public networks in connection with your use of the Platform. You are responsible for ensuring that anyone who accesses GreenShield through your Wi-Fi or internet connection is aware of these Terms, and that they comply with them. Should someone access the Platform, Services and Content using your User Account information, we will rely on that information and will assume that it is you or your representative accessing the Platform. You are solely responsible for all use of your User Account information and all activities that arise in connection with your User Account. We reserve the right to take any action, as we deem necessary or reasonable, to ensure the security of our Platform and your User Account, including terminating your User Account, changing your password, or requesting additional information to authorize transactions on your User Account. You are responsible for any act or omission of any users that access the Platform, the Services and the Content under your User Account that, if undertaken by you, would be deemed a violation of these Terms. In no event and under no circumstances will we be liable to you for any liabilities or damages resulting from or arising out of: (i) any action or inaction of GreenShield under this provision; (ii) any compromise of the confidentiality of your User Account or password; or (iii) any unauthorized access to your User Account or use of your password. You may not use another’s User Account at any time, without the permission of the User Account holder. Please contact us immediately if you suspect or become aware of any unauthorized use of your username, password or User Account, or any other breach of security.

‍When engaging our Services, you may be sent text message(s), emails or push notifications which provide you information about our Services. We do not charge you for this correspondence, but, depending on your mobile plan, you could be charged your network provider’s standard rates for receiving these messages and standard wireless and data charges may apply to any emails or push notifications. By registering for a User Account, you agree to receive emails and push notifications about our Services. You warrant that you are the owner of the mobile telephone to which you have requested any message(s), emails and push notifications be sent and that you have full authority to authorize those charges and will be solely responsible for charges, if any, incurred through your network provider. We are not liable for any delays or failures in your receipt of any message(s), emails or push notifications as delivery is subject to effective transmission from your network provider and processing by your mobile telephone device. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate the messaging service without notice to you.

‍We may use certain chatbot features powered by artificial intelligence on the Platform (the “Chatbot”) to communicate automated responses and assist users with general inquiries. The Chatbot(s) provided on the Platform are for general information purposes only and may occasionally produce inaccurate, incomplete or outdated responses. Our Chatbot(s) do not provide professional advice of any kind, and you should not rely on its outputs for any decision-making. The performance of our Chatbot(s) may be affected by technical errors, network outages, or other system limitations. WE DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR ALL ERRORS, OMMISSIONS, OR DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OR RELIANCE ON OUR CHATBOT(S). Users are responsible for verifying the accuracy and appropriateness of any information provided.

(f) Use of Third-Party Offerings.
You may be able to access websites, content or services provided by third parties through links that are made available on the Platform. We refer to these websites, content, services and products as “Third Party Offerings”. We may permit third parties to advertise their products and services on the Platform, and those advertisements may contain links to the advertisers’ websites. As a service to Users, GreenShield may include links to other websites that we have no control over, and we make no endorsements or representations of any kind regarding those Third Party Offerings or those third-parties’ business practices, and you hereby irrevocably waive any claim against GreenShield with respect to such websites. If you decide to visit any Third Party Offerings, you do so at your own risk.

‍If you elect to use any Third Party Offerings, that use will be subject to any terms and conditions required by the applicable third party. You understand that we are not the provider of, and are not responsible for, any Third Party Offerings, and that these Terms do not grant you any rights to access, use or purchase any Third Party Offerings.

(g) Intellectual Property.
All information, guidance, recommendations or other content contained on or provided through the Platform (“Content”), including designs, infrastructure, software, artwork, video, music, sound, names, and marks displayed on the Platform are owned or licensed by GreenShield and are protected by copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights. All right, title and interest in the Platform, all materials provided by GreenShield in connection with the Platform and the Services, and any update, translation or derivative work thereof, and all intellectual property rights therein, remain the property of GreenShield (or our third-party suppliers, as applicable).

‍Except as set out in these Terms, your use of the Platform and Services does not grant you any rights with respect to the Content and intellectual property therein. The Content may not be copied or used without our prior written consent. Your misuse of the Content displayed on the Platform is prohibited. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we hereby grant you a royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable, non- sublicensable, limited license to use the Content for informational purposes only. Content is provided to you on an “as is” basis for your information and personal use only, and you may not, without our prior written consent, copy, publish, transmit, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, sell, license or otherwise exploit the Platform or the Content. You agree not to circumvent, disable or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Platform and the Services, or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on your use of the Platform, the Services or the Content.

The GreenShield privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) is available on the Platform and on the GreenShield+ website. The Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time. By agreeing to these Terms, you are also agreeing to the terms of the Privacy Policy, and you undertake to review those terms, as may be amended from time to time.

‍Other than personally identifiable information, which is covered under our Privacy Policy, any material you post, submit, publish, or transmit about the Services and through the Platform is considered nonconfidential and non-proprietary. You represent and warrant that such material complies with theseTerms, and you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless GreenShield and its affiliates and licensors for any breach of that representation and warranty. You understand that you, not GreenShield, are responsible for that material, including its legality, reliability, accuracy and appropriateness. GreenShield shall have no obligations with respect to such material. We and our designees may copy, disclose, distribute, sublicense, incorporate and otherwise use that material and all data, images, sounds, text and other things embodied therein for any commercial or non-commercial purposes, without compensation to you. If you provide us with ideas, thoughts, criticisms, suggested improvements or other feedback (collectively, “Feedback”), you agree that we may use the Feedback to modify our Services and Platform and that you will not be due any compensation. You grant to us a worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, perpetual, irrevocable and sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, translate, distribute, perform, display, import, sell, offer for sale, make, have made and otherwise exploit the Feedback in any form, media or technology, whether now known or hereafter developed, and to allow others to do the same. This is true whether you provide the Feedback on the website or through other methods of communication with us, unless we have entered into a separate agreement with you that provides otherwise.

Health data such as steps count, activity recognition, and heart rate may be collected when using the wellbeing functionalities on the mobile application. This information would be securely stored with your user data until requesting it to be deleted by contacting our support team. Further details on the specific health data tracked can be found in the apps permissions