Terms & Privacy

Effective date: April 19, 2026 | Last updated: April 19, 2026

Medical Disclaimer

In a medical emergency, call 911 (U.S.) or your local emergency number. Do not use this site for urgent medical concerns.

Do Not Enter Protected Health Information (PHI). iPouch.org is not a HIPAA-covered system. Do not include patient names, dates of birth, medical record numbers, or any other individually identifiable health information in contact forms or queries.

iPouch.org is an educational resource for the international pouch-surgery community. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations.

The information presented on this website, including AI-generated summaries, is derived from published peer-reviewed literature and consortium guidance and is intended for educational purposes only. This content:

Is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment
Should not be used to make clinical decisions without consulting a qualified healthcare provider
May contain errors, omissions, or outdated information
Reflects consortium materials and the published literature — not the opinions of any individual member, their institution, or Cleveland Clinic
Is based on U.S. medical standards and may not apply in your jurisdiction

If you are a patient experiencing symptoms, contact your healthcare provider immediately. For patient-facing pouch education, visit Pouchy.org.

Terms of Service

1. Service Description

iPouch.org is the international quality improvement initiative for ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) surgery — a non-commercial collaborative platform connecting colorectal surgeons, gastroenterologists, researchers, and patients worldwide. The service is provided as-is for educational use.

2. Membership

Consortium membership is offered to qualified clinicians and researchers via the signup form. By submitting the form, you agree to provide accurate professional information. Membership status is reviewed by consortium leadership.

3. Acceptable Use

You agree to use iPouch.org for lawful, non-commercial purposes. You may not:

Attempt to circumvent access controls
Use automated scripts to scrape content
Redistribute member-only materials outside the consortium
Use the service to make clinical decisions for patient care without independent verification
Submit protected health information (PHI) through any form or interface

4. No Warranty

The service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any information. Service availability may be interrupted without notice.

5. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, iPouch.org, its creators, member institutions, and affiliated entities shall not be liable for any damages arising from the use of this service, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages.

6. Changes

We may update these terms at any time. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. Material changes will be communicated via the registered email address of consortium members.

Privacy Policy

What We Collect

Membership form data — name, email address, professional role, institution, city/country (when you submit the signup form)
Contact form data — name, email, message content (when you submit the contact form)
Basic usage data — Cloudflare Web Analytics may record anonymous, aggregated performance data (page load times, browser type) with no personally identifiable information

What We Do NOT Collect

No passwords (no account login system)
No tracking cookies or third-party advertising analytics
No protected health information (PHI)
No patient health data
No browsing history beyond this site

Data Storage & Sharing

Form submissions are stored on Cloudflare's global network (D1 database) and processed in the United States. We do not sell, trade, or share your personal information with third parties. Member names and institutions may be listed publicly on the consortium site with your consent.

Your Rights Under GDPR (EU/EEA Users)

If you are a resident of the European Union or European Economic Area, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) grants you the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right to access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right to rectification — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten") — request deletion of your data
Right to restrict processing — request we pause processing of your data
Right to data portability — request an exportable copy of your data
Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interest
Right to withdraw consent — withdraw previously-given consent at any time
Right to lodge a complaint — with a supervisory authority in your EU member state

To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected] with the subject line "GDPR Request". We will respond within 30 days.

Legal Basis for Processing

Consent — for membership signup and email communication about consortium activities
Legitimate interest — for anonymous usage analytics via Cloudflare Web Analytics

Data Controller

The data controller for iPouch.org is Stefan D. Holubar, MD, MS, acting on behalf of the iPouch Consortium. Contact: [email protected].

Data Retention

Membership form submissions — retained for the duration of consortium membership; deleted within 30 days of withdrawal request
Contact form submissions — retained until the inquiry is resolved, then deleted within 30 days
Basic usage data — anonymized, retained up to 90 days for service monitoring

International Data Transfers

Our servers are located in the United States (Cloudflare D1 database). If you access this site from the EU/EEA, your data will be transferred to the US. Cloudflare participates in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and provides GDPR-aligned Standard Contractual Clauses as the transfer safeguard.

Cookies & Client-Side Storage

iPouch.org does not use tracking, advertising, or third-party analytics cookies. Cloudflare Web Analytics is cookieless. The site uses a small amount of sessionStorage to remember whether you have dismissed the patient disclaimer in the current browser session — this is strictly necessary UX state and does not identify you.

Data Breach Notification

In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach. If the breach is likely to result in a high risk, we will also notify affected consortium members directly via the email address on file.

Request Data Deletion / Withdrawal of Consent

You may withdraw consent or request deletion of your personal data at any time. To do so, use one of the following:

Request Data Deletion

We will confirm receipt within 7 days and complete deletion within 30 days, per GDPR Article 17. If we cannot fulfill the request (e.g., data no longer on file), we will explain why.

Contact

For questions about these policies or to request data deletion:

Stefan D. Holubar, MD, MS, FACS, FASCRS
Department of Colorectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic
[email protected]

iPouch.org is a non-commercial academic project. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with any pharmaceutical company or medical device manufacturer.