Privacy Policy
International Board of Emergency Medicine (IBEM)
Effective Date: October 25, 2026 Last Updated: October 12, 2026
1 Introduction
The International Board of Emergency Medicine (IBEM) is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of the personal information entrusted to us by website visitors, examination candidates, applicants, medical professionals, and other individuals who interact with our services.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit our website, https://ibem.org/, register for examinations, submit an application, schedule or participate in an examination, or communicate with us.
By accessing our website or using our services, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy. Where applicable law requires consent for specific processing activities, we will obtain that consent separately.
2 Scope of This Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected through:
- The official IBEM website and its contact forms.
- Candidate registration and application portals.
- Eligibility verification and examination scheduling systems.
- Online examination and assessment platforms.
- Identity verification and remote examination proctoring services.
- Email communications, technical support, and administrative interactions.
3 Personal Information We Collect
IBEM may collect the following categories of personal information.
3.1 Identification and Contact Information
- Full name and date of birth.
- Email address and telephone number.
- Mailing address and country of residence.
- Government-issued identification details, where required.
- Professional identification or registration numbers, where applicable.
3.2 Professional and Eligibility Information
- Medical qualifications, degrees, and educational credentials.
- Medical licences, registrations, and professional certifications.
- Supporting documents submitted for eligibility verification.
- Application status, eligibility decisions, and related correspondence.
3.3 Examination and Assessment Information
- Examination applications and scheduled appointments.
- Examination responses, scores, results, and completion status.
- Examination attempts, timestamps, and activity logs.
- Technical issues, interruptions, and incident reports.
- Administrative reviews, examination irregularities, and related decisions.
IBEM may process this information to administer examinations, evaluate eligibility, maintain assessment integrity, and manage certification-related activities.
3.4 Identity Verification and Remote Proctoring Information
Where an examination uses identity verification or remote proctoring, the system may collect, subject to the applicable service configuration and permissions:
- Photographs or images used for identity verification.
- Webcam video and microphone audio.
- Examination session recordings.
- Screen activity, screen recordings, or examination-related browser activity.
- System checks, device information, and technical diagnostics.
- Examination environment verification and room-scan footage.
- Proctor observations, incident flags, and examination integrity reports.
These data may be used to verify candidate identity, monitor compliance with examination rules, investigate suspected misconduct, and support examination review or appeals.
Proctoring and recording will be implemented in accordance with applicable law and the notices provided to candidates. Candidates will be informed of applicable recording and monitoring requirements before the relevant examination activity.
3.5 Payment and Transaction Information
Where examination or application fees are collected, IBEM may process:
- Payment amount and transaction reference.
- Payment date, status, and refund information.
- Billing details and invoice information.
- Records necessary to reconcile payments and administer financial transactions.
Payments may be processed through third-party payment service providers. IBEM does not intend to store full payment card numbers or card security codes on its own systems. Payment providers may process such information under their own terms and privacy policies.
3.6 Technical and Website Usage Information
When you visit our website or use our online systems, certain information may be collected automatically, including:
- Internet Protocol (IP) address.
- Browser type, operating system, and device information.
- Login timestamps and session information.
- Pages visited and interactions with website features.
- Cookies and similar technologies, where used.
- Security logs and diagnostic information.
This information helps us maintain website functionality, troubleshoot technical problems, and protect our systems against unauthorized access.
3.7 Communications and Support Information
We may collect your name, contact details, messages, attachments, and other information you provide when contacting IBEM for application assistance, examination support, technical troubleshooting, complaints, or other inquiries.
4 How We Use Personal Information
IBEM may use personal information for the following purposes:
- Website administration: To operate, maintain, and improve our website and online services.
- Application processing: To receive applications, verify submitted information, and determine eligibility.
- Examination administration: To schedule examinations, authenticate candidates, deliver assessments, and communicate examination instructions.
- Assessment and certification: To evaluate examination performance, maintain results, administer certification-related processes, and respond to appeals.
- Examination security: To identify and investigate suspected misconduct, unauthorized assistance, impersonation, or violations of examination rules.
- Payment administration: To process or reconcile fees, issue invoices, administer refunds, and maintain financial records.
- Communication: To send application updates, scheduling confirmations, examination notifications, results, policy updates, and support responses.
- Technical support: To diagnose and resolve website, account, payment, or examination-related issues.
- Security and fraud prevention: To protect candidate accounts, prevent unauthorized access, and maintain the integrity of our services.
- Legal and regulatory compliance: To meet applicable legal obligations and respond to valid legal requests.
- Service improvement: To assess system performance, improve user experience, and evaluate the effectiveness of our examination processes, using aggregated or de-identified information where appropriate.
IBEM will not use personal information for purposes materially incompatible with the purposes described in this Policy without an appropriate legal basis or any additional consent required by law.
5 Legal Basis for Processing
Where applicable data protection laws require a legal basis for processing personal information, IBEM will rely on one or more of the following, as appropriate:
- Consent: Where you have provided consent for a specific activity.
- Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to provide a requested service or administer an agreement.
- Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for legitimate administrative, operational, security, or examination-integrity purposes and those interests are not overridden by your rights.
- Legal obligations: Where processing is required by applicable law.
- Other lawful grounds: Where permitted under applicable data protection legislation.
6 Disclosure and Sharing of Personal Information
IBEM may share personal information with the following categories of recipients, where necessary and legally permitted.
6.1 Authorized IBEM Personnel
Authorized personnel, administrators, reviewers, and examination officials may access relevant information to perform their assigned responsibilities.
6.2 Technology and Hosting Providers
Website hosting providers, software developers, cloud infrastructure providers, database administrators, and technical support providers may process information when providing services to IBEM.
6.3 Examination and Proctoring Providers
Third-party examination platforms, identity verification services, and remote proctoring providers may process candidate and examination information to deliver and secure assessments.
6.4 Payment and Financial Service Providers
Payment gateways, banks, accounting service providers, and financial administrators may receive the information necessary to process transactions, reconcile payments, and meet financial obligations.
6.5 Professional, Academic, or Regulatory Entities
Where appropriate and legally permitted, IBEM may share relevant information with authorized educational institutions, professional bodies, credential-verification organizations, or regulatory authorities for eligibility verification, examination administration, certification verification, or other legitimate purposes.
6.6 Legal and Governmental Authorities
IBEM may disclose information when required by law, court order, or valid legal process, or when reasonably necessary to protect the rights, safety, property, or security of IBEM, candidates, or other individuals.
6.7 Business Transfers
If IBEM undergoes a merger, restructuring, transfer of operations, or similar organizational transaction, relevant personal information may be transferred subject to appropriate confidentiality protections and applicable law.
IBEM does not authorize service providers to use personal information entrusted to them for unrelated purposes. Appropriate contractual and organizational safeguards should be maintained with providers that process information on IBEM's behalf.
7 International Data Transfers
IBEM may use technology providers or examination services located in countries other than the country in which a candidate resides. Consequently, personal information may be processed or stored across national borders.
Where international transfers occur, IBEM will take steps required by applicable law to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, which may include contractual protections, transfer mechanisms, or other legally recognized safeguards.
Candidates should review any additional notices provided by relevant third-party examination or proctoring providers.
8 Data Retention
IBEM retains personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, subject to applicable legal, regulatory, contractual, and operational requirements.
Retention periods may vary depending on the nature of the information and may include:
- Application records: For the period required to process applications, verify eligibility, and address related inquiries.
- Examination records and results: For the period necessary to administer assessments, maintain official records, verify results, and address appeals or disputes.
- Identity verification and proctoring recordings: For the period necessary to review examination integrity, resolve incidents, process appeals, and satisfy applicable requirements.
- Payment and billing records: For the period required for accounting, tax, audit, and legal compliance.
- Website logs and support records: For a reasonable period necessary to maintain security, troubleshoot problems, and respond to requests.
Where information is no longer required, IBEM will take reasonable steps to delete, securely destroy, or anonymize it, unless retention is required or permitted by law.
Specific retention periods should be established and documented by IBEM for each category of information and its examination service providers.
10 Information Security
IBEM is committed to taking reasonable technical, administrative, and organizational measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, misuse, or destruction.
Depending on the systems and services involved, safeguards may include:
- Access controls and role-based permissions.
- Secure authentication and password management.
- Encryption in transit and, where appropriate, at rest.
- System monitoring, backups, and security logging.
- Restricted access to examination records and recordings.
- Vendor oversight and confidentiality obligations.
- Security reviews and incident-response procedures.
No website, electronic transmission, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. While IBEM will take reasonable steps to protect information, absolute security cannot be guaranteed.
If a personal data breach occurs, IBEM will assess the incident and take appropriate remedial and notification measures in accordance with applicable law.
11 Your Privacy Rights
Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the right to:
- Request access to personal information held about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Request deletion of personal information, where legally permitted.
- Request restriction of certain processing activities.
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests, where applicable.
- Request a copy of certain information in a portable format, where applicable.
- Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.
- Lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority.
- Request information about applicable international data transfers.
These rights are subject to legal limitations and verification requirements. For example, IBEM may need to retain examination results, financial records, or evidence relating to an examination-integrity investigation where legally justified.
To exercise your rights, contact IBEM using the contact details provided in Section 15. We may request reasonable information to verify your identity before processing a request.
12 Third-Party Websites and Services
The IBEM website may contain links to third-party websites, payment services, examination systems, or other external platforms.
Those services may operate under their own privacy policies, security practices, and terms of use. IBEM does not control the privacy practices of independent third parties and encourages users to review the applicable policies before submitting personal information to them.
Where third-party services process information on IBEM's behalf, IBEM will seek appropriate safeguards consistent with applicable law.
13 Automated Processing and Examination Integrity
Certain examination or proctoring systems may use automated tools to identify unusual activity, technical irregularities, or potential violations of examination rules.
Where such tools are used, their outputs may be reviewed by authorized personnel as part of an examination-integrity process. An automated alert should not, by itself, be treated as conclusive evidence of misconduct unless the applicable examination rules and review procedures expressly provide otherwise and such treatment is legally permissible.
Where applicable law grants rights concerning solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects, IBEM will address those rights in accordance with the law.
14 Changes to This Privacy Policy
IBEM may revise this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in its services, technology, operational practices, or legal requirements.
The updated version will be published on https://ibem.org/ with a revised “Last Updated” date. Where required by applicable law, IBEM will provide additional notice or obtain consent before implementing material changes.
Users are encouraged to review this Policy periodically.
15 Contact Information
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or have concerns regarding the handling of your personal information, please contact IBEM using the details below.
International Board of Emergency Medicine (IBEM)
Website: https://ibem.org/
Email: info@ibem.com
Please include “Privacy Policy Request” in the subject line of your email to help us direct your inquiry appropriately.