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Privacy Notice - Effective date: September 5, 2026 · Version [1.0]

How MDTrials handles personal and health information.

This notice applies to the mdtrials.ca website and to the business activities of the entities named below. MDTrials is a commercial brand used by two separate legal entities under common ownership: MDTrials CRO services are provided by Conduct Research Inc., and MDTrials Sites services are provided by Searich Enterprises Inc. Each entity is accountable for the personal information it collects, uses and discloses. Where this notice says ‘we’ or ‘MDTrials’, it means the entity providing the service in question.

Protecting Participant Information by Design

Clinical research involves sensitive personal and health information. MDTrials treats privacy as part of study conduct, not as a website formality.

Our public website is intended for business, sponsor, investigator and clinic enquiries. It is not designed to collect patient medical records, diagnoses, medication histories, laboratory results or other personal health information.

Please do not submit personal health information through the MDTrials website, general email addresses or business enquiry forms.

 

If you are participating in, or interested in, a clinical trial, use the study-specific contact information provided by the investigator site or research team.

What We Collect Through This Website

When you contact us through a business enquiry form, we collect only what we need in order to respond:

  • your name;
  • professional email address;
  • organization;
  •  telephone number, if you provide one; 
  • the nature of your business, sponsor, CRO, investigator or clinic enquiry; and 
  • any information you choose to include in your message.

We ask that you do not include patient names, dates of birth, medical records, diagnoses, treatment information or other health information in these forms.

Under Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act, an organization may collect personal information only for purposes that are reasonable, and only to the extent reasonably necessary for those purposes. We apply that standard to every field we ask you to complete.

Cookies, Analytics and Website Technologies

Required. The live site already displays a cookie banner. Complete the bracketed items against what is actually deployed — do not publish a generic description that does not match the implementation.

 

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small files placed on your device that allow the site to function and help us understand how it is used.

 

We use: strictly necessary cookies, which are required for the site to operate; and analytics cookies, which help us understand which pages are visited and how visitors navigate the site — confirm and name the analytics tool deployed.

 

We do not use advertising, remarketing or cross-site tracking cookies. 

 

You can accept or decline non-essential cookies using the banner shown when you first visit, and you can change your choice at any time. You can also block or delete cookies through your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work as intended if you do.

 

Our website is hosted on shared hosting account and we use Google Search Console / other tools to monitor site performance. These providers may process limited technical information such as IP address, browser type and pages visited.

How We Use Information You Provide

We use business enquiry information to:

  • respond to your enquiry;
  • provide information about our services;
  • assess whether we are an appropriate partner for your programme, site or clinic; 
  • maintain a record of business correspondence; and 
  • meet our legal, regulatory and contractual obligations.

We do not sell personal information. We do not use information from business enquiries for unrelated purposes, and we do not add enquiry contacts to marketing lists without a clear indication that you want to hear from us.

Clinical-Trial Participant Information Is Handled Differently

Where MDTrials CRO or MDTrials Sites is engaged in a clinical trial, participant information may be handled as part of our assigned study responsibilities. That activity does not occur under this website privacy process.

 

Depending on the study and our role, participant information may be handled by the investigator site, the sponsor, a CRO, a laboratory or another authorized service provider, under:

  • the approved clinical-trial protocol;
  • informed consent provided by the participant;
  • research-ethics approval; 
  • applicable Canadian and provincial privacy requirements; 
  • the clinical-trial agreement and any related data-processing or service agreements; and 
  • documented study procedures and access controls.

Canadian clinical trials require research-ethics review and informed consent. If you are a participant, the informed consent document you signed explains how your information is collected, used, protected and retained for that specific study, and who to contact about it. That document governs, not this notice.

We Do Not Use Patient Information for Marketing

Participant or patient health information obtained through clinical research is not used for marketing, advertising or unrelated business-development purposes.

 

Information collected for one purpose is not repurposed for an unrelated purpose without an appropriate legal basis or consent.

We Minimize Access to Identifiable Information

Where participant information is involved in research activities, access is limited according to the person's assigned role and the requirements of the study.

 

Where feasible, research information used outside the investigator site's direct clinical record is coded, pseudonymized or otherwise handled in a way that limits unnecessary exposure of directly identifying information.

 

Our operating principle is simple: access only what is required to perform the assigned research responsibility. Clinical information is not collected ‘just in case’, copied unnecessarily between systems, or made available to personnel who do not need it for their role.

Service Providers and Where Information Is Held

We use a small number of service providers to operate our website and business systems, including website hosting, form processing, email, and analytics — list categories. These providers process information only on our instructions and under agreements requiring appropriate confidentiality and security.

 

Clinical-trial data handling, including data location, is governed by the applicable protocol, clinical-trial agreement and data-processing arrangements for that study, not by this section.

How Long We Keep Information 

We keep business enquiry information only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected for, and to meet our legal, regulatory and contractual obligations.

 

As a general guide, business enquiry correspondence is retained for [period — suggest 24 months] from the last contact, unless it forms part of a contract, proposal or engagement record, in which case it is retained under our business record retention requirements.

 

Clinical-trial records are retained for the periods required by applicable regulations, the protocol and the clinical-trial agreement, which are typically considerably longer.

Safeguards and Incident Response

We apply safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we hold, including role-based access controls, secure transmission and storage, confidentiality obligations on personnel and service providers, and defined procedures for handling a suspected privacy incident.

 

If a privacy breach occurs that creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify affected individuals and the relevant regulator as required by applicable law, and we will take steps to contain the incident and prevent recurrence.

Website Enquiries Are Not a Clinical Communication Channel

Please do not use the MDTrials website or general business email addresses to:

  • send medical records;
  • report symptoms or adverse events;
  • ask for medical advice; 
  • provide laboratory or diagnostic results; 
  • send photographs containing health information;
  • discuss an identifiable participant's study status; or
  • request changes to your medical care.

If you are currently participating in a clinical trial, contact the investigator or study team identified on your informed consent form. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, contact your local emergency services.

Your Rights

Subject to applicable law and to limited exceptions, you may:

  • ask what personal information we hold about you;
  • ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
  • withdraw consent to our use of your information, where our use relies on consent; and 
  • ask how your information has been used or disclosed.

To make a request, contact our Privacy Officer using the details below. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

 

If you are a clinical trial participant asking about your study information, please contact the investigator site or the contact named on your informed consent form. That organization is usually the custodian of the record and is best placed to respond.

Which Privacy Laws Apply

The privacy rules that apply to a given activity depend on the information involved, the jurisdiction and the role being performed. Depending on the activity, applicable requirements may include:

  • Alberta Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) — which applies to provincially regulated private-sector organizations in Alberta.
  • Alberta Health Information Act (HIA) — which applies where health information is under the custody or control of a health-information custodian and where MDTrials personnel or services act within an applicable affiliate or service relationship.
  • Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) — which applies in certain federal, interprovincial and commercial circumstances.

We determine the applicable requirements by reference to the actual activity. We do not assume that every privacy statute applies simultaneously to every study or interaction.

Privacy Officer and Contact

Privacy Officer

privacy@mdtrials.ca

 Alberta, Canada

 

If your enquiry concerns information held by an investigator clinic or healthcare provider, you may need to contact that organization directly, as it may be the custodian responsible for the information.

Third-Party Links and Changes to This Notice

Our website may link to other organizations' websites. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices, and we encourage you to review their privacy notices.

 

We may update this notice from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised. Material changes will be identified on this page.

Closing Notice

Do not submit personal health information through this website.

 

If your enquiry concerns a particular clinical trial or participant, please use the study-specific contact route provided by the investigator site or sponsor.

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