Website privacy policy
This website is operated by The Doctor’s Method Ltd. We take your privacy very seriously, therefore we urge you to read this policy very carefully, because it contains important information about the following: who we are; how and why we collect, store, use and share personal information; your rights in relation to your personal information; and how to contact us and/or supervisory authorities in the event that you have a complaint.
Who we are
The Doctor’s Method Ltd (‘we’ or ‘us’) collect, use and are responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so, we are regulated under the General Data protection Regulations, which apply across the European Union (including the United Kingdom), and we are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. Our clinic is notified with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).
The personal information we collect and use
a) Personal information you provide to us
We collect the following personal data:
Identity information: name, date of birth, title, gender, online identifier
Contact Information: telephone numbers, email address and postal address
Financial information: this could include bank details and credit card details
Personnel files in relation to employment and recruitment
Information supplied in the medical questionnaire about a person’s general health and dental and medical history, which could affect suitability for treatment or be used to recommend a treatment – this is a special category of personal data, classed as sensitive and therefore requires extra steps to be taken to ensure it is adequately protected
Video captured by the CCTV security system installed at our premises
Technical information such as cookies, IP address, website usage, browser type and version, time zone setting and location
Profile information, including your username, your password, purchases or orders made by you, your interests and preferences, and any feedback and survey responses
Marketing & communications information: these are your preferences for receiving marketing from us and our third parties, and method of communication preferences
Any data we request that is not required will be specified as voluntary or optional
Some examples of when we collect this information include:
When you visit our website
When you communicate with us via telephone, email or social media
When you interact with our emails
When you request more information from us
When you arrange an appointment
When you fill in medical forms on the website or in clinic
When you visit our clinic to attend consultations
When you fill in feedback forms or complete patient surveys
When you make a payment
b) Sensitive personal information
For the purposes of consultation and treatment and to ensure your safety and to meet standards of care, we need to collect health data, which is classed as sensitive information. You may be asked to provide details that impact potential treatments and products being advised. This includes information regarding medications, medical and dental history, allergies, lifestyle factors, previous medical/surgical treatments and ongoing concerns. We will usually ask for your consent to collect or process this data.
With the exception of health data, we do not collect any other sensitive personal information about you (this includes details about religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, genetic or biometric data, criminal convictions and offences).
c) Personal information you provide about third parties
If you give us information about another person, you confirm that the other person has appointed you to act on their behalf and agreed that you shall:
consent on their behalf to the processing of their personal data;
receive any data protection notices on their behalf;
consent on their behalf to the transfer of their personal data abroad; and
consent on their behalf to the processing of their sensitive personal data.
d) Cookies and similar technologies
A cookie is a small text file which is placed onto your computer or electronic device when you access our website. Similar technologies include web beacons, action tags, local shared objects (‘flash cookies’) and single-pixel gifs. Such technologies can be used to track users’ actions and activities, and to store information about them. We use these cookies and/or similar technologies on this website.
For example, we may use cookies to monitor and/or collect the following information:
Gather visitor information
Enhance your experience using the website
Track visits to our website and patterns of use
This information helps us to build a profile of our users. Some of this information may be aggregated or statistical, which means that we will not be able to identify you individually. In addition, it should be noted that in some cases our cookies or similar technologies may be owned and controlled by third parties who will also collect personal information about you. On the first occasion that you use our site, we will ask whether you consent to our use of cookies. If you do not, cookies will not be used. Thereafter you can opt-out of using cookies at any time or you can set your browser not to accept cookies, and the websites below tell you how to remove cookies from your browser. However, some of our website features may not function as a result. For further information on cookies generally visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.
Third-Party Websites
This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or applications may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their use of personal data, therefore we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.
How we use your personal information
We collect information about our users for the following purposes:
To contact you regarding an enquiry or to book and appointment or to remind you of appointments
To provide you with further information regarding an enquiry so you can make an informed decision
To remind you by email to book follow-up appointments
With your consent, to send you promotional emails with special offers
To allow us to fulfil our contract with you to discuss your treatment options and provide care that meets your needs and to ensure the quality of the treatment we provide
For business performance analysis
To ensure we are speaking to the right person in order to detect and prevent fraud
To take payments or make refunds
To provide customer service and support
Who your information may be shared with
We may share your information with:
Doctors and other healthcare professionals who provide treatment to you at our clinic
Other healthcare professionals including your General Practitioner (GP) where we believe this is in your best interests and will improve your care. Let us know if you do not wish for us to share information with your GP
The hospital or other specialist medical or dental services we may need to refer you to for ongoing care
Dental and medical laboratories
Other persons who help us to provide healthcare products and services to you
Our legal and professional advisors
Fraud prevention agencies
Government bodies and agencies in the UK (Information Commissioner’s Office and Care Quality Commission)
Courts, to comply with legal requirements and administration of justice
In an emergency, to protect your vital interests
To protect the security of our business and other patients
With pharmaceutical companies or research bodies for scientific research
We may disclose personal data to third parties including organisations providing IT support systems and hosting in relation to the IT system where your information is stored, and service providers, for the purpose of storage of information and confidential destruction
Disclosure will take place on a “need-to-know” basis. Information will only be given to those individuals/organisations who need to have it in order to provide care to you. The recipient will only be given the information that they need to know for these purposes.
You are free at any time to withdraw your consent. We will advise you if the consequence of doing so means that we can no longer provide full healthcare services to you.
Marketing
We would like to send you information about products, services, offers, competitions and our business which may be of interest to you. Such information could be sent by post, email, telephone, text message or automated call. We will ask whether you would like us to send you marketing messages on the first occasion that you provide any relevant contact information (i.e. on purchase, signing up to a newsletter, entering a competition etc). If you do opt in to receive such marketing from us, you can opt out at any time (see ‘What rights do you have?’ below for further information). If you have any queries about how to opt out, or if you are receiving messages you do not want, you can contact us using the details provided below.
Whether personal information has to be provided by you, and if so why
The provision of the following information is required from you:
Name, address, date of birth, email address, telephone number, health information, bank account details
This is to enable us to do the following:
To provide with you appropriate medical and dental care for your individual needs
To avoid underage misuse of services and treatments
To contact you with regards to treatment enquiries or follow-up
For booking of consultation or treatment
We will inform you at the point of collecting information from you, whether you are required to provide the information to us.
How long your personal information will be kept
We will only keep your data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purpose for its collection, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
We keep your medical records, including medical images and treatment data, for 10 years after the date of your last visit to the clinic, or until you reach the age of 25 years – whichever is longer. At the end of the period, your data will either be securely disposed of or anonymised, so that it can be used in a non-identifiable way to help us improve our services.
Reasons we can collect and use your personal information
We rely on the following as the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal information:
Consent
When you consent to receiving emails about promotional offers when filling out an enquiry form
When you consent to us collecting sensitive personal data on a health questionnaire in order for us to decide how to best provide you with safe treatment and care to meet your health needs
To keep your records up-to-date
Contract
If you wish to book an appointment, we will require your payment details to secure a booking
Legal obligation
You will be required to provide proof of identity, where required by law
Gathering information as part of investigations by regulatory bodies or in relation to legal proceedings
To investigate complaints and data protection or clinical incidents
When you exercise you rights under data protection law and make requests
Legitimate interests
For good governance, accounting and auditing our clinical and business operations
For patient feedback surveys to improve quality of care
To contact you, using contact details you provided, with information regarding your enquiry
We may combine and anonymise data to identify trends to improve our services and business
For the purposed of security, to protect our website and premises from threats or attacks and to report any illegal activity
Vital interests
Where processing medical data is required to protect a person’s life, or the life of another person but the individual is unable to give consent
Public task
Provision of direct care and related administrative purposes e.g. referrals to hospitals or other specialist care providers
For safeguarding and other legal duties
Keeping your information secure
We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised 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 authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We will also use technological and organisation measures to keep your information secure.
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.
Transfers of your information out of the EEA
We will not transfer your personal information outside of the EEA at any time.
Children and the validity of consent
Where we obtain consent from any user, we will take reasonable steps to ascertain whether the user is over 13 years of age and whether the child is sufficiently informed to give valid consent. If the user is not, parental consent will be required to provide consent for the processing of any personal information.
What rights do you have?
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have a number of important rights free of charge. In summary, those include rights to:
fair processing of information and transparency over how we use your use personal information
access to your personal information and to certain other supplementary information that this Privacy Notice is already designed to address
require us to correct any mistakes in your information which we hold
require the erasure of personal information concerning you in certain situations
receive the personal information concerning you which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to a third party in certain situations
object, at any time, to processing of personal information concerning you for direct marketing
object to decisions being taken by automated means, which produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you
object in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal information
otherwise restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
claim compensation for damages caused by our breach of any data protection laws
For further information on each of those rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the Guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individual’s rights under the General Data Protection Regulations (http://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gd pr/individual-rights/)
If you would like to exercise any of these rights please:
email, call or write to us
let us have enough information to identify you
let us have proof of your identity (a copy of your driving license, passport or a recent credit card/utility bill)
let us know the information to which your request relates
From time to time, we may also have other methods to unsubscribe (opt-out) from any direct marketing, including for example, unsubscribe buttons or web links. If these are offered, please note that there may be some period after selecting to unsubscribe in which marketing may still be received while your request is being processed.
How to complain
We hope that we can resolve any query or concern you raise about our use of your information.
The General Data Protection Regulation also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the European Union (or European Economic Area) state where you work, normally live or where any alleged infringement of data protection laws occurred. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ or telephone: 0303 123 1113.
Changes to the privacy policy
This privacy policy was created on 21/07/2020. We may change this privacy policy from time to time. You should check this policy occasionally to ensure you are aware of the most recent version that will apply each time you access this website. We will also attempt to notify users of any changes by email if you have opted into newsletters or by notice on our website.
Contacting us
If you have any questions about this policy or the information we hold about you, please contact us by:
Email: info@thedoctorsmethod.com
Post: 58 Salusbury Road, London, NW6 6NP