Personal Data

To treat you, we require relevant, detailed medical information.  This information may include your and your family’s medical histories, other issues affecting your health, referral correspondence and a case history of your treatment at the Practice.  It is a requirement for your treatment that you allow us to do this.  Your medical information is only shared with those involved in your treatment.   

Your contact details (eg name, date of birth, address, email and telephone numbers) are required to identify you, administer and update you regarding your treatment and remind you of appointments.  We use online appointment scheduling software.  Only your contact details are stored in its database.  This service has its own privacy policy.  If you do not wish to use this service, you may book and administer your appointments with us by telephone.  Using your contact details only (not your sensitive personal information), we may use other third-party services (eg virtual receptionists or bookkeepers) or software to administer your treatment and our Practice, undertake clinical audits or statistical analysis or to get feedback regarding our service.   

We may also use your contact details to respond to your enquiries and email you general health information in the form of articles, advice, offers or updates to promote Osteopathy and the Practice.  We may occasionally promote other practitioners and services based at the Practice (who we may not employ and are responsible for their own privacy obligations) but we will not sell or broker your data.  In contacting the Practice, you consent to us having this dialogue with you, but we will also ask for your consent when you first attend for treatment and you can withdraw that consent at any time and ask us to remove you from our marketing database.   

Our website and online appointment scheduling service may use cookies which is software that the website stores on the visitor’s device and gathers information from the visitor’s browser each time the visitor returns.  This may include tracking the IP address of the visitor and certain access preferences.  Website visitors who do not wish to have cookies placed on their device should set their browsers to refuse cookies before using the sites. 

Basis for Processing Your Data

We have a legal basis to process your data to provide you with treatment (the contract between us) and because you have given us your consent.  We also have a legitimate interest to process your data to provide this service and to promote treatments for all types of health problems including back pain and neck pain, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, sciatica, headaches, sports injuries and other degenerative conditions.   

Consent

By agreeing to this Privacy Notice, you are consenting to us processing your personal data for the reasons given above.  You can withdraw your consent to us using that data for marketing purposes at any time.  

Disclosure

We will only disclose your personal information if compelled to do so to meet legal obligations or regulatory requirements.  We may also do so if we need to detect or prevent harm to the rights, property or safety of patients or staff.  We will not pass your personal information to a third party except another healthcare professional (eg if you are referred elsewhere or attend another practice) or to your insurance company or legal representative.  We would only do this with your consent. 

Retention

We will process your data during your treatment and have a legal obligation to store your information for at least eight years after the date of your last appointment or until the age of 25, if you are under the age of 16 at the time of treatment.  After this time and when we no longer require your information, it will be securely destroyed.   

Data Storage

Your medical information is kept on paper and stored securely at the Practice.  We do not store computerised data on servers outside of the UK or other EEA countries, except where Privacy Shield agreements are in place. 

Your Rights

You have the right to: 

  • Access (you can ask us for the information we have) 

  • Correction (you can ask us to correct any inaccuracies or incomplete data) 

  • Be Forgotten (in certain circumstances, we can will erase certain information regarding you) 

  • Restrict Processing (where certain conditions apply) 

  • Portability (you can ask us to transfer the data to someone else) 

  • Object (you can opt out of certain types of processing eg marketing, automated processing or profiling) 

What Information You Can Request

You can request the following information 

  • Who at the Practice is responsible for your data 

  • Why we process the information and the basis for doing so 

  • What information we have collected, stored and processed 

  • Who the information has come from (if not you) 

  • Who we have disclosed that information to 

  • How long we have stored the information for 

  • Your rights as above 

  • How you can withdraw your consent 

  • How to complain 

To access your information, we will require you to complete an Access Request Form and provide identification (details on the Access Request Form).  Further information may be required before data can be released.  We will process your request within 30 calendar days. 

Complaints

If you wish to complain about how we process and handle your data, you have the right to do so.  If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the ICO.  Details for each of these contacts are: 

Patricia Bishop 

Flitwick Osteopathic Clinic 

Room 16, The Rufus Centre 

Steppingley Road 

Flitwick 

MK45 1AH 

Tel: 01525 712204

ICO Registration Number: ZA335537 

 

Information Commissioner's Office 

Wycliffe House 

Water Lane 

Wilmslow 

Cheshire 

SK9 5AF 

Tel: 0303 123 1113 

 

email via https://ico.org.uk/concerns/