This Privacy Policy describes how and when we collect, use, and share information when you attend an appointment at our clinic, purchase a product from us, contact us, or otherwise use our services.  This is to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018.

Information we Collect

To aid your treatment or as part of purchasing something from our clinic you will normally provide me with certain information, such as:

• your name
• date of birth
• gender
• postal address
• telephone number
• email address
• occupation
• GP information
• medical information
• health insurance schemes
• payment information
• how you heard about us

We will store your information on an electronic patient record and diary system which is encrypted and fully password protected. For this we use a third-party hosting service where your information is stored on a UK data centre managed by iomart.

Why we Need Your Information and How we Use It

We rely on a number of legal bases to collect, use, and share your information, including:

• where it is necessary for the purposes of the provision of health care as needed to provide our services, such as when we use your information to fulfil your podiatry assessment and treatment, or to provide customer support;
• when you have provided your affirmative consent, which you may revoke at any time, such as consenting to part of our mailing list;
• if necessary to comply with a legal obligation or court order or in connection with a legal claim, such as retaining information about your purchases if required by tax law;

Marketing

From time to time we may wish to send you direct marketing material which may include product offers and newsletters. If you are happy for us to do this please indicate in what form you would like to receive this information, is is carried out at your initial assessment and you have the rights to change this at any time.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

Information about our patients/customers is important to our business. We share your personal information for very limited reasons and in limited circumstances, as follows:

• Medical professionals.  With your consent we will share information with medical professionals such as your GP or consultant to allow continuity of care.
• Business transfers. If I sell or merge my business, I may disclose your information as part of that transaction, only to the extent permitted by law and with your knowledge.
• Compliance with laws. We may collect, use, retain, and share your information if we am legally required to.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to provide you with our services and as described in our Privacy Policy. However, we may also be required to retain this information to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. The retention of podiatry records is normally a minimum of 8 years, after the last appointment. However, for some patients retention of podiatry records may be longer due to medical history or for children. For customers who are not patients but may have bought products from our business we will keep any data you may have provided for a minimum of 6 years in line with tax legislation. 

Your Rights

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. While some of these rights apply generally, certain rights apply only in certain limited cases. I describe these rights below:

• Access. You have the right to access and receive a copy of the personal information we hold about you by contacting us using the contact information below.
• Change, restrict, delete. You may also have rights to change, restrict our use of, or delete your personal information. In the case of health records these are normally exempt from change and deletion requests.     
• Object. You can object to (i) our processing of some of your information based on my legitimate interests and (ii) receiving marketing messages from us after providing your express consent to receive them. In such cases, we will delete your personal information unless we have compelling and legitimate grounds to continue using that information or if it is needed for legal reasons.
• Complain. If you wish to raise a concern about our use of your information (and without prejudice to any other rights you may have), you have the right to do so with the Information Commissioner www.ico.org.uk 

How to Contact us

For purposes of the GDPR, I, Sarah Walker, am the data controller of your personal information. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact me on info@featherstonepodiatryclinic.co.uk. Alternately, you may call me at 07887964111.