Align Privacy Policy
Privacy Notice
(Why we collect your personal data and what we do with it)
When you supply your personal details to this clinic they are stored and processed for 4 reasons (the bits in bold are the relevant terms used in the Data protection Act 2018, which includes the General Data Protection Regulation- i.e. the law):
1. We need to collect personal information about your health in order to provide you with the best possible treatment. Your requesting treatment and our agreement to provide that care constitutes a contract. You can, of course, refuse to provide the information, but if you were to do that we would not be able to provide treatment.
2. We have a ‘Legitimate Interest’ in collection that information, because without it we couldn’t do our job effectively and safely.
3. We also think that it is important that we can contact you in order to confirm your appointments with us or to update you on matters related to your medical care. This again constitutes ‘Legitimate Interest’, but this time is your legitimate interest.
4. Provided we have your consent, we may occasionally send you general health information in the form of articles, advice or newsletters. You may withdraw this consent at any time – just let us know by any convenient method.
We have a legal obligation to retain your records for 8 years after your most recent appointment (or age 25, if this is longer), but after this period you can ask us to delete your records if you wish. Otherwise, we will retain your digital records indefinitely in order that we can provide you with the best possible care should you need to see us at some future date.
Your records are stored on paper, in locked filing cabinets, and the offices are always locked and alarmed out of working hours.
Electronically (‘in the cloud’) using a specialist medical records service. This provider has given us their assurances that they are fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations. Access to this data is password protected, and the passwords are changed regularly.
On our office computers. These are password-protected, backed up regularly, and the office(s) are locked and alarmed out of working hours.
We will never share your data with anyone who does not need access without your written consent. Only the following people/companies will have routine access to your data:
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Cliniko practice management software who store and process our digital files
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Onedrive cloud storage software who are GDPR compliant and all sensitive data on the Onedrive is password protected.
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Your practitioner(s) in order that they can provide you with treatment
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Our reception team, because they organise our practitioners’ diaries, and coordinate appointments and reminders (but they do not have access to your medical history or sensitive personal information)
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Other admin team, such as our practice manager. Again our admin team only have access as is necessary to help manage your plan of care.
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We also use Mailchimp to coordinate our emails, so your name and email address may be saved on their server so long as you give consent.
From time to time, we may have to employ consultants to perform tasks which might give them access to your personal data (but not your medical notes). We will ensure that they are fully aware that they must treat that information as confidential, and we will ensure that they sign a non-disclosure agreement.
You have the right to see what personal data of your we hold, and you can also ask us to correct any factual errors. Provided the legal minimum period has elapsed, you can also ask us to erase your records.
We want you to be absolutely confident that we are treating your personal data responsibly, and that we are doing everything we can to make sure that the only people who can access that data have a genuine need to do so.
Of course, if you feel that we are mishandling your personal data in some way, you have the right to complain. Complaints need to be sent to what is referred to in the jargon as the ‘Data Controller’. Here are the details you need for that:
Attn: Practice Manager
Apex Chiropractic Ltd
01273 870 010
2A Southview Road
Southwick, West Sussex
BN42 4TU
If you are not satisfied with our response, then you have the right to raise the matter with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Rescheduling Policy & Missed Appointments
Our success depends largely on you attending your appointments, so thank you for not standing us up. Missed appointments incur a £25 fee. Please kindly note, if you need to reschedule a specific visit you just need to give us 24 hours’ notice.
Reactivation Policy
If we haven’t seen you in over 6 months from your last treatment, we are required to do a re-exam so we can diagnose what’s going on and give you the best treatment for your individual needs. Re-activations take an hour to complete and as such the price with treatment included is £50.