Privacy Policy

We may collect and process the following data about you:

• 1. Information that you provide by filling in forms on our site www.TheArmDoc.co.uk. This includes information provided at the time of registering to use our site, subscribing to our service or requesting further services. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our site.
• 2. If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence.
• 3. We are very keen to evaluate the services we offer and to contribute to medical knowledge and current evidence. We may also ask you to complete surveys that we use for research purposes, although it is not obligatory to respond to them.
• 4. Details of your visits to our site including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs, operating system, browser usage and other communication data, whether this is required for our own billing purposes or otherwise and the resources that you access.

IP Addresses and Cookies

We may collect information about your computer, including where available your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information to our advertisers. This is statistical data about our users’ browsing actions and patterns and does not identify any individual, and we will not collect personal information in this way. We may obtain information about your general internet usage by using a cookie file that is stored on the hard drive of your computer. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. They help us to improve our site and to deliver a better and more personalised service. They enable us:

• To estimate our audience size and usage pattern.
• To store information about your preferences, and so allow us to customise our site according to your individual interests.
• To speed up your searches.
• To recognise you when you return to our site.

You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser, which allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. However, if you select this setting, you may be unable to access certain parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you log on to our site.

Where we store your personal data

The data that we collect from you may be transferred to and stored at a destination outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for one of our suppliers or for us. Such staff maybe engaged in, among other things, the fulfilment of your order, the processing of your payment details and the provision of support services. By submitting your personal data, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing.

We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy. All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. Any payment transactions will be encrypted. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password that enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Uses made of the information

We use information held about you in the following ways:

• To ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer.
• To provide you with information, products or services that you request from us or which we feel may interest you, where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes.
• To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.
• To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service when you choose to do so.
• To notify you about changes to our service.

We may also use your data or allow selected third parties to use your data to provide you with information about goods and services which may be of interest to you, and they or we may contact you about these by [post or telephone].

If you do not want us to use your data in this way or to pass your details on to third parties for marketing purposes, please tick the relevant box situated on the form on which we collect your data.

Disclosure of your information

We may disclose your personal information to third parties:

• In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.
• Suppose we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Your rights

You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us at info@TheArmDoc.co.uk

Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Access to information

The Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act.

Who we are?

The Arm Doc Clinic is an educational website for patients seeking musculoskeletal and orthopaedic healthcare services, which includes appointments for outpatient consulting and treatments, surgical services and diagnostic imaging services

What types of data do we collect and use?

In order for The Arm Doc and your clinician to provide your care and treatment we will collect certain types of personal and sensitive data about you. The personal data we might collect includes

• Personal details including your full name, title, date of birth and gender
• Your address and contact details, including email address and telephone numbers
• Emergency contact details and/or next of kin
• Your National Health Number
• Details about other clinicians involved in your care or referral, e.g. your GP or physiotherapist
• Financial information including your credit card or other bank details if you are responsible for the payment of all or part of the bills relating to your care
• Your Medical insurance details or information regarding other organizations responsible for funding your care

Where does this information come from?

The information, which is part of your medical record may be provided by either yourself, your GP, your referring clinician as well as by your consultant and any other health professionals involved in your care. Further information may also be provided by your insurer or others funding your treatment. We also collect information directly from you when you visit our website and patient portals, including from our clinical outcome system.

What legal basis does The Arm Doc Clinic have for storing and using my personal data?

Under the General Data Protection Regulations Article 6 (1) and Article 9 (2) we have the right to process your data in the following ways:

• To support the provision of high-quality treatment and clinical care appropriate to your needs
• To communicate with you regarding your clinical care with us and to resolve any queries, concerns or complaints you may have
• To communicate with other health professionals and referring clinicians regarding your care
• To undertake clinical audit and statistical analysis to monitor the standard of care provided and improve clinical performance
• In order to obtain payment for your treatment
• To comply with legal obligations

How will The Arm Doc use your personal data?

The personal data will be used for the following purposes

• To ensure you are receiving appropriate clinical care for your needs.
• Arranging appointments, investigations, scans, procedures and surgeries
• To respond to your queries and concerns
• Quality assurance through the evaluation of your treatment and outcomes
• Processing of invoices and payment of fees in connection with your account with us and / or your consultant
• Disclosure of details of your treatment with us to your referring physician or clinician or to another clinician for further treatment when required. If you would prefer us not to share this information, please notify us.

We will never market our services or pass on your information to a third party without your consent except in the circumstances in a section below.

Do I have to provide my personal information?

You are not obliged to share any information with us but limiting the information you do disclose may mean we are unable to offer a full range of services and therefore it may affect the service we can offer. We will seek explicit consent to collect and process your data where is it required under data protection law. You may withdraw your consent at any time.

Will my personal data that The Arm Doc holds be shared with others?

Under certain circumstances your data will be shared with others but we will only share such information as is appropriate and in the following situations 1. Sharing information with those involved in your health care. This would include:

◦ Consultants, anaesthetists, radiologists and other health professionals, such as physiotherapists
◦ External companies that provide our clinicians with services as part of your care pathway, such as blood tests, radiological imaging, archiving and reporting.
◦ Specialist companies that provide bespoke medical devices such as prostheses and these may be based outside of the European Union.
◦ Your GP and / or other referring clinician(s)
◦ Other members of staff such as administrators, receptionists and medical secretaries
◦ If we feel you are vulnerable or “at risk” we have an obligation to share information about you with the local Safeguarding Team, the specialist members of which come from the local authority, NHS organisations and the police
◦ Anyone you have asked us to communicate with or whose details you have provided as an emergency contact.

2. Sharing Information with those involved in the administration of your care such as

◦ Your private medical insurer or other organisation paying for your care
◦ Debt collection agencies If your bill is not paid in accordance with our credit terms. The information shared would only include contact details and copy invoices. We would not share your medical record

3. Sharing information with third parties not involved in your care

◦ We share personal information with external organisations as required to ensure business functions are able to operate and to ensure the security and integrity of these functions. In each case only information relevant to them is shared. The 3rd parties can include

▪ Software providers of clinical and non-clinical systems
▪ Document scanning and storage facilities
▪ Legal and professional advisors, including auditors
▪ Additionally, pseudonymised, anonymised and aggregated data may be shared as part of our quality assurance process. Sharing information with regulatory bodies or due to a legal obligation

4. Sharing of personal data for research and marketing

◦ We will never use your personal data for marketing purposes without your consent and we will never sell your personal data to a third party.
◦ The Arm Doc is committed to furthering research and education in orthopaedics and musculoskeletal conditions and treatments. We may therefore use your personal data for clinical research and education but we will seek your explicit consent to do in line with research ethics requirements and data protection laws.

5. Sharing data with your consent

◦ With your consent we may disclose your personal information to other parties including

▪ at your request, for example to a company handling a claim on your behalf
▪ to National Registries who monitor the outcome of treatment provided

What rights do I have as a data subject?

At any point while we are in possession of or processing your personal data, you, the data subject, have the following rights:

• Right of access – you have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you, which will be provided free of charge and within one month of receipt of your request.
• Right of rectification – you have a right to correct data that we hold about you that is inaccurate or incomplete and we will respond within one month of the receipt of your request.
• Right to be forgotten – in certain circumstances you can ask for the data we hold about you to be erased from our records.
• Right to restriction of processing – where certain conditions apply you have a right to restrict the processing of information we hold about you.
• Right of portability – you have the right to have the data we hold about you transferred to another organisation
• Right to object – you have the right to object to certain types of processing such as direct marketing.
• Right to object to automated processing, including profiling – you also have the right to be subject to the legal effects of automated processing or profiling.
• Right to judicial review: in the event that The Arm Doc refuses your request under rights of access, we will provide you with a reason as to why.

If you exercise any of your rights in a situation where a third party is involved, we will forward your request to them.

Additional information relating to our website

We will also collect and use some personal data when you visit our website or use our other digital services, such as our patient portal.

What information do you collect and how is this used?

In addition to the information already mentioned we collect the following information through the website
• Visits to our website
• Information provided in our enquiry and feedback forms
• Survey information
• Enquiries or calls made via the website about our services We use this in the following ways
• To analyse the website to provide the optimal user experience for example ensuring that web pages are easy to read and information is well presented
• To notify you about changes to products and services
• To provide you with information about our products and services where you have consented to be contacted, for example where you have subscribed to receive information regarding our events

How secure is my data?

Any personal information held by The Arm Doc is held on secure servers and encrypted. However, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. During transmission of data, whether by forms or email, we cannot guarantee the security of your data and doing so is at your own risk.

How do you use cookies?

Cookies are small data files that can identify you when you visit a website. Cookies remember your settings during and between visits to our site and also improve the speed and security of the website. We use cookies on our website to improve the visitor’s experience, ensuring our website is responsive, fast and shows the information that you need. It enables us to improve the website and our marketing. We do not use cookies to collect any personally identifiable information about you, and do not pass personally identifiable data to third parties. You can disable cookies in your browser settings. If your browser settings are set to accept cookies we take this as agreement.

Changes to our privacy policy

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. However, we advise that you check this page regularly to keep up to date with any necessary changes.

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to info@TheArmDoc.co.uk