Privacy
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) Customer Information
Dear Patient
With effect from Friday 25 May 2018 all UK businesses that handle or store date regarding European Union (EU) Citizens will be required to work to a new set of rules that give people more assurance and control over how their data is stored/handled.
At Glastonbury Chiropractic Clinic we take your confidentiality and your wishes as to how you would like us to look after your personal data very seriously.
We are compelled by law to keep your records for a minimum of an 8 year period following the last time you visited our Clinic in Glastonbury. For details please visit the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) web site and click on 'The Code' listed in the 'I Am A Member Of The Public' green box to download a pdf copy of the Code of Practice.
Historically, we have often kept record cards longer, simply because when customers return after a long absence it is often useful to be able to review older records for comparative purposes and to spare the patient/client the cost of having to start again from scratch.
However we would like our current and past patients to know the following:
Existing Patients
1. If you would like us to destroy any paper files after 8 years from your last visit we will do so, just let us know.
2. If you (the existing patient) do not want us to keep in contact with you (other than in the normal circumstances of a current clinical relationship with us) we will not send any communications whatsoever, except in the event of the demise of the clinic or its staff. Please just let us know in person or by email whether you would like us to contact you. You will also be made aware or reminded of the option to opt out of future communication with us whenever we contact you.
3. We never disclose any information to third parties whatsoever. The only exceptions being when we believe that your health may be seriously affected by not contacting the relevant agencies such as your General Practitioner (GP), or if there were a court order compelling us to do so.
4. Your written files are kept securely in lockable files.
New Patients
1. You will be asked to give your written permission for us to contact you outside of the normal day to day communication found within an active Patient / Chiropractor relationship. We do not operate a policy of indiscriminate marketing. Rather, we request and gain permission to send reminders to patients that require / desire maintenance care or that an appointment within an agreed time frame may be due.
This agreement can be revoked at any time, just by sending us an email to confirm your wish to be put on the 'do not contact' list. If you, as a patient, do not want us to keep in contact with you (other than the normal communications whilst you have a current clinical relationship with us) we will not send any communications whatsoever except in the event of the demise of the clinic or its staff.
2. If you would like us to destroy any paper files, please give us notice of your desire and we will do so providing 8 years has elapsed since your last visit, the written consent to maintain records beyond 8 years will also be asked for on your record card.
3. We never disclose any information to third parties whatsoever, the only exceptions being when we believe that your health may be seriously affected by not contacting the relevant agencies, such as your GP, or if there were to be a court order demanding legal disclosure.
4. Your written files are kept securely in lockable files.
All Patients
Access to Data
If you, as a patient, require access to data we hold on you, just let us know in writing or by email and we will send you a hard copy within one month. If you require information to be lawfully amended, again, let us know and we will endeavour to update your information quickly.
We only collect data to identify and contact individuals and data to fully and accurately assess your general health and the condition that brought you in to visit our clinic. Finally, data that will allow us to make the best judgement call as to what treatment would best serve the patient's needs and / or the data required to make the decision concerning whether or not a patient is suitable for Chiropractic treatment and whether or not a referral might be necessary.
Details of this requirement can be found under section (H) of 'The Code: Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics for Chiropractors' at the GCC web site. If you click on 'The Code' listed in the 'I Am A Member Of The Public' green box, a pdf copy of 'The Code' will download.
Should you have any questions at all do not hesitate to enquire further, we are here to help!
Other staff working within the Glastonbuy Chiropractic Clinic
Other professions working alongside us at the Glastonbury Chiropractic Clinic must also abide by the new GDPR rules. When operating within our Clinic they must:
1. Not leave any documents, electronic or otherwise, in a manner where they could be accessed by an unauthorised person. Paper documents must stay under lock and key, and computers not be left in an openly accessible mode.
2. They must have developed their own policy and explanation as to why they need to collect data, how long they will keep it, how it might be used, and how it might be disposed of and in what time frame. They must also demonstrate that they have the necessary requirement and consent to collect data and are aware of data security breach reporting procedures.
Data Security Breaches
We have tried to cover all eventualities reasonably within our control. However, in the event of a breach in security we would do the following:
1. Any individuals likely to have been affected by a serious security breach (once we are aware of it) would be contacted.
2. If the breach of security was serious enough, the incident would be reported to the Information Commissioner and in the event of (in our view) the most serious breach of security the theft of physical records or debit / credit card fraud / crime, we would immediately call the Police.
The Internet
The owners of this site do not collect and store any information from your use of the web site. However, in order to be listed on search engines such as 'Google', and be hosted by Wix.com, a small piece of computer code may be embedded into the site by these third parties. The code allows these third parties to place 'cookies' on your machine which may track your path through our site, so that the third parties can provide you with focussed content or other 'services'. We have no control over these cookies or how the third parties use them. They are used to allow that third party to provide a service to us, for example: analytics. For more information on these cookies and how to disable them, please see:
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Internet Advertising Bureau website at http://www.youronlinechoices.com/ where you will be able to opt-out of receiving Interest-Based Advertising cookies from some of the third parties listed below; and/or
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the third party’s individual privacy policy listed below:
Third Party: Google
Type of cookies: Analytics - Google provide anonymised data about the visits made to our website.
User - Google use cookies to help protect your privacy and help ensure your browsing activities remain safe.
Social Sharing - Google also store cookies which allow the "Google +" social sharing functionality.
Interest-Based Advertising - Google tools may also collect data for the purpose of interest-based advertising.
More information and how to opt-out: http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/policies/privacy
For more information about cookies please follow this link: http://www.allaboutcookies.org
Links to other web sites
Our web site contains links to other web sites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that web site. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the web site in question.