Privacy Policy

Collection and Use of Information

In order to enable the smooth and efficient running of the clinic certain personal data will be requested at the time of booking an appointment, be it online, by telephone, or by email.  Patients are asked to give their name, contact phone number, email address, address, and date of birth and will be asked their consent to enter their details on our clinic software “Cliniko” if booking by telephone, or to review and accept our privacy policy if booking online.   Cliniko  automatically sends a confirmation email with details of the booking – location, time, date, as well as a link to both Golborne Osteopaths’ and Cliniko’s privacy policy.  Patients will also receive an appointment reminder two days prior to their appointment.

At the initial consultation your osteopath may require further personal data such as your occupation, as well as information relating to your reason for consulting the osteopath, the history relating to presenting problem, and details of your medical history.  This information is essential in order that your osteopath give you the best possible care and advice, and is required by the profession’s governing body the General Osteopathic Council.

Additional Uses of Information

At the initial consultation patients can choose to “opt-in” to receive a monthly newsletter.  Newsletters are intended to educate and inform patients about physical therapy, health, exercise, or any other topic that is deemed to contribute to your being able to make informed choices about your health and wellbeing.   Patients can unsubscribe from the newsletter at anytime.

Should you choose receive the monthly newsletter your email address will be integrated with Golborne Osteoapth’s account in “Mailchimp” – an email marketing platform.  You can learn about how Mailchimp stores your email address securely here.

Occasionally a patient’s number may be stored on a mobile phone for the purposes of following-up with them post treatment or in order to send video clips containing exercises.  This will always be by prior arrangement with the patient.  Also on occasion it is necessary to communicate with other healthcare professionals about you.  We will only share personal information about you having first discussed this with you and having obtained your consent.

Storage and Protection

Since 2016 all new patients have their records stored in a clinic software system called “Cliniko”.  Since 2016 returning patients also have their records stored in Cliniko, but may also have a paper record which is stored securely in the clinic.

The company behind Cliniko goes by the name of a company Red Guava Pty Ltd and is based in Australia.  You can access information about how Cliniko stores and protects data held on its servers  here.

Retention

We retain patient records for eight years after a patient’s last consultation in compliance with General Osteopathic Council recommendations.  After that time any paper records are destroyed and data stored on Cliniko will be deleted.  Records relating to children will be destroyed or deleted either eight years after their last consultation or when they reach the age of 25, whichever occurs first.

Security

Patient data stored on our clinic software Cliniko is password protected and can be accessed only by an osteopath working in the clinic.  Receptionists at the Portobello Clinic have administrator rights to the software, which means that they can access the appointment calendar, and your contact details only, and are well versed in guidelines on confidentiality and data protection.

Any patient numbers stored on the osteopath’s personal mobile phone are protected by pass-code or finger print scan.

Paper records are held securely in a locked file cabinet.

Sharing of data

If we are asked by a third party – your GP, solicitor, or healthcare provider, for example –  to provide information about your consultations we will only do so if we have received your consent.

Questions and Complaints

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the way that we handle your personal information, please let us know (info@golborneosteopaths.co.uk)

If you have a complaint about how your personal information has been handled, please let us know us immediately. We take your privacy seriously and we will respond to your complaint as soon as we can.