Privacy Policy
At One Step Ahead, we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.
This Policy explains how, when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our Practice, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.
We may change this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By consenting, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.
Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to [email protected] or by writing to 225 Bury New Road Whitefield Manchester M45 8GW
Who are we?
We are One Step Ahead Podiatry, offering podiatry foot health service. The Practice Owner is Sarah Bradley and all enquiries regarding privacy should be directed to her at the above address.
How do we collect information from you?
We obtain information about you when you register with us, for example, when you contact us to book an appointment, or book online. We operate a mainly paperless practice. We use mainly digital record keeping but may need to use paper forms on occasions.
What type of information is collected from you?
The personal information we collect might include your name, address, email address, date of birth, phone numbers, the name of your GP and a medical history including a list of medication. This information is stored securely in our cloud-based clinic software Cliniko.
How is your information used?
We use your information to:
- Create a unique medical record
- Contact you regarding changes to appointments and to keep you updated on our practice and the services we provide
- Share with your permission, information contained within your health record to other health professionals
We review our retention periods for personal information on a regular basis. We are required to hold some types of information to fulfil legal obligations. This means you cannot ask for your records to be removed or destroyed. We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary.
The statutory period for the retention of health records for an adult is 8 years after the patient’s last appointment for adults. For children and young person under the age of eighteen, it is until their 25th (twenty-fifth) birthday. For mentally disordered persons (within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983), for 20 (twenty years) after their last treatment.
Where is your personal information stored?
We subscribe to a clinical system called Cliniko. This is a secure cloud-based system that our clinicians and administrative staff access via a password protected log in. Cliniko is a practise management software for clinic and allied health practitioners For more information regarding Cliniko visit www.cliniko.com.
Any personal information recorded on paper is scanned, added to your notes and the paper forms shredded and disposed of by a third party as confidential waste. We do not keep any paper records containing your personal information.
Who has access to your information?
We may contact your GP or other health professional involved in your care regarding your treatment with us. The reasons for this may include referral for treatment or diagnostic tests, to request information regarding a treatment or test you have had elsewhere, for the purposes of sending a medical report, for other reasons to coordinate your care or otherwise at your request.
If we refer you for a private clinical test the test providers may require information from us such as your name, date of birth, or other personal data in connection with the test. Since this varies from one provider to another we will discuss this with you before referring.
We do not sell or rent your information to third parties.
We do not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
Only our clinicians and clinical assistants have direct access to your medical records.
Our administrative staff have access to your personal details for the purposes of administration. This will include contacting you to book, cancel or change an appointment, in response to a general enquiry, or to let you know of any important changes in our practice such as opening hours and changes in therapy staff who are involve in your treatment.
Your choices
You have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive information from us. If you do not want appointment reminder communications from us then you can opt out at any time - your clinician will ask you about this at your initial appointment. We would point out that we offer reminders as a courtesy to help you remember your appointment.
We do like to keep our patients informed from time to time about new services and improvements in our practice to help with your Podiatry care. We will not contact you for marketing purposes by email, phone, or text message, without your permission. You can opt out of marketing communications from us at any time.
How you can access and update your information
The accuracy of your information is important to us. If you change email address, or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please email us at: [email protected].
You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you.
Security precautions are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information.
Your personal data is accessed by us via password protected computers and IPads. Your personal data is not stored on these devices but kept on secure servers operated by Cliniko, our clinical resource management software programme. You can view their privacy details at www.cliniko.com/security/
Email submissions via our webpage may not be 100% secure - we ask you not to include too much personal information in email submissions, please only use for general enquiries.
Cookies
As with most websites, our website does use cookies which are small files downloaded to your computer to improve your experience. They are mainly used to remember your browsing preferences such as information you may enter on one of our contact forms. If you would like any more information about this then you can view our more detailed Cookie Policy.
Profiling
We don't use your personal information to create a profile of your interests and preferences.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites. This privacy policy applies only to our website‚ so we encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit. We cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of other sites even if you access them using links from our website.
In addition, if you linked to our website from a third-party site, we cannot be responsible for the privacy policies and practices of the owners and operators of that third party site and recommend that you check the policy of that third party site.
16 or Under
We are concerned to protect the privacy of children aged 16 or under. If you are aged 16 or under‚ please get your parent/guardian's permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information.
Review of this Policy
We keep this Policy under regular review. This Policy was last updated:
Policy update date 20/01/2023
Practice Manager Sarah Bradley