Privacy Policy & Terms

Purpose of a Privacy Policy & Terms

The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Our privacy policy tells you about the way in which we use, share and store your personal information.

Our terms also outline the clinic payment and cancelation policy as well as outlining an overview of the therapies we provide. Patients who schedule an appointment and give their consent to treatment must agree to all the terms set out below.

Ivybridge Acupuncture Clinic is the data controller and processor: info@ivybridgeacupunctureclinic.co.uk

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions prior to booking.

 

Part 1. Privacy Policy

Whose information does this privacy notice apply to?

This privacy notice applies to information we collect from:

  • patients;
  • prospective patients;
  • former patients;
  • visitors to our website;

How do we process your personal data?

We comply with our obligations under the GDPR by:

  • keeping personal data up to date
  • by storing it securely
  • by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data
  • by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure
  • by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.

 

We use your personal data for the purposes set out below. 

1. We use your name, address, telephone number and email address to make and rearrange appointments. We are unable to send or receive encrypted emails so you should be aware that any emails we send or receive may not be protected in transit. We will also monitor any emails sent to us, including file attachments, for viruses or malicious software. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send us is within the bounds of the law. 

2. We use your name, address, telephone number and email address, only if we have your explicit consent, to send you marketing materials.

3. Some patients and prospective patients tell us about their medical conditions and medication by email or online enquiry forms. We are unable to send or receive encrypted emails so you should be aware that any emails we send or receive may not be protected in transit.

4. We keep a permanent attendance register which records all appointments for patients attending our clinic to keep a record of when you were treated for tax purposes.

5. We may use your date of birth to help identify patients with the same name to avoid mistakes being made as to safe and appropriate treatment, for identification purposes if referring a patient to another health practitioner, and for identification purposes if writing to a registered medical practitioner so that they correctly identify the patient.

6. We use your presenting complaint and symptoms reported by you for the purposes of making a full traditional diagnosis, formulating treatment strategy and treatment planning.

7. We use any relevant medical and family history you have told us forming a full traditional diagnosis, formulating treatment strategy and treatment planning.

8. We use your GP’s name and address in the event that we need to contact your GP including in an emergency and because it is a mandatory requirement in the British Acupuncture Council Code of Professional Conduct.

9. We use our clinical findings about your health and well being for making a full traditional diagnosis, and formulating treatment strategy and treatment planning.

10. We keep a record of and refer to that record of any treatment given and details of progress of your case, including reviews of treatment planning and write case reports to enable us to: review the full traditional diagnosis, treatment strategy and planning; and to secure evidence in the event of criminal proceedings, civil litigation, an insurance claim or complaint.

11. We record and use any information and advice that we have given, especially when referring patients to any other health professional, to help you to receive the most appropriate treatment.

12. We record any decisions made in conjunction with you to help you to receive the most appropriate treatment.

13. We keep accident records for any patients, visitors or staff who are involved in accidents at our clinic in accordance with UK Health and Safety legislation including the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) to comply with the law and to secure evidence in the event of criminal proceedings, civil litigation, an insurance claim or complaint.

14. In the event of a serious adverse incident occurring to any of our patients we report the matter to the practitioners respective governing body (the British Acupuncture Council or the Association of Acupuncture Clinicians) and our insurance company to enable the insurance company to deal with any potential claims and to help our governing body develop its safe practice guidelines providing research data and information for the governing body’s insurers and other interested parties.

15. Where relevant we maintain records of the patient’s consent to treatment, or the consent of their next-of-kin in order to be able to prove that the patient (and/or parent/guardian/next of kin) has given informed consent to treatment to secure evidence in the event of a civil claim, criminal prosecution, insurance claim or complaint.

16. In the event we receive a complaint from a person we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint.

We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide. We usually have to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. If a complainant doesn’t want information identifying him or her to be disclosed, we will try to respect that. However, it may not be possible to handle a complaint on an anonymous basis. We may need to provide personal information collected and processed in relation to complaints to the British Acupuncture Council or our insurance company.

Similarly, where enquiries are submitted to us we will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry and any subsequent issues and to check on the level of service we provide.

Your Clinical Notes and Health Data

When you book in for your first appointment, you will be invited to register with the Amplitude Clinical registry system, which we use to securely collect and store your personal data, health information and clinical notes. We will ask for your consent to collect, store and process your clinical data in addition to your consent for treatment.

As healthcare practitioners, we are required, as per GDPR and other international guidelines, to collect this information from our patients. The Amplitude Clinical system adheres to the highest standards in the world in regards to patient consent, as well as the data handling and processing helping bring a seal of trust to the process of collecting and storing your health data.

Our system allows us to securely monitor your progress and changes in your health throughout your course of treatments, with occasional remote assessments via email. This helps us make sure we are fully addressing your main health complaints and providing you with the best care possible. Only anonymous information collected about your care may be used via the registry for clinical auditing and/or research purposes which further allows us to assess and optimise the quality of care we provide.

No directly identifiable data will ever be shared without your express permission and you will never be made identifiable to anyone except for the practitioners in this clinic. All practitioners in the clinic have access to all patient identifiable and clinical data collected as part of routine practice. This is to ensure a practitioner readily has all the relevant information to hand in the event a patient sees multiple practitioners throughout their course of treatments or in the event another practitioner is required to cover a patient for treatments/care.

 

Appointment Bookings and Reminders

Your personal information, contact details and consent agreement to our policies is stored via a third-party online clinic management software system (acuity) server which adheres to stringent industry standards of data protection and is GDPR compliant. This system allows us to send you appointment booking confirmation and reminder emails/SMS messages. For more information about how Acuity processes data, please see: https://www.squarespace.com/privacy

At any time you may request that changes are made to your contact details.

Privacy Policy for Website Users

  • We use website cookies to improve user experience of our website by enabling member’ users, either for the duration of their visit – using a ‘session cookie’ – or for repeat visits – using a ‘persistent cookie’.
  • When someone visits our website we use a third party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will be up front about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it.
  • We use a third-party service (wordpress) to help maintain the security and performance of our website. To deliver this service it processes the IP addresses of visitors to our website including publishing our blog. This site is hosted at Hostinger. We use a standard host service to collect anonymous information about users’ activity on the site, for example the number of users viewing pages on the site, to monitor and report on the effectiveness of the site and help us improve it.  For more information about how Hostinger processes data, please see: https://www.hostinger.co.uk/privacy-policy

 

Sharing your personal data

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential, and will only be shared:

  • with named third parties with your explicit consent;
  • with the relevant authority such as the police or a court, if necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject e.g. a court order;
  • with your doctor or the police if necessary to protect yours or another person’s life;
  • with the police or a local authority for the purpose of safeguarding a children or vulnerable adults; or
  • with the relevant practitioner’s regulatory body’s (the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) or Association of Acupuncture Clinicians (AAC)) and/or our insurance company’s in the event of a complaint or insurance claim being brought against a practitioner; or
  • the practitioner’s solicitor in the event of any investigation or legal proceedings being brought against me.

For further details about the situations when information about you might be shared please see the Information Commissioner’s website at https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/personal- information/sharing-my-info/

How long do we keep your personal data?

We keep your personal data for no longer than is reasonably necessary.
We keep patient records for a minimum of 7 years in accordance with the British Acupuncture Code of Professional Conduct but may chose to keep your data for longer periods of time for clinical auditing purposes: https://www.acupuncture.org.uk/public-content/effective- practice/bacc-professional-codes.html

Your rights and your personal data

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have certain rights with respect to your personal data as set out below.

  • The right to request a copy of your personal data which we hold about you.
  • The right to request that we correct any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date.
  • The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for us to retain such data.
  • The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time. This right does not apply where we are processing information using a lawful purpose other than consent.
  • The right to request that we provide you with your personal data and where possible, to transmit that data directly to another data controller, (known as the right to data portability), (where applicable) [This right only applies where the processing is based on consent or is necessary for the performance of a contract with you and in either case the we are processing the data by automated means].
  • The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing.
  • The right to object to the processing of personal data, (where applicable) [This right only applies where processing is based on legitimate interests (or the performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority); direct marketing and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics].
  • The right to be informed if your data is lost. We shall also inform the Information Commissioner’s Office in accordance with the time limits in the GDPR.
  • The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

For further details about these rights please see the Information Commissioner’s website at

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/is-my-information-being-handled-correctly/

Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Privacy Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

 

Part 2. Our Terms

Patient Disclaimer & Treatment Consent Information

Patients who schedule an appointment and give their consent to receiving treatment acknowledge, understand and agree to the information provided below.

Your practitioner will help discuss your main health issue as well as any other relevant health issues you may be seeking help with. This will include their preliminary estimation of the number of treatments that may be required for a successful outcome which may change as you progress through a course of treatments. Initial assessment will involve asking questions about your symptoms and health complaint/s, as well as asking details about your medical history and medication use. A physical assessment is also very common and often essential depending on the nature of your health issue. This may include palpation of different body regions as well as the local region of the main health complaint and/or an assessment of movement patterns, some of which may temporarily provoke/discomfort.

Acupuncture is the practice of inserting thin stainless-steel single-use pre-sterilised needles into specific points on the body. Tui Na Massage describes the practice of traditional Chinese massage therapy which can includes a wide range of techniques including; deep tissue massage, some high velocity thrust (HVT) joint manipulations (excluding the neck), acupressure, tapping and assisted stretching. Cupping therapy uses glass cups to create a suction effect on the skin and normally leaves a mild circular bruise which is a perfectly normal reaction. Gua Sha uses a single-use sterilised tool to friction the dermis of the skin and leaves a mild redness and bruising on the area applied which is a perfectly normal reaction. Heat lamps are also regularly used in clinic to promote local vasodilation. A traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis should not be taken or construed as standard Western medical diagnosis or treatment.

The safety of acupuncture has been extensively studied and it is safe so long as it is delivered by a properly trained individual. Your practitioner has undergone extensive training and adheres to a strict code (British Acupuncture Council) of safe practice. A small percentage of people will experience some minor side effects from acupuncture treatment such as: a small bruise, some very minor bleeding, pain during needling, temporary pain/aggravation of symptoms, dizziness, feeling faint/fainting and/or feeling a little tired or having a headache after acupuncture treatment. You should mention these changes to your practitioner but there is no need to be concerned as these can be all perfectly normal reactions and are not serious.

As the acupuncture involves piercing the skin there is a very minor risk of infection at the needle
site. The estimated risk is 1 to 10 of every 10,000 people treated. BAcC acupuncturists
are trained, and bound by our Professional Codes, to provide acupuncture hygienically.
Serious adverse events such as pneumothorax (piercing the lung/perforation of the lung
lining) and nerve injury can occur but these are very rare, and the risk is reduced
by seeing a well-trained acupuncturist. For more information on the safety of acupuncture: https://www.evidencebasedacupuncture.org/safety/

To help minimise the risk of any adverse events, please do not make significant movements while techniques are being applied or when needles are being inserted/retained. At any given time throughout the treatment, you may request the practitioner to stop, modify, or change the treatment so just let your practitioner know! Your practitioner will be more than happy discuss any and all questions you may have about treatment before or during your course of treatments, so please do ask if you have any questions!

In the event of any ill effect that may occur during or following treatment, the practitioner cannot be held liable.

Further Details about treatments provided

Acupuncture: only stainless-steel single-use pre-sterilised needles are used, a range of needle sizes are used (0.18 x 15mm to 0.3 X 50mm) and may vary depending on factors such as point location, patient size and tissue type. To help minimise the risk of pneumothorax when needling the thorax; needling is always performed obliquely or transversely to a maximum depth of 15mm (meaning the vertical depth of  insertion is greatly reduced and less than 15mm). A maximum needle size of 0.18 x 25mm (often smaller) is used so that in the event of unpredicted patient movement the possible depth of insertion remains low risk. Needles are typically retained from between 20-30 minutes during a treatment and the patient may receive treatment in different positions (supine, prone, sitting and side position) during a single treatment session. Used needles are immediately disposed of into a sharps bin after treatment.

Cupping: glass suction only cups are used for cupping therapy. Cups are typically applied for no more than 5-10 minutes and often less. The patient will be monitored at all times during the process. Used cups are cleaned and thereafter either disinfected or sterilised in a UV autoclave after use. Please see our FAQ for cupping aftercare advise and more on what to expect.

Gua sha: tools are single-use and disposed of after use.

Heat lamp: heat lamps are placed a minimum distance of at least 35cm away from a patients body to help prevent the risk of burns. The patient will be monitored at all times during the process. 

Your practitioner will typically always ask for your permission and consent verbally on each successive treatment in addition to before you start your course of treatment.

Some level of appropriate/expected therapeutic sensations and/or temporary discomfort are typically expected and experienced from acupuncture and our other therapies. A good approximate gauge is that true pain (compared to appropriate/expected therapeutic discomfort) is associated with an impulse to resist/tense up and/or withdraw. Our therapies do NOT aim to produce this kind of pain although sometimes some temporary pain is unavoidable. Your practitioner will always check if you are comfortable either during or after a therapy has been provided. Always let your practitioner know if you are not comfortable or are experiencing any persisting pain and they will temporarily stop the therapy.

 

 

Payment and Cancelation Policy

Payments can be made by card at the time of the treatment, alternatively you can choose you pay online at the time of booking an appointment. Appointment times should be respected and we do require at least 48 hours notice prior to cancelling or re-scheduling an appointment otherwise you will be fully charged for late cancelations and missed appointments. This allows us enough time to offer the appointment to another potential patient who may be in urgent need and otherwise be unable to book in for treatment. For this reason, regardless of payment method, we do require all patients to provide their credit card details upon booking their initial appointment in case of late cancelations and missed appointments. We thank you for understanding and agreeing to honour this cancelation policy prior to booking.

 

Contact Details

To exercise all relevant rights, queries of complaints please in the first instance contact us at

info@ivybridgeacupunctureclinic.co.uk

 

You can contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF.

END OF PRIVACY NOTICE & TERMS