At Foot Focus Podiatry, we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of our patients’ personal and medical data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, process, and protect your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Irish healthcare guidelines.
1. Information We Collect
To provide professional podiatric and chiropody care, we collect and process several categories of personal and sensitive data, including:
- Personal Details: Name, address, phone number, email, date of birth, and emergency contact details.
- Medical Records: Clinical history, symptoms, diagnoses, treatment notes, surgical consent, and orthotic specifications.
- Financial Info: Payment receipts and insurance details where necessary to process claims.
2. How We Use Your Data
We process patient data solely for legitimate healthcare and administrative purposes, which include:
- Diagnosing and treating lower-limb and foot conditions.
- Managing clinic appointments, scheduling, and request follow-ups.
- Liaising with referring General Practitioners (GPs) or other medical specialists (only with your explicit consent).
- Processing invoices, insurance receipts, and secure payments.
3. Data Retention and Security
Medical records are retained securely in our practice management systems for the legally mandated period required under Irish medical record retention guidelines (typically 8 years from the date of the last treatment). All digital platforms are fully encrypted, password-protected, and audit-logged.
4. Your Rights Under GDPR
As a data subject, you hold several rights regarding your data:
- Right of Access: You can request a complete copy of your medical file and treatment notes at any time.
- Right to Rectification: You can ask us to update inaccurate or outdated contact information.
- Right to Erasure: Note that clinical record-keeping regulations supersede GDPR deletion requests; however, non-medical records can be removed upon request.
5. Contact Our Data Controller
If you have questions about this policy or wish to exercise your rights, please email our data protection officer at hello@footfocus.ie or contact us in writing at our Finglas or Mount Merrion clinic address.
