Website Privacy Policy

1. About Doorstep Doctors

2. Health Information and HIPAA

As a healthcare provider, Doorstep Doctors is a “covered entity” under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). Health information we create or receive in connection with your care is Protected Health Information (“PHI”).

3. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Name, date of birth, and contact details (phone, email, home address)
• Appointment requests, including the reason for your visit and preferred date and time
• Insurance information, including Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and commercial plan details used to verify your benefits before your first visit
• Information about a patient you are contacting us on behalf of (for example, as a family member or caregiver)
• Messages you send us through forms, email, text, or phone
• Mobile phone number and your opt-in to receive text messages
• Information submitted through our online contact form or intake forms
• Referral information sent to us by physicians, hospitals, discharge planners, or health plans
• Feedback and survey responses
• Resume, employment history, licenses, and credentials, if you apply for a position

Information submitted in connection with requesting or receiving care is PHI and is protected under HIPAA.

Our online contact form is intended for contact and scheduling details. Please do not include detailed medical history, test results, or Social Security numbers in the form; our team will collect the health information needed for your care by phone or through secure channels. Ordinary email and text messaging may not be encrypted. If you choose to communicate with us by unencrypted email or text, we may reply by the same method unless you ask us not to.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our Website, we and our service providers may automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type and device information
• Operating system
• Referring URL
• Pages visited and time spent
• Date and time of visits
• Approximate location derived from IP address

We use this information to operate, secure, and improve the Website.

4. How We Use Personal Information

We may use personal information to:

• Schedule, confirm, and remind you of appointments
• Provide medical care, including in-home visits, chronic condition management, post-discharge visits, wound care, prescriptions, blood draws, EKGs, and point-of-care testing
• Coordinate your care with specialists, pharmacies, laboratories, hospitals, and other providers
• Verify insurance benefits and process billing and payments
• Respond to your questions and requests
• Process provider referrals
• Operate our online forms
• Send service-related communications, including text messages you have opted in to receive
• Recruit and evaluate job applicants
• Operate, maintain, secure, and improve our Website
• Detect and prevent fraud and unauthorized access
• Comply with legal, regulatory, and licensing obligations
• Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information. We do not share personal information with third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes. We do not use PHI for marketing except as permitted by HIPAA.

5. Cookies, Analytics, and Tracking Technologies

Our Website may use cookies and similar technologies for:

• Essential Website functionality and security
• Remembering preferences
• Measuring Website traffic and performance

We do not use third-party advertising or social-media tracking technologies (such as advertising pixels) on our contact, appointment-request, or referral pages, or any page where you may enter health information. Any analytics used on those pages are provided under a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (“BAA”) or configured so that no PHI is disclosed.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect Website functionality.

6. Text Messaging (SMS/MMS)

If you opt in to receive text messages from Doorstep Doctors, we will send messages related to appointment scheduling, visit reminders, billing, and care coordination. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time. Reply HELP for help, or contact us at admin@doorstepdoctors.org or (872) 260-0204. Opting in to text messages is not a condition of receiving care.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All categories of sharing described in this Privacy Policy exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

7. How We Share Personal Information

PHI is used and disclosed only as permitted by HIPAA. Text messaging opt-in data and consent are excluded from all sharing described in this section and are never shared with any third party. For other personal information, we may share it with:

Service Providers

Vendors that help us operate, such as electronic health record, scheduling, laboratory, billing, payment processing, website hosting, email, IT, and security providers. Vendors receive only the information needed to perform their services and may not use it for any other purpose. Vendors that handle PHI on our behalf are required to sign a BAA and protect it as HIPAA requires.

Legal and Safety Requirements

Where reasonably necessary to comply with law, respond to subpoenas or court orders, protect the health or safety of any person, investigate fraud, or establish or defend legal claims.

Business Transactions

As part of a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or similar transaction, subject to applicable law.

8. Illinois and Indiana Privacy Laws

We are licensed in and serve patients in Illinois and Indiana. In addition to HIPAA, certain information receives extra protection under Illinois law, including:

• Mental health and developmental disabilities information (Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act, 740 ILCS 110)
• HIV/AIDS test results and related information (AIDS Confidentiality Act, 410 ILCS 305)
• Genetic testing information (Genetic Information Privacy Act, 410 ILCS 513)

We disclose these categories only as those laws permit.

We do not collect biometric identifiers (such as fingerprints, face geometry, or voiceprints) through our Website. If we ever collect biometric information, we will provide the notice and retention schedule required by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14).

Indiana patients’ information is also protected under applicable Indiana law.

If a data breach affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by HIPAA, the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (815 ILCS 530), and Indiana’s data breach notification law (Ind. Code 24-4.9).

9. Data Security

We maintain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including:

• Role-based access controls
• Multi-factor authentication
• Encryption in transit and, where appropriate, at rest
• Secure, HIPAA-compliant electronic health record systems
• Safeguards for clinicians’ devices and records used during home visits
• Staff privacy and security training
• Incident response procedures

No method of transmitting or storing information is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Data Retention

Medical records are retained for the periods required by Illinois and Indiana law and professional standards. Other personal information is retained only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes in this Policy or as required for legal, tax, accounting, or dispute-resolution purposes. When information is no longer needed, we securely delete, destroy, or de-identify it.

11. Your Rights

Health Information: Under HIPAA, you have the right to access, obtain copies of, amend, receive an accounting of disclosures of, and request restrictions on your PHI. To exercise them, contact our Privacy Officer (Section 17).

Other Personal Information: Depending on applicable law, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold that is not PHI. We may need to verify your identity. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

To submit a request, email admin@doorstepdoctors.org with the subject line “Privacy Request.”

12. Email Communications

You may unsubscribe from newsletters or informational emails by clicking the unsubscribe link or contacting us. You will still receive appointment, billing, and care-related communications. To stop text messages, reply STOP (see Section 6).

13. Job Applicants

If you apply for a position, we use your information to evaluate your qualifications, verify licenses and credentials, communicate with you, and comply with employment laws. We retain applicant information for a reasonable period where permitted by law. Please do not include health information or Social Security numbers in your application unless requested.

14. Children's Privacy

We provide care to patients of all ages, with information about minors provided by a parent or legal guardian. Our Website is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided information to us, contact us and we will delete it.

15. Third-Party Websites

Our Website may link to third-party sites, including insurance, pharmacy, laboratory, or payment platforms. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please review their privacy policies.

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last Updated” date above and, where required by law, provide additional notice.

17. Contact Us / Privacy Officer

For privacy requests, use the subject line “Privacy Request.”

If you believe your health information privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.