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Privacy policy
Your health information is personal and sensitive. This page explains, in plain English, what I collect, why, who I share it with and the rights you have.
Last updated: [date]
This website and practice are run by Jean Dow Herbalist Limited, a company registered in Scotland (company number SC586447). Jean Dow, medical herbalist and functional medicine practitioner, provides care through the company. In this policy, “I”, “me” and “my” mean Jean Dow Herbalist Limited.
Jean Dow Herbalist Limited is the “data controller” for your personal information, which means it decides how your information is used and is responsible for protecting it under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018).
Company
Jean Dow Herbalist Limited, registered in Scotland, company number SC586447
Registered office
4 Albyn Place, Edinburgh EH2 4NG
Clinics
4 Albyn Place, Edinburgh EH2 4NG and Portree, Isle of Skye IV51 9HT
Phone
Mobile
07973 368189 (call or text)
ICO registration
Jean Dow Herbalist Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, reference ZA190290
Your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, appointment history and payment records.
Your medical history, symptoms, medications, lifestyle, diet, family history, questionnaire answers, test results, clinical notes and the herbal prescriptions I make for you. This is “special category” data, which the law protects more strictly.
If I treat a child, I’ll collect their health information and the details of the parent or guardian who gives consent on their behalf.
With your agreement, I may receive information from your GP, other healthcare practitioners, or the laboratories and phlebotomists who process your tests.
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Assessing, diagnosing and treating you, and keeping clinical records | Contract (providing the care you’ve booked). For health data: provision of health care by a health professional under a duty of confidentiality (UK GDPR Article 9(2)(h)). |
| Arranging lab tests and blood draws | Contract, and Article 9(2)(h) for health data. |
| Managing bookings, reminders and video consultations | Contract. |
| Taking payments and keeping financial records | Contract and legal obligation (tax and accounting rules). |
| Contacting your GP or another practitioner | Your explicit consent, unless there’s an urgent risk to your health or someone else’s. |
| Sending my email newsletter | Legitimate interests and the “soft opt-in” rule for existing patients. You can opt out at any time (see below). |
| Handling complaints, insurance and legal claims | Legitimate interests and legal obligation. |
I never sell your information. I only share it with organisations that help me provide your care, under agreements that require them to keep it secure:
I may also disclose information if required by law, a court order, or to protect someone from serious harm.
Some of the services above, such as booking, video call and newsletter providers, may store data outside the UK. MailerLite stores data in the European Union (Germany and the Netherlands), which is covered by a UK adequacy decision. When this happens I make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as a UK adequacy decision or the ICO’s International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.
Adult patient records
[8 years] after your last appointment
Children’s records
Until their [25th] birthday, or [8 years] after their last appointment if later
Financial records
6 years, to meet tax rules
Newsletter list
Until you unsubscribe
Enquiries that don’t lead to treatment
[12 months]
After this, records are securely deleted or destroyed.
Paper notes are kept in locked storage. Electronic records are held in password-protected systems with access limited to me [and any named staff]. I’ll tell you and the ICO, where required, if there’s a data breach that puts your information at risk.
Ask for a copy of the records I hold about you, free of charge.
Ask me to fix anything inaccurate or incomplete.
Ask me to erase or limit use of your data, subject to legal record-keeping duties.
Stop marketing at any time, and withdraw consent you’ve given, such as for GP contact.
You can also ask for your information in a portable format. To make a request, email health@jeandow.com. I’ll respond within one month and may need to confirm your identity first.
If you sign up on my website, or when you book an appointment, I may add you to my email newsletter with news and health information. You can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of any newsletter, or by emailing me. Unsubscribing won’t affect your care. You can also tell me you don’t want it when you book.
This website does not use advertising or analytics cookies. When you first visit, a banner asks whether you’re happy for MailerLite, my newsletter provider, to set cookies so it can show newsletter sign-up forms. MailerLite’s script only loads, and its cookies are only set, if you click Accept. If you click Reject, nothing is set. Your choice is remembered on your device for six months, and you can change it at any time using the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page. See MailerLite’s cookie policy for details of its cookies.
The newsletter sign-up form on the home page sends your name and email address to MailerLite when you press Sign up. Fonts are loaded from Fontshare, which will see your device’s IP address when the page loads. The booking calendar on the Book page is provided by Practice Better and loads from its website. Practice Better may set cookies that are needed for booking to work, and has its own privacy and cookie policies. Links to Instagram, Facebook and laboratory websites are covered by those organisations’ own policies.
If you have a question or concern about how I’ve handled your information, please contact me first and I’ll do my best to sort it out. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, by phone on 0303 123 1113, or by post at Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
I may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.