SWONKDOG provides the technology partners use to offer online visits and at-home lab testing: the clinics and brands whose name you see on the intake. This notice explains what information SWONKDOG collects when it does that, how it is used, protected and shared, and what rights you have. It covers this website, the online intake, the patient portal and the partner portal. Where it says "health information" it means the information HIPAA protects: a patient's answers, history, ID and photos, the clinician's notes, prescriptions, lab results and orders.
Our role under HIPAA. The physician groups, pharmacies and laboratory that treat you are HIPAA covered entities. SWONKDOG handles your health information on their behalf, and on behalf of the partner, as a business associate, under written business associate agreements.
Whose information
- Patients who complete an intake that SWONKDOG runs for a partner, and who use the patient portal.
- Partner staff who sign in to the partner portal, and clinicians who review visits.
- Visitors to this website and people who write to us.
What we collect
- From patients. Name, date of birth, contact details, shipping address, the state of residence, the answers to the health questionnaire, a photo of the ID, a photo of the patient, lab results uploaded, consents given, and messages sent.
- What the visit creates. The clinician's review and notes, prescriptions, lab orders and results, and the record of what was ordered, approved, declined, shipped and paid.
- From partner staff and clinicians. Name, work email, the organization they belong to, license details for clinicians, sign in records, and a log of what they did in the portal.
- Payment. Card details go directly to the payment processor, into the partner's own account there, and never touch SWONKDOG's systems. We keep only a reference to the payment, the amount and its status. Partners' bank details are held by the payment processor in the same way.
- From the partner form on this website. Name, work email, phone, company or practice, website, which kind of business you are, the programs you are interested in, your current EHR, anything else you write, the page the form was on, and any campaign tags in the page's address. We use it to reply and to talk with you about partnering, and we text you only if you tick the box for it; reply STOP to any text to opt out. The form is for business details only, never patient information.
- Technical. The address a device connects from, browser type, and the pages and actions used, for security and to make the Service work. We do not run advertising trackers on this website or in the portals.
How we use it
- To support the care others provide: to let a licensed clinician review a visit, to transmit the clinician's prescription to a pharmacy, and to let the patient and the clinician message each other.
- To run the Service: to process payment, ship orders and lab kits, send the messages the Service needs to send (confirmations, decisions, tracking, renewal reminders), prepare partner statements, and support patients and partners.
- Text messages. Where you give a mobile number and agree to it, we may text you about your visit and order (a code to sign in, a decision, tracking). Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, and HELP for help. Consent to texts is not a condition of any purchase.
- To keep the Service safe: to verify identity, prevent fraud and abuse, and keep an audit trail of who accessed a record.
- To meet legal duties, including the records that clinicians and pharmacies must keep by law.
We do not sell information. We do not use health information for advertising, and we do not share it with advertisers.
Who we share it with
- The clinician reviewing the visit, an independent licensed provider.
- The pharmacy that fills the prescription, which receives what it needs to dispense and ship.
- The laboratory that runs an at-home test, which receives what it needs to register the kit, run the test and report the result.
- The partner the patient started with, so it can see the status of the patient's orders, settle money where it collects payment, and support the patient. A partner sees only its own patients. Partners are bound by contract to use this information only to support the patient's order.
- Service providers that work for us under written agreements that require them to protect information: cloud hosting, encrypted file storage, email delivery, payment processing, shipping carriers, and the software we use to keep track of partner inquiries.
- When the law requires it, for example in response to a valid legal order, or to report to health authorities where required.
How we protect it
Information is encrypted in transit and at rest. Uploaded files, including IDs and photos, are encrypted before they are stored, with keys that are never stored beside the files. Access is limited to the people involved in the patient's care and in supporting them, every access to a patient record is recorded, and staff sign in with a password and an authenticator app. Our systems are hosted in the United States.
Patients' rights under HIPAA
A patient has the right to:
- See and get a copy of their health record. Much of it is in the patient portal; the rest can be requested from support.
- Ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete.
- Receive a list of certain disclosures we have made.
- Ask for restrictions on how we use or share their information, and ask to be contacted in a particular way or at a particular place. We say yes to reasonable requests.
- Receive a paper copy of this notice.
- File a complaint with us, or with the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, without any retaliation.
To use any of these rights, email support@swonkdog.co.
How long we keep it
Medical records are kept for as long as the law requires clinicians and pharmacies to keep them, which is several years and varies by state. Account, statement and payment records are kept for as long as needed for accounting and legal duties. When information is no longer needed it is deleted or de identified.
Children
The Service is for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.
Changes
We may update this notice. The effective date above changes when we do, and material changes are announced in the portals or by email.
Contact
SWONKDOG. 1521 Concord Pike, Ste 301, Wilmington, DE 19803. support@swonkdog.co. (858) 333-6682. Privacy officer: support@swonkdog.co.