Privacy Policy
This privacy policy sets out how the medical practice of Dr. Leon Augustine and Dr. Nitesh Parikh (Specialist Obstetricians & Gynaecologists) uses and protects any information that you give us when you use this website: https://obgyndurban.co.za/.
Our practice is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
As a medical practice operating in South Africa, we strictly adhere to local statutory requirements. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) (https://popia.co.za/) provides further details of the South Africa Privacy Act and how it protects personal information in South Africa.
We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page regularly to ensure that you are happy with any changes.
What Information We Collect
Because our website does not offer an option for users to register an account, log in, or submit onsite comments and reviews, we do not collect or store user-generated content, passwords, or profile metadata through this site.
Providing your information via our standard medical enquiry forms or appointment requests is entirely optional; however, some communications or scheduling services may not be fully available if you choose not to provide it. Through this website, we may collect the following personal information:
- Name
- Contact information, including email address and phone number
- Information relevant to medical inquiries, medical aid routing, or pre-conceptual, obstetric, and gynaecological care coordination
- Demographic, preference, and website traffic information
We also collect aggregated, anonymized data generated by our systems as they track traffic through our site. This information does not identify you personally and is not linked to any personal data you share.
What We Do with the Information We Gather
We require this information to understand your healthcare needs and provide you with a professional, personalized, and efficient medical service, and in particular for the following reasons:
- Internal medical record keeping and scheduling.
- To process your healthcare inquiries, outline consultation/procedure next steps, or assist you with booking requests.
- To improve our medical practice services, patient resources, and website functionality.
- To periodically send informational updates, promotional materials about the clinic, or other healthcare information we think you may find interesting using the email address you have provided.
- To contact you for follow-up coordination or patient satisfaction purposes (by email, phone, or mail).
Security
We are firmly committed to ensuring that your electronic security and personal information are secure. In order to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
Cookies & Advertising Tools
A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added, helping analyze web traffic and letting us monitor which pages you find useful.
- How We Use Cookies: We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used to analyze data about web traffic and improve our website experience. Cookies do not give us access to your computer or any personally identifying information about you, other than the data you choose to share.
- Google Analytics & Google Ads: We use Google Analytics and Google Ads to improve our website experience, analyze clinic traffic patterns, and deliver relevant medical service advertising. By using this site, you acknowledge our use of these tools for performance and advertising purposes.
- Remarketing: We use Remarketing with Google Analytics and Google Ads to advertise online. Third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie) and third-party cookies together to inform, optimize, and serve relevant ads across the internet based on your past visits to our website.
- Managing Cookies: Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may, however, prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
Data Sharing and Retention
We will not sell, distribute, share, or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your explicit permission or are legally required by law to do so. Your information may be securely hosted with an authorized cloud service provider under agreements that protect your data from unauthorized use. Non-personally identifiable aggregated data may be shared with third parties or business partners for analytical purposes.
We only retain your submitted personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill medical, administrative, and legal purposes, or as outlined under South African healthcare compliance and safety standards.
Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest (such as medical bodies or maps). However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information you provide while visiting such sites, as they are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and review the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
Controlling Your Personal Information (Your Rights)
You always have the option to restrict or opt out of the collection or use of your personal information for direct marketing purposes:
- Whenever you fill in a form on the website, look for the checkbox indicating you do not want the information used for marketing.
- If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing, you may change your mind at any stage.
Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the right to request details of the personal information we hold about you, request an exported copy of your digital data, or ask that we correct or erase any incorrect or incomplete information.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or if you would like to request access to or correction of your personal data, please contact our reception directly through the available communication channels on our website: https://obgyndurban.co.za/.