This Privacy Policy explains what information Ian Purcell MD APC collects, why we collect it, and who we share it with.
Your medical records are separately protected under HIPAA. How we use and disclose protected health information in the course of your care is described in our Notice of Privacy Practices. Where the two documents overlap, the Notice of Privacy Practices controls for your health information.
Who this policy covers
Ian Purcell MD APC (“the practice,” “we,” “us”) operates the otoneurology practice of Ian Purcell MD PhD and Monali Patel MD at 7625 Mesa College Drive, Suite 200A, San Diego, CA 92111, and publishes this website at dizzydoctor.com. This policy applies to patients, prospective patients, and visitors to the website.
Information we collect and why
We collect only the information we need to schedule, provide, and bill for care, and to communicate with you about it. We collect it when you call the office, when you complete paperwork at a visit, and in the course of your care — not through this website.
- Contact information — your name, mobile phone number, home or mailing address, and email address. We collect this so we can reach you about appointments, test instructions, results, and billing, and so we can send the text messages you have asked to receive.
- Mobile phone number and messaging consent — when you give us your mobile number and opt in, we record the number, the date you consented, and the wording you agreed to. We keep this record so we can prove your consent was given and honor it if you later opt out.
- Appointment and clinical information — what you tell us when you call or visit, and the records created during your care. This information is protected health information under HIPAA.
- Insurance and payment information — your plan, member number, and payment details, collected so we can verify benefits and bill correctly.
- Website technical information — our host, Amazon Web Services, keeps standard server logs such as IP address, browser type, and the pages requested. These logs exist for security and reliability.
This website collects nothing from you. It has no patient portal, no accounts, and no forms — it does not ask for your phone number, your health information, or anything else.
How we use your information
We use the information above to provide and coordinate your care, to confirm and remind you of appointments, to answer questions you send us, to bill your insurer or you, to meet our legal and professional obligations, and to run and secure the practice and this website. If you have opted in to text messages, we also use your mobile number to send the messages described in our Terms & Conditions.
Text messaging and your mobile number
Text messaging is optional. You are never required to agree to text messages in order to be seen, to schedule, or to receive any service from us.
Consumer information is not shared with third-parties for marketing purposes. No mobile information is sold, rented, or shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Your mobile number is shared only with the messaging vendor that delivers our texts on our behalf, and that vendor may use it only to deliver those messages — never for its own marketing. Consent to receive text messages is not shared with any third party for any purpose.
You can stop our text messages at any time by replying STOP. Details are in our Patient Messaging Opt-In Agreement.
How we share information
We share information only as follows:
- With people treating you — referring physicians, therapists, imaging centers, and laboratories involved in your care.
- With your health plan — to verify benefits, obtain authorization, and get paid.
- With vendors who work for us — our messaging and telephone platform, scheduling and records systems, billing services, and website host. Each is bound by contract, and where HIPAA applies by a business associate agreement, to protect your information and to use it only for the work we have asked them to do.
- When the law requires it — in response to a court order, subpoena, or a reporting obligation, as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it with data brokers. We do not share it with advertisers.
How we protect information
We use administrative, physical, and technical safeguards appropriate to a medical practice, including access controls, encrypted transmission of this website, and staff training. No system is perfectly secure, but we will notify you as required by law if a breach affects your unsecured health information.
Your choices and rights
- You can opt out of text messages at any time by replying STOP, or by calling the office.
- You can ask us to contact you a particular way, for example by calling a specific number or mailing to a different address.
- You can ask to see, get a copy of, or correct your medical record. Those rights, and how to use them, are described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.
- California residents have additional rights regarding personal information. Contact the office and we will respond as the law requires.
Cookies and website tracking
This website does not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics. Pages load typefaces from Google Fonts, so your browser connects to Google to download them, and some pages load the UserWay accessibility widget, which may remember the display settings you choose. Links to other websites, such as maps and health resources, are governed by those sites’ own privacy policies.
Children’s privacy
This website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children through it. We do treat minors as patients; information about a minor patient is handled under our Notice of Privacy Practices and applicable California law.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. The effective date above shows when it was last changed, and the current version is always posted at dizzydoctor.com/privacy-policy.html.
Contact us
Privacy Officer
Ian Purcell MD APC
7625 Mesa College Drive, Suite 200A, San Diego, CA 92111
Phone: (858) 223-2172
Fax: (858) 533-8397