This Privacy Policy explains how Doctor247 ("we", "us" or "our") collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information when you visit doctor247.ie or use any of our online consultation services. Your privacy matters to us, and we handle your data in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Irish Data Protection Acts, and the patient safety standards expected of healthcare providers in the Republic of Ireland.

Please read this policy carefully. If anything is unclear, contact us using the details at the end of this page before you use the service.

1. Who We Are

Doctor247 is an online telemedicine service that connects patients in the Republic of Ireland with general practitioners registered with the Irish Medical Council (IMC). The data controller responsible for your personal information is [REGISTERED COMPANY NAME] Ltd, trading as Doctor247, a company registered in Ireland under company number [COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER], with its registered office at [REGISTERED ADDRESS].

2. The Information We Collect

Information you give us

When you book a consultation or contact our team, we ask you to provide details that allow a doctor to assess and treat you safely. This typically includes your name, date of birth, email address, mobile number, home or delivery address, your symptoms and relevant medical history, current medication, and the pharmacy you would like any prescription sent to.

Health and special category data

Because we provide a medical service, some of the data we collect is sensitive health information (special category data under GDPR). We only collect what a doctor needs to reach a safe clinical decision about whether a consultation, prescription or referral is appropriate for you.

Payment information

Payment for consultations is handled by our third-party payment processor, which holds Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) certification. Your card details are entered directly with that processor and are never stored on our own servers. We receive confirmation that a payment has been made, along with limited transaction details, but not your full card number.

Information you send when you contact us

If you reach us through live chat, email, telephone, our website forms or any other channel, we may keep a record of that correspondence, your contact details and anything else you share, so that we can respond to you and keep an accurate account of your care.

Information we receive about you

Where a doctor refers you for tests, imaging or a specialist opinion, any report or result returned to us is added to your record so that it can support your ongoing care.

Technical and device information

When you use our website or join a video consultation, we automatically collect technical data such as your IP address, browser type and settings, device type, operating system, and details of how you interact with the service, including dates, times and error reports. This helps us keep the platform secure and working properly.

3. How and Why We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Delivering your consultation. Your intake details give the treating doctor the clinical picture needed to assess your symptoms, reach a working diagnosis, and decide whether treatment is safe and suitable.
• Issuing prescriptions and documents. Where appropriate, a prescription is sent to your nominated pharmacy through Healthmail, and any medical certificate or referral letter is delivered to you electronically.
• Communicating with you. We use your email, SMS or phone number to confirm appointments, send notifications, and contact you about your consultation. Sensitive clinical information is shared through secure channels rather than ordinary email.
• Improving the service. We review usage patterns and clinical outcomes to make the platform safer and more reliable. Any data used for research or reporting is aggregated and anonymised so that you cannot be identified.
• Marketing, only with your consent. If you opt in, we may occasionally tell you about new services, health information or offers. You can withdraw your consent at any time.

4. Our Legal Basis Under GDPR

We rely on different legal grounds depending on the activity:

• Contract: processing needed to provide the consultation you have booked.
• Consent: for optional activities such as marketing communications.
• Legal obligation: where the law requires us to retain or disclose information.
• Vital interests: where processing is needed to protect your life or someone else's in an emergency.
• Provision of healthcare (Article 9(2)(h)): the basis for processing your health data, carried out by or under the responsibility of a registered medical professional bound by confidentiality.

5. Who Has Access to Your Information

We do not sell your data, and we do not share identifiable personal information with third parties except where it is necessary to run the service or to meet a legal duty.

• Our clinical and support team access your information strictly on a need-to-know basis. All staff are bound by confidentiality obligations, and every doctor is bound by the duties of IMC registration.
• Your nominated pharmacy receives prescriptions through Healthmail so that your medication can be dispensed.
• Approved service providers who process data on our behalf (for example, payment, hosting and communication providers) do so under a written Data Processing Agreement that requires GDPR-compliant handling.

Disclosure with your consent

We may release information to a third party, such as an insurer or employer, only when you have given clear authorisation, and only to the extent you have authorised. Without that authorisation, nothing is released.

Disclosure without your consent

In limited situations we may be required to share information without consent: where the law or a court order compels it, or where disclosure is in the public interest, for example to prevent serious harm to you or to others, or under public health reporting rules.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain your information only for as long as it is needed to provide the service, meet legal and clinical guidelines, or until you ask us to delete an account that has no associated medical record. Where you have received clinical care, we keep your medical records in line with recognised retention periods, which include the following:

Record type	Minimum retention
Adult patients (18 and over)	Eight years after last treatment, or after death
Children and young people	Until the patient turns 25 (or 26 if treatment ended at age 17), or eight years after death
Maternity records	25 years after the birth of the last child
Records held for a legal matter	For as long as required for that matter

These periods may change if the law or national guidance is updated.

7. How We Keep Your Information Secure

We use technical and organisational measures to protect your data. Video consultations run on encrypted infrastructure, access to records is controlled and logged, and data is stored under GDPR protections. Please note that ordinary email is not a fully secure channel, so we cannot accept liability for information you choose to send us by standard email. Where you need to share clinical details, use the secure options we provide.

8. Telephone and Video Recording

We may record calls or consultations for verification, quality and training purposes. Where this applies, recordings are held under the same protections as the rest of your record.

9. Your Rights

Under data protection law you have the right to:

• Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Have inaccurate information corrected.
• Request erasure of your data, where no legal or clinical obligation requires us to keep it.
• Restrict or object to certain processing.
• Receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing carried out before withdrawal.

To protect you, requests that involve your personal or medical data must be made in writing and include a copy of photo identification, such as a passport or driving licence, so that we can confirm the request comes from you. We respond to valid requests within one month. If you are not satisfied with how we handle your data, you can contact the Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie.

10. Account Deactivation and Deletion

If your account has no associated medical record, deleting it removes your account and the related information permanently, and you would need to register again to use the service. If you have had a consultation with one of our doctors, we deactivate the account rather than erase it, and we keep your medical record for the retention period set out above, as required of any healthcare provider.

11. Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to keep the site working, remember your preferences and understand how the service is used. You can manage your choices through your browser settings. For full details, see our Cookie Policy.

12. Children's Privacy

Consultations for children are available, but a parent or legal guardian must be present throughout and is responsible for providing information and consent on the child's behalf. We handle a child's health data with the same care and confidentiality as any patient record.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. When we do, we will revise the date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review it occasionally. Continuing to use the service after an update means you accept the revised policy.

14. How to Contact Us