Amara Internal Medicine & Aesthetics, PLLC
d/b/a Amara Health Primary Care & Wellness
1. Scope of This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy informs you (or the entity on whose behalf you are using this Service) (“you” or as the context requires “your”) what Personal Information Amara Internal Medicine & Aesthetics, PLLC d/b/a Amara Health Primary Care & Wellness and its affiliates (collectively, “Amara Health,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) may collect and how Amara Heath uses such information. This Privacy Policy is a part of and incorporated into the Terms of Use (“Terms of Use”) posted to the applicable to the Amara Health website (“Website”) and any other written terms and conditions or agreement of Amara Health software application(s) (“App(s)”) (the Website(s) and the App(s) and related services, collectively, the “Service”). Any terms capitalized in this Privacy Policy, but not defined, have the meanings assigned to such terms in the applicable Terms of Use or Terms and Conditions.
This Privacy Policy applies to Personal Information collected through the Amara Health website and through related interactions with Amara Health, including website forms, appointment requests, telephone calls, emails, SMS or text messages, membership enrollment, payment activities, and other communications. Our website may direct you to third-party platforms, including Elation Health, for patient registration, appointment scheduling, intake, patient-portal services, or other healthcare-related functions. Those third parties may maintain separate privacy policies and terms governing their platforms.
BY USING OR ACCESSING THE SERVICE IN ANY MANNER, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ACCEPT THE PRACTICES AND POLICIES OUTLINED IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY, AND YOU HEREBY CONSENT THAT WE WILL COLLECT, USE, AND SHARE YOUR INFORMATION IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS PRIVACY POLICY, YOU MAY NOT USE THE SERVICE. IF YOU USE THE SERVICE ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE OR AN ENTITY, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AUTHORIZED BY SUCH INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY TO ACCEPT THIS PRIVACY POLICY ON SUCH INDIVIDUAL’S OR ENTITY’S BEHALF.
The Services are not intended for emergency communications. Do not use the website, email, SMS, or general website forms to seek emergency medical assistance. Call 911 if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
2. Personal Information We Collect
“Personal Information” as used in this Privacy Policy means information that identifies, relates to, describes, or can reasonably be linked with an individual. The information we collect depends on how you interact with the Services.
Information You Provide to Us
- Contact information, such as your name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, date of birth, emergency contact, and insurance related information.
- Personal Information such as a name, signature, driver’s license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, medical information, or health information.
- Protected classification characteristics such Age (40 years or older), race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information (including familial genetic information).
- Protected health information such as individually identifiable health information, which may include demographic data, medical histories, and test results.
- Health information you submit such as on our forms you may tell us your symptoms, health consents, past treatments, health focus areas and goals.
- Payment and transaction information. Payment-card or banking information associated with office visits, copays, self-pay services, and membership plans may be collected directly by our authorized third-party payment processor. Amara Health may receive limited transaction details, such as payment status, amount, payment dates, and billing contact information, rather than complete payment-card information for billing, accounting and recordkeeping purposes. Payment information is processed securely. Amara Health does not directly store complete credit card or banking details.
- Communications and preferences, including questions, feedback, survey responses, marketing preferences, and records of communications with us.
- Content you submit, including documents, photographs, videos, testimonials, or other materials you choose to provide in connection wutg ab interaction with Amara Health.
Information Collected Automatically
When you use the Services, we and our service providers may automatically collect information about your device and activity, such as:
- Internet Protocol address, browser type, device type, operating system, language, and general location derived from an IP address;
- pages viewed, links clicked, referring pages, dates and times of visits, and other interactions with the Services;
- sensory data such as audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information; and
- information collected through cookies, pixels, tags, software development kits, and similar technologies, as described below.
This information is collected in the following ways:
- Information You Provide to Amara Health. We collect Personal Information that you voluntarily provide when interacting with our website, including when submitting enquiries through our Contact Us forms, requesting information about our services, or communicating with Amara Health. This information may include your name, email address, phone number and any additional details you choose to provide through our website forms.
- Website Analytics and Usage Information. We use Google Analytics, integrated through Google Site Kit, to understand how visitors interact with our website and to evaluate website performance. This may include information such as pages visited, referral sources, browsing activity, device and browser information, approximate geographical location, and the duration and frequency of website visits. This information helps us understand visitor engagement and improve our website and services.
-
Cookies. The Website and its integrated services may use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, remember user preferences, maintain security, and collect analytical information. These technologies may be used by Google Analytics and hosting or performance services.
- Essential Cookies. These cookies support the basic operation, security and functionality of our website.
- Functional Cookies. These cookies help maintain website preferences and improve the browsing experience.
- Performance/Analytical Cookies. These cookies help us understand website traffic, visitor interactions and overall website performance through services such as Google Analytics. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect some website functionality.
- You can decide whether or not to accept Cookies through your internet browser’s settings. Most browsers have an option for turning off the Cookie feature, which will prevent your browser from accepting new Cookies, as well as (depending on your browser software) allow you to decide on acceptance of each new Cookie in a variety of ways. You may also be able to reject mobile device identifiers by activating the appropriate setting on your mobile device. You can also delete all Cookies that are already on your computer. Although you are not required to accept Amara Health’s Cookies, if you block, reject, or delete them, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you access the Service as some functionalities may not work.
- To explore what Cookie settings are available to you, look in the “preferences” or “options” section of your browser’s menu. To find out more information about Cookies, including information about how to manage and delete Cookies, please visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org.
-
Meta Pixel. We use the visitor action pixel from Meta Platforms, Inc. (1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, or, if you are based in the EU, Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd., 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland (“Meta”) on our Website.
This allows user behavior to be tracked after they have been redirected to the Website by clicking on a Facebook ad. This enables us to measure the effectiveness of Facebook ads for statistical and market research purposes. The collected data remains anonymous and we cannot see any personal data of individual users.
However, this data is stored and processed by Meta, which is why we’re informing you, based on our knowledge of the situation. Meta may link this information to your Facebook account and also use it for its own promotional purposes, in accordance with Meta’s Privacy Policy, which you can visit at https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy. You can allow Meta and its partners to place ads on and off Meta. A cookie may also be stored on your computer for these purposes. To learn more about Meta’s privacy practices and make use of various privacy controls offered by Meta, you can visit https://www.facebook.com/privacy/center.
- Google Analytics. We may use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (“Google”), to help us understand how visitors use and interact with our website and to improve the functionality, performance, and user experience of our website. Google Analytics may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information regarding visitors’ interactions with our website. Information collected through Google Analytics may include information about your device and browser, how you arrived at our website, the pages or features you visit or use, and other information regarding your interactions with the website. Depending on our configuration of Google Analytics and your location, certain location and device information may also be collected. Google may process information collected through Google Analytics in accordance with its own privacy practices. You can learn more about how Google collects and processes information through Google Analytics by reviewing Google’s applicable privacy and data practices. Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have choices regarding the use of cookies and similar technologies through the cookie or privacy settings made available on our website. You have the option to opt-out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting the Google advertising opt-out page at www.google.com/privacy_ads.html or the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- Third-Party Services and Advertising. Amara Health may use third-party platforms, including Google and Meta (Facebook and Instagram), to promote its services. These platforms may also be used to measure the performance of advertising campaigns. Where applicable, information may be processed by these third-party providers in accordance with their respective privacy policies and settings. We do not intend to use website analytics or advertising technologies to collect or disclose sensitive patient information or Protected Health Information (“PHI”). Any tracking technologies implemented on the website must be configured in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection requirements.
Information from Other Sources
We may receive information from affiliates, partner practices, event organizers, publicly available sources, social media platforms, analytics providers, advertising partners, and vendors that help us operate the Services.
3. How We Collect Information
Amara Health may collect Personal Information through the following sources and methods:
- Website contact forms and inquiry forms;
- Appointment requests and online scheduling;
- Elation Health patient registration, intake forms, scheduling, patient-portal services, and Passport;
- In-person patient registration and intake;
- Telephone communications;
- SMS or text communications, including communications facilitated through Nextiva;
- Email communications;
- Membership enrollment;
- Payment processing;
- Forms completed online or in our medical office;
- Information provided directly to Amara Health’s physicians, clinicians, or staff;
- Cookies and similar website technologies;
- Analytics or advertising-measurement technologies, if enabled and appropriately configured; and
- Information received from health plans, laboratories, pharmacies, specialists, hospitals, other healthcare providers, or other parties involved in a patient’s care, when permitted by law.
When you use a third-party platform, such as Elation Health, that third party may collect information directly from you in accordance with its own privacy policy and terms. Amara Health may receive information from the platform as necessary to provide services, facilitate patient care, communicate with patients, and operate the practice.
4. How We Use Personal Information.
We may use Personal Information to:
- provide, operate, maintain, and improve the Services;
- respond to inquiries;
- process payments and maintain transaction records;
- communicate with you about Amara Health, its membership programs, events, services, and opportunities that may interest you, subject to applicable law and your communication preferences;
- personalize content and understand how visitors use the Services;
- conduct analytics, research, and business planning;
- protect the security and integrity of the Services, detect and prevent fraud or misuse, and enforce our agreements and policies;
- apply or enforce the Service’s Terms of Use;
- comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, and establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;
- protect Amara Health’s rights, interests, or property as well as those of Amara Health affiliates, customers, or Service users;
- carry out any other purpose disclosed to you at the time information is collected or with your consent;
- to improve our Website and present its contents to you;
- to operate, secure, and improve the Website and the patient experience;
- respond to your questions and concerns;
- to schedule and confirm appointment details; and
- to contact you, by phone, text message, and email, about your inquiry, appointments, and care.
5. Calls, Text Messages, and Email.
By opting in to receive text messages from Amara Health, you consent to receive SMS communications related to your relationship with Amara Health, including appointment reminders, scheduling and confirmation messages, care coordination, administrative updates, membership-related communications, and responses to patient-initiated inquiries. SMS opt-in information and consent will be used solely for communications related to Amara Health and with service providers necessary to facilitate those communications. Some of these messages are part of an automated follow-up sequence run through our management platform. Consent to receive text messages is not a condition of becoming a patient or purchasing any service. Message and data rates may apply, and message frequency varies. You can opt out of text messages at any time by replying STOP, opt out of marketing emails using the unsubscribe link, or ask us to stop contacting you by emailing contact@amarahealthtx.com.
No mobile or messaging consent information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
6. Information Received on your Behalf.
You may authorize us to obtain information, on your behalf, from other third-party sources. For example, if you submit claims to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) you may decide to authorize us to obtain information directly from CMS. If you authorize us to collect information from a third party, or if you authorize a third party to send us information, and you later decide that you no longer want us to collect that information, you may need to go to the third party source directly and ask that they stop transmitting information to us.
7. Sharing of Information with Third Parties.
Amara Health will not rent, sell or otherwise disclose your Personal Information to unrelated third parties without your consent, except as stated in this Privacy Policy. You consent that Amara Health may disclose Personal Information to the following third parties (“Authorized Third Party”) for a Business Purpose:
- Our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, and other related companies;
- Service providers;
- Third parties you or your agent authorize us to disclose Personal Information to in connection with the Services we provide to you;
- To the extent permitted by law, government authorities or third parties pursuant to a legal request, subpoena, or other legal process;
- If we sell all or part of its business or make a sale or transfer of assets or is otherwise involved in a merger or business transfer, you agree that Amara Health may transfer your Personal Information to a third party as part of that transaction.
Mobile numbers and other SMS opt-in data collected as part of Amara Health’s text message program, as contained in Amara Health’s Terms of Use, will not be shared with or sold to third parties for marketing or promotional purposes.
We may also disclose information at your direction, with your consent, or as otherwise disclosed when the information is collected. We may use and disclose aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you, subject to applicable law.
8. Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation.
Amara Health limits the use of Personal Information to ways that are compatible and relevant to the purposes for which the Personal Information was collected or subsequently authorized or for which consent was obtained. Amara Health will take reasonable steps to ensure that Personal Information is reliable for its intended use, accurate, complete, and current.
9. Retention of Personal Information.
Amara Health will retain your Personal Information as needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. Amara Health will retain and use your Personal Information as necessary to comply with Amara Health business requirements, legal obligations, to resolve disputes, protect our assets, and enforce our agreements.
10. Aggregated De-Identified Information.
Amara Health may provide aggregated information related to your Personal Information to some of Amara Health’s business partners. This information is used in a collective manner and does not identify you individually in any way. In addition, as set forth in the Terms of Use and/or Terms and Conditions for the Service, Amara Health may, subject to the limitations set out in the Terms of Use or Terms and Conditions, use certain de-identified PHI.
11. Security.
- The security of your Personal Information is important to us. We seek to protect your Personal Information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure using appropriate physical, technical, organizational and administrative security measures based on the type of Personal Information and how we are processing that data. We endeavor to follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the Personal Information submitted to us, both during transmission and in storage. We store and process your information on our servers in the United States. We maintain what we consider industry standard backup and archival systems. You should also help protect your data by appropriately selecting and protecting your password and/or other sign-on mechanism; limiting access to your computer or device and browser; and signing off after you have finished accessing your account.
- Although we work to protect the security of your account and other data that we hold in our records, for example, by making good faith efforts to store Personal Information in a secure operating environment that is not open to the public, please be aware that no method of transmitting data over the Internet or storing data is completely secure. We cannot and do not guarantee the complete security of any data you share with us, and except as expressly required by law, we are not responsible for the theft, destruction, loss or inadvertent disclosure of your information or content.
- If at any time during or after our relationship we believe that the security of your Personal Information may have been compromised, we may seek to notify you of that development. If a notification is appropriate, we will endeavor to notify you as promptly as possible under the circumstances. If we have your email address, we may notify you by email to the most recent email address you have provided us. If you receive a notice from us, you can print it to retain a copy of it. To receive these notices, you must check your email account using your computer or mobile device and email application software. You consent to our use of email as a means of such notification. If you prefer for us to use the U.S. Postal Service to notify you in this situation, please email us at contact@amarahealthtx.com. Please include your address when you submit your request. You can make this election any time, and it will apply to notifications we make after a reasonable time thereafter for us to process your request. You may also use this email address to request a print copy, at no charge, of an electronic notice we have sent to you regarding a compromise of your Personal Information.
- We retain Personal Information about you consistent with all internal policies and procedures. We may retain Personal Information to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes or collect fees owed, or as is otherwise permitted or required by our data retention policies and procedures.
12. Children’s Privacy.
- The Service is not directed to or intended for use by children under 18 years of age. If you are a child under the age of 18, please do not attempt to register for or otherwise use the Service or send us any Personal Information. By accessing, using and/or submitting information to or through the Service, you represent that you are not under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from children under the age of 18. If we learn that we have received any Personal Information directly from a child under age 18 without first receiving his or her parent’s verified consent, we will use that Personal Information only to respond directly to that child (or his or her parent or legal guardian) to inform the child that he or she cannot use the Service. We will then subsequently delete that child’s Personal Information. If you believe that a child under 18 may have provided us with Personal Information, please contact us at contact@amarahealthtx.com.
- If you are under the age of majority in your place of residence, you may use the Service only with the consent of or under the supervision of your parent or legal guardian. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a minor child, you may, in compliance with the Terms of Use, use the Service on behalf of such minor child. Any information that you provide us while using the Service on behalf of your minor child will be treated as Personal Information as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy. If you use the Service on behalf of another person, regardless of age, you agree that Amara Health may contact you for any communication made in connection with providing the Service or any legally required communications. You further agree to forward or share any such communication with any person for whom you are using the Service on behalf.
13. Deleting Account.
If you wish to close your account, please email us at contact@amarahealthtx.com. Amara Health will use reasonable efforts to delete your account as soon as reasonably possible. Please note, however, that Amara Health reserves the right to retain information from closed accounts consistent with our internal data retention policies and procedures. You must promptly notify us if any of your account data is lost, stolen, or used without permission.
14. Links to Third Party Websites from our Website.
To the extent that our Website contains links to sites operated by third parties and not related to our products or services (“Linked Websites”), the Linked Websites are not controlled by us and we are not responsible for the privacy practices of those companies. Before disclosing your Personal Information to Linked Websites, we advise you to examine their privacy policies.
15. Your Privacy Rights.
Depending on your state of residence and subject to applicable law, you may have certain rights regarding your Personal Information:
-
Access. You may have the right to request certain information about our collection and use of your Personal Information over the past 12 months, including the following:
- The categories of Personal Information that we have collected about you.
- The categories of sources from which that Personal Information was collected.
- The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling your Personal Information.
- The categories of third parties with whom we have shared your Personal Information.
- The specific pieces of Personal Information that we have collected about you.
- The categories of Personal Information about you, if any, that we have disclosed for monetary or other valuable consideration and the categories of third parties to which we have disclosed the information, by category or categories of Personal Information for each third party to which we disclosed the Personal Information.
- The categories of Personal Information about you that we disclosed for a business purpose.
You may request that the foregoing information be provided to you or a third party you designate in a structured,commonly used, machine-readable format, to the extent technically feasible.
-
Deletion. You may have the right to request that we delete the Personal Information that we have collected from you. Please note that if you have requested a service that requires the use of your Personal Information, we may not be able to provide that service if you choose to delete your Personal Information. This right is subject to certain exceptions under state law which may include the following:
- Complete the transaction for which we collected the Personal Information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you.
- Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
- Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
- Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another user to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
- Comply with state privacy law.
- Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information’s deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research’s achievement, if you previously provided informed consent.
- Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with user expectations based on your relationship with us.
- Comply with a legal obligation.
- Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.
If your deletion request is subject to one of these exceptions, we may deny your deletion request.
- Opt-Out. You may also have the right to request that we not share, disclose, disseminate, make available or otherwise transfer your Personal Information with third parties for advertising or similar purposes. Amara Health gives residents of certain jurisdictions, the opportunity to opt-out prior to disclosing Personal Information or using Personal Information for a purpose that is incompatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by such individual. Exceptions to these requirements may apply where the disclosure of Personal Information is necessary for Amara Health to coordinate with certain Authorized Third Parties, carry out its employment law obligations, or for other reasons as permitted by applicable law.
- Correct. You may have the right to request that we correct Personal Information that we maintain about you that is inaccurate by identifying the erroneous information and providing corrected information.
- Limit. You may have the right to limit the use and disclosure of “Sensitive Personal Information” (which includes PINS, social security, driver’s license, passport, or state ID card numbers, account or debit or credit card numbers combined with passwords or codes that would enable access to the accounts, exact geolocation information, information regarding racial origin, religious beliefs, or union membership, your email or text content (unless intentionally sent to us), and genetic data) to only those situations where it is necessary for us to provide requested products or Services to you, and requires us to inform you before such data is used for any other reason.
- Automatic Decision Making. You may have the right to request information about the logic involved in automatic decision making processes we use involving your Personal Information, and to request that you not be subject to such automated decision making.
-
Non-Discrimination. We may not discriminate against you because of your exercise of any of the foregoing privacy rights, including by:
- Denying you goods or services;
- Charging different prices or rates for goods or services, including through the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties;
- Providing you a different level or quality of goods or services; or
- Suggesting that you will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.
We may, however, charge different prices or rates, or provide a different level or quality of goods or services, if that difference is reasonably related to the value provided to us by your Personal Information.
-
Exercising Your Rights.
- To exercise the rights described above, you must send us a request that (1) provides sufficient information to allow us to verify that you are the person about whom we have collected Personal Information, and (2) describes your request in sufficient detail to allow us to understand, evaluate, and respond to it. Each request that meets both of these criteria will be considered a “Valid Request.” We may not respond to requests that do not meet these criteria. We will only use Personal Information provided in a Valid Request to verify you and complete your request. You do not need an account to submit a Valid Request.
- We will work to respond to your Valid Request within 45 days of receipt. We will not charge you a fee for making a Valid Request unless your Valid Request(s) is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that your Valid Request warrants a fee, we will notify you of the fee and explain that decision before completing your request.
- You may submit a Valid Request using the following method(s) or you have questions or difficulty submitting a Valid Request, you can call us at (469) 461-6173 or email us at contact@amarahealthtx.com.
The rights available to you may vary depending on your state of residence, and certain rights may be subject to exceptions or limitations under applicable law.
To exercise a privacy right, please contact us using the information provided in the Contact Us section below. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. If you use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf, we may request information necessary to verify the agent's authority and your identity, as permitted by applicable law.
We will respond to privacy requests within the time and in the manner required by applicable law. We will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right provided to you by law.
16. Changes to this Privacy Policy.
We reserve the right to amend our Privacy Policy at our discretion and at any time. When we make changes to the Privacy Policy, we will notify you by email or through a notice on our website homepage. Use of the information we collect is subject to the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is collected. You should review this Privacy Policy periodically so that you keep up to date on our most current policies and practices. The effective date of the latest version of our Privacy Policy is located at the beginning of this Privacy Policy.
17. Contact Information.
If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, the ways in which we collect and use your Personal Information, your choices and rights regarding such use, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Email: contact@amarahealthtx.com
Address: 27045 E University Drive, Suite 2D Aubrey, Texas 76227
Phone: (469) 461-6173
Fax: (972)483-9904