As a user of BSWH Digital Tools, you have the right to know how we protect your privacy and confidentiality, what you should expect from us, and what responsibilities we expect from you. This Digital Privacy Policy (“Policy”) applies to the Digital Tools provided by or on behalf of Baylor Scott & White Health (collectively, “BSWH,” “we,” “us,” “our”). This Policy describes how BSWH collects and uses the personal information you provide and other information that we collect when you visit our websites, utilize our online services or mobile applications or participate in our email or text communications (collectively, the “Digital Tools”).

Your role, responsibilities and risks

  • Read this Digital Privacy Policy in full so you know how our Digital Tools work and how you will interact with them.
  • Pay special attention to your choices as a user.
  • Understand how we collect personal information and how it is used.
  • Exercise your choices for managing how your personal information is collected and used.
  • Always consult with a professional for diagnosis and treatment for specific health problems. With the exception of telemedicine, be aware that use of these Digital Tools cannot replace nor are they intended to serve as a healthcare provider-patient relationship.

What you should expect

  • We will strive to maintain your privacy, confidentiality, and security at all times.
  • We provide you with details about how we collect and use your information.
  • When required, we get your permission for collection and use of your information.
  • If our Digital Tools contain links to a website or mobile app that we do not control, you may receive notice in writing or by another technical mechanism.
  • We have policies and practices to protect your information from loss, misuse, or alteration by third parties. However, there is always risk involved in transmitting information electronically.

About the information we collect

Personal information

At different places on our Digital Tools, you may be asked to volunteer certain information, for example, your name, date of birth, email, address, insurance information and telephone number. We refer to this type of information as “personal information” because it can be used to identify or contact you. Sometimes this personal information is required for you to enhance your experience and take full advantage of our Digital Tools.

When you use some Digital Tools, we may collect and retain information about your devices and how you use the Digital Tools. Examples of the information we may collect include your physical location, phone number, mobile network, hardware, operating system and applications (including versions and updates), and pages you visit. BSWH may retain the information collected in Digital Tools for an indefinite period of time.

Protected health information

With regard to “protected health information,” BSWH complies with HIPAA and other applicable privacy laws and regulations. For more information, please see BSWH’s Notice of Privacy Practices.

Cookies and similar technologies

Our Digital Tools use cookies and similar technologies for record-keeping purposes. When you revisit our site, these technologies allow us to recognize you, your interests, and your preferences. These technologies also assist us in measuring performance of our marketing efforts, assessing the channels that were most helpful in assisting you on your journey to better health. 

Your browser software can be set to reject these technologies. Most browsers offer instructions on how to do so. These instructions can usually be found in the Help section of the toolbar. If you reject these technologies, certain functions and conveniences of our Digital Tools may not work properly. You do not have to accept these technologies in order to use our Digital Tools.

Our relationships with third parties

Our Digital Tools may incorporate third-party offerings that collect and retain information about you. These third parties may use this information to help our Digital Tools work properly.

To the extent legally permissible, BSWH disclaims liability for third-party offerings. BSWH does not exercise control over third-party offerings, and they may or may not have privacy protections similar to our Digital Tools.

In the ordinary course of business, we may share some information about you with a third party. For example, we may make disclosures as required by law, to manage our marketing efforts, or other disclosures as described elsewhere in this Digital Privacy Policy.

Required third-party terms

Some third parties we work with require that we make certain disclosures to you about your personal information. These third-party disclosures apply to you in the same way the rest of this policy does.

Google has determined that the MyBSWHealth app (one of our Digital Tools) is subject to its COVID-19 app requirements. As a result, we are required to provide the following information to you. Our app may:

  • Use your location data to notify front desk staff when you arrive for an appointment or to suggest healthcare providers that are near you. Our app will not store your location data.
  • Use your camera to take new photos or to capture and transmit video for video visits. You choose if you want to use photos to personalize your account or send them as file attachments when you send messages to your healthcare providers.
  • Use your microphone to capture audio for video visits. Our app will not store your audio data.
  • Access your device’s storage to read and write files and photos you choose to use in our app. These files and photos may be used as attachments that are sent to your provider, or they may be created from attachments sent to you from your provider.
  • Access your device’s Bluetooth to detect other nearby devices. This information will be used to notify front desk staff when you arrive for an appointment. Our app will not store your Bluetooth data.
  • Use your phone to call phone numbers displayed in the app. Our app will not store your call history or other call data.
  • Our app may access your calendar to allow you to save appointments. Our app will not read or store any information from your calendar.
  • Our app may access your phone WiFi state to ensure that you are connected when registering. Our app will not store your WiFi state.

How you can manage our collection and use of your information

You have choices about how we collect and use your personal information.

Your communication preferences

When you register with our Digital Tools, you may be presented with options for indicating your communication preferences, such as for promotions or announcements of new services and products. If you change your mind, return to the Digital Tools and change your preferences or use our contact us link.

Your ability to update your personal information

To update your personal information, return to the Digital Tools or use our contact us link.

Your ability to delete your personal information

To request that we delete your personal information previously provided, return to the Digital Tools or use our contact us link.

It is not always possible to delete your personal information provided via the Digital Tools. Copies of your personal information may exist in a non-erasable form. We only use these non-erasable forms of your personal information for limited purposes, for example, data backups and archives.

Your choices about advertising and marketing

There are non-BSWH resources that may help you manage how your personal information is collected and used for advertising and marketing purposes, such as the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”).

For more information regarding the DAA and its WebChoices and AppChoices tools, visit its website at https://youradchoices.com/.

Children

The Digital Tools may be subject to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). Although not designed for children, our Digital Tools may contain content relevant to children under the age of 13. We employ an age identification mechanism designed to prevent children under 13 from entering personally identifiable information. This information about children under 13 is treated the same as other information subject to this Policy.

To obtain more details on the Digital Tools and children, use our contact us link.

Access to digital tools from outside the United States

If you visit or use our Digital Tools from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored or processed in the United States and may be subject to other laws, including those of the country you are located in. Data privacy and protection laws differ from country to country. By using our Digital Tools, you understand that your information may be used and shared as described in this Policy.

Changes to our Digital Privacy Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. A link to the current version of this Policy is available in the Digital Tools. We encourage you to regularly review this Policy. Your use of our Digital Tools constitutes acceptance of this Policy, including any changes.

Complaints or concerns

If you have a complaint or concern relating to our Digital Tools, use our link.