Internet Privacy Policy

Patients are at the center of everything we do at Wellstar, and patient privacy is important to us. You should feel comfortable visiting Wellstar.org, our other websites and using our apps (altogether “digital products”) to learn more about the care we provide. This means we are careful to protect your privacy and are open about the information we collect and what we do with it.

This internet privacy policy will help you understand what types of information are linked with you and our digital products and what we do with it to improve your experience.

Wellstar is online to inspire and spread awareness about wellness and to educate you on healthcare services. Unless you’ve initiated a digital health encounter with a Wellstar clinical expert through our digital products, these products are in no way a substitute for getting a professional opinion from a healthcare provider. If you’re experiencing a life-threatening emergency, please call 911.

By visiting our websites and using our apps, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to the practices and policies outlined, and consent that we may collect, use and share your information in the ways below. If you are a minor, you acknowledge that you have parental consent for us to collect, use and share your information in the ways below.

Understanding how Wellstar’s digital products differ from third-party digital products

This policy applies to Wellstar.org, subsidiary sites, the Wellstar app and any other digital products that might be added in the future. This privacy policy does not apply to other websites, apps, social media channels or other consumer products where Wellstar maintains a presence as a third party. These consumer products have their own privacy policies. Some examples of these include: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Healthgrades, Doctor.com, Zocdoc, AmWell.

Understanding how Wellstar’s digital products differ from partner digital products

Wellstar works with partners to provide online services such as electronic medical records, third party appointment booking, telehealth visits and payment processing. As our partners, they are bound to protect the private health information of every patient, but when you visit their websites or use their apps, you are leaving Wellstar’s digital products. Please refer to their internet privacy policies for more information on how other companies use information they collect from people using their products.

Additionally, Wellstar may link to a third-party website. We are not responsible for the quality or integrity of information provided there. A link on the Wellstar website does not imply we can perpetually confirm the validity of or endorse the information it links to.

This also includes information and content that can be found surrounding a third-party website’s link to Wellstar’s websites.

Linking to a Wellstar website

We do not stop others from linking to Wellstar’s websites, but we ask any organization that links to our website agree to the following:

Your web content and link cannot misrepresent your relationship to Wellstar.
Your link should not appear to be an affiliation with Wellstar unless you have obtained written consent.
You’ll keep your Wellstar website links updated.

Wellstar does not grant permission to organizations or individuals to link to Wellstar if their websites violate intellectual property, privacy or personal rights; have deceptive or false advertising; contain sexually explicit or objectionable material; break local, state or federal laws; or reflect poorly on Wellstar. We reserve the right to take legal action at any point in time for any reason without explanation.

HIPAA and protected health information

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides specific protections for the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI) and restricts how it is used and disclosed. Wellstar may only use and disclose PHI as permitted by law or with the written authorization of the patient or the patient’s representative.

View our full privacy policy

Information we collect online

The following information details the types of personal data Wellstar collects from users across our digital products.

Information you provide to us: You may voluntarily give us personal information such as name, gender, age, birthday, address, email address, phone number, username and credit or debit card information. Financial information you give us may be processed by a third-party payment processor or financial institution.

Device and usage information: We collect information such as IP addresses, MAC addresses, or other unique device identifiers for computers, smart phones, Wi-Fi cards or other devices. The technologies to collect device information and learn about a user’s interaction with our digital products may include cookies, pixels, tags, code snippets, web or local beacons and device IDs. This information does not include private information, such as your name, address or email address. Wellstar has the ability to and may append these details to a Wellstar personal profile (through customer relationship management or experience software) if you have voluntarily given us any information. Matching this information helps Wellstar provide a more personalized digital experience to users.

Device information helps Wellstar deliver a better user experience, such as speeding up the loading time on a web page or providing a more personal experience with relevant messages or images. Most web browsers allow users to disable cookies and disabling cookies should not disrupt your ability to use the Wellstar website for critical tasks (like finding a doctor).

This type of device and usage information may be shared with our partners, such as ad networks, to help us create a more personalized experience for you over time, and help us understand how we can best serve you along your healthcare journey.

Geolocation information: GPS or IP address information can help Wellstar personalize its digital products for individual users, and serve them with context. For example, a user may see locations that are nearby or receive targeted communications for local services. This information may be shared with our partners, such as ad networks, so we can show you content that it most relevant to you.

Analytics: Wellstar uses technology to automatically collect information about how our digital products are accessed and used. This includes statistical data that helps us understand how many individuals used a website or app, or how long someone read content on a page, or which links users clicked on. This information helps us understand what features users want, what we can do to improve, and what we should build next. Most of these types of data are generally non-identifying.

How we use and disclose your information

We may use information you may provide to us to better understand who uses Wellstar’s digital products and how we can deliver a better digital experience to users, or otherwise at our discretion.

Changes to this policy

As deemed necessary, we reserve the right to revise and update this privacy notice at any time. Website users should periodically review this notice for any changes. Except as expressly required by law, we are not responsible for the theft, misuse, destruction, loss or inadvertent disclosure of your information or content.