Privacy Policy

Healthcare Price Tool respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from healthcarepricetool.com (the "Site").

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use the Site. By accessing or using the Site or by clicking to accept or agree to the Privacy Policy when this option is made available to you, you affirm that you are of sufficient age and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. This policy may change from time to time (see Changes). Your continued use of the Site after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the Privacy Policy periodically for updates.

HIPAA AND PHI

Certain demographic, health and/or health-related information that Healthcare Price Tool collects about Users on behalf of our Healthcare Providers as part of providing the Services may be "protected health information" ("PHI") governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"). Specifically, when (i) Healthcare Price Tool is providing administrative, operational, or other services to a Healthcare Provider that is a "Covered Entity" (as defined by HIPAA); and (ii) in order to provide those services, Healthcare Price Tool receives identifiable information about a User on behalf of the Healthcare Provider, where Healthcare Price Tool is acting as a "Business Associate" (as defined by HIPAA); and (iii) this identifiable information is regulated as PHI.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to PHI, which is instead regulated by HIPAA. HIPAA provides specific protections for the privacy and security of PHI and restricts how PHI is used and disclosed. Please read the Notice of Privacy Practices of your Health Provider to understand how your PHI can be used and disclosed.

Personal data that a User provides to Healthcare Price Tool when Healthcare Price Tool is not acting as a Business Associate is not PHI and is therefore covered by this Privacy Policy. To provide just a few examples, we are collecting personally identifiable information ("PII") when you (i) create an account, (ii) search for Healthcare Providers or available appointments with Healthcare Providers; (iii) post reviews; (iv) provide device/IP Information or Web Analytics information by browsing our websites (see below); or (v) authorize your Covered Entity health provider to disclose PHI to Healthcare Price Tool pursuant to a HIPAA Authorization form you have completed.

PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

When you visit the Site, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device. Additionally, as you browse the Site, we collect information about the individual web pages or products that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to the Site, and information about how you interact with the Site. We refer to this automatically-collected information as "Device Information."

We collect Device Information using the following technologies:

- "Cookies" are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. For more information about cookies, and how to disable cookies, visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org.

- "Log files" track actions occurring on the Site, and collect data including your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, and date/time stamps.

- "Web beacons," "tags," and "pixels" are electronic files used to record information about how you browse the Site.

Additionally, when you make a purchase or attempt to make a purchase through the Site, we collect certain information from you, including your name, payment information (including credit card numbers), and email address. We refer to this information as "Order Information."

When we talk about "Personal Information" in this Privacy Policy, we are talking both about Device Information and Order Information.

HEALTHCARE PROVIDER DATA

In addition to personal information from users, Healthcare Price Tool collects and processes information about healthcare providers to create comprehensive provider profiles and enable price and quality comparisons. This section describes how we handle provider-specific data.

Sources of Provider Information
We collect provider information from various public and licensed sources, including:

- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) databases

- State medical licensing boards and registries

- Hospital price transparency files required by federal regulations

- Insurance transparency in coverage files

- National Provider Identifier (NPI) registry

- Other publicly available healthcare databases

- Licensed third-party data providers and aggregators

How Provider Data is Processed and Displayed
Provider data undergoes automated processing to create profiles that include pricing information, quality scores, practice details, and other relevant information. This processing includes:

- Aggregating data from multiple sources to create comprehensive profiles

- Calculating quality scores using proprietary methodologies based on claims data and other metrics

- Analyzing pricing data to enable cost comparisons

- Cross-referencing information across sources for accuracy

- Creating profiles automatically without provider involvement or endorsement

Provider Rights Regarding Their Information
Healthcare providers have certain rights regarding the information displayed in their profiles:

- Providers may submit corrections for factual errors at no charge through our "For Providers" page

- Correctable information includes practice addresses, phone numbers, specialties, and similar factual data

- Pricing data, quality scores, and rankings calculated using our methodologies cannot be altered through the correction process

- Evidence may be required to verify correction requests

- We will use best efforts to respond to correction requests within 5-7 business days

Data Retention for Provider Profiles
Provider profile data is retained indefinitely to support our mission of healthcare transparency. This includes:

- Historical pricing and quality data for trend analysis

- Updates as new information becomes available from our data sources

- Preservation of data for public benefit and transparency purposes

Third-Party Data Sources and Their Usage
We rely on data from third-party sources and cannot guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Healthcare Price Tool:

- Makes no warranties regarding the accuracy of third-party data

- Is not responsible for errors or omissions in data from external sources

- Updates data as new information becomes available from sources

- Encourages users to verify critical information directly with providers

Provider Opt-Out Requests
Healthcare providers who wish to opt out of having their profiles displayed on Healthcare Price Tool may submit a request by emailing help@healthcarepricetool.com. To ensure the security and integrity of our platform and to prevent unauthorized changes or misrepresentation, we require identity verification for all opt-out requests.

When a provider submits an opt-out request, we will guide them through a verification process that includes:

- Creating a secure account on our platform

- Completing identity verification to confirm they are authorized to make decisions for the healthcare provider

- Confirming the opt-out request after verification is complete

Once a provider's identity is verified and the opt-out request is confirmed, we will make our best efforts to remove the provider's profile from public display as quickly as possible. The timeline for processing may vary based on the volume of requests and verification requirements.

Data Handling After Opt-Out
When a provider opts out:

- Their profile will be removed from public search results and displays on our platform

- We will retain certain information for legal, regulatory, and compliance purposes

- Records of the opt-out request and verification will be maintained for our internal records

- Historical data that was previously public may continue to exist in third-party databases, search engine caches, or archives outside our control

Providers who have opted out may request to have their profiles reinstated at any time by contacting help@healthcarepricetool.com and completing the verification process.

For more details about provider profiles and the complete opt-out policy, please refer to Section 5 of our Terms of Service.

HOW DO WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

We use the Order Information that we collect generally to fulfill any orders placed through the Site (including processing your payment information and providing you with invoices and/or order confirmations). Additionally, we use this Order Information to:

Communicate with you;

Screen our orders for potential risk or fraud; and

When in line with the preferences you have shared with us, provide you with information or advertising relating to our products or services.

We use the Device Information that we collect to help us screen for potential risk and fraud (in particular, your IP address), and more generally to improve and optimize our Site (for example, by generating analytics about how our customers browse and interact with the Site, and to assess the success of our marketing and advertising campaigns).

SHARING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We share your Personal Information with third parties to help us use your Personal Information, as described above. For example, we use Stripe to power our subscription purchases--you can read more about how Stripe may use your Personal Information here: https://stripe.com/privacy. We also use Memberstack to power our user login and account interface – you can read more about how Memberstack may use your Personal Information here: https://www.memberstack.com/legal/privacy-policy. We also use Google Analytics to help us understand how our customers use the Site--you can read more about how Google may use your Personal Information here: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/. You can also opt-out of Google Analytics here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Finally, we may also share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect the rights, safety, or property of Healthcare Price Tool, our customers, or others.

ADVERTISING AND COOKIES

We use third-party advertising services to display advertisements on our Site. Currently, we use Google AdSense to serve ads, which may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to provide targeted advertising based on your interests and browsing behavior.

Google AdSense: Google AdSense uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our Site or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our Site and/or other sites on the Internet. You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ad Settings.

Types of Cookies Used:

• Performance cookies to understand how visitors interact with our Site
• Targeting cookies to display relevant advertisements
• Third-party cookies placed by Google for ad serving and tracking

For more information about how Google uses data when you use our Site, please visit How Google uses data when you use our partners' sites or apps.

CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have specific rights regarding your personal information under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Your Rights Include:

• The right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell
• The right to request deletion of your personal information
• The right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of your personal information
• The right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

Sale of Personal Information: We do not directly sell your personal information. We also do not directly collect or store personal information for advertising purposes. We use Google AdSense to display ads on our Site, which operates independently and may use cookies for targeted advertising. Google AdSense's use of cookies may constitute "sharing" of personal information under California law. You can opt out of this sharing by:

• Visiting Google Ad Settings to manage your ad preferences
• Using the Digital Advertising Alliance's opt-out tool at optout.aboutads.info
• Enabling the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in your browser

Important Note: Because we do not directly collect advertising-related data, we do not have access to information about which ads you've seen or your ad preferences. For requests related to advertising data, you will need to contact Google directly through their privacy tools.

To Exercise Your Rights: California residents may contact us at hello@healthcarepricetool.com to exercise their rights under CCPA. Please include "California Privacy Rights" in the subject line.

We will respond to verifiable consumer requests within 45 days. We do not have access to advertising-related personal data, as this is managed independently by Google AdSense. We may require additional information to verify your identity before processing your request.

DO NOT TRACK

Please note that we do not alter our Site's data collection and use practices when we see a Do Not Track signal from your browser.

DATA RETENTION

When you place an order through the Site, we will maintain your Personal Information for our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information or we no longer have a business need for maintaining your Order Information.

DATA SECURITY

The transmission of information via the Internet is never completely secure. We rely on our third-party partners for security measures to secure your information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, and disclosure. We cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to the Site and any transmission of information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site.

CHANGES

We may update this privacy policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to our practices or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. If we make material changes to how we treat our users' personal information, we will notify you through a notice on the Site home page. The date the privacy policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting our Website and this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.

CONTACT US

For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to make a comment or complaint, please contact us by e-mail at legal@healthcarepricetool.com or by mail using the details provided below:

210 Delburg St, Davidson, NC 28036, United States