Privacy Policy

Who We Are

This website is operated by Driftless Health LLC. Driftless Health is located at 124½ S. Main Street, Suite 3, Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665. Our telephone number is 608-315-2733, and our public website address is driftlesshealth.co.

This Website Privacy Policy explains how Driftless Health collects, uses, retains, protects, and shares information obtained through its public website. It applies only to information collected through the publicly accessible portions of the website and the general website contact form.

Website Information and Protected Health Information

This Website Privacy Policy is separate from the Driftless Health Notice of Privacy Practices. The Notice of Privacy Practices explains how Driftless Health may use and disclose protected health information and describes patient rights related to medical information.

The public website and general contact form are not intended for detailed symptoms, medical questions, medical records, medication or supplement lists, laboratory or imaging results, photographs of medical concerns, insurance information, financial account information, or urgent clinical needs.

Current patients should use the secure Patient Portal or another process specifically approved by Driftless Health when submitting medical information or communicating about their care. Information entered into the secure Patient Portal, electronic health record, patient registration system, or other authenticated clinical system is handled according to the Notice of Privacy Practices, applicable patient agreements, and relevant healthcare privacy requirements.

Adults and Patients Under 18

The public website and general contact form are intended for use by adults age 18 and older.

A person under 18 should not independently submit personal information through the general website form. A parent, legal guardian, or other legally authorized representative should submit website inquiries, appointment requests, registration information, and other information on behalf of a patient under 18.

When applicable law allows a minor to consent independently to a particular healthcare service or to exercise certain privacy rights, Driftless Health will handle the minor’s information according to applicable law and clinic policy.

The website is not directed toward children under 13, and Driftless Health does not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 through the public website. If Driftless Health learns that such information was submitted without appropriate authorization, reasonable steps will be taken to delete or otherwise appropriately address the information.

Information You Provide

When you submit the general contact form, Driftless Health may collect your name, email address, telephone number, preferred contact method, reason for contacting the clinic, and the message you choose to provide. If you are contacting Driftless Health on behalf of another person, we may also collect information about that relationship.

Please provide only the information reasonably necessary for Driftless Health to understand and respond to your inquiry. Detailed or sensitive medical information should not be submitted through the general website form.

When contacting Driftless Health about a patient under 18, the parent, guardian, or legally authorized representative should provide their own contact information and indicate that they are contacting the clinic on behalf of the patient. Detailed patient registration and health information should be provided only through the secure process supplied by Driftless Health.

Scheduling, Registration, Payments, and the Patient Portal

The Driftless Health website may link to separate systems used for appointment scheduling, patient registration, intake forms, electronic health records, Patient Portal access, secure communications, or payments.

Information entered into these authenticated systems may include demographic, health, medical, financial, or payment information necessary to schedule appointments, establish a patient record, process payments, and provide healthcare services.

These systems may be operated by authorized third-party service providers. Information submitted through them is governed by the Driftless Health Notice of Privacy Practices, applicable agreements, and the privacy and security practices of the service providers involved.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the website, limited technical information may be collected automatically by the website, hosting provider, security services, or other authorized technology providers.

This information may include your Internet Protocol address, browser and device type, operating system, approximate geographic region, referring website, pages visited, date and time of access, general website interactions, and security, diagnostic, or error logs.

This information may be used to operate, maintain, protect, troubleshoot, and improve the website. Driftless Health does not intend to use this technical information to determine a visitor’s medical condition, diagnosis, treatment needs, or eligibility for care.

How We Use Information

Driftless Health may use information collected through the public website to respond to general questions, provide appointment-scheduling assistance, address administrative inquiries, respond to referral or medical-record questions, and route messages to the appropriate person.

Information may also be used to respond to community event inquiries, health-education requests, community or professional partnership proposals, vendor or service inquiries, website questions, and privacy requests.

Driftless Health may use limited technical information to operate and improve the website, prevent spam or misuse, investigate fraud or security concerns, comply with legal and regulatory obligations, and protect the rights, safety, and property of Driftless Health, its patients, website visitors, and others.

Driftless Health does not sell or rent personal information collected through the website. Information collected through the public website is not used by itself to make automated decisions about diagnosis, treatment, or eligibility for care.

General Contact Form

The general contact form may be used for help choosing an appointment, general clinic questions, existing-patient administrative matters, referral or medical-record questions, community event inquiries, health-education event requests, community or professional partnerships, vendor inquiries, website questions, and privacy-related requests.

The contact form should not be used for emergencies, urgent medical concerns, medical advice, detailed symptom descriptions, medication lists, laboratory results, medical-record uploads, photographs of health concerns, or other sensitive health information.

Current patients should use the Patient Portal for non-urgent communication related to their care. A parent, legal guardian, or legally authorized representative should submit contact-form inquiries on behalf of a patient under 18.

Comments, Public Accounts, and Media Uploads

The Driftless Health website does not currently allow public comments, public visitor accounts, or public media uploads.

WordPress features associated with public comments, Gravatar profile images, commenter cookies, and visitor-uploaded photographs therefore do not currently apply to the public website.

Authorized website administrators may use password-protected login features. WordPress and related security services may create temporary or essential cookies to support administrator authentication, website security, and administrative preferences.

If public comments, visitor accounts, or public uploads are enabled in the future, this policy will be updated as appropriate.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

The website may use cookies and similar technologies that are necessary to operate essential website functions, maintain security, remember basic preferences, manage cookie choices, support authorized administrator access, prevent spam or abuse, and measure general website performance.

Third-party services used for maps, videos, appointment scheduling, spam prevention, analytics, payment processing, or other embedded functions may also use cookies or similar technologies according to their own privacy practices.

When appropriate, visitors may be given the opportunity to accept or decline nonessential cookies. Visitors may also manage cookies through their browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the operation or availability of certain website features.

Analytics

Driftless Health may use limited website analytics to understand general traffic, page performance, navigation patterns, and how visitors use the public website.

Analytics should be configured to collect only the information reasonably necessary to maintain and improve the website. Driftless Health does not intend to use website analytics to collect detailed medical information or to create advertising profiles based on a visitor’s health concerns.

Embedded Content and External Services

The website may include links to or embedded content from external services, including maps, directions, videos, social media platforms, appointment-scheduling systems, the Patient Portal, payment services, and event-registration services.

When you interact with an embedded or linked service, that provider may collect information, use cookies, or monitor your interaction according to its own privacy practices.

Driftless Health does not control the privacy or security practices of independently operated third-party websites and services. A link to another website does not necessarily mean Driftless Health endorses or accepts responsibility for that website’s privacy practices.

How We Share Information

Driftless Health may share limited website information with service providers that help operate, maintain, secure, and support the website.

These providers may include website hosting and maintenance companies, contact-form and communication services, email and productivity providers, security and backup services, spam-prevention tools, appointment-scheduling providers, electronic health record and Patient Portal vendors, payment processors, analytics services, and providers of maps, videos, or embedded content.

These providers may access information only as reasonably necessary to perform their services, fulfill contractual obligations, protect the website, or comply with applicable law.

Driftless Health may also disclose information when required by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other legal process. Information may be disclosed when reasonably necessary to investigate fraud, misuse, security threats, or unlawful activity, or to protect the safety, rights, and property of Driftless Health, its patients, website users, or others.

Information may also be disclosed with the permission of the individual or legally authorized representative or in connection with a lawful business transfer, reorganization, merger, or acquisition, subject to applicable privacy requirements.

Protected health information is handled according to the Driftless Health Notice of Privacy Practices and applicable healthcare privacy laws.

How Long We Retain Information

General contact-form submissions are ordinarily retained for up to 12 months after the inquiry has been resolved.

Information may be retained for a longer period when reasonably necessary for administrative purposes, legal or regulatory obligations, security investigations, fraud prevention, contractual requirements, or documentation of business, community, vendor, or professional relationships.

Technical, security, and website logs may be retained according to the configurations and policies of the website hosting, security, and analytics providers.

Medical records and information maintained in the electronic health record, Patient Portal, registration system, or other clinical system are retained according to applicable medical-record requirements, clinic policies, and the Driftless Health Notice of Privacy Practices. Medical information is not governed solely by the public website retention period.

How We Protect Information

Driftless Health uses reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the nature of the information being handled.

These safeguards may include encrypted website connections, access restrictions, password protection, multifactor authentication where available, software and security updates, website monitoring, backups, staff access controls, service-provider review, and procedures for responding to suspected security incidents.

No website, electronic transmission, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Visitors should avoid sending sensitive medical or financial information through the general website form or regular electronic communications.

Data and Security Incidents

If Driftless Health becomes aware of a suspected loss, misuse, unauthorized access, or unauthorized disclosure of information, the clinic will investigate and respond according to the nature of the information and applicable legal requirements.

When legally required, Driftless Health will notify affected individuals, government agencies, or other appropriate parties.

Your Choices and Privacy Requests

Adults may contact Driftless Health to request access to personal information submitted through the public website, correction of inaccurate website information, deletion of website information when legally and operationally permitted, information about how a website submission was handled, or withdrawal from optional communications.

For a patient under 18, a parent, legal guardian, or legally authorized representative should ordinarily submit the request unless applicable law gives the minor authority to exercise the relevant right independently.

Driftless Health may need to verify the identity and legal authority of the person making a request before providing access, making changes, or deleting information.

Some information may need to be retained for legal, regulatory, medical-record, administrative, fraud-prevention, contractual, or security purposes.

Requests involving protected health information or medical records should be submitted through the Patient Portal or according to the procedures described in the Notice of Privacy Practices.

Processing in the United States

The website and its service providers primarily process and store information in the United States.

Visitors accessing the website from outside the United States understand that their information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where privacy and data-protection laws may differ from those in their location.

Changes to This Policy

Driftless Health may update this Website Privacy Policy when website functions, service providers, clinic operations, or legal requirements change.

The revised policy will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Material changes may also be communicated through an additional notice on the website when appropriate.

Contact Us About Privacy

Questions about this policy or information submitted through the public website may be directed to Driftless Health by telephone at 608-315-2733 or by mail at:

Driftless Health
Privacy Request
124½ S. Main Street, Suite 3
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665

The general Contact form may also be used by selecting Privacy question or data request.

The general Contact form should not be used for detailed health information, urgent medical concerns, or medical-record requests.

Notice of Privacy Practices

For information about protected health information, medical-record requests, patient privacy rights, or complaints involving health information, please review the Driftless Health Notice of Privacy Practices.

The Notice of Privacy Practices should be available through the website footer, the Patient Portal, and upon request.

Emergency Notice

The public website and general contact form are not monitored for emergencies or urgent medical concerns.

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you are experiencing a medical emergency.