Privacy Statement

This document covers information we collect about you, how it is stored and how it will be used.

Contact: At the outset, please note that the UCD Veterinary Hospital is the primary data controller responsible for your data. You can reach us via phone at 01 716 6000 or email at (opens in a new window)vethospital@ucd.ie.

Please read this carefully to understand how your information will be treated.

We are committed to processing information about our clients in ways that comply with our legal obligations as well as being clear with our clients about what we do with their information.

Some of the keys points of our privacy statement are:

•  We do not sell client or pet data to third parties.
•  We use pet data including species, breed, sex, age, weight, symptoms, treatment, and outcomes as part of our ongoing teaching and research.
•  We use client data for internal reporting to help us provide the best client experience possible.
• We use client data for general administration.

Client information that we collect:

1. Client name or trading name
2. Postal address
3. Email address
4. Contact telephone numbers
5. Insurance information including policy number
6. Pet information including species, breed, sex, age, weight, symptoms, treatment and outcomes 

How we use information collected:

1. To contact clients to update them on their pets' well being.
2. Update clients on test results.
3. Arrange repeat visits or ongoing treatment.
4. Process claims for payment of treatment.
5. Invoicing clients for treatments and collection of outstanding accounts.
6. To communicate with clients and to respond to any enquiries submitted.
7. Pet information is used for statistical analysis, internal reporting and research purposes.
8. Client information is used for internal reporting with regards to numbers of referral patients from certain areas or practices.
9. To monitor the quality of our services.
10. To investigate any complaints made.
11. To provide evidence in any dispute or anticipated dispute.
12. To facilitate debt collection, fraud detection and prevention and risk management purposes
13. To protect the rights, property and/or safety of the UCDVH and its personnel and others.   

How we share client information:

When we use client information for the purposes specified above, we may share information with:

1. Licensed debt collection agencies and lawyers when we seek to recover debts due to us.
2. Our accounts, auditors, lawyers or similar advisers when we ask them to provide us with professional advice.
3. Any Government Department, public body or third party where we believe in good faith that the law requires this; in the interest of public health and safety; or in order to protect the rights, property, or safety of the UCDVH, its employees or others, including the following:
• Referring veterinarians as part of collaborative treatment.
• Researchers within and outside UCD (subject to appropriate ethical and data protection safeguards)
• External consultants providing specialist advice or treatment
• Third-party laboratories involved in diagnostic or testing
4. Any third parties, if authorised by you to do so. 

How long do we keep your information:

We retain information for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is collected. When determining the relevant periods, we will take into account factors including:

1. Legal obligation(s) under applicable law to retain data for a certain period of time;
2. Statute of limitations under applicable law(s);
3. (potential) disputes, and
4. Guidelines issued by relevant data protection authorities. Otherwise, we securely erase client information once it is no longer needed  

Security:

We are committed to protecting your information. We use security methods and data management systems. Our hospital management system is ProVet, which complies with ISO 27001 standards for information security management. It includes encrypted data storage, access control, and regular audits.

While we take all reasonable steps to secure data, no internet transmission is entirely secure, and we recommend caution when communicating sensitive data electronically.

Your rights:

The following section explains your rights. The various rights are not absolute and each is subject to certain expectations or qualifications. We will grant your request only to the extent that it follows from our assessment of your request that we are allowed and required to do so under data protection laws. Nothing in this Privacy Statement is intended to provide you with rights beyond or in addition to your rights as a data subject under data protection laws. 

1. The right to be informed
• You have the right to be provided with clear, transparent and easily understandable information about how we use your information and your rights. This is why we’re providing you with the information in this Privacy Statement. 
2. The right of access
• You have the right to obtain a copy of your information (if we are processing it), and other certain information (similar to that provided in this Privacy Statement) about how it is used.This is so you’re aware and can check that we’re using your information in accordance with data protection law. We can refuse to provide information where to do so may reveal information about another person or would otherwise negatively impact another person‘s rights. 
3. The right to rectification
• You can ask us to take reasonable measures to correct your information if it’s inaccurate or incomplete, e.g. if we have incorrect details about your business. 
4. The right to erasure
• This is also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’ and, in simple terms, enables you to request the deletion or removal of your information where there’s no compelling reason for us to keep using it or its use is unlawful. This is not a general right to erasure; there are exceptions, e.g. where we need to use the information in defence of a legal claim. 
5. The right to restrict processing
• You have rights to ‘block’ or suppress further use of your information when we are assessing a request for rectification or as an alternative to erasure. When processing is restricted, we can still store your information, but may not use it further. We keep lists of people who have asked for further use of their information to be ‘blocked’ to make sure the restriction is respected in future. 
6. The right to data portability
• You have rights to obtain and reuse certain information for your own purposes across different organisations. This enables you to move, copy or transfer your information easily between our IT systems and theirs (or directly to yourself) safely and securely, without affecting its usability. This only applies to your information that you have provided to us that we are processing with your consent or to perform a contract which you are a party to (such as pay and compensation services), which is being processed by automated means. 
7. The right to object
• You have the right to object to certain types of processing, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time insofar as that processing takes place for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the IE/ IDLS or by a third party. We will be allowed to continue to process the information if we can demonstrate “compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override [your] interests, rights and freedoms” or we need this for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. 
• You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling), which significantly affects you, subject to some exceptions. Where this is the case, you have the right to obtain human intervention, voice your concerns and to have the decision reviewed. 

Updating this statement:

We review our privacy practices from time to time. We reserve the right to modify this policy effective seven (7) days after the posting of the revised Privacy Statement. 

Contacting us:

For further information or to make a complaint please contact us on 01 716 6000 or email to (opens in a new window)vethospital@ucd.ie. Please provide as much information as possible to help us identify the information you are requesting, the action you are wanting us to take and why you believe this action should be taken. Before assessing your request, we may request additional information in order to identify you. If you do not provide the requested information and, as a result we are not in a position to identify you, we may refuse to action your request.We will generally respond to your request within one month of receipt of your request. We can extend this period by an additional two months if this is necessary taking into account the complexity and number of requests that you have submitted. If after contacting the IEC/ IDLS you are still unhappy you may also complain to the Information Commissioner, all contact details are available on the Information Commissioner‘s Website: (opens in a new window)dataprotection.ie                 

Additional Contacting for Complaints:

In addition to the UCD Veterinary Hospital, you may also contact the UCD Office of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) for concerns or complaints:

Email: (opens in a new window)gdpr@ucd.ie

Website: https://www.ucd.ie/gdpr