Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy was last updated on June 6th, 2023.
Empirical Health, Inc.
PRIVACY POLICY
At Empirical Health, Inc. (“Empirical Health”) your privacy is important to us. Our Privacy Policy describes the information we collect, how we collect the information, the reasons we collect information, and how we share or use the information we collect. This Privacy Policy also describes the choices you have with the information we collect, including how you can manage, update, or request to delete information.
Please take a moment to review this Privacy Policy. You may scroll through this Privacy Policy or use the headings below. It is important that you understand this Privacy Policy. By using our Platform, you are agreeing to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, you may Contact Us at any time.
Table of Contents
Who is Empirical Health?
Key Terms & Definitions and Our Privacy Policy
When does our Privacy Policy apply?
When does our Privacy Policy not apply?
Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Personal Information
What is Personal Information?
What types of Personal Information do we collect?
Health Information
How do we collect your Personal Information?
How do we use your Personal Information?
How do we share your Personal Information?
How do I access and correct my Personal Information?
Who may use the Services?
Children’s Privacy
Does Empirical Health respond to Do Not Track signals?
Data Security
California’s Shine the Light Law.
Changes to our Privacy Policy
Contact Us
I. Who is Empirical Health?
Empirical Health is a mobile app and website whose mission is to reinvent primary care based on consumer health sensors.
Empirical Health is not a medical group or a health care provider. Empirical Health provides its users with the ability to obtain a telemedicine consultation provided by independent medical practitioners including, but not limited to, 525 Medical Group, P.A. and the members of its affiliated covered entity (“Medical Group”), a group of independent medical groups with a network of United States based health care providers (each, a “Provider”). Medical Group (or your own medical provider if you do not use a Medical Group Provider) is responsible for providing you with a Notice of Privacy Practices describing its collection and use of your health information, not Empirical Health.
Key Terms & Definitions and Our Privacy Policy
It is helpful to start by explaining some of our key terms and definitions used in this Privacy Policy.
Key Term
Definition
our “App”
Empirical Sleep, our mobile application
our “Devices”
Empirical Health devices, [for example, Insert Proprietary Name, if any]
“Personal Information”
Any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual and any information listed here.
our “Platform”
Our Website, App, and/or Devices.
“Privacy Policy”
This privacy policy.
“Products”
Any products available for purchase on our Platform.
our “Services”
Any services provided through our Platform.
our “Terms of Use”
Our terms of use located here.
our “Website(s)”
Our websites, including:
“Empirical Health,” “we,” “us,” or “our”
Empirical Health, Inc.
When does our Privacy Policy apply?
This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you when:
You visit or use our Platform, including our Website and/or App;
You wear Devices and connect them to a mobile device running our App;
We communicate using e-mail and other electronic messages between you and us; and
We communicate in person, such as through a telehealth visit.
When does our Privacy Policy not apply?
This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected by any other website operated either by us or by a third party, unless the website is listed above or links to this Privacy Policy. It also does not apply to any website that we may provide a link to or that is accessible from our Platform.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected from users who log-in to the password-protected and secure portions of our Platform (“Secure Platform”). The Secure Platform allows users who obtain the Services (“Customers”) to perform certain functions or obtain the Services (such as telehealth visits from Medical Group or Providers). All information collected and stored by us or added by Customers into such Secure Platforms is considered Protected Health Information ("PHI") and/or medical information and is governed by applicable state and federal laws that apply to that information, for example the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). How we use and disclose such PHI is in accordance with the applicable Notice of Privacy Practices provided to you by the Medical Group. We will not use or disclose information collected from the Secure Platform or received from Medical Group or your Provider for advertising, marketing, or other use-based data mining purposes except as otherwise permitted by HIPAA and other applicable law. We will not sell any PHI in violation of HIPAA.
Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
This Privacy Policy is incorporated into our Terms of Use, which also apply when you use our Platform.
Personal Information
What is Personal Information?
Personal information is information from and about you that may be able to personally identify you. We treat any information that may identify you as personal information. For example, your name and e-mail address are personal information.
What types of Personal Information do we collect?
We may collect and use the following personal information (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “Personal Information”):
Categories of Personal Information
Specific Types of Personal Information Collected
Personal Identifiers
A real name, birth date, e-mail address, unique personal identifier, IP Address, driver’s license number, postal address, or Patient ID.
Information that identifies, relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with a particular individual
physical characteristics or description, telephone number, driver’s license number, insurance policy number, health insurance information, signature, medical conditions, medications currently taking or prescribed, blood group, physician, emergency contacts, drug testing, and psychological trends.
Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law.
Race, Color, Genetic Information (including familial genetic information), Age, Ancestry, Sex, Sexual Orientation (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth, and related medical conditions) Veteran or Military Status, or Disability.
Biometric information
Photos, video, and voice, voiceprints, gait patterns, sleep data, physiological characteristics (e.g. BMI, heart rate, heart rate variability, oxygen saturation, electrocardiograms, and accelerometer information), behavioral characteristics (e.g. sleep, exercise, and stress), and biological characteristics (e.g. blood test results, imaging results, CT scans, MRIs).
Internet or other electronic network activity information
IP address, OS version, operating system, browser type, log file information, and information regarding a consumer’s interaction with an internet web site, application, or advertisement.
Geolocation data
Physical location or movements, local time, and local time zone.
User Generated Content
Information you provide to be published or displayed (hereinafter, “Posted”) on public areas of our Website or transmitted to other users of the Website or other third parties.
Health Information
Some Personal Information we collect may constitute PHI under HIPAA. As set forth above, your Provider will provide you with a Notice of Privacy Practices describing their collection and use of your PHI, not Empirical Health. We will only collect and use PHI for the purposes of providing the Platform and Services and we only collect the minimum amount necessary to fully perform and provide the Services on our Platform. We may combine your PHI with Personal Information that we have either obtained from you or through a third-party, such as your Provider, health insurer, employee benefits program, or other health care providers. PHI will only be used and disclosed as outlined in the Notice of Privacy Practices and as permitted by HIPAA and other applicable law.
How do we collect your Personal Information?
We collect most of this Personal Information directly from you. For example, when we speak to you by phone, text message, and e-mail. Additionally, we will collect information from you when you visit our Website or App and fill out forms, wear a Device, or purchase our Services.
We may also collect Personal Information in the following ways:
During your telehealth visit.
From a third-party, such as your treating health care providers.
Through your Devices.
From third-party apps you choose to connect your mobile device to, such as Apple Health or Google Fit.
When you make payments through the Platform. We do not collect or store financial account information, though we may receive transaction identifiers and summary information that does not include credit card or bank account numbers.
When You Contact Us. When you contact Empirical Health directly, such as when you contact our Customer Support team, we will receive the contents of your message or any attachments you may send to us, as well as any additional information you choose to provide.
We will also collect information automatically as you navigate through our Platform. We use the following technologies to automatically collect data:
Cookies. We and our service providers may use cookies, web beacons, and other technologies to receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with our Platform or Services through your computer or mobile device. A “cookie” is a small file or piece of data sent from a website and stored on the hard drive of your computer or mobile device. Some of the cookies we use are "session" cookies, meaning that they are automatically deleted from your hard drive after you close your browser at the end of your session. Session cookies are used to optimize performance of the Website and to limit the amount of redundant data that is downloaded during a single session. We also may use "persistent" cookies, which remain on your computer or device unless deleted by you (or by your browser settings). We may use persistent cookies for various purposes, such as statistical analysis of performance to ensure the ongoing quality of our Platform and/or the Services. We and third parties may use session and persistent cookies for analytics and advertising purposes, as described herein. On your computer, you may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser, and you may have similar capabilities on your mobile device in the preferences for your operating system or browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access or use certain parts of our Platform or the Services. Unless you have adjusted your browser or operating system setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Platform.
Google Ads (AdWords). Google Ads (AdWords) remarketing service is provided by Google Inc. You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize the Google Display Network ads by visiting the Google Ads Settings page: http://www.google.com/settings/ads. Google also recommends installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on – https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout for your web browser. Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on provides visitors with the ability to prevent their data from being collected and used by Google Analytics. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.
Other third party tools. We use other third party tools which allow us to track the performance of our Platform. These tools provide us with information about errors, app and website performance, and other technical details we may use to improve our Platform and/or the Services. For more information related to these third-party analytics providers please review How do we collect your Personal Information?.
How do we use your Personal Information?
We may use your Personal Information for the following purposes:
Operate, maintain, supervise, administer, and enhance our Platform or the Services, including monitoring and analyzing the effectiveness of content on the Platform, aggregate site usage data, and other usage of the Platform and/or the Services such as assisting you in completing the registration process.
Provide our Products and Services to you, in a custom and user-friendly way.
Provide you with information, Products, or Services that you request from us or that may be of interest to you.
Promote and market our Platform and/or the Services to you. We also may use the information that we learn about you to assist us in advertising our services on third party websites. You can opt-out of receiving these e-mails at any time as described below.
Provide you notices or about your account.
Contact you in response to a request.
Notify you about changes to our Platform and/or the Services or any Products we offer or provide through them.
Fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it.
Carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection.
Anonymize and aggregate information for analytics and reporting.
Respond to law enforcement requests, court orders, and subpoenas and to carry out our legal and contractual obligations.
Authenticate use, detect fraudulent use, and otherwise maintain the security of our Platform and the safety of others.
Administer surveys and questionnaires.
Any other purpose with your consent.
How do we share your Personal Information?
We may share Personal Information with third parties in certain circumstances or for certain purposes, including:
Our business purposes. We may share your Personal Information with our affiliates, vendors, service providers, and business partners, including our data hosting and data storage partners, analytics and advertising providers, technology services and support, and data security advisors. We may also share your Personal Information with professional advisors, such as auditors, law firms, and accounting firms.
Your healthcare providers or family. With your consent, we may share your information, including information collected from your use of our Platform, with your health care providers and/or family members (e.g., immediate family or friends) that you designate to receive your information.
With your consent. We may share your Personal Information if you request or direct us to do so.
Compliance with law. We may share your Personal Information to comply with applicable law or any obligations thereunder, including cooperation with law enforcement, judicial orders, and regulatory inquiries.
Business transfer. We may share your Personal Information to a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of a bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by us about our users are among the assets transferred.
To enforce our rights. We may share your Personal Information to enforce any applicable terms and conditions and Terms of Use, and to ensure the safety and security of our Services and our users.
De-identified information. We may also disclose de-identified information, so that it cannot be reasonably used to identify any individual, with third parties for marketing, advertising, research, or similar purposes.
To improve our Platform. We may use your Personal Information for internal testing, research, analysis, and product development, including to develop and improve our website/application, and to develop, improve, or demonstrate our products and services.
To market our Products and Services. We may share your Personal Information with affiliates and third parties to market our products and services. However, Empirical Health does not use or disclose to third parties data gathered from the Clinical Health Records API, HealthKit API, Motion and Fitness, and MovementDisorder APIs for advertising, marketing, or other use-based data mining purposes other than improving health management, or for the purpose of health research, and then only with your permission.
Third party analytics. We use third parties to understand and evaluate how visitors interact with our Platform and/or the Services. These tools help us improve our Platform and/or the Services, performance, and your experience. See How do we collect your Personal Information above.
Your choices about how we share your Personal Information.
This section of our Privacy Policy provides details and explains how to exercise your choices. We offer you choices on how you can opt out of our use of tracking technology, disclosure of your Personal Information for our advertising to you, and other targeted advertising. We do not control the collection and use of your information collected by third parties. These third parties may aggregate the information they collect with information from their other customers for their own purposes. You can opt out of third parties collecting your Personal Information for targeted advertising purposes in the United States by visiting the National Advertising Initiative's (NAI) opt-out page and the Digital Advertising Alliance's (DAA) opt-out page.
Each type of web browser provides ways to restrict and delete cookies. Browser manufacturers provide resources to help you with managing cookies. Please see below for more information.
For other browsers, please consult the documentation that your browser manufacturer provides.
If you do not wish to have your e-mail address used by Empirical Health to promote our own Products and Services, you can opt-out at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any e-mail or other marketing communications you receive from us or logging onto your Account Preferences page. This opt out does not apply to information provided to Empirical Health as a result of a purchase of products or services, or your use of our Platform and/or the Services. You may have other options with respect to marketing and communication preferences through our Platform.
You may also see certain ads on other websites because we participate in advertising networks. Ad networks allow us to target our messaging to users through demographic, interest-based, and contextual means. These networks track your online activities over time by collecting information through automated means, including through the use of cookies, web server logs, and web beacons. The networks use this information to show you advertisements that may be tailored to your individual interests.
How do I access and correct my Personal Information?
You can review and change your Personal Information by logging into our Services and communicating with an Empirical Health representative. You may also Contact Us to inform us of any changes or errors in any Personal Information we have about you to ensure that it is complete, accurate, and as current as possible or to delete your account. We cannot delete your personal information except by also deleting your account with us. We may also not be able to accommodate your request if we believe it would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect.
Who may use the Services?
Empirical Health operates subject to state and federal regulations, and the Platform and/or the Services may not be available in your state. You represent that you are not a person barred from enrolling for or receiving the Services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions in which you may be located. Access to and use of the Platform and/or the Services is limited exclusively to users located in states within the United States where the Platform and/or the Services is available. The Platform and/or the Services are not available to users located outside the United States. Accessing the Platform and/or obtaining the Services from jurisdictions where content is illegal, or where we do not offer the Platform and/or the Services, is prohibited.
Children’s Privacy
We do not knowingly collect or sell Personal Information from children under the age of 18. If you are under 18 years of age, you must get permission from your parents or legal guardian before using our Platform. If you are under the age of 18, do not use or provide any information on or to the Platform or through any of its features. If we learn we have collected or received Personal Information from a child under the age of 18 without verification of parental consent, we will delete it. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 18 years of age whom you believe might have provided use with their Personal Information, you may Contact Us to request the Personal Information be deleted.
Does Empirical Health respond to Do Not Track signals?
Some web browsers have a “Do Not Track” feature. This feature lets you tell websites you visit that you do not want to have your online activity tracked. These features are not yet uniform across browsers. Our Platform is not currently set up to respond to those signals.
Data Security
We have taken steps and implemented administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect against the risk of accidental, intentional, unlawful, or unauthorized access, alteration, destruction, disclosure, or use. The Internet is not 100% secure and we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted through the Internet. Where you have been given or you have chosen a password, it is your responsibility to keep this password confidential.
The sharing and disclosing of information via the internet is not completely secure. We strive to use best practices and industry standard security measures and tools to protect your data. However, we cannot guarantee the security of Personal Information transmitted to, on, or through our Services. Any transmission of Personal Information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for the circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on our Platform, in your operating system, or mobile device.
California’s Shine the Light Law.
California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (California’s “Shine the Light” law) permits users of our Platform and/or the Services that are California residents and who provide Personal Information in obtaining products and services for personal, family, or household use to request certain information regarding our disclosure of Personal Information to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes. If applicable, this information would include the categories of Personal Information and the names and addresses of those businesses with which we shared your Personal Information with for the immediately prior calendar year (e.g. requests made in 2023 will receive information regarding such activities in 2022). You may request this information once per calendar year. To make such a request, please Contact Us using the information below.
Changes to our Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our privacy practices, laws, and best practices. We will post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page with a notice that the Privacy Policy has been updated on our Website’s homepage or our App’s home screen. The date this Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for periodically accessing the Platform and reviewing this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, complaints or suggestions regarding our Privacy Policy or otherwise need to contact us, you may contact us at the contact information below or through the “Contact Us” page on the Platform.
How to Contact Us:
Empirical Health, Inc.
44-70 21st St. #3281
Long Island City, NY 11101
Telephone: (917) 694-6752
Email: privacy@empirical.health