Privacy Policy for Ask the Doc

The Policy

This privacy policy (“policy”) for “Ask the Doc” hereinafter referred to as the Privacy Policy, sets out the basis of which the personal data collected from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us when you access any of our services, or where we enter into any other business relationship with you. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

Scope of the Policy

We are strongly committed towards complying with the regulatory framework for data privacy in Nigeria; the Data Protection Act signed, 2023 which exists as the primary regulatory framework for data privacy in Nigeria. As an establishment that directly deals with data of numerous data subjects, it is pertinent to ensure the safety of the data that we collect, process, store and share for the purpose of embarking on our business responsibilities. This policy also highlights data retention and processing of data. As an exhaustive privacy policy, it examines the privacy rights of users, who have the right to consent to data processing, data transfer, and who are also empowered to withdraw consent in certain circumstances. This policy provides a robust framework for how we collect, process, store, share, and protect the data of our users.

1.1 Data Collection Overview

“Ask the Doc” is an innovative telemedicine app that provides a unique offering which enables users to book a consultation with a doctor from the convenience of their homes. After successfully booking a consultation, users can go on to have a virtual consultation with a doctor which pinpoints that we leverage the internet to make health consultation easier and faster. At Ask the Doc, we understand that for this process to be smooth and efficient, data has to be relied on and we are very committed towards ensuring its protection, hence, the creation of this privacy policy to establish a structure for the privacy of your data and its robust protection.

Here’s the data that we collect from you:

• a. Names
• b. Email address
• c. Phone number
• d. Age
• e. Health Information (sensitive)

1.2 Means of Data Collection

This is an outline of the means by which we collect data:

• 1. Creating an account: By creating an account with “Ask the Doc”, you consent to us collecting your data for the purpose of processing, personal data such as names, sex, email address will be collected for processing. We provide an assurance that the data we collect are processed for legitimate purposes and we do not keep your data for a longer time than expected.
• 2. Signing Up for Our Newsletters: By signing up for our newsletters, you consent to having your data collected and processed for marketing purposes. However, we are committed to fair processing of data and you can be assured that you will not be at the receiving end of unnecessary mails.

2.1 Purpose of Data Collection

The reason why we collect your data is simple, to hold a proper record of our users for the purpose of analytics. Another major reason for collecting data is primarily to improve your user experience on our software, by providing feeds that are of relevance to you and to ease your use of the platform. Below, are specific reasons for the collection of data which include but are not limited to:

• 1. Personalised Experience of the Ask the Doc Platform: An important reason for collecting data includes having a personalised experience of the platform. By submitting your data, we are given the consent to process them in a manner that will enable us to provide you with a personalised experience of our offerings.
• 2. Managing Plans: We are able to manage plans you have subscribed to when we have your data. This is done in a bid to ensure that we get it right when you log on to our website.
• 3. Data Protection Impact Assessment: As a data controller, we are mandated to provide an assessment on our users, collection of data helps us achieve that.

3.1 Consent

This privacy policy provides a framework and guidelines which regulate the affairs of the company in relation to your data. As an Ask the Doc user, you are provided with the right to give consent to data collection. If you do not give consent for your data to be collected and then processed, we are not enabled to do so.

3.2 Withdrawal of Consent

You are allowed to withdraw consent, a law which we are strongly compliant to. This implies that you can preclude us from processing your data and such a request will be met with compliance with undue delay. You can write us a mail to request that your consent is withdrawn.

4.1 Data Sharing

We are committed towards having your data secured and accessed in an authorized way. This resolve extends also to the sharing of data with third parties, partners, and collaborators. There is an assurance of safety that whatever third party receiving data shall be a vetted and trusted body, who are willing to process data in an authorized way.

5.1 Data Retention

For the purpose of processing data that we obtain, we retain data of our data subjects, with your consent obtained, however, there is a flexible model which allows for contacts to request that their data is deleted. We do not retain data longer than we should.

6.1 Data Subject’s Right

The regulatory framework for data protection in Nigeria provides for your rights and you can be rest assured that we are fully committed towards enforcing them in our practices. Our platform is enabled to process your data for legitimate purposes. In this light, there are several rights that you do possess, which we are also held to protect. Here are the rights you have as a data subject:

• a. Right to consent: As a data subject, you have the right to consent to have your data processed from the use of the Ask the Doc. We will not process your data if you do not consent to it.
• b. Enquiries: You are allowed to make enquiries as to the mode by which we process your data, you are also enabled to ask about our data sharing principles and whatever concern you may have when it comes to your privacy.
• c. Right to Withdraw Consent: You also have the right to withdraw your consent from us, this implies that you will have your data erased on our database and we will not have access to your data anymore.
• d. Continuous Access to Data: Data subjects shall have access to their personal data and to certain other supplementary information that this policy is already designed to address.
• e. Erasure of Personal Data: At your request, we can completely remove your data from our storage systems. However, please note that this will prevent you from using our services. If you change your mind, you can choose to resubmit your information to continue enjoying our services.

7.1 Data Safety Measures

At our company, data security is a top priority. We are committed to implementing robust measures to protect your personal information and maintain your trust. Our comprehensive data security framework encompasses various practices and technologies to safeguard data from unauthorized access, breaches, or misuse. These measures include:

• Access Control: We implement robust access controls to ensure that only authorized individuals can access personal data. We achieve this by creating unique user accounts, strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and role-based permissions.
• Regular Audits and Assessments: The company conducts regular audits and assessments of data security measures to identify vulnerabilities, gaps, or weaknesses so we can fix them. Achieving this by conducting internal or external security audits, vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and risk assessments.
• Employee Training and Awareness: In order to fully optimize data protection compliance, we regularly hold training and awareness for employees, in order to create a sense of understanding and create an educating line towards having a fully privacy compliant staff base.
• Regular Backups: In a bid to ensure a secure database, there shall exist regular backups for the data of data subjects. This move is crafted towards having a secure database that will help us actualize our goals of staying compliant with privacy laws.
• Data Minimization: We only collect and retain the minimum amount of personal data necessary to fulfill the intended purpose. Also, we ensure to regularly review and delete any unnecessary or outdated data.
• Incident Response Plan: We have a well-defined incident response plan in place, enabling us to swiftly respond to data breaches or security incidents. This plan outlines the steps, roles, responsibilities, and communication procedures to mitigate potential harm.

8.1 Updates to Privacy Policy

This privacy policy was formulated in June 2024 and subsequent updates to this privacy policy shall be communicated on our websites and every other means of communication. The updates or review shall have its standing from the existing privacy policy.

9.1 Contact Us

All questions, comments, and requests concerning this privacy policy should be directed to askthedocprivacy@gmail.com