Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

This website (drchunchong.com.au) is operated by Dr Chun Guan Chong, practising through Knox General Practice and Family Medicine and Medi Weight Loss, Bayswater, Victoria, Australia. We are committed to protecting the privacy of all visitors to this website and patients who interact with our services.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and your rights in relation to it. It is consistent with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

2. What Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal information through this website:

• Contact form submissions: name, email address, phone number, and message content when you submit an enquiry through the website contact form.
• Newsletter subscriptions: email address if you subscribe to health updates.
• AI chat widget interactions: messages you submit to the AI receptionist widget. These messages are processed by Anthropic's API and are not stored on our servers beyond the current session.
• Website analytics: anonymised usage data collected via Google Analytics (page views, session duration, device type). This data does not identify you personally. Analytics cookies are only activated after you provide consent via our cookie consent banner.

We do not collect health information or medical records through this website. Clinical health records are managed separately through secure practice management systems in accordance with Australian health privacy laws.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information collected through this website to:

• Respond to your enquiries submitted via the contact form
• Send health information newsletters if you have subscribed (you may unsubscribe at any time)
• Improve the content and functionality of this website using anonymised analytics data
• Provide an AI-powered reception service to answer common questions and assist with appointment booking

We will not use your personal information for any purpose beyond what you would reasonably expect, and we will not use it for direct marketing without your explicit consent.

4. Disclosure of Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers: Third-party services used to operate this website (e.g., Vercel for hosting, Anthropic for the AI chat API, Google Analytics). These providers are bound by their own privacy policies and are not permitted to use your data for their own purposes.
• Legal obligations: Where required by law or regulation.

5. Cookies and Tracking

This website uses cookies for analytics purposes (Google Analytics). Analytics cookies are not set until you accept cookies via the consent banner displayed on your first visit. You may withdraw consent at any time by clearing your browser cookies or adjusting your browser settings.

Essential cookies required for the website to function (e.g., remembering your cookie preference) are set regardless of consent.

6. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access. This website is hosted on Vercel's secure infrastructure with HTTPS encryption. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. If you have concerns about transmitting sensitive information, please contact us directly by phone.

7. Retention of Information

Contact form submissions are retained only as long as necessary to respond to your enquiry, typically no longer than 12 months. Newsletter subscriber details are retained until you unsubscribe. Anonymised analytics data may be retained for up to 26 months in accordance with Google Analytics default settings.

8. Your Rights

Under the Australian Privacy Act, you have the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or out-of-date personal information
• Request deletion of your personal information (subject to our legal obligations)
• Withdraw consent to data processing at any time
• Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) if you believe your privacy has been breached

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

9. Links to Third-Party Websites

This website contains links to third-party websites such as HotDoc, Knox General Practice, and bariatric surgery centres. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.