1. Privacy Notice – PEAK Family Practice

Last updated: 2025

This Privacy Notice explains how PEAK Family Practice (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses and protects your personal information when you visit or use:

• www.peakpractice.co.za

• www.peakfamilypractice.co.za

(“the website”).

This notice is intended to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and other applicable South African laws. It applies to information collected through the website. Separate, more detailed policies apply to information collected and held in your clinical record.

1.1. Who we are

PEAK Family Practice is a private general medical practice providing family medicine and related healthcare services in Hout Bay, South Africa.

If you have questions about this notice, you can contact us at:

• Email: reception@peakpractice.co.za

• Address: 4 Victoria Avenue, Hout Bay, Cape Town, 7806, South Africa

1.2. What information we collect via the website

Depending on how you use the website, we may collect:

1.2.1. Information you provide directly

For example, when you:

• Fill in a contact form or “request an appointment” form

• Sign up for news, updates or information (if offered)

• Email us using the contact details on the website

This may include:

• Name and surname

• Contact details (email address, phone number)

• Basic demographic information (e.g. whether you are enquiring for yourself or a family member)

• Any information you voluntarily provide in a message, such as a brief description of your health concern, preferred appointment times, or questions about our services.

Important: Please avoid including very detailed or sensitive clinical information in website forms or general emails. Comprehensive clinical information is best shared during a consultation or via agreed secure channels.

1.2.2. Information collected automatically

When you visit the website, we may automatically collect:

• IP address and general location (country/city level)

• Device and browser type

• Pages viewed, time spent on the website, and referring website

• Information from cookies and similar technologies (see Cookies section below)

This information is typically aggregated and used to understand how people use the site and to improve performance and security.

1.3. How we use your information

We may use the personal information collected via the website to:

• Respond to your enquiries, messages and appointment requests

• Contact you to confirm or rearrange appointments you have requested

• Provide you with information about our services, practice hours, or changes to our operations

• Maintain the security and performance of the website

• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations, including those relating to healthcare, record-keeping and reporting

We will not use your health information collected via the website for any purpose incompatible with patient care without your consent or another lawful basis.

1.4. Legal basis for processing (POPIA)

Under POPIA, we process personal information on the following bases:

• Consent: e.g. where you submit a contact or appointment request, or subscribe to updates.

• Contract: to take steps at your request prior to entering into a professional healthcare relationship, or to fulfil obligations arising from that relationship.

• Legal obligation: where we are required by law to process or retain certain information (e.g. health records, notifiable conditions, regulatory reporting).

• Legitimate interests: such as ensuring website security, monitoring for abuse, and improving the user experience, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights.

1.5. Cookies and analytics

The website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Enable basic website functions

• Remember your preferences

• Collect anonymised usage statistics (for example, through tools such as Google Analytics or similar services)

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Restricting cookies may affect some features and functionality of the website.

If we use specific analytics or tracking tools, we will update this section to reflect those providers and how data is used.

1.6. Sharing your information

We may share information collected via the website with:

• Service providers who assist us with website hosting, maintenance, analytics, forms or email delivery (these providers are required to handle personal information in a secure, confidential manner and in line with POPIA)

• Healthcare professionals within PEAK Family Practice where necessary to respond to your enquiry or arrange care

• Third parties where required by law, regulation or legal process (e.g. regulators, law enforcement, health authorities)

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share your information with third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.

1.7. Cross-border transfers

Some of our service providers (for example, website hosting, email, analytics) may be located outside South Africa or may store data on servers in other countries. Where personal information is transferred across borders, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that it is afforded a level of protection that is substantially similar to POPIA, either through contractual safeguards or the provider’s own compliance framework.

1.8. Data security and retention

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. These measures may include secure hosting, access controls, encryption in transit where appropriate, and staff confidentiality obligations.

We retain website-related personal information only for as long as is reasonably necessary to:

• Respond to your enquiry or request

• Provide services you have requested

• Comply with legal, regulatory and professional obligations

• Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements

Health and clinical records are retained in accordance with healthcare-specific legal and ethical requirements, which may be longer than general website data.

1.9. Your rights

Subject to certain limitations under POPIA, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you

• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information

• Object to certain types of processing, or withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe your rights have been infringed

To exercise these rights or to request details of our PAIA/POPIA manuals and procedures, please contact us using the details in section 1.1.

1.10. Third-party websites

The website may contain links to third-party sites (for example, mapping services, social media pages, booking platforms or partner organisations). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of any external websites you visit.

1.11. Updates to this notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page and will take effect from the date of posting. You should check this page periodically to ensure you are aware of any changes.