Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 17, 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how Raquel Mejia Physical Therapy ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our website contact form. We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with applicable privacy laws, including the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Colombia's Law 1581 of 2012 on data protection.

Data Controller

As a healthcare provider who serves U.S. veterans through the VA Foreign Medical Program (FMP), we maintain privacy practices consistent with both U.S. HIPAA requirements and Colombian data protection law.

Name

Raquel Mejia, PT

Email

contact@raquelmejia.com

Phone

+57 (315) 459-7779

Location

Medellín, Colombia

1. Information We Collect

When you use our website contact form, we collect the following personal information:

• Name — to address you properly in our response
• Email address — to send you our reply
• Phone number — to contact you if you prefer a phone call
• Message content — to understand your inquiry and provide relevant information

We do not collect health information, medical records, or protected health information (PHI) through this website contact form. Any health-related information you choose to include in your message is collected only for the purpose of responding to your inquiry.

2. Purpose of Collection

We use the information you provide through our contact form for the following purposes:

• Responding to your inquiries about our physical therapy services
• Providing information about VA FMP eligibility and processes
• Scheduling initial consultations or appointments
• Communicating with you about your inquiry

We will not use your information for marketing purposes or share it with third parties for their marketing purposes.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:

• Consent — By submitting our contact form, you consent to the collection and processing of your information for the purposes described in this policy. Under Colombian Law 1581 of 2012, this consent is prior, express, and informed.
• Legitimate Interest — We have a legitimate interest in responding to inquiries about our healthcare services and communicating with potential patients.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

4. Data Retention

We retain personal information collected through our contact form for five (5) years from the date of collection. This retention period allows us to:

• Maintain records of communications for healthcare continuity purposes
• Comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements
• Respond to any future inquiries you may have about previous communications

After this retention period, we securely delete your personal information unless a longer retention period is required by law or for ongoing legal proceedings.

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We use the following third-party service providers to operate our website and process your information. These providers are located in the United States, which has been recognized by Colombia's Superintendency of Industry and Commerce as providing adequate data protection.

Each provider processes your data only for the purposes specified and is bound by their own privacy policies:

Provider	Purpose	Location
Vercel Inc.	Website hosting and delivery	United States
Resend	Email delivery service	United States
Cloudflare	Spam protection (Turnstile)	United States

6. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Under Colombian Law (Ley 1581 de 2012)

• Right to Access — You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Right to Update — You can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Right to Deletion — You can request deletion of your personal information when it is no longer necessary for the purposes collected
• Right to Revoke Consent — You can withdraw your consent for data processing at any time
• Right to File Complaints — You can file complaints with the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC)

Under HIPAA (for U.S. Veterans)

• Right to Access — You can request access to your protected health information
• Right to Amend — You can request amendments to your health information
• Right to an Accounting — You can request a list of disclosures of your health information
• Right to Request Restrictions — You can request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures
• Right to Confidential Communications — You can request that we communicate with you by alternative means or at alternative locations

7. Cross-Border Data Transfers

Your personal information may be transferred to and processed in the United States by our third-party service providers (Vercel, Resend, and Cloudflare).

The United States has been recognized by Colombia's Superintendency of Industry and Commerce as providing an adequate level of data protection. Additionally, our service providers maintain privacy practices and security measures consistent with industry standards.

By submitting your information through our contact form, you consent to this transfer in accordance with Article 26 of Colombian Law 1581 of 2012.

8. Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:

• Encryption in Transit — All data transmitted to and from our website is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS
• Spam Protection — We use Cloudflare Turnstile to prevent automated abuse of our contact form
• Access Controls — Only authorized personnel have access to contact form submissions
• Secure Email Delivery — Contact form submissions are delivered via encrypted email channels

While we take reasonable precautions to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

9. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact us at:

Email: contact@raquelmejia.com
Phone: +57 (315) 459-7779

When submitting a request, please include:

• Your full name and contact information
• A description of the right you wish to exercise
• Any relevant details to help us locate your information

We will respond to your request within fifteen (15) business days as required by Colombian law. For complex requests, we may extend this period by an additional ten (10) business days with notice to you.

10. Filing Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to file a complaint with the appropriate regulatory authority:

11. Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy
• Post the revised policy on our website

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our website after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated policy.