We collect only what we need to care for you. We don't sell your information. Ever.
This Privacy Policy describes how MedStar Family Care ("MedStar," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects information we receive from visitors to our website at www.medstaruc.com and through our patient intake and communication processes. It does not govern the handling of protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA — that is covered separately in our Notice of Privacy Practices, available at our front desk and upon request.
1. Information we collect
Website visitors
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect:
- Browser type and version
- Pages visited and time spent
- Referring URL
- General geographic location (city/region level, not precise)
- Device type and operating system
This information is collected in aggregate to help us understand how visitors use the site and to improve it. It is not used to identify you personally.
Contact and inquiry forms
If you submit our contact form, we collect the name, email address, phone number, preferred location, and message you provide. We use this information solely to respond to your inquiry. We do not add you to marketing lists without explicit consent.
Contact form submissions are transmitted over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection and processed by third-party service providers who host our website and route messages to our staff. Those providers are not operating as HIPAA business associates, which is why we ask you not to include any health information in the form. If you do send health information through the form anyway, we will handle it confidentially once it reaches us, but we cannot guarantee it was protected in transit or in our vendors' systems.
Careers applications
If you submit a job application through our website, we collect your name, contact details, and CV/resume. This information is used only for evaluating your application and is not shared with third parties outside of our hiring process.
2. How we use your information
We use the information we collect to:
- Respond to inquiries and appointment requests
- Process job applications
- Improve our website and services
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party. We do not use your information for targeted advertising.
3. Protected health information (HIPAA)
If you are a patient, your medical records and health information are protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Our use and disclosure of protected health information is governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices, which is provided to all patients at their first visit and is available upon request at either clinic location. This website Privacy Policy does not apply to PHI.
This website is not a HIPAA-secure channel. It is an informational site. We do not use it to collect medical histories, symptoms, test results, insurance identification numbers, or any other protected health information, and we ask that you not submit such information through it. The secure, HIPAA-protected ways to communicate with us are:
- Our patient portal, operated by eClinicalWorks under a business associate agreement
- Calling the clinic — Murphy (972) 442-4700 or Little Elm (972) 442-4700
- Speaking with staff in person at either location
Nothing you submit through this website is entered into your medical record.
4. Cookies, analytics, and advertising trackers
This website does not set cookies, and we do not run third-party analytics, advertising pixels, social media trackers, or session-recording tools on it. We deliberately keep the site free of such trackers because, on a healthcare website, the pages a visitor views can themselves reveal health information.
Our website host maintains standard server access logs (IP address, timestamp, page requested, browser type) for security and reliability purposes. The site's typefaces are served from our own domain — no third-party font service receives a request from your browser.
If we ever introduce analytics or other tracking technology, we will update this policy before doing so and will not deploy tools that transmit health-related browsing activity to advertising networks.
5. Third-party links
Our website contains links to third-party services, including our patient portal (operated by EClinicalWorks), Google Maps, and insurance plan websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those services. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
6. Data retention
We retain contact form submissions and job application data for as long as necessary to respond to your inquiry or complete the hiring process, and no longer than 12 months unless required by law. Server access logs are retained for a limited period by our website host for security purposes.
7. Children's privacy
Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately.
8. Your rights
You have the right to:
- Request access to the personal information we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Request deletion of your information, subject to legal retention obligations
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the information below.
9. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect information submitted through this website. The site is served exclusively over an encrypted HTTPS connection, and form submissions are encrypted in transit. Access to submissions is limited to staff who need it to respond to you. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security — which is why we ask you not to send health information through this site.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the website after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information:
- Murphy clinic: (972) 442-4700 · 601 E FM 544, Suite 400, Murphy TX 75094
- Little Elm clinic: (972) 442-4700 · 2416 E Eldorado Pkwy, Suite 500, Little Elm TX 75068
- Online: Contact form (general questions only — no health information)
To ask about your protected health information, request a copy of your records, or file a privacy complaint, contact our Privacy Officer by phone at either clinic. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.