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Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 25, 2026

1. Information We Collect

advortho.org collects the following types of information:

  • Provider information: Name, NPI number, credentials, practice address, phone number, and specialty - sourced from the publicly available NPI Registry maintained by CMS.
  • Patient contact requests: When you submit an appointment request, we collect your name, email address, phone number (optional), and message.
  • Account information: Providers who claim their profiles create accounts with email and password via our authentication partner, Clerk.
  • Usage data: We collect anonymized analytics data (page views, search queries) through Vercel Analytics to improve our service.

2. How We Use Your Information

  • To display provider profiles and facilitate patient-provider connections
  • To forward appointment requests to the appropriate provider
  • To send transactional emails (appointment confirmations, account notifications)
  • To improve our search results and user experience
  • To prevent fraud and ensure platform security

3. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only in the following circumstances:

  • Appointment requests: Your contact information is shared with the specific provider you request an appointment with.
  • Service providers: We use third-party services for hosting (Vercel), authentication (Clerk), database (Neon), and email (Resend). These providers process data on our behalf under strict data processing agreements.
  • Legal requirements: We may disclose information when required by law or to protect our rights.

4. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS), encrypted database connections, and secure authentication. However, no method of electronic storage is 100% secure.

5. HIPAA Disclaimer

advortho.org is a provider directory and does not store or transmit protected health information (PHI). We are not a covered entity under HIPAA. Contact requests contain standard personal information (name, email, phone), not medical records.

6. Your Rights

  • You may request deletion of your contact request data by emailing privacy@advortho.org
  • Providers may update or delete their profile information through the provider dashboard
  • You may opt out of analytics tracking by enabling Do Not Track in your browser

7. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Notice

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

  • Right to Know: You may request that we disclose what personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources, the business purpose for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
  • Right to Delete: You may request that we delete the personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions.
  • Right to Opt-Out of Sale: We do not sell your personal information. If this changes, we will provide a "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" link.
  • Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.
  • Right to Correct: You may request that we correct inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you.
  • Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: We do not collect sensitive personal information as defined by the CPRA.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@advortho.org with the subject line "CCPA Request." We will respond within 45 days. You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf.

Categories of personal information collected in the past 12 months: Identifiers (name, email, phone, NPI number), internet activity (page views via Vercel Analytics), and professional information (credentials, practice address). We do not collect biometric data, geolocation data, or financial information.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

advortho.org uses the following cookies and tracking technologies:

  • Essential cookies: Required for authentication (Clerk session cookies) and basic site functionality. These cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics: We use Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights, which are privacy-friendly and do not use cookies. They collect anonymized, aggregated data about page views and performance. No personal information is tracked.
  • Third-party cookies: Our authentication provider (Clerk) may set cookies for session management. Google Maps embeds on provider profile pages may set cookies per Google's privacy policy.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or cross-site tracking. For more details, see our Cookie Policy.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services. Contact lead data is retained for 2 years. Provider profile data is retained as long as the profile is active. You may request earlier deletion by contacting us.

10. Children's Privacy

advortho.org is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected such information, contact us immediately and we will delete it.

11. Contact

For questions about this privacy policy or to exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@advortho.org.

advortho.org is operated from California, United States.