Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1st, 2024
Last Updated: June 29th, 2026

Above & Beyond Dermatology respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect information through our website, online forms, communications, and related digital services.

Our website address is: https://aboveandbeyondderm.com.

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through our website and related online services. It also includes a dedicated section describing how we handle SMS/text-message communications.

This Privacy Policy is not intended to replace our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, which describes how we may use and disclose protected health information in connection with medical care and your rights under HIPAA. If there is a conflict between this Privacy Policy and our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices regarding protected health information, our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices will control.

Who We Are

Above & Beyond Dermatology is a dermatology practice serving patients in Wisconsin and through other available care arrangements, including in-person care, virtual care, and other appointment options when available.

Our main office is currently located at:

Above & Beyond Dermatology
605 S 24th Ave, Suite 34
Wausau, WI 54403

Phone/Text: 715-391-9774
Fax: 917-277-4883

Our hours vary, and patient care services are by appointment only.

What Personal Information We Collect and Why We Collect It

We may collect personal information when you visit our website, complete forms, request appointments, subscribe to our newsletter, communicate with us, or otherwise interact with our practice.

The types of information we may collect include:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Mailing address
• Date of birth or other identifying information, when needed
• Appointment request details
• Insurance or billing-related information, when applicable
• Information you submit through website forms
• Newsletter subscription preferences
• Communication preferences
• Technical information such as IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, and website usage data
• Any other information you voluntarily provide to us

We use this information to:

• Respond to inquiries
• Schedule, confirm, and manage appointments
• Provide patient care and patient-related services
• Send administrative communications
• Send appointment reminders and scheduling updates
• Send intake forms, questionnaires, and other patient forms
• Process billing, payments, and related practice operations
• Send newsletters, educational content, or promotional communications when you have opted in
• Improve our website, services, and patient experience
• Maintain security and prevent fraud or misuse
• Comply with legal, regulatory, and professional obligations

Contact Forms

When you submit information through a contact form, appointment request form, newsletter form, or other website form, we collect the information you provide in that form. This may include your name, phone number, email address, message content, and any other information you choose to submit.

Please do not submit urgent medical concerns or emergency information through website forms. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or seek emergency medical care.

Please also avoid submitting highly sensitive medical information through general website contact forms unless the form specifically instructs you to do so or provides a secure method for submission. For patient-specific medical concerns, we may direct you to a secure patient portal, secure form, phone call, appointment, or other appropriate communication method.

Comments

If visitors leave comments on the site, we may collect the data shown in the comments form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address, also called a hash, may be provided to the Gravatar service to see whether you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture may be visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data, including EXIF GPS data. Visitors to the website may be able to download and extract location data from images posted on the website.

Cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to improve functionality, remember preferences, analyze website traffic, support security, and improve user experience.

If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when leaving another comment. These cookies may last for one year.

If our website includes login functionality, we may set temporary cookies to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. Login-related cookies may save login information and screen display choices. If you select “Remember Me,” login persistence may last for a longer period. If you log out, login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie may be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article edited. It expires after a short period.

You may disable cookies through your browser settings, but some website features may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

Analytics

We may use analytics tools to understand how visitors use our website, including which pages are visited, how visitors arrive at the site, how long visitors stay, and what devices or browsers are used.

Analytics information is generally used in aggregate form to improve website performance, content, marketing, usability, and patient experience. Analytics tools may collect information such as IP address, browser type, device type, referring pages, pages visited, and time spent on the site.

We do not use analytics information to diagnose, treat, or make individual medical decisions.

Embedded Content From Other Websites

Articles and pages on this website may include embedded content, such as videos, images, articles, social media feeds, maps, or other third-party content.

Embedded content from other websites behaves in the same way as if the visitor visited the other website directly. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with their embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that third-party website.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites or services.

Text Messaging

Above & Beyond Dermatology respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect information in connection with our SMS/text-message communications.

When you provide your mobile phone number and consent to receive SMS messages from Above & Beyond Dermatology, the messages we send will depend on the services you receive and the consent you provide. These may include: appointment confirmations, reminders, and scheduling updates; links to intake forms and medical questionnaires; lab, pathology, and test result notifications; prescription and refill notifications; billing and payment notifications and reminders; patient care notes and updates; and requests for reviews or feedback about your experience. Where you have separately opted in, we may also send marketing or promotional messages about our practice and services.

Some message types require separate consent, and you may opt in to or out of different categories of messages independently where that option is offered. Marketing and promotional messages are sent only to patients who have separately consented to receive them, and consenting to those messages is never a condition of treatment.

SMS message frequency varies based on your appointment schedule and the types of messages you have consented to receive. Message and data rates may apply.

You may opt out of receiving SMS messages at any time by replying STOP to any message. You may reply START to resubscribe or HELP for assistance.

Your mobile phone number and SMS consent information are used to provide the text-message communications you have consented to receive and related patient services. SMS consent is not a condition of treatment.

We do not sell, rent, or share your mobile phone number or SMS consent information with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes. SMS consent is not shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties, except the service providers described below who help us deliver these messages.

We may use service providers that assist in delivering SMS messages on our behalf. These providers are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the services they provide to us.

Please note that SMS is not a secure or encrypted method of communication. Standard text messages are not encrypted, and anyone with access to your mobile device may be able to view them. Please do not include sensitive medical or financial information in your replies to our text messages. To provide medical or financial information, use the secure links in our messages, such as intake forms, payment notifications, or questionnaires, or contact our office directly.

You are responsible for notifying us if your mobile phone number changes or is reassigned.

By opting in to receive SMS communications, you acknowledge and agree to these SMS terms and privacy practices.

If you have questions about our SMS communications or this Privacy Policy, please contact us using the contact information provided in this Privacy Policy.

Email Communications and Newsletters

If you subscribe to our newsletter or otherwise opt in to receive email communications, we may use your email address to send educational content, practice updates, announcements, offers, or other communications.

You may unsubscribe from marketing or newsletter emails by using the unsubscribe link included in the email or by contacting us directly. Transactional, administrative, patient-care, billing, or legally required communications may still be sent when necessary.

Email may not be a secure or encrypted method of communication unless we specifically use a secure email or portal system. Please avoid sending sensitive medical or financial information by regular email unless specifically instructed to do so through a secure method.

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell personal information.

We may share personal information with trusted service providers and business partners who help us operate our website, manage scheduling, provide patient communication tools, support our electronic health record, process payments, send newsletters, analyze website performance, provide technical support, prevent fraud, or perform other services on our behalf.

These service providers are permitted to use information only as necessary to provide services to us and are expected to protect information appropriately.

We may also disclose information:

• To comply with applicable laws, regulations, subpoenas, court orders, or legal processes
• To protect the rights, safety, security, or property of Above & Beyond Dermatology, our patients, our website visitors, or others
• To investigate potential fraud, misuse, security incidents, or unauthorized activity
• In connection with practice operations, professional advisors, insurers, attorneys, accountants, consultants, or other representatives
• As otherwise permitted or required by law

Protected health information may also be used or disclosed as described in our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.

Payment and Billing Information

If you make payments through our website or through links we provide, your payment information may be collected and processed by third-party payment processors or billing service providers. We do not intentionally store full credit card numbers on our website unless specifically stated and handled through appropriate secure systems.

Payment processors and billing vendors may collect information necessary to process payment, prevent fraud, issue receipts, and comply with applicable laws and financial obligations.

How Long We Retain Your Data

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

For example:

• Contact form submissions may be retained for administrative, patient-service, legal, or security purposes.
• Newsletter subscription information may be retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion, subject to legal and operational needs.
• Website analytics information may be retained in aggregate or identifiable form according to the settings of the analytics tools we use.
• Comments and their metadata may be retained indefinitely so we can recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
• Information contained in medical, billing, or patient records may be retained according to applicable health care, legal, regulatory, professional, and insurance requirements.

For users who register on our website, if any, we may store the personal information provided in their user profile. Users may be able to see, edit, or delete certain personal information at any time, except they may not be able to change their username. Website administrators may also be able to see and edit that information.

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

Depending on the type of information involved and applicable law, you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of certain personal information we maintain about you.

If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you may request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including data you have provided to us. You may also request that we erase certain personal data we hold about you.

This does not include data we are required or permitted to keep for administrative, legal, regulatory, security, medical-record, billing, professional, or other legitimate purposes.

Rights related to protected health information, including rights to access or amend medical records, are addressed in our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.

Where We Send Your Data

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Information submitted through our website may be processed by website hosting providers, form providers, analytics providers, email service providers, spam prevention tools, security tools, electronic health record vendors, patient communication vendors, payment processors, and other service providers that support our website and practice operations.

Some service providers may process information on servers located outside your state or region. We take reasonable steps to work with service providers that protect information appropriately.

How We Protect Your Data

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

These safeguards may include, as appropriate:

• Secure website hosting and technical safeguards
• Access controls
• Password protection
• Vendor management
• Staff training
• Use of secure systems for patient-related information
• Limiting access to information based on role and need
• Monitoring and responding to potential security concerns

No website, email system, text messaging system, or electronic storage method is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted through the website or through electronic communications.

Data Breach Procedures

If we become aware of a privacy or security incident involving personal information, we will review and respond to the incident in a manner appropriate to the nature of the information involved and applicable legal requirements.

When required by law, we will notify affected individuals, regulators, or other appropriate parties.

For incidents involving protected health information, we will follow applicable HIPAA breach notification requirements and our internal policies and procedures.

What Third Parties We Receive Data From

We may receive information from third parties when necessary to operate our practice, provide care, manage scheduling, verify information, process payments, support patient communication, or improve website and marketing performance.

These third parties may include:

• Electronic health record and patient communication vendors
• Scheduling and intake form platforms
• Payment processors and billing vendors
• Insurance plans, clearinghouses, or other health care entities
• Referral sources, when applicable
• Analytics providers
• Advertising or marketing platforms, when used
• Newsletter or email communication platforms
• Website security and spam prevention tools
• Other service providers used in practice operations

Information received from health care entities or vendors may be subject to HIPAA, business associate agreements, or other privacy and security obligations, when applicable.

Automated Decision-Making and Profiling

We do not use information collected through our website to make automated decisions that produce legal, medical, or similarly significant effects about you without human involvement.

We may use website analytics, advertising tools, or communication platforms to understand website usage, improve content, measure marketing performance, or tailor communications. These activities are not used to make clinical decisions or determine eligibility for medical treatment.

Industry Regulatory Disclosure Requirements

Above & Beyond Dermatology is a health care practice and may be subject to federal and state privacy laws, including HIPAA, when we create, receive, maintain, or transmit protected health information.

Our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices explains how we may use and disclose protected health information for treatment, payment, health care operations, and other purposes permitted or required by law. It also explains your rights regarding protected health information, including rights related to access, amendment, accounting of disclosures, restrictions, confidential communications, and complaints.

This Privacy Policy is intended to address website privacy, digital communications, SMS communications, and related privacy practices. It does not fully describe all uses and disclosures of protected health information in connection with medical care.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is intended for a general audience and is not directed specifically to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through the website without appropriate parental or guardian involvement.

Parents or guardians may contact us if they believe a child has provided personal information through the website.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including social media platforms, payment platforms, scheduling tools, educational resources, or other external websites.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or content of third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we update the policy, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

Your continued use of our website or services after changes are posted means you acknowledge the updated Privacy Policy.

Contact Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, our SMS communications, or our privacy practices, please contact us:

Above & Beyond Dermatology
605 S 24th Ave, Suite 34
Wausau, WI 54403

Phone/Text: 715-391-9774
Fax: 917-277-4883

Website: https://aboveandbeyondderm.com

If your question relates to protected health information or your rights under HIPAA, please refer to our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices or contact our office directly.