Effective date: October 28, 2025
Thank you for choosing Hillstar Ambulance Services. We provide emergency medical transport, non-emergency patient transfers, and related support services. Your privacy and the confidentiality of any personal or medical information you share with us is very important. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have regarding your information.
1. Information We Collect
We collect information necessary to provide timely, safe, and effective ambulance services. Types of information we may collect include:
- Contact details: name, phone number, email, residential or pickup/drop addresses, emergency contact names and numbers.
- Medical & health information: medical history, diagnosis, allergies, medications, mobility status, vital signs, and other clinical details shared by patients, callers, or healthcare providers that are required for care and safe transport.
- Operational data: appointment dates/times, service requests, invoices, payment details (only as needed for billing), and booking references.
- Location & device data: GPS/location information necessary to find pickup/drop locations and telemetry from our vehicles when required for operations.
- Communications: phone call recordings, SMS or chat messages, and email correspondence to document instructions, consent, or service-related communications (only where permitted).
- Technical data: IP address, browser type, and analytics for visits to our website or scheduling portals (non-identifying unless you submit a booking).
2. How We Use Your Information
We use collected information for the following purposes:
- To provide ambulance and medical transport services safely and efficiently (dispatch, routing, clinical care coordination).
- To communicate with you or your authorized representative about bookings, arrival times, and service status.
- To bill for services, process payments, and manage refunds, when applicable.
- To comply with legal, regulatory, and reporting requirements (for example, reporting certain incidents to health authorities) where required by law.
- To improve our services, train staff, and analyze operations (aggregated and anonymized where possible).
- To respond to complaints, disputes, legal requests, or emergencies.
3. Legal Basis & Consent
Where required, we rely on your consent to collect and process sensitive personal information (for example, medical information). In emergency situations where obtaining explicit consent is not possible, we may process information as necessary to provide urgent medical care and to protect life and safety, in line with applicable laws.
4. Sharing & Disclosure
We do not sell your personal information. We may share information in limited circumstances including:
- Healthcare providers: hospitals, clinics, or attending physicians involved in your care so they are prepared to receive you.
- Third-party service providers: dispatch platforms, payment processors, SMS/telephony providers, or analytics vendors who help us operate—these partners are contractually required to keep your data secure and only use it for permitted purposes.
- Legal requirements: when compelled by law, court orders, or to respond to law enforcement or regulatory investigations.
- Emergency situations: when disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm (for example, to other responders, authorized emergency contacts, or relevant authorities).
- Business transfers: in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of our assets we may transfer data to a successor organization (we will require the buyer to respect this policy where possible).
5. Cookies & Website Analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to improve user experience, analyze site traffic, and for security. Cookies do not by themselves identify you personally unless you log in or submit a form. You can control cookies through your browser settings, but disabling cookies may affect functionality of our booking or contact forms.
6. How We Protect Your Data
We implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect personal information. These include access controls, encryption for stored or transmitted sensitive data where possible, and staff training on confidentiality. While we take reasonable measures to secure data, no online or electronic system is completely secure — please contact us immediately if you suspect a privacy breach.
7. Retention
We retain personal and medical information only as long as necessary to provide services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Retention periods vary by record type and legal/regulatory requirements—after which personal data is securely deleted or anonymized.
8. Your Rights
Subject to applicable law, you may have rights regarding your personal information including the right to access, correct, restrict, or delete your data, and to receive a copy of certain information in a portable format. To exercise these rights or ask questions about your information, contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling requests.
9. Children
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 years of age through our booking portals without parental/guardian consent. If you believe we have collected information from a child without consent, please contact us to request deletion.
10. Third-Party Links
Our website or emails may link to third-party sites (for example, partner hospitals or payment gateways). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites—please review their policies before sharing personal information.
11. International Transfers
If we transfer personal information to service providers or partners located outside your country, we will take steps required by law to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy occasionally to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we do, we will post the updated policy on this page with a new effective date. For significant changes we may also notify affected users directly when feasible.