Privacy Policy

Scope of this policy

Tower Oaks Dermatology is the trade name of Lowe Medical, LLC. This Privacy Policy describes information handled in connection with our public website and appointment-related SMS text messaging program.

This policy is not a HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices. A separate Notice of Privacy Practices addresses medical records, uses and disclosures of protected health information, and patient rights. This website and SMS policy does not replace that notice or authorize additional uses of health information.

Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, information may include your name, mobile phone number, email address if provided, and the information you choose to include when you contact us.

If you enroll in appointment-related messaging, information processed for the program may include your mobile number, relevant scheduling details, opt-in and opt-out choices, consent records, message content, timestamps, and delivery status. The public website is not the clinical messaging system.

Our website hosting and technical service providers may process information needed to deliver and protect the website, such as an IP address, browser or device information, requested pages, and access times.

The current public website is informational and does not provide a patient-intake or clinical-message submission form. Do not send medical records, clinical photographs, diagnoses, passwords, or payment-card details through ordinary email or text messages. Ask the practice for an appropriate way to communicate sensitive information.

How we use information

We use information to operate the website, respond to inquiries, send the appointment-related messages you have opted in to receive, manage communication preferences, record and honor consent and opt-outs, and address service or security issues.

Visiting the website or giving us a phone number for your contact record does not, by itself, enroll you in recurring SMS. This appointment-related program does not include marketing or promotional messages, and enrollment does not authorize marketing texts.

SMS opt-in and consent information

Mobile numbers and SMS opt-in or consent data are not sold, rented, or used for marketing. We do not share this information with third parties or affiliates for their own purposes.

Service-provider access is limited to what is necessary to deliver and support our messaging program on our behalf, including maintaining communication preferences and honoring opt-outs. This access does not give a provider or another business permission to contact you independently. SMS information is not supplied to advertising networks or lead-generation services.

When information is shared

Patient information associated with this SMS program is shared only as necessary to provide messaging and related practice support, except for disclosures required by law. Practice-management and messaging providers may process the information needed for that service. Separately, website-hosting and technical providers may process the website information described above to deliver and protect the public website; the public website is not a destination for medical records or clinical intake.

We do not sell patient information. Providers processing SMS information on our behalf are limited to the service purposes described in this policy, not their own marketing. Disclosures required by law are handled in accordance with applicable law. Uses and disclosures of medical records for treatment, payment, and other purposes are addressed in the separate Notice of Privacy Practices.

Your messaging choices

Reply STOP to a text from our SMS program to opt out at any time. You may receive one final opt-out confirmation. We will not send further program messages unless you choose to enroll again.

For help with your communication preferences, an opt-out request, or correcting your contact information, use the support contact below. Opting out does not cancel an appointment and does not automatically delete records that must be retained.

Data security and retention

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information against unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or loss. Access is limited according to the responsibilities of staff and service providers. Ordinary SMS is not a secure patient portal, and no method of electronic transmission or storage can be guaranteed completely secure.

We retain information as needed to provide services, maintain communication preferences and consent records, honor opt-outs, and meet applicable recordkeeping obligations. An opt-out record may be retained so that we can continue to respect your choice not to receive texts.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our services or information practices change. We will post updates on this page and revise the effective date. Policy updates do not automatically enroll you in messaging or authorize new uses of your SMS consent.

Our Mobile Terms of Service provide additional information about message types, frequency, rates, opt-out instructions, and support.

Contact us

For questions about this policy or the SMS program, contact:

[email protected]

Lowe Medical, LLC, doing business as Tower Oaks Dermatology
3206 Tower Oaks Boulevard, Suite 345, Rockville, MD 20852