SaathiMed Pvt. Ltd. ("SaathiMed", "we", "our", or "us") operates two healthcare platforms:
- 🧑⚕️ DoctorSaathi – For doctors and healthcare professionals (clinical decision support, patient management, teleconsultation)
- 📱 SaathiMed Patient App – For patients and families (symptom checking, health records, specialist connect)
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile applications, website, and services. We comply with Indian data protection laws including the upcoming Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and follow global best practices for healthcare data.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Personal Information
When you create an account, we collect:
- Full name, email address, phone number
- Age, gender, date of birth
- Profile photo (optional)
- Address (for emergency contact and nearby services)
1.2 Health Information (Sensitive Personal Data)
With your explicit consent, we collect:
- Medical history: Past diagnoses, surgeries, allergies, chronic conditions
- Symptoms: Current symptoms you enter for AI analysis
- Health vitals: Blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar, temperature, weight, sleep patterns
- Medical documents: Uploaded prescriptions, lab reports, X-rays, MRI scans, medical images
- Medications: Current and past medications, dosages, adherence tracking
- Mental health data: Mood logs, stress levels, wellness check-ins
- Family medical history: Genetic predisposition information
1.3 Doctor-Specific Information (DoctorSaathi only)
- Medical registration number and council details
- Specialization, qualifications, years of experience
- Clinic/hospital address and timings
- Consultation notes, prescriptions, and patient records
- Professional license verification documents
1.4 Device & Technical Information
- Device model, operating system, unique device identifiers
- IP address, network information, mobile carrier
- App usage data, feature interactions, crash logs
- Push notification tokens for alerts and reminders
1.5 Location Data
- Approximate location (based on IP address) for nearby doctor/hospital search
- Precise location (with your permission) for emergency services
2. App Permissions & Camera Usage
SaathiMed and DoctorSaathi require certain permissions to provide healthcare services. Here's why:
| Permission | Why We Need It | When Used |
|---|---|---|
| 📷 Camera | Scan medical reports, prescriptions, and documents; take photos of symptoms (rashes, wounds); video consultations with doctors; scan QR codes for health records | Document upload, teleconsultation, profile photo |
| 🎙️ Microphone | Voice notes for symptoms (especially for low-literacy users); audio/video teleconsultation; voice search for medicines | During calls, voice input features |
| 📁 Storage / Media | Upload medical reports, prescriptions, and images; download health records and reports; save consultation summaries | Document management, report viewing |
| 🔔 Notifications | Medicine reminders, appointment alerts, health tips, AI insights notifications, teleconsultation reminders | Throughout app usage |
| 📍 Location | Find nearby doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies; emergency services | When using nearby search or emergency features |
| 🏃 Health Connect / Step Sensor | Track steps, physical activity, and wellness metrics (with consent) | Wellness tracking features |
3. How We Use Your Information
- 🤖 AI-Powered Clinical Intelligence: Analyze symptoms to generate differential diagnoses and health insights
- 🩺 Doctor-Patient Connection: Facilitate teleconsultations, share medical history with your chosen doctors
- 📊 Outcome-Based Learning: Improve our AI models through anonymized patient outcomes (closed feedback loop)
- 💊 Medication Management: Send medicine reminders, track adherence, alert for drug interactions
- 📈 Health Monitoring: Track vitals, symptoms progression, and recovery patterns
- 🔔 Notifications & Reminders: Appointment alerts, health tips, follow-up reminders
- 📱 App Improvement: Analyze crash logs and usage patterns to enhance performance and user experience
- ⚖️ Legal Compliance: Maintain records as required by Indian healthcare regulations
4. Artificial Intelligence & Automated Processing
SaathiMed uses advanced AI/ML technologies to provide clinical intelligence:
- AI Triage System: Analyzes symptoms and suggests possible conditions (expanding differential diagnosis)
- Pattern Recognition: Identifies health patterns and risk factors from anonymized data
- Predictive Insights: Forecasts potential health deterioration based on vitals trends
- Data Anonymization: All AI training uses de-identified, aggregated data - no personal identifiers are used
Doctor-in-the-Loop: Our AI is designed to support, not replace doctors. Final clinical decisions are always made by qualified healthcare professionals.
5. Data Sharing & Disclosure
We never sell your personal or health data. Period.
Data is shared only in these limited scenarios:
- With your explicit consent: Sharing medical records with doctors, family members, or other healthcare providers you authorize
- Service providers: Firebase (Google), cloud infrastructure, AI processing partners under strict confidentiality agreements
- Legal requirements: When required by Indian courts, law enforcement, or regulatory bodies (NMC, ICMR, etc.)
- Emergency situations: To respond to life-threatening medical emergencies
6. Data Security & Encryption
- End-to-end encryption: All health data encrypted during transmission (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256)
- Secure infrastructure: Hosted on Google Cloud Platform with HIPAA-compliant configurations
- Access controls: Role-based access with multi-factor authentication for staff
- Regular audits: Quarterly security assessments and penetration testing
- Data backup: Encrypted backups with 30-day retention
While we implement industry-leading security, no digital platform can guarantee 100% absolute security. We recommend using strong passwords and keeping your app updated.
7. Your Privacy Rights
Under Indian data protection laws, you have the following rights:
- Right to Access: Request a copy of all data we hold about you
- Right to Correction: Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
- Right to Deletion: Request permanent deletion of your account and associated data
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Stop any data processing you previously consented to
- Right to Data Portability: Download your health records in standard format (JSON/PDF)
- Right to Restrict Processing: Limit how we use your data
- Right to File Complaint: Lodge a complaint with Indian data protection authorities
To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@saathimed.com with the subject line "Privacy Request". We respond within 30 days.
8. Data Retention Policy
- Active accounts: Data retained as long as your account is active
- Deleted accounts: Data permanently deleted within 90 days of deletion request
- Legal retention: Some medical records may be retained for 3 years as required by Indian medical laws
- Anonymized data: De-identified data may be retained indefinitely for AI model improvement
9. Children's Privacy (Under 13)
SaathiMed and DoctorSaathi are not intended for children under 13. For children between 13-18, accounts must be created and managed by a parent or legal guardian with verified consent. If we discover unauthorized data collection from a child, we will delete it immediately. Parents may request deletion by contacting support.
10. Data Localization & Cross-Border Transfer
Your health data is primarily stored on servers located in India (Mumbai, Cloud Region). Some processing may occur through global infrastructure partners, but all data remains subject to Indian data protection laws. We do not transfer health data to countries with inadequate data protection standards.
11. Third-Party Services We Use
- Google Firebase: Authentication, real-time database, cloud storage, push notifications
- Google Cloud AI/ML: Anonymized AI model training and inference
- Agora/Twilio: Video and audio teleconsultation infrastructure
- Google Analytics/Firebase Analytics: Anonymized usage statistics (no personal health data)
Each provider signs strict Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) compliant with Indian law.
12. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this policy periodically to reflect legal changes or new features. Significant changes will be notified via:
- In-app notification with changelog
- Email to registered users (for material changes)
- Update notice on our website
Continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance. The "Last Updated" date at the top indicates when this policy was last revised.
13. Grievance Officer (as per Indian IT Rules, 2021)
In compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021:
- Name: Amrendra Kumar (Founder)
- Email: grievance@saathimed.com
- Response Time: Within 24 hours for urgent matters, 7 days for complaints
- Address: East Champaran, Bihar, India - 845401
📞 Need Help?
For privacy concerns, data requests, or reporting a breach:
Office Hours: Mon-Sat, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM IST