PlushCare Legal & Privacy Policy
Last Updated: August 23, 2024; Effective: September 1, 2024
If you live in California, please visit our California Privacy Statement, which supplements this Privacy Policy.
If you live in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, or any other state with applicable data privacy laws, please visit our Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy, which supplements this Privacy Policy.
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INTRODUCTIONS
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PRIVACY POLICY CHANGE
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PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT
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HOW WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
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INFORMATION GATHERED FROM COOKIES AND OTHER SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES
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SESSION REPLAY TECHNOLOGY
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DO NOT TRACK
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HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
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OTHER INSTANCES (MONITORING FOR FRAUD, COMPLYING WITH LAWFUL REQUESTS FOR DATA, AND MORE)
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USE OF ANONYMOUS INFORMATION
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SHARING OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
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LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
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CROSS-BORDER TRANSFERS
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RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
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PERSONAL INFORMATION OF CHILDREN
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PARENTS AND GUARDIANS OF MINORS
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PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT OF YOUR CHILD
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HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE THIS INFORMATION:
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SECURITY METHODS
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YOUR RIGHTS
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STATE DATA PRIVACY LAW EXEMPTIONS
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NEVADA RESIDENTS
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ADDITIONAL TERMS FOR EU VISITORS
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APPLICABLE LAW
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CONTACT US
1. Introduction
We are pleased to announce that PlushCare, Inc., PlushCare of California, Inc., Accolade 2ndMD LLC, and Accolade, Inc. are now part of Accolade, Inc.
The use of PlushCare, Inc., PlushCare of California, Inc., Accolade 2ndMD LLC, and/or Accolade, Inc. services are subject to all of their respective terms, agreements, statements of rights, consent forms, and policies, which applied when you engaged with the respective services. When visiting an Accolade, Inc. website or using the PlushCare Services, your information will be shared, where legally permissible, with our parent company, Accolade, Inc., in accordance with the Accolade, Inc. Privacy Policy.
PlushCare, Inc. and PlushCare of California, Inc., P.C. (“PlushCare”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) delivers virtual primary care and mental health treatment to its members in a high quality, convenient and affordable way. The PlushCare Privacy Policy applies to any registered users (“Members”) of our site, as well as any visitors (“non-members”).
PlushCare takes your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy applies to PlushCare -owned websites, PlushCare -branded mobile app (collectively, the “Sites”), and all communications and services offered by PlushCare (“Services”) but excludes services which state that they are offered under a different privacy policy.
To best explain your rights and our obligations under this Privacy Policy, we have included more information about your rights and our obligations below, along with definitions for key terms that we use throughout the Policy. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at: legal@accolade.com
This Privacy Policy is incorporated into, and is subject to, the Terms of Use. By using the Sites and the Services, you accept and agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. Capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy and not defined herein shall have the definitions provided in our Terms of Use.
Please read this privacy notice carefully as it will help you understand what we do with the information that we collect.
2. Privacy Policy Change
PlushCare reserves the right to modify, expand, or remove portions of this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any and all changes to this Privacy Policy will be reflected here and the date new versions are posted will be stated at the bottom of this Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the Sites and the Services indicates your agreement with these modifications and updates. If you do not agree with the changes, then you should stop using the Sites and the Services and notify us that you do not want your Personal Information used in accordance with the changes. If we make significant material changes in the way we handle Personal Information, we will send a notice to you at the email address that we have on file and/or by posting a prominent notice on the Sites.
Changes to the Accolade Digital Tools Mobile Application (“App”)
From time to time and without prior notice to you, we may change, expand, and improve the App. We may also, at any time, cease to continue operating part or all of the App or selectively disable certain features of the App. Your use of the App does not entitle you to the continued provision or availability of the App. Any modification or elimination of the App or any particular feature will be done in our sole and absolute discretion and without an ongoing obligation or liability to you.
Personal Information. When referred to in this Privacy Policy, the term “Personal Information” includes any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular individual or household, including any information that is subject to applicable data protection laws. Personal Information may include “Personal Information” as defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act, Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.100 et. seq., as amended (“CCPA”).
Protected Health Information. PlushCare is also committed to protecting the privacy of your protected health information (“Protected Health Information”). “Protected Health Information” is a subset of Personal Information that is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; related health care services; or related to the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to you. For a description of how we may use and disclose your Protected Health Information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), please refer to our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, which is available here. Any conflict between this Privacy Policy and the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices with respect to such submitted Protected Health Information shall be governed by the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.
3. Personal Information We Collect
PlushCare collects certain types of information from you, whether you provide it directly, through your interactions with our Site, or if you are a Provider.
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Information We Collect |
Description |
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Information You Choose to Provide |
PlushCare collects information that you provide, including but not limited to:
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Information Collected Digitally |
We may use automated technology such as cookies and other tracking software to collect Personal Information from your computer system or mobile device. We may collect the following information:
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Provider Information |
if you are a Provider (as defined in our Terms of Use), we may also collect:
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Notice on COVID-19 and data collection consent: PlushCare provides members with virtual medical care and mental healthcare, for conditions including but not limited to COVID-19. PlushCare collects personal data to support a patient’s ability to speak with a Board-certified doctor over video through the app and deliver care related to conditions including but not limited to COVID-19. For COVID-19 related purposes, qualified patients may be able to use PlushCare to: discuss symptoms with a doctor; receive a diagnosis; receive lab orders and results; receive a COVID-19 treatment prescription. PlushCare only uses the personal data it acquires for COVID-19 related purposes in conjunction with its app’s user-facing purpose.
4. How We Collect Your Personal Information
We may obtain Personal Information:
- When you provide it directly (such as by registering for your Account). We might also collect information if you post a review or contact us
- Automatically when you visit the Sites or use the Services (such as from cookies)
- From your communications with us through your use of the Services such as when you engage in our telehealth services and/or interact with our in-app messaging services
- From third parties (such as when you make payments to us using our payment processor)
- From our affiliates, including the Providers (e.g., professional health care provider) about your participation in the Services
We may combine information from different sources. For example, we may combine information that we have collected offline with information we collect online, or we may combine information we get from a third party with information we already have.
If you submit any Personal Information relating to other people to us, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
5. Information Gathered from Cookies and Other Similar Technologies
PlushCare uses cookies and other similar technologies (such as pixels and advertising tags) to ensure the quality of your visit. In particular, PlushCare uses cookies to recognize users and their behaviors across our Services, streamline the login process, maintain a Member’s state while using our Services, and remember user-specific preferences. You can always set your browser not to accept cookies; however, you should be aware that in some cases, some of our Services may not function as a result.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the Sites and use their features. Without these cookies, services you have requested, such as remembering your login details or submitted information, cannot be provided.
Performance Cookies
These cookies collect anonymous information on how people use the Sites. For example, we use Google Analytics cookies to help us understand how individuals arrive at the Sites, browse, or use the Sites, and highlight areas where we can improve such as navigation and marketing campaigns. The data stored by these cookies never shows personal details from which your individual identity can be established.
Functionality Cookies
These cookies remember choices you make such as the country from which you visit the Sites, language, and search parameters. These can then be used to provide you with an experience more appropriate to your selections and to make the visits more tailored and pleasant. The information these cookies collect may be anonymized and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
Targeting Cookies or Advertising Cookies
Depending on your settings, we may use cookies, web beacons, pixels, technologies to record user sessions, and other tracking tools to monitor and track your access to and usage of the Site for the purpose of certain remarketing activities.
These cookies collect information about your browsing habits in order to make advertising more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an ad as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. The cookies are usually placed by third party advertising networks. They remember the websites you visit, and that information is shared with other parties such as advertisers.
We may use different kinds of cookies including session ID cookies and persistent cookies. Session ID cookies are used to personalize your user experience, to determine ways to improve the Sites and the Services we offer. These cookies are deleted when you close your browser session. Persistent cookies are used to collect information such as IP addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks.
You can change your settings for cookies and similar technologies by clicking on the cookie consent box on the Sites. In addition, you can refuse or accept cookies from the Sites at any time by activating the settings on your browser. You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, but if you disable cookies, certain pixels and any screen recording technologies will be disabled, and some parts of the Sites may not work properly. Check the “Help” menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences. To find out more about cookies, visit www.aboutcookies.org.
We may also use technologies similar to cookies, such as Google Analytics and FaceBook/Meta Analytics. We use Google Analytics to collect anonymized statistics in order to improve the Sites and the Services. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with Personal Information. You can selectively disable Google Analytics by installing the opt-out component provided by Google on your browser. You can refer to the following links for more information: Google Analytics and privacy and Google Analytics opt-out browser.
We use Meta Business tools for conversion tracking, which is an analytics service provided by Meta that connects data from the Meta advertising network with actions performed on the Sites. Information collected includes anonymized usage data of our website, such as specific actions taken on our website, which are tracked and attributed using Meta's pixel. You can refer to the Meta’s Privacy Policy for more information.
6. Session Replay Technology
You acknowledge that PlushCare uses session replay technologies, such as those provided by Quantum Metric and FullStory, that employ software code to record users’ interactions with the Services in a manner that allows us to watch and analyze visual reconstructions of those user sessions. The replays may include users’ clicks, mobile app touches, mouse movements, scrolls, and keystrokes/key touches during those sessions. These replays help us diagnose usability problems and identify areas for improvement. You can learn more about FullStory at https://www.fullstory.com/legal/privacy-policy and you can opt-out of session recording by FullStory at https://www.fullstory.com/optout/. You can learn more about Quantum Metric, including opt out options, at https://www.quantummetric.com/legal/privacy-policy/.
7. Do Not Track
Many web browsers allow for the use of a “Do Not Track” (“DNT”) function to inform websites that you do not want your online activities tracked. We endeavor to cooperate with DNT signals. When you choose to turn on the DNT setting in your browser, your browser sends a signal to websites, analytics companies, ad networks, plug in providers, and other web services you encounter while browsing to stop tracking your activity. DNT signals are not universal, and in special circumstances, PlushCare reserves the right to refrain from complying with signals, such as when the signal is indecipherable or incompatible with our processes. Similar to our note about cookies, if you choose to turn on your DNT setting within your browser, some of our Services may not function as a result.
8. How We Use Your Personal Information
PlushCare only uses your personal information to provide our services, personalize your experience, comply with security measures as well as the law, or to fulfill business obligations. We may also need to use your personal data to address your own requests for that data, or to comply with your rights.
Providing our Services
- Operate our business (e.g., manage your Account, provide, and personalize our Services, and process payments)
- Provide customer support
- Communicate with you, including about the Services and the related services offered by Providers that treat you (e.g., surveys and feedback)
- Provide you with newsletters, articles, alerts, announcements, invitations, and other information about the Services
- Manage our vendor and partner relationships
Personalizing your Experience
- Better design the Sites to improve users’ experiences, both in terms of content and ease of use
- Analyze your interactions with the Services and third parties’ online services so we can tailor our advertising in ways we think will interest you
Marketing
- To conduct outreach and engagement communications to make you aware of the Services
- PlushCare’s advertising practices align with industry best practices for internet-based advertising. You may choose not to receive future promotional, advertising, or other Service-related notifications from us by opting out of such advertising on your settings. If you choose not to receive notifications, you may still use the Service, but you may not receive, or may be unable to use, certain services that involve our interaction with you.
- To communicate with you about new contests, promotions and rewards, upcoming events, and other news about products and services offered by PlushCare and our selected partners
- PlushCare reserves the right to show you sponsored content, which may or may not look similar to non-sponsored content, although we will alert you to the nature of the content by adding a tag (such as “sponsored content” or “advertisement”). If you choose to comment, share, or similarly engage with sponsored content, your action may be viewable by your connections on your feed as well as by the sponsor. The choice over whether to engage with sponsored content is yours.
- PlushCare may generate insights based on information that does not identify you or is not personal to you. For example, PlushCare may monitor usage patterns across our Services in order to make platform improvements or monitor our content in order to ensure that the tools and services we provide are of interest to you (e.g., how often Members watch the videos we offer or click partner content). In such cases, we do not use this data in a way that would identify you. However, if you view or click on an ad on or off our Services, the ad provider may get a signal that someone visited a page which displayed the ad, and they may, through the use of their own mechanisms such as cookies, determine that the user is you. In such instances, we endeavor to ensure that the advertising services that operate on PlushCare’s platforms comply with this Privacy Policy and, if the advertiser has their own Privacy Policy, we encourage you to consult that policy as well.
- PlushCare does not share your personal data with any third-party advertisers or ad networks except for in the instance of: (1) hashed IDs, device identifiers, or pseudonymous data (to the extent that they are personal data in some countries); (2) with your separate permission or (3) data already visible to any users of our Services (e.g., profile or public feed data).
9. Other Instances (Monitoring for Fraud, Complying with Lawful Requests for Data, and More)
- Track and monitor end user interaction with the Services
- Ensure the security and integrity of the Services
- Enforce our Terms of Use and other legal terms and policies
- Protect our and others’ interests, rights, and property (e.g., to protect our copyrighted materials)
- Comply with applicable legal requirements, such as tax and other government regulations and industry standards, contracts, and law enforcement requests
10. Use of Anonymous Information
We may use Anonymous Information (as defined below), or disclose it to third party service providers, to provide and improve the Service. We may also disclose Anonymous Information (with or without compensation) to third parties, including advertisers and partners, for purposes including, but not limited to, targeting advertisements. “Anonymous Information” means information which does not enable identification of an individual user, such as aggregated information about use of the Service.
11. Sharing of Your Personal Information
YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT BE SOLD. Nor will Your Personal Information be licensed or disclosed to unaffiliated third-parties, except in connection with the sale, transfer, merger, consolidation or other transaction involving all or part of our company or as may be permitted under applicable law.
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Access to Information |
Description |
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No Sale of Personal Information |
Your personal information will not be sold. It will not be licensed or disclose to unaffiliated third-parties, except in connection with the sale, transfer, merger, consolidation, or other transaction involving all or part of our company, or as may be permitted under applicable law. |
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Sharing with Partners and Affiliates |
PlushCare may share your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy or when you provide consent (if required by law). We may share your information with our partners and affiliates as necessary to contact you or provide the requested services. This includes disclosing your information to Providers, pharmacies, or other entities working on your behalf, such as arranging appointments, providing telehealth or other healthcare services, obtaining medication, or for payment and healthcare operations. |
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Disclosure to Contractors and Consultants |
PlushCare also may share this Personal Information to outside contractors, advisors, auditors, vendors, consultants, or others engaged by PlushCare to assist in providing financial or operational activities on PlushCare’s behalf, including technical and processing services and analysis of the Sites’ performance. Additionally, we reserve the right to disclose to third parties non-personally identifiable information collected for any lawful purpose, including but not limited to, aggregate or de-identified data. |
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Legal and Compliance Obligations |
PlushCare may disclose your Personal Information to third parties when obligated or permitted to do so by law or if we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on PlushCare or to investigate, prevent, or resolve any suspected or actual unlawful activities, such as potential fraud, or a perceived irregularity in any audits of the accuracy of any documentation or information submitted to PlushCare by you or on your behalf, as deemed appropriate by PlushCare. |
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Corporate Transactions |
PlushCare may disclose or transfer information, including any Personal Information, to a successor entity (or potential buyer) in connection with a proposed or actual corporate merger, acquisition, consolidation, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or other corporate change. In addition, in the event PlushCare becomes the subject of an insolvency proceeding, whether voluntary or involuntary, PlushCare or its liquidator, administrator, receiver, or administrative receiver may sell, license, or otherwise dispose of such information in a transaction approved by the court. |
12. Links to Other Websites
The Sites may contain links to other websites that have information we believe may be of interest to you. We do not endorse these websites. While we try to link only to websites that share our high standards and respect for privacy, we are not responsible for the content of the websites or privacy practices employed by other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of each website you visit that may collect information or ask you to disclose Personal Information. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected on external websites that may be linked to or through the Sites.
13. Cross-Border Transfers
All of the information that you provide to PlushCare will be stored and processed in the United States. If you are accessing the Sites from other jurisdictions, please be advised that you are transferring your Personal Information to us in the United States where data protection and privacy laws may be less stringent than the laws of your country. BY USING THE SITES AND/OR THE SERVICES, YOU CONSENT TO THE TRANSFER AND USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS PRIVACY POLICY.
14. Retention of Personal Information
Except to the extent prohibited by law, and subject to this Privacy Policy, we will retain and use your Personal Information for as long as it is needed to provide you with the Services you have requested or access to the Sites and the Services, to document our business relationship with you, and as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. When determining how long we keep your information, we consider factors such as, but not limited to, the type and sensitivity of the data, the risk of unauthorized use, the purposes for processing, and the legal or business needs. Due to our data protection measures, residual copies of your information may temporarily remain in our backup systems before being automatically deleted or rendered inaccessible.
15. Personal Information of Children
This Service is neither directed to nor structured to attract children under the age of 13 years. Accordingly, we do not intend to collect Personal Information from anyone we know to be under 13 years of age. We will direct potential users under 13 years of age not to use the Service. If we determine that such information has been inadvertently collected on anyone under the age of 13, we will take the necessary steps to ensure that such information is deleted from our system’s database. If you are a parent or guardian and become aware that your child has provided us with information, please contact us using one of the methods specified below.
Children between the ages of 13 and 17 are only permitted to use our Site and Services in accordance with our Terms and Privacy Policy, and only with the permission of their parent or guardian.
16. Parents and Guardians of Minors
We may collect personal information of your child in order to provide your child with our Services. Your consent is required for us to collect, use, and disclose your child’s personal information and we will be unable to provide your child with our Services without your consent. Your consent will be obtained via a verifiable consent form or other lawful mechanisms.
17. Personal Information We Collect of Your Child
- Information directly provided by your child during an appointment, including health related data, or while logged into an account created by you or another parent or guardian.
- Details from your child’s use of the Services, including details sent by the device used by the child (i.e., IP address, unique device identifiers, website usage information, etc.) and location information.
18. How We Use and Disclose This Information:
- Operate our business (e.g., manage your Account, provide, and personalize our Services, and process payments)
- Provide customer support
- Communicate with you and your child, including about the Services and the related services offered by Providers that treat you (e.g., surveys and feedback)
- Provide you with newsletters, articles, alerts, announcements, invitations, and other information about the Services
- Manage our vendor and partner relationship
19. Security Methods
PlushCare has implemented commercially reasonable physical, technical, and administrative security measures designed to protect your Personal Information, including a secure firewall and use of security infrastructure. As an additional security measure, your Personal Information is also encrypted during transmission using SSL security, an industry standard secure technology. SSL encryption is indicated on your Web browser by the display of a lock or key on the browser status bar. Nonetheless, no such measure is ever 100% effective; therefore, we do not guarantee that your Personal Information will be secure from theft, loss, or unauthorized access or use, and we make no representation as to the reasonableness, efficacy, or appropriateness of the measures we use to safeguard such Personal Information. We encourage you to use caution when using the Internet. This includes not sharing your passwords.
If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of your Account has been compromised), please immediately notify us by contacting us at info@plushcare.com
20. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have certain rights regarding our collection, use, and sharing of your Personal Information. If you have any questions regarding these rights, please contact us at: info@plushcare.com. Please note that we may request additional information to respond to or fulfill any requests regarding your rights under applicable laws or regulations.
You can always opt out of any subscription for emails, involving any updates, information, postings, news, and/or press releases, by clicking “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of the email. We might still send you some important emails, like responding to you by email if you send us a request or comment.
21. State Data Privacy Law Exemptions
Accolade and its affiliates are exempt from the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (“CTDPA”), Utah Consumer Privacy Act (UCPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“VCDPA”), and other similar state data privacy laws with the below stated exemptions, which grant residents specific rights concerning their personal information.
These state laws generally apply to for-profit and business-to-business companies that interact, or process personal data of residents of these states on a relatively larger scale. However, these laws DOES NOT apply to covered entities or business associates under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. Accolade and its affiliates are covered entities and/or business associates and are not subject to CTDPA, UCPA, VCDPA, or any other state data privacy laws with similar exemptions.
22. Nevada Residents
Although PlushCare does not sell Personal Information, Nevada residents have the right to submit a verified request directing PlushCare not to sell their Personal Information. If you are a Nevada resident, and would like to submit such a request, please send your request to info@plushcare.com.
23. Additional Terms for EU Visitors
The Sites are intended only for users located in the United States. To the extent that you are accessing this website from a location within the European Union, the following information shall apply to the collection and processing of your Personal Information.
The data controller for this Site is PlushCare, Inc. PlushCare processes Personal Information it collects through the Site for PlushCare’s legitimate business purposes, for example to fulfill any requests you may make in connection with your submission of personally identifiable information, to monitor and improve the quality of the Site, and to protect and defend our rights, property or safety or that of our Members and other users of the Site. You may have the right to access and/or obtain a copy of your Personal Information, correct inaccuracies in your Personal Information, request the erasure of your Personal Information and restrict the processing of your Personal Information. For more information about how you can access, rectify, and erase your Personal Information or make any other requests relating to your Personal Information or to contact PlushCare, please see the “Contact Us” section of this Privacy Notice below. In addition, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory data protection authority, contact information is available at https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en.
24. Applicable Law
This Privacy Policy should be read in conjunction with our Terms of Use and as such shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of California.
25. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the practices of PlushCare, please feel free to contact us at the following email, telephone number or mailing address:
Email: info@plushcare.com
Telephone: 415-231-5333
Mailing Address: 101 Mission St Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94105