Home / Privacy policy

How I look after your information

Your health information is personal and sensitive. This page explains, in plain English, what I collect, why, who I share it with and the rights you have.

Last updated: 30 October 2026

At a glance

I only collect what I need to provide your care and run my practice.
Your health records are confidential and never sold or used for advertising.
I share information only with services involved in your care, such as laboratories, or where the law requires it.
You can ask to see, correct or delete your information at any time.

1. Who I am

This website and practice are run by Jean Dow Herbalist Limited, a company registered in Scotland (company number SC586447). Jean Dow, medical herbalist and functional medicine practitioner, provides care through the company. In this policy, “I”, “me” and “my” mean Jean Dow Herbalist Limited.

Jean Dow Herbalist Limited is the “data controller” for your personal information, which means it decides how your information is used and is responsible for protecting it under UK data protection law (the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018).

CompanyJean Dow Herbalist Limited, registered in Scotland, company number SC586447
Registered office4 Albyn Place, Edinburgh EH2 4NG
Clinics4 Albyn Place, Edinburgh EH2 4NG and Portree, Isle of Skye IV51 9HT
Emailhealth@jeandow.com
Phone0131 235 1204
Mobile07973 368189 (call or text)
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) registrationJean Dow Herbalist Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office, reference ZA190290

2. What I collect

Contact and booking details

Your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, appointment history and payment records.

Health information

Your medical history, symptoms, medications, lifestyle, diet, family history, questionnaire answers, test results, clinical notes and the herbal prescriptions I make for you. AI transcripts are used to create clinical notes, but these are immediately deleted once their clinical notes are generated. This is “special category” data, which the law protects more strictly.

Information about children

If I treat a child, I’ll collect their health information and the details of the parent or guardian who gives consent on their behalf.

Information from others

With your agreement, I may receive information from your general practitioner (GP), other healthcare practitioners, or the laboratories and phlebotomists who process your tests.

3. Why I use it, and the legal basis

Purpose	Legal basis
Assessing, diagnosing and treating you, and keeping clinical records	Contract (providing the care you’ve booked). For health data: provision of health care by a health professional under a duty of confidentiality (UK GDPR Article 9(2)(h)).
Arranging lab tests and blood draws	Contract, and Article 9(2)(h) for health data.
Managing bookings, reminders and video consultations	Contract.
Taking payments and keeping financial records	Contract and legal obligation (tax and accounting rules).
Contacting your GP or another practitioner	Your explicit consent, unless there’s an urgent risk to your health or someone else’s.
Sending my email newsletter	Legitimate interests and the “soft opt-in” rule for existing patients. You can opt out at any time (see below).
Handling complaints, insurance and legal claims	Legitimate interests and legal obligation.

I never sell your information. I only share it with organisations that help me provide your care, under agreements that require them to keep it secure:

Practice Better, my online booking and practice management system
Laboratories such as Genova Diagnostics, Regenerus Laboratories, Invivo and AONM, when you have tests
Phlebotomists who take blood samples near you
Video call providers, such as Zoom or Skype, for online consultations
Living Matrix, if you complete an online health assessment
Email provider: MailerLite, which sends my newsletter and stores subscribers’ names and email addresses, and the details and messages people send through my enquiry form
Payment providers, accountant and professional insurer, where needed
Your GP or other practitioners, only with your consent

I may also disclose information if required by law, a court order, or to protect someone from serious harm.

5. Information stored outside the UK

Some of the services above, such as booking, video call and newsletter providers, may store data outside the UK. MailerLite stores data in the European Union (Germany and the Netherlands), which is covered by a UK adequacy decision. When this happens I make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as a UK adequacy decision or the ICO’s International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum.

6. How long I keep it

Adult patient records[8 years] after your last appointment
Children’s recordsUntil their [25th] birthday, or [8 years] after their last appointment if later
Financial records6 years, to meet tax rules
Newsletter listUntil you unsubscribe
Enquiries that don’t lead to treatment[12 months]
AI transcriptsAI transcripts are used to create clinical notes, but these are immediately deleted once their clinical notes are generated

After this, records are securely deleted or destroyed.

7. Keeping it safe

Paper notes are kept in locked storage. Electronic records are held in password-protected systems with access limited to me [and any named staff]. I’ll tell you and the ICO, where required, if there’s a data breach that puts your information at risk.

8. Your rights

See your information

Ask for a copy of the records I hold about you, free of charge.

Correct it

Ask me to fix anything inaccurate or incomplete.

Delete or restrict it

Ask me to erase or limit use of your data, subject to legal record-keeping duties.

Object or withdraw consent

Stop marketing at any time, and withdraw consent you’ve given, such as for GP contact.

You can also ask for your information in a portable format. To make a request, email health@jeandow.com. I’ll respond within one month and may need to confirm your identity first.

If you sign up on my website, or when you book an appointment, I may add you to my email newsletter with news and health information. You can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of any newsletter, or by emailing me. Unsubscribing won’t affect your care. You can also tell me you don’t want it when you book.

My enquiry form. If you send me a message through the form on my Contact page, your name, email address and message are stored on this website and in MailerLite so I can reply, and MailerLite may send you an email to say your message has arrived. Sending a message doesn’t add you to my newsletter. I keep enquiries only as long as I need them to answer you, unless you go on to become a client.

10. This website

Cookies

This website does not use advertising or analytics cookies. When you first visit, a banner asks whether you’re happy for MailerLite, my newsletter provider, to set cookies so it can show newsletter sign-up forms. MailerLite’s script only loads, and its cookies are only set, if you click Accept. If you click Reject, nothing is set. Your choice is remembered on your device for six months, and you can change it at any time using the “Cookie settings” link at the bottom of every page. See MailerLite’s cookie policy for details of its cookies.

The newsletter sign-up form on the home page, and the sign-up forms on the Free Guides page, send your name and email address to MailerLite when you press the button. If you ask for a free guide, you are also added to my newsletter, and you can unsubscribe at any time. The fonts are stored on this website, so no font service sees your visit. The booking calendar on the Book page is provided by Practice Better and loads from its website. Practice Better may set cookies that are needed for booking to work, and has its own privacy and cookie policies. The Videos page shows thumbnails stored on this website. A YouTube video only loads, from YouTube’s privacy-enhanced youtube-nocookie.com service, when you press play, and YouTube may then store information on your device under its own privacy policy. Instagram posts open on Instagram. Links to Instagram, Facebook and laboratory websites are covered by those organisations’ own policies.

11. Questions and complaints

If you have a question or concern about how I’ve handled your information, please contact me first and I’ll do my best to sort it out. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint, by phone on 0303 123 1113, or by post at Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

12. Changes to this policy

I may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.