Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Cataract Navigator is a healthcare software platform operated by Brede Skillings, MD at Coastal Eye Group, located at Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. The platform is accessible at cataractnavigator.com.

Cataract Navigator provides patient education, surgical preparation guidance, post-operative care information, and referral management services to ophthalmology practices and their patients.

For privacy inquiries, contact us at: brede@cataractnavigator.com

2. Information We Collect

Information Provided by Healthcare Providers

When a physician or referring optometrist uses Cataract Navigator, they may provide the following patient information:

• Patient first name
• Patient email address
• Patient phone number
• Surgery date
• Eye(s) treated
• Intraocular lens (IOL) selected
• Referring physician name and practice
• Co-management preferences
• Relevant eye conditions (e.g. glaucoma, dry eye, prior LASIK)

Information Collected Automatically

When patients access their personalized portal link, we may collect:

• Whether the email was opened and when
• Whether the portal link was clicked
• General device type (mobile or desktop)

Information You Provide Voluntarily

Patients may provide information through optional surveys within the platform, such as the IOL preference survey and FLACS interest survey. These surveys are anonymous unless a patient name is associated with the session.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information collected solely to:

• Deliver personalized patient education materials relevant to your specific surgery and lens selection
• Send post-operative care instructions, drop schedules, and recovery guidance
• Coordinate care communication between your surgeon and referring eye doctor
• Track whether educational materials have been received and reviewed
• Manage co-management and payment coordination between providers
• Improve the platform and its clinical content

We do not use your information for marketing, advertising, or any purpose unrelated to your eye care.

4. HIPAA and Protected Health Information

Cataract Navigator is designed to support HIPAA compliance for covered healthcare entities. The platform handles Protected Health Information (PHI) as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

What Constitutes PHI on This Platform

The following information, when combined with health-related data, constitutes PHI under HIPAA:

• Patient names combined with surgery or appointment information
• Email addresses combined with medical care information
• Phone numbers combined with treatment details
• Surgery dates, lens selections, and diagnosed eye conditions

Business Associate Agreements

Cataract Navigator maintains Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with third-party service providers that handle PHI on our behalf, including our email delivery provider. Healthcare practices that license Cataract Navigator for their own patients will be required to execute a BAA with Cataract Navigator prior to handling patient data through the platform.

Minimum Necessary Standard

We collect only the minimum amount of patient information necessary to provide the educational and care coordination services described in this policy.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share information only in the following limited circumstances:

Your Care Team

Patient information is shared between the operating surgeon and the referring optometrist as part of coordinated care. This is the core function of the platform and is expected by all parties.

Service Providers

We use the following third-party services, each of which handles data only as necessary to provide their service:

• Postmark — Email delivery. BAA in place. Used solely to deliver patient education emails.
• Netlify — Website hosting and serverless functions.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority.

What We Never Do

• We never sell patient data to any third party
• We never use patient data for advertising or marketing
• We never share data with pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, or insurers without explicit consent

6. Data Security

We implement the following security measures to protect your information:

• Encryption in transit — All data transmitted between your device and our platform is encrypted using TLS/HTTPS
• Access controls — Provider portals are password-protected and role-based — optometrists see only their own patients, physicians see their full panel
• No public access to PHI — Patient data is never displayed on publicly accessible pages
• Minimal data collection — We collect only what is necessary for care coordination
• Session security — Provider sessions are protected and require authentication

While we implement industry-standard security practices, no system is completely immune to security risks. We encourage providers to use strong passwords and log out after each session.

7. Data Retention

We retain patient referral and after-visit records for as long as necessary to provide care coordination services and comply with applicable medical record retention laws.

Healthcare providers may request deletion of their patients' records by contacting us at brede@cataractnavigator.com. Requests will be processed within 30 days subject to any applicable legal retention requirements.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access — Request a copy of the information we hold about you
• Right to correction — Request correction of inaccurate information
• Right to deletion — Request deletion of your information subject to legal retention requirements
• Right to restriction — Request that we limit how we use your information
• HIPAA rights — Patients have additional rights under HIPAA including the right to access their medical records through their healthcare provider

To exercise any of these rights contact us at brede@cataractnavigator.com. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Cookies and Tracking

Cataract Navigator uses minimal tracking technology:

• No advertising cookies — We do not use cookies for advertising or tracking across other websites
• No third-party analytics — We do not use Google Analytics or similar services
• Email tracking — Patient education emails include an open-tracking pixel and link tracking to help providers confirm that patients have received and reviewed their care materials. This is used solely for care coordination purposes.
• Session data — Provider portal sessions use standard browser session storage to maintain your login state

10. Children's Privacy

Cataract Navigator is intended for use by adults receiving ophthalmological care. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18. If you believe a child's information has been submitted through the platform, please contact us immediately at brede@cataractnavigator.com.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

Healthcare providers using the platform will be notified of material changes by email. Continued use of Cataract Navigator after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

For privacy questions, data requests, BAA inquiries, or to report a concern:

• Privacy Officer: Brede Skillings, MD
• Email: brede@cataractnavigator.com
• Platform: cataractnavigator.com
• Practice: Coastal Eye Group, Murrells Inlet, SC
• Phone: (843) 652-3937