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Website Privacy Policy
Effective date: September 25, 2026
St. Michael’s Eye & Laser Institute (“St. Michael’s,” “we,” “us”) respects your privacy. This Website Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit stmichaelseye.com (the “Site”), how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.
This Policy vs. Our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
This policy covers your use of our public website only. Health information we create or receive while providing you care, including information you share during appointments, through our patient portal, or on intake forms, is protected health information governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and is handled as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices, which you may request from our office at any time. If this policy and our Notice of Privacy Practices ever conflict regarding protected health information, the Notice of Privacy Practices controls.
Information We Collect
Information you give us. When you request an appointment, complete a contact or referral form, take a vision self-assessment, use our chat feature, or otherwise communicate with us, you may provide your name, phone number, email address, date of birth, insurance information, and details about your eyes or the services you are interested in.
Information collected automatically. When you browse the Site, we and our service providers may automatically collect technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, operating system, the pages you view, the date and time of your visit, the website that referred you, and general location derived from your IP address.
How We Use Information
- To schedule appointments, respond to your requests, and communicate with you
- To operate, secure, maintain, and improve the Site
- To understand how visitors use the Site and which pages and services are most useful
- To measure the effectiveness of our advertising and show relevant information about our services
- To detect and prevent spam, fraud, and security incidents
- To comply with legal obligations
Cookies, Pixels, and Similar Technologies
The Site uses cookies, pixels, tags, and similar technologies. Some are strictly necessary for the Site to function. Others are provided by third parties for analytics and advertising, including Google (Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, and reCAPTCHA), OpenAI (advertising measurement), and our reputation, review, and chat service providers. These technologies may collect the automatically collected information described above and may allow these third parties to recognize your browser across websites.
Limits we place on advertising technologies. We configure our advertising pixels so that they do not load on pages where you enter personal or health information, including our online booking, contact, referral, patient portal, payment, and vision self-assessment pages and their confirmation pages. We do not use advertising technologies to collect, and we do not intentionally disclose to advertising partners, protected health information.
Your choices. You can opt out of marketing and statistics cookies at any time on our Opt-out Preferences page or through the cookie consent banner. Once you opt out, our advertising pixels will not load in that browser. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings; doing so may affect how parts of the Site work.
How We Share Information
We do not sell your personal information. We share information only as follows:
- Service providers that host the Site, process forms, provide scheduling, chat, reviews, analytics, and advertising measurement on our behalf, subject to contractual limits on their use of the information. Where a provider handles protected health information for us, we require a HIPAA business associate agreement.
- Legal and safety reasons, when required by law, subpoena, or court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our patients, staff, or others.
- Business transfers, in connection with a merger, sale, or transfer of all or part of our practice, subject to applicable law.
Third-Party Sites and Services
The Site links to services operated by others, such as our patient portal, online bill payment, financing, and social media pages. Those services are governed by their own privacy policies, and we encourage you to review them.
Please Don’t Send Sensitive Medical Details Through the Site
Website forms and chat are intended for scheduling and general questions. Please do not include detailed medical history, Social Security numbers, or financial account information. For clinical questions, call our office at (727) 202-2020. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.
Data Security and Retention
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect information collected through the Site. No website or internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. We keep information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy or as required by law.
Children’s Privacy
The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13. Parents or guardians scheduling care for a minor should contact our office directly.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this policy or wish to exercise your privacy choices, contact us:
St. Michael’s Eye & Laser Institute
Attn: Privacy Officer
1030 W Bay Dr, Suite 200
Largo, FL 33770
Phone: (727) 202-2020
