Physician Lounge — Privacy Policy

Physician Lounge ("we," "our," or "us") is a private social network exclusively for verified, licensed physicians. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. By using the app, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Who We Are

Physician Lounge is a professional community platform for U.S.-licensed and internationally credentialed physicians. We are not a healthcare provider, covered entity under HIPAA, or health plan. No patient health information (PHI) is ever collected or stored on this platform. All discussions are physician-to-physician and must not include identifiable patient data.

2. Information We Collect

Account and identity information

• Full name and display name (or anonymous handle if you choose)
• Email address
• National Provider Identifier (NPI) — used solely for one-time identity verification against the public NPI Registry
• Medical school, graduation year, residency, and fellowship details
• Medical specialty and sub-specialty
• State medical license number (if provided)
• Practice name, address, and hospital affiliation (optional)
• Geographic region and city (entered by you — we do not use GPS)
• Years in practice and practice setting

Profile and content

• Profile photo (optional)
• Biography and "About Me" text (optional)
• Posts, comments, poll responses, and consult questions you create
• Direct messages you send to other members
• Survey responses (aggregated and never published individually)

Optional information

• Salary range — collected only if you choose to provide it, used solely for anonymous community benchmarking aggregates
• Age range and gender (optional, for community analytics only)

Usage data

• Posts you view, upvote, save, or comment on
• Features you interact with (used for the in-app points and tier system)
• App settings and preferences stored locally on your device

3. How We Use Your Information

• Physician verification: Your NPI and name are used once to confirm you are a licensed physician. We do not store raw NPI data beyond what appears in your profile.
• Account and profile: To create and maintain your account and display your profile to other verified members.
• Community features: To display your posts, comments, and consults in the feed; to send and receive direct messages; and to participate in surveys and polls.
• Points and recognition: Engagement data powers the contributor tier system that rewards active community members.
• App improvement: Aggregate, anonymized usage patterns help us understand which features are most valuable. No individual behavior is ever sold or shared.
• Communications: Push notifications for replies, messages, and relevant community activity (you can opt out at any time in Settings).

4. Information We Do Not Collect

• Patient health information of any kind
• Precise GPS location
• Contacts from your phone
• Browsing history outside the app
• Payment or credit card information
• Data for advertising or cross-app tracking

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it with advertisers. Your data is shared only in these limited circumstances:

• Other verified members: Your public profile, posts, and comments are visible to all verified physician members of the platform. Direct messages are visible only to you and the recipient.
• Anonymous or pseudonymous posting: If you post anonymously, your real identity is never revealed to other members. We may retain the association internally for safety and abuse prevention.
• Service providers: We use trusted third-party infrastructure providers (cloud hosting, push notification delivery) to operate the app. They process data only on our behalf and under strict confidentiality agreements.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of our community.

6. Data Security

All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS. Passwords are stored using industry-standard hashing. Authentication tokens are stored in the iOS Keychain, not in plain text. We use access controls to limit who can view member data internally.

No system is completely secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at privacy@physicianlounge.app.

7. Data Retention

Your data is retained for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your profile and personally identifiable information are permanently deleted within 30 days. Posts and comments you made may remain in de-identified or anonymized form to preserve the integrity of community discussions, unless you explicitly request their removal.

8. Your Rights and Choices

• Access and correction: You can view and edit your profile information at any time in the app under Profile → Edit Profile.
• Anonymous posting: You may post anonymously at any time without changing your account settings.
• Notifications: Push notifications can be silenced or customized in the app's Settings tab.
• Account deletion: You can permanently delete your account from Settings → Account → Delete Account. This action is irreversible.
• Data requests: To request a copy of your data or ask questions about your information, contact us at privacy@physicianlounge.app.

9. Children's Privacy

Physician Lounge is intended exclusively for licensed physicians, who by definition are adults. We do not knowingly collect any information from anyone under 18 years of age.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify members via the app if the changes are material. Continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us