Privacy Policy

1.  Introduction

Welcome to the Pharmacy Direct at www.pharmacydirect.co.za. Pharmacy Direct (Proprietary) Limited with registration number 2003/031934/07is a registered company with limited liability and incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa with its registered address situated at 23 Kwartsiet Crescent, Zwartkop, Ext 15, Centurion.

Pharmacy Direct is a nationwide courier pharmacy that delivers prescribed chronic medication to a variety of patients from private individuals, to medical scheme members and beneficiaries of public healthcare sector programmes.

We appreciate your interest in our products and value your business. We respect your right to privacy and we have created this Privacy Statement to record our commitment to maintaining the privacy of your data while you are on our website. We commit to respecting the choices you make about how your information is collected and how it is used on this website. 

We will use our best endeavours to ensure that your data is secure and that the integrity and confidentiality of your information is maintained. In general, this website can be visited without visitors having to identify themselves or reveal their personal information. By accessing or using the Pharmacy Direct website, you agree to our legal terms as outlined in this Privacy Policy which are regulated by the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPI Act) and other relevant South African laws. 

The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for the www.pharmacydirect.co.za domain. 

2.   Links to non – Pharmacy Direct sites

The Pharmacy Direct website provides links to third-party (external) websites for your convenience and information. Pharmacy Direct does not control those sites or their privacy practices and cannot be held responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any company before submitting your personal information, because the personal data you choose to give to unrelated third parties is not covered by the Pharmacy Direct Privacy Statement.

3. Types of information we collect

This Privacy Statement covers personal information, non-personal data collection and aggregate reporting.

3.1 Personal information

Personal information is information that is associated with your name or personal identity as defined in the POPI Act. The Pharmacy Direct website contains a number of registrations, subscription and transaction forms, as well as online surveys and competitions, which might require users to provide their contact information (e.g. name and e-mail address) and demographic information (e.g. postal code, age, or income level). 

The types of personal information you provide to us on these pages may include name, surname, physical address, postal address, phone numbers, e-mail address, user IDs and passwords, contact preferences, health information, educational and employment background and general information.

3.2 Use of personal information

The personal information gathered from the above-mentioned forms will be used by Pharmacy Direct to send you information about new product launches, special offers, industry and company related news or to contact you when necessary. Users may ‘opt out’ of receiving future communication of this nature.

Pharmacy Direct uses personal information to understand the needs and interests of our visitors better. Once you choose to provide us with personal information, you can be assured it will be used only to support your customer relationship with Pharmacy Direct and in conformity with the provisions of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25/2002. We take the trust you place in us very seriously and will therefore not disclose your personal information to others. 

3.3 Non-personal information

Non-personal information is gathered automatically when you visit our website and is stored for use in our system. Non-identifiable information includes all data relating to usage and service operations that are not associated with a specific personal identity. Pharmacy Direct collects and analyses non-personal information to evaluate how visitors use the Pharmacy Direct website.

3.4 Use of non-personal information

The non-personal data we collect is used for aggregate reporting and may include the pages visited on the Pharmacy Direct website, unique URLs visited within www.pharmacydirect.co.za, browser type and IP address. We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, to administer our website and to gather broad demographic information. Most non-personal data are collected via cookies or other technologies for data analysis and personalisation services.

3.5 Data Access Request

Click Here for any Data Access Request

4. Children's privacy

Pharmacy Direct is committed to protecting the privacy rights of children and we encourage parents and guardians to take an active role in their children's online activities and interests. Pharmacy Direct does not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 and does not target its website to children under 13. 

5. How we use your information

Pharmacy Direct uses your personal information to provide you with services and to help us understand your needs and interests better. Specifically, we use your information to communicate with you, to provide services and information, to update you on services, information, promotions, competitions, launches, product information and to personalise promotional offers.

With your permission, we shall also use your information to contact you for market research regarding Pharmacy Direct products or services. 

Personal data collected online may also be combined with information you provide to Pharmacy Direct through other sources such as dealer registration, call centres or public events such as trade shows or seminars. 

Non-personal data is aggregated for reporting about the usability, performance and effectiveness of the Pharmacy Direct website and is used to improve the user experience, usability and site content.

6. Who we share your information with

Pharmacy Direct will not sell, rent or lease your personal information to others. Pharmacy Direct shares customer information with its associated group of companies which are subject to confidentiality obligations. Pharmacy Direct works with these associated groups of companies to fulfil its commitment to you as more fully described above in "How we use your information".

Pharmacy Direct contracts third-party service providers and suppliers to deliver complete products, services and customer solutions. Suppliers and service providers are required to keep the information received on behalf of Pharmacy Direct confidential and may not use it for any purpose other than to carry out the services they are performing for Pharmacy Direct. These service providers may change or we may contract additional service providers to better accommodate our customers. Pharmacy Direct will not share personal information with any other third parties without your permission, unless required by law enforcement action, subpoena or local law.

7. Your choices

Pharmacy Direct gives you the choice of receiving a variety of information that complements our products. You can subscribe to or unsubscribe from receiving certain product-specific information and general Pharmacy Direct marketing communications. Pharmacy Direct communications may include new product information, special offers or an invitation to participate in market research. 

8. Your privacy preferences and opting out

Non-subscription services:

Pharmacy Direct will not use your personal information for a purpose other than the one stated when you provided your data. Examples of unrelated uses include sending communications about special offers, product information and marketing messages. You can still choose to opt out of receiving non-subscription communications that you have expressly requested, such as e-mail newsletters, software updates, etc.

One of the following methods can be used:

Select the "unsubscribe" link on the e-mail received to be unsubscribed automatically, contact Pharmacy Direct to unsubscribe or contact the web master to unsubscribe.

9. Keeping your information secure

Pharmacy Direct is committed to protecting the information you provide us with. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, to maintain data accuracy and to ensure the appropriate use of the information, Pharmacy Direct has appropriate managerial procedures in place to safeguard the information we collect. All information presented on this website is copyrighted by Pharmacy Direct and cannot be reproduced without written consent from Pharmacy Direct.

10. Changes to this Statement

If there are updates to the terms of the Pharmacy Direct Online Privacy Statement, we will post those changes and update the revision date in this document, so you will always know what information we collect online, how we use it and what choices you have. For material changes to this Statement, Pharmacy Direct will provide notification to affected customers by e-mail notification or through a notice on our website.

11 .Protection of personal data

Pharmacy Direct respects your privacy. You can access and browse most of the website without disclosing your personal data and save information collected by cookies that we use. When we collect or use your personal data, we will protect your privacy and adhere to applicable South African law protecting Personal Data. As the website may contain third party links, Pharmacy Direct shall not be held responsible for how your personal information may be used when accessing or browsing these linked sites.

12.Use of cookies

A cookie is a text file that a website transfers to your computer's hard disk to make the website work more efficiently. 

This website uses the following two types of cookies: Session Cookies – these are temporary cookies that remain on your computer until you leave the website. Persistent Cookies – these remain on your computer after you leave the website. 

These cookies are used for:

• Recording settings/ changes made by you;
• Storing information locally rather than on the website for faster access;
• Storing persistent information to be passed between two or more pages;
• Recording what section/ language of website you visit (to return you there directly)
• Helping us to recognise you when you return to the website and allow us to tailor content or advertisements to match your preferred interests or to avoid showing you the same adverts repeatedly.

We may use third parties to assist in this monitoring and analysis. 

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the setting in your browser. Please note that you may not be able to use all the interactive features of the website if cookies are disabled. You can find information on popular browsers and how to adjust your cookie preferences at the following websites:

Microsoft Internet Explorer: https://support.microsoft.com/en-za/help/260971/description-of-cookies

Google Chrome: support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en

Mozilla Firefox: support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cookies-information-websites-store-on-your-computer

Safari: support.apple.com/kb/ph5042

Trademarks

Any trade names, logos and product names of any companies appearing on the website are trade names or trademarks of those respective companies.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable by reason of the laws of any state or country in which these Terms are intended to be effective, then, within such state or country, to the extent such provision is illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable, it shall be severed from these Terms. Any such illegality, invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the other provisions of the Terms, which shall remain in full force and effect.

Governing law

These Terms and any matter arising from or in connection with these Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the South African law and the South African courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or matter arising from or in connection with these Terms.