Specialty Medical Equipment ("Specialty Medical Equipment," "SME," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information — including protected health information ("PHI") — when you visit our website, enroll for supplies, contact us, or otherwise interact with our services (the "Services").
If you have questions about this Policy, please contact us or call 1-877-622-3023.
1. Scope
This Policy applies to information we collect through our website, online forms, patient and clinic portals, phone calls, emails, and any other interaction with SME. Use of protected health information by SME as a HIPAA-covered entity is also governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices, which is provided separately to patients we serve.
2. Information We Collect
Information you provide
- Contact details — name, email address, phone number, mailing address.
- Health and insurance information — date of birth, diagnosis, prescribed equipment and supplies, insurance carrier and member ID, and related clinical information needed to fulfill orders.
- Caregiver and provider information — names and contact details of caregivers, prescribing clinicians, and referring practices.
- Account information — credentials and preferences for our patient and clinic portals.
- Communications — messages, support requests, and feedback you send us.
Information collected automatically
- Device and browser information, IP address, and general location.
- Usage data such as pages viewed, links clicked, referring URLs, and timestamps, collected through cookies and similar technologies.
Information from third parties
- Information from your healthcare provider, prescriber, caregiver, or insurance company necessary to verify eligibility and ship supplies.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use information to:
- Provide, fulfill, ship, and bill for medical equipment and supplies.
- Verify insurance eligibility and obtain prior authorizations on your behalf.
- Communicate with you about orders, shipments, refills, recalls, and customer service issues.
- Operate, secure, and improve our website and portals.
- Comply with legal, regulatory, accreditation, and contractual obligations.
- Send service updates and, with your consent, occasional marketing communications.
4. How We Share Your Information
We share information only as needed and with appropriate safeguards:
- Healthcare partners — your prescriber, referring clinic, or caregiver to coordinate your care.
- Insurance and payers — including Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial plans for benefits verification, claims, and payment.
- Service providers — vendors who help us operate our business (shipping carriers, payment processors, hosting, analytics, communications), under written agreements that limit how they may use your information.
- Legal and safety — to comply with applicable law, valid legal process, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of patients, staff, or the public.
- Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, subject to applicable law.
We do not sell your personal information.
5. Cookies and Tracking
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to remember preferences, authenticate users, measure traffic, and improve performance. You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may limit some site features.
We also measure how visitors move through our site — for example, how many people view a supplies page, start an enrollment, or finish one. This measurement is privacy-safe by design: it records only the type of action, the page, and the general product category (such as CPAP or CGM), tied to a random per-visit identifier. It never includes your name, contact details, date of birth, diagnosis, or any other health information, and it is not shared with advertisers.
6. HIPAA and Protected Health Information
Specialty Medical Equipment is a HIPAA-covered entity. We safeguard PHI in accordance with the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules. Our separate Notice of Privacy Practices describes how PHI may be used and disclosed for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, and explains your rights regarding your PHI. Where this Privacy Policy and our Notice of Privacy Practices differ with respect to PHI, the Notice of Privacy Practices controls.
7. Data Security
We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your information, including encryption in transit, access controls, audit logging, and staff training. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
8. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as needed to provide our Services, comply with our legal and regulatory obligations (including medical record retention requirements), resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
9. Your Choices and Rights
- Access and correction — you may request access to or correction of your information.
- Marketing communications — you may opt out of marketing emails using the unsubscribe link or by contacting us. Service-related messages will continue.
- Cookies — you can manage cookies through your browser settings.
- State privacy rights — depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state privacy laws. Contact us to exercise these rights.
10. Children's Privacy
Our website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 except in connection with services we provide to a pediatric patient at the request of a parent or guardian.
11. Third-Party Links
Our website may link to third-party sites (for example, billing portals or independent sleep clinics). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be communicated through the Services or by other appropriate means.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions, requests, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact:
Specialty Medical Equipment
Phone: 1-877-622-3023
Web: Contact us