Last updated: September 27th, 2026
Hawaii Island Stem Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine operates stemcellhawaii.org from our clinic in Pahoa, on the Island of Hawaii. This policy covers the information we receive through the website and through the calls, emails, and records people send us before they become patients. After you become a patient, your medical records fall under our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, which gives you specific federal rights over your health information. If this policy and the HIPAA Notice ever point in different directions on a health matter, follow the HIPAA Notice.
What You Tell Us Directly
Most of the personal information we hold arrives because someone chose to send it. A contact form or phone inquiry usually includes a name, phone number, email address, and a short description of the joint, injury, or condition prompting the question. Some people also ask about pricing or scheduling.
Many visitors go a step further and send MRI reports, X-ray images, lab results, or notes from other doctors so our physician can look them over before a free candidacy consultation. We handle those files as confidential health information from the day they reach us, whether they come electronically or as a CD, hard drive, or paper copies dropped off at the office. If you need physical media returned, tell the front desk when you drop it off.
What the Website Collects on Its Own
Every time a page loads, our web server receives routine technical details: IP address, browser and device type, the page that referred you, the pages you view, and the time of each visit. Our hosting company keeps some of this in server logs used for security and troubleshooting.
The site may also place cookies and use an analytics service to count visits and show which articles people find useful. A typical report might show how many visitors read the prolotherapy page last month and how long they stayed. It does not tell us which named person read it.
We do not load advertising pixels or social media tracking code on contact forms or any page where you type health details, and we do not use browsing activity to build advertising profiles. Browsers can send a “Do Not Track” request, but no industry standard exists for honoring it, so the site treats those visits the same as any other.
How We Use It
- To answer your question, schedule a visit, and send reminders you have agreed to receive
- To let our physician review submitted records and tell you whether an evaluation makes sense
- To keep the website secure, find broken pages, and block spam or abuse
- To decide what topics to write about, based on traffic totals rather than individual visitors
- To keep business and medical records that Hawaii and federal law require
If you give us your email address to ask a question, we will not add you to a newsletter or promotional list unless you ask to join. Every promotional email we send includes a way to unsubscribe.
Who Else Sees It
We share personal information only in the situations listed here:
- Vendors who run parts of the practice for us. This includes our web host, email provider, scheduling and records software, and payment processor. They may use the information only to perform their service. Any vendor that handles patient health information signs a business associate agreement as HIPAA requires.
- Clinicians involved in your care. Imaging centers, labs, and your other doctors may receive information as described in our HIPAA Notice.
- Legal and safety requirements. We release information when a valid subpoena, court order, or state reporting law requires it, or when disclosure is needed to prevent a serious threat to someone’s health or safety.
- A change in ownership. If the practice is sold or merged, records move to the successor. Hawaii law (HRS §622-58) holds a successor provider responsible for preserving patients’ medical records.
No one pays us for visitor or patient data, and we never trade contact lists with other businesses.
Sending Records by Email
Ordinary email is convenient, but it is not always encrypted from end to end. For imaging reports and other medical records, call the office at (808) 936-1156 and ask for our secure submission option. You are also welcome to mail records or bring them to the clinic. If you decide to send health details through regular email anyway, you accept the added risk that comes with that choice.
The contact form is checked during business hours only. Do not use it for urgent symptoms. Call 911 in an emergency.
How Long We Keep It
A general inquiry that never turns into an appointment is kept only as long as we need it to reply and to maintain ordinary business records. Once someone becomes a patient, the retention clock is set by state statute rather than by us. Under HRS §622-58, a full chart stays on file for a minimum of seven years past the final entry (with extra time for anyone treated as a minor), and a core summary of each chart is held for a quarter century.
Protecting Your Information
Access to personal information is limited to staff members who need it for their jobs. Electronic systems require passwords, and paper records stay in locked storage. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed secure, so we cannot promise that a breach will never happen. If one affects your information, we will notify you as required by the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule and Hawaii’s security breach law, HRS Chapter 487N.
Your Choices
You can unsubscribe from promotional email at any time. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings; the site will still work, although some features may not remember your preferences.
You may also ask what information from a website inquiry we have on file, and ask us to correct or delete it. We will honor reasonable requests unless a record must be kept by law. Patients who want copies of their medical records should follow the access process in our HIPAA Notice.
Children
This website is written for adults. If we learn that a child under 13 has sent us personal details through the site, we delete them. Appointments and records requests for minors generally must come from a parent or legal guardian.
Links to Other Sites
Some pages link to sites we do not control, including affiliated practices such as Vitality Medicine, product manufacturers, and online review platforms. Their privacy practices apply once you leave stemcellhawaii.org.
Updates to This Policy
When our practices change, we will revise this page and update the date at the top. Continuing to use the site after a revision means the updated version applies to you.
Questions
Hawaii Island Stem Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine
Attn: Privacy Officer 15-3039 Pahoa Village Road Pahoa, HI 96778
Phone: (808) 936-1156