Privacy Policy

1. Privacy at a Glance

General information

The following information provides a simple overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit this website. Personal data is any data by which you can be personally identified. Detailed information on data protection can be found in the privacy policy set out below this text.

Data collection on this website

Who is responsible for data collection on this website?

Data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator, whose contact details can be found in the section “Information about the controller” in this privacy policy.

How do we collect your data?

On the one hand, your data is collected when you provide it to us. This may, for example, be data that you enter into a contact form.

Other data is collected automatically, or with your consent, by our IT systems when you visit the website. This is mainly technical data (e.g. web browser, operating system or time of the page view). This data is collected automatically as soon as you enter this website.

What do we use your data for?

Part of the data is collected to ensure that the website is provided without errors.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You have the right at any time to receive information, free of charge, about the origin, recipients and purpose of your stored personal data. You also have the right to request the rectification or erasure of this data. If you have given your consent to data processing, you may withdraw this consent at any time with effect for the future. You also have the right, under certain circumstances, to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

You may contact us at any time regarding this and any other questions on the subject of data protection.

Analytics tools and third-party tools

We do not use any analytics or tracking tools on this website. Your browsing behaviour is not statistically evaluated.

Where third-party services are integrated (e.g. for online appointment booking or spam protection), you will find detailed information about them in the following privacy policy.

2. Hosting

We host the content of our website with the following provider:

External hosting

This website is hosted externally. The personal data collected on this website is stored on the hoster’s servers. This may include, in particular, IP addresses, contact requests, metadata and communication data, contract data, contact details, names, website access data and other data generated via a website.

External hosting serves the purpose of fulfilling our contractual obligations towards our prospective and existing patients (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and is in the interest of secure, fast and efficient provision of our online services by a professional provider (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Where consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG (German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act), insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user’s device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Our hoster will only process your data to the extent necessary to fulfil its service obligations and will follow our instructions with regard to this data.

We use the following hoster:

Raidboxes GmbH
Hafenstraße 32
48153 Münster
Germany

Data processing agreement

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) for the use of the above-mentioned service. This is a contract required by data protection law which ensures that the provider processes the personal data of our website visitors only in accordance with our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

3. General Information and Mandatory Information

Data protection

The operators of these pages take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

When you use this website, various items of personal data are collected. Personal data is data by which you can be personally identified. This privacy policy explains what data we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how, and for what purpose, this is done.

Please note that data transmitted over the internet (e.g. when communicating by e-mail) may be subject to security vulnerabilities. Complete protection of data against access by third parties is not possible.

Information about the controller

The controller responsible for data processing on this website is:

Dr. med. Bernd v. Maydell
Handzentrum Köln
Zeppelinstraße 2
50667 Köln (Cologne)
Germany

Telephone: +49 221 2582525
E-mail: info@handzentrum.koeln

The controller is the natural or legal person who, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data (e.g. names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

Data protection officer

Our practice is not legally required to appoint a data protection officer (Art. 37 GDPR, Section 38 BDSG – German Federal Data Protection Act). If you have any questions about data protection, please contact the controller named above directly.

Storage period

Unless a more specific storage period is stated in this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for which it was processed no longer applies. If you assert a justified request for erasure or withdraw your consent to data processing, your data will be erased unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g. retention periods under tax or professional law); in the latter case, the data will be erased once these reasons cease to apply.

General information on the legal bases for data processing on this website

If you have consented to data processing, we process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR or, where special categories of data under Art. 9(1) GDPR (e.g. health data) are processed, Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR. In the case of express consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, the processing is also based on Art. 49(1)(a) GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or to access to information on your device (e.g. via device fingerprinting), the data processing is additionally based on Section 25(1) TDDDG. Consent may be withdrawn at any time. If your data is required for the performance of a contract or for taking pre-contractual steps, we process your data on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Furthermore, we process your data where this is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, on the basis of Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR. Data processing may also be carried out on the basis of our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Information on the legal bases applicable in each individual case is provided in the following paragraphs of this privacy policy.

Note on data transfers to third countries that are not secure under data protection law and to US companies that are not DPF-certified

Among other things, we use tools from companies based in third countries that are not secure under data protection law, as well as US tools whose providers are not certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF). When these tools are active, your personal data may be transferred to and processed in these countries. Please note that a level of data protection comparable to that in the EU cannot be guaranteed in third countries that are not secure under data protection law.

Please note that the USA, as a safe third country, generally has a level of data protection comparable to that of the EU. Data transfers to the USA are therefore permissible if the recipient is certified under the “EU-US Data Privacy Framework” (DPF) or provides appropriate additional safeguards. Information on transfers to third countries, including the data recipients, can be found in this privacy policy.

Recipients of personal data

In the course of our activities, we work with various external bodies. In some cases, this also requires the transfer of personal data to these external bodies. We only pass on personal data to external bodies if this is necessary for the performance of a contract, if we are legally obliged to do so (e.g. disclosure of data to tax authorities), if we have a legitimate interest in the disclosure pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, or if another legal basis permits the disclosure. When using processors, we only pass on personal data on the basis of a valid data processing agreement. In the case of joint processing, a joint controllership agreement is concluded.

Withdrawal of your consent to data processing

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You may withdraw consent you have already given at any time. The lawfulness of the data processing carried out until the withdrawal remains unaffected.

Right to object to data collection in special cases and to direct marketing (Art. 21 GDPR)

WHERE DATA PROCESSING IS BASED ON ART. 6(1)(E) OR (F) GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT AT ANY TIME TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA ON GROUNDS RELATING TO YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS. THE LEGAL BASIS ON WHICH ANY PROCESSING IS BASED CAN BE FOUND IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU OBJECT, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA CONCERNED UNLESS WE CAN DEMONSTRATE COMPELLING LEGITIMATE GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING WHICH OVERRIDE YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, OR THE PROCESSING SERVES THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXERCISE OR DEFENCE OF LEGAL CLAIMS (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(1) GDPR).

WHERE YOUR PERSONAL DATA IS PROCESSED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DIRECT MARKETING, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT AT ANY TIME TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA CONCERNING YOU FOR SUCH MARKETING; THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS RELATED TO SUCH DIRECT MARKETING. IF YOU OBJECT, YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL SUBSEQUENTLY NO LONGER BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DIRECT MARKETING (OBJECTION PURSUANT TO ART. 21(2) GDPR).

Right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority

In the event of infringements of the GDPR, data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of their habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement. This right to lodge a complaint is without prejudice to any other administrative or judicial remedies.

The supervisory authority responsible for us is:
Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit Nordrhein-Westfalen (State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia)
Postfach 20 04 44
40102 Düsseldorf
Germany
www.ldi.nrw.de

Right to data portability

You have the right to have data that we process automatically on the basis of your consent or in performance of a contract handed over to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format. If you request the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will only be done insofar as it is technically feasible.

Access, rectification and erasure

Within the scope of the applicable statutory provisions, you have the right at any time to free information about your stored personal data, its origin and recipients and the purpose of the data processing and, where applicable, a right to rectification or erasure of this data. You may contact us at any time regarding this and any other questions on the subject of personal data.

Right to restriction of processing

You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. You may contact us about this at any time. The right to restriction of processing applies in the following cases:

If you dispute the accuracy of your personal data stored by us, we usually need time to verify this. For the duration of the verification, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data.
If the processing of your personal data was/is unlawful, you may request the restriction of data processing instead of erasure.
If we no longer need your personal data but you require it for the exercise, defence or establishment of legal claims, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data instead of erasure.
If you have lodged an objection pursuant to Art. 21(1) GDPR, your interests and ours must be weighed against each other. As long as it has not yet been determined whose interests prevail, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, such data – apart from its storage – may only be processed with your consent, for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person, or for reasons of important public interest of the European Union or of a Member State.

SSL/TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as enquiries you send to us as the site operator, this site uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognise an encrypted connection by the change in your browser’s address bar from “http://” to “https://” and by the padlock symbol in your browser bar.

When SSL/TLS encryption is activated, the data you transmit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Objection to advertising e-mails

We hereby object to the use of the contact details published as part of our legal notice obligations for the purpose of sending unsolicited advertising and information material. The operators of these pages expressly reserve the right to take legal action in the event of unsolicited advertising, for example through spam e-mails.

4. Data Collection on This Website

Cookies

Our website uses so-called “cookies”. Cookies are small data packets and do not cause any damage to your device. They are stored on your device either temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or permanently (persistent cookies). Session cookies are deleted automatically at the end of your visit. Persistent cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them yourself or your web browser deletes them automatically.

Cookies may originate from us (first-party cookies) or from third-party companies (so-called third-party cookies). Third-party cookies enable the integration of certain services from third-party companies within websites (e.g. cookies for online appointment booking).

Cookies have various functions. Many cookies are technically necessary, as certain website functions would not work without them (e.g. the display of maps or videos). Other cookies may be used to evaluate user behaviour or for advertising purposes.

Cookies that are necessary to carry out the electronic communication process, to provide certain functions you have requested or to optimise the website (e.g. cookies for audience measurement) (necessary cookies) are stored on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, unless another legal basis is specified. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing necessary cookies for the technically error-free and optimised provision of its services. Where consent to the storage of cookies and similar recognition technologies has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of this consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG); consent may be withdrawn at any time.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the setting of cookies and only allow cookies in individual cases, exclude the acceptance of cookies for certain cases or in general, and activate the automatic deletion of cookies when closing the browser. If cookies are deactivated, the functionality of this website may be limited.

You can find out which cookies and services are used on this website in this privacy policy.

Consent with Borlabs Cookie

Our website uses the consent technology of Borlabs Cookie to obtain your consent to the storage of certain cookies in your browser or to the use of certain technologies, and to document this in compliance with data protection law. The provider of this technology is Borlabs GmbH, Hamburger Str. 11, 22083 Hamburg, Germany (hereinafter “Borlabs”).

When you enter our website, a Borlabs cookie is stored in your browser, in which the consents you have given or the withdrawal of these consents are stored. This data is not passed on to the provider of Borlabs Cookie.

The data collected is stored until you ask us to delete it, delete the Borlabs cookie yourself, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies. Mandatory statutory retention periods remain unaffected. Details on data processing by Borlabs Cookie can be found at https://de.borlabs.io/kb/welche-daten-speichert-borlabs-cookie/.

The Borlabs Cookie consent technology is used to obtain the legally required consents for the use of cookies. The legal basis for this is Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.

Server log files

The provider of these pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are:

browser type and browser version
operating system used
referrer URL
host name of the accessing computer
time of the server request
IP address

This data is not merged with other data sources.

This data is collected on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the technically error-free presentation and optimisation of its website – for this purpose, the server log files must be recorded.

Contact form

If you send us enquiries via the contact form, your details from the enquiry form, including the contact details you provide there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the enquiry and in case of follow-up questions. We do not pass on this data without your consent.

This data is processed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR if your enquiry is related to the performance of a contract or is necessary for taking pre-contractual steps. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective handling of enquiries addressed to us (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), if this has been requested; consent may be withdrawn at any time.

If you provide us with health data as part of your enquiry, we process it for the purposes of preventive healthcare and treatment on the basis of Art. 9(2)(h) GDPR in conjunction with Section 22(1)(1)(b) BDSG, or on the basis of your consent (Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR). This data is subject to medical confidentiality. Please only share health data via the contact form or by e-mail to the extent necessary for your enquiry.

The data you enter in the contact form remains with us until you ask us to delete it, withdraw your consent to its storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies (e.g. once your enquiry has been dealt with). Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected.

Enquiries by e-mail, telephone or fax

If you contact us by e-mail, telephone or fax, your enquiry, including all resulting personal data (name, enquiry), will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of dealing with your request. We do not pass on this data without your consent.

The data you send us via contact requests remains with us until you ask us to delete it, withdraw your consent to its storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies (e.g. once your request has been dealt with). Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular statutory retention periods – remain unaffected.

Online appointment booking with arzt-direkt

We use arzt-direkt for online appointment booking. The provider is zollsoft GmbH, Ernst-Haeckel-Platz 5/6, 07745 Jena, Germany (hereinafter “arzt-direkt”).

If you book an appointment via our website, you will be redirected to the arzt-direkt booking page. The data you enter there (e.g. name, contact details, date of birth, preferred appointment and, where applicable, the reason for treatment) is stored on the servers of arzt-direkt or its service providers in Germany and used for planning, carrying out and, where applicable, following up the appointment.

The legal basis for the data processing is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (initiation of a treatment contract) and, where health data is concerned, Art. 9(2)(h) GDPR in conjunction with Section 22(1)(1)(b) BDSG, or your consent pursuant to Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.

The data you enter remains with us until you ask us to delete it, withdraw your consent to its storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies. Mandatory statutory provisions – in particular retention periods – remain unaffected.

Further information can be found in the arzt-direkt privacy policy: https://app.arzt-direkt.de/api/docs/de/datenschutz.html.

Data processing agreement

jameda

We have integrated jameda on this website. The provider is jameda GmbH, Brienner Straße 45 a–d, 80333 München (Munich), Germany (hereinafter “jameda”).

jameda provides an online appointment booking tool. We may also display a jameda quality seal on our website. If you book an appointment with us online, the data you enter for this purpose is stored on jameda’s servers. In addition, jameda briefly records your IP address, your referrer URL and the time of access, and can determine that you have made an enquiry with us; this data is used exclusively for the technical provision of the service and is then deleted automatically.

jameda is used on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in making appointment booking as straightforward as possible. Where consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR / Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user’s device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Data processing agreement

5. Plugins and Tools

Google Fonts (local hosting)

This site uses so-called Google Fonts, provided by Google, for the uniform display of fonts. The Google Fonts are installed locally. No connection to Google’s servers is established in the process.

Further information on Google Fonts can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

Font Awesome (local hosting)

This site uses Font Awesome for the uniform display of fonts. Font Awesome is installed locally. No connection to the servers of Fonticons, Inc. is established in the process.

Further information on Font Awesome can be found in the Font Awesome privacy policy at: https://fontawesome.com/privacy.

Google Maps

This site uses the mapping service Google Maps. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

To use the functions of Google Maps, it is necessary to store your IP address. This information is generally transferred to a Google server in the USA and stored there. The provider of this site has no influence on this data transfer. When Google Maps is activated, Google may use Google Fonts for the uniform display of fonts. When you call up Google Maps, your browser loads the required web fonts into its browser cache in order to display texts and fonts correctly.

Google Maps is used in the interest of an appealing presentation of our online services and to make the locations we indicate on the website easy to find. This constitutes a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Where consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user’s device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Data transfers to the USA are based on the Standard Contractual Clauses of the EU Commission. Details can be found here: https://privacy.google.com/businesses/gdprcontrollerterms/ and https://privacy.google.com/businesses/gdprcontrollerterms/sccs/.

Further information on the handling of user data can be found in Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

The company is certified under the “EU-US Data Privacy Framework” (DPF). The DPF is an agreement between the European Union and the USA intended to ensure compliance with European data protection standards for data processing in the USA. Every company certified under the DPF undertakes to comply with these data protection standards. Further information can be obtained from the provider at the following link: https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/s/participant-search/participant-detail?contact=true&id=a2zt000000001L5AAI&status=Active

Google reCAPTCHA

We use “Google reCAPTCHA” (hereinafter “reCAPTCHA”) on this website. The provider is Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

The purpose of reCAPTCHA is to check whether data entered on this website (e.g. in a contact form) is entered by a human or by an automated program. To do this, reCAPTCHA analyses the behaviour of the website visitor on the basis of various characteristics. This analysis begins automatically as soon as the website visitor enters the website. For the analysis, reCAPTCHA evaluates various items of information (e.g. IP address, time the visitor spends on the website or mouse movements made by the user). The data collected during the analysis is forwarded to Google.

The reCAPTCHA analyses run entirely in the background. Website visitors are not notified that an analysis is taking place.

The data is stored and analysed on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in protecting its web services from abusive automated spying and from spam. Where consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user’s device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Further information on Google reCAPTCHA can be found in Google’s privacy policy and terms of service at the following links: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en and https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en.

Wordfence

We have integrated Wordfence on this website. The provider is Defiant, Inc., 800 5th Ave Ste 4100, Seattle, WA 98104, USA (hereinafter “Wordfence”).

Wordfence serves to protect our website against unwanted access or malicious cyber attacks. For this purpose, our website maintains a permanent connection to the Wordfence servers so that Wordfence can compare its databases with the accesses made on our website and block them if necessary.

Wordfence is used on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in protecting its website as effectively as possible against cyber attacks. Where consent has been requested, processing is carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent covers the storage of cookies or access to information on the user’s device (e.g. device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Data transfers to the USA are based on the Standard Contractual Clauses of the EU Commission. Details can be found here: https://www.wordfence.com/help/general-data-protection-regulation/.

Data processing agreement

This English version is provided for convenience. In the event of any discrepancy, the German version shall prevail.

Last updated: October 2026