Privacy Policy

Effective Date: August 23, 2026
Last Updated: August 23, 2026

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) describes how Ashley L. Howarth, MD Plastic Surgery, PLLC, an Arizona professional limited liability company (the “Practice,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards information obtained through howarthplasticsurgery.com (the “Site”) and the communications initiated through it. By accessing or using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this Policy.

This Policy applies to information collected through the Site. It does not apply to protected health information governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and its implementing regulations (“HIPAA”), which is addressed in Section 9, nor to the practices of any third party that we do not own or control.

a. Information You Provide. When you submit a consultation request, we collect your first and last name, telephone number, electronic mail address, stated contact preference, referral source if provided, and the substance of your message, which may include health-related information you elect to disclose. When you apply for employment, we collect your resume, cover letter, and any related materials you submit. When you communicate with us by telephone or text message, we retain records of that correspondence.

b. Information Collected Automatically. When you visit the Site, we and our service providers may collect your Internet Protocol address, device and browser type, operating system, pages viewed, dates and times of access, referring uniform resource locator, general geographic location derived from Internet Protocol address, and, where applicable, advertising campaign identifiers, which are retained for approximately ninety (90) days.

The Site uses cookies, pixels, and similar technologies in the following categories: (i) strictly necessary technologies required for the Site to function; (ii) performance and analytics technologies, including Google Analytics; and (iii) advertising and measurement technologies, including those operated by Google LLC and Meta Platforms, Inc. Most web browsers permit you to refuse, disable, or delete cookies through their settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Site. Because no uniform industry standard for responding to Do Not Track signals has been adopted, the Site does not currently respond to such signals.

We use the information described above for the following purposes: (a) to respond to inquiries and consultation requests; (b) to schedule, coordinate, and prepare for consultations and treatment; (c) to evaluate applications for employment; (d) to operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site; (e) to measure the effectiveness of our marketing and to understand how patients locate the Practice; and (f) to comply with applicable legal obligations and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims. The substance of consultation requests is transmitted to Practice personnel by electronic mail and is accessible only to those personnel who coordinate patient care.

Submission of a consultation request through the Site requires your affirmative consent to be contacted by telephone, electronic mail, or text message regarding your inquiry; a submission will not be accepted absent such consent. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. You may revoke your consent at any time by replying STOP to any message, and you may reply HELP for assistance. Mobile telephone numbers and text messaging consent are not sold, rented, or otherwise shared with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing purposes.

We disclose information as follows: (a) to service providers that perform functions on our behalf, including website hosting, form transmission, appointment scheduling, electronic medical records, and the analytics and advertising services identified in Section 3, each of which is permitted to use the information only to perform services for us; (b) to our professional advisors, including legal counsel and accountants; (c) where required by applicable law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of any person; and (d) in connection with any merger, sale of practice assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of the Practice.

We do not sell personal information for monetary consideration. Certain advertising and measurement technologies described in Section 3 may constitute a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (collectively, the “CCPA”). You may exercise the rights described in Section 8, and you may adjust advertising personalization through your Google and Meta account settings and through your browser cookie controls.

Subject to applicable law and to verification of your identity, you may exercise the following rights: (a) the right to know and to access the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources of that information, the purposes for collecting it, and the categories of third parties to whom it is disclosed; (b) the right to request deletion of personal information; (c) the right to request correction of inaccurate personal information; (d) the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information; (e) the right to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information; and (f) the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising any of these rights.

To submit a request, contact us using the information in Section 16. We will acknowledge receipt within ten (10) business days and respond within forty-five (45) calendar days, which period may be extended by an additional forty-five (45) calendar days where reasonably necessary, with notice to you. We may request information sufficient to verify your identity before fulfilling a request. An authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf upon presentation of written permission and verification of your identity.

The Site is not a patient portal and must not be used to transmit protected health information or to communicate urgent medical needs. Information submitted through the Site does not constitute part of a designated record set unless and until you become a patient of the Practice. Protected health information created or maintained in the course of treatment is governed by HIPAA and by the Practice’s Notice of Privacy Practices, which is available at our office upon request.

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information against unauthorized access, use, alteration, and destruction, and the Site is served over an encrypted connection. No method of transmission over the Internet and no method of electronic storage is completely secure, and we therefore cannot guarantee absolute security.

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, including to respond to inquiries, to coordinate care, to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements, after which it is deleted or de-identified.

The Site is intended for individuals eighteen (18) years of age and older and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13). If we become aware that we have collected such information, we will delete it. A parent or guardian who believes that a child has provided personal information to us may contact us using the information in Section 16.

The Site may contain links to websites and services operated by third parties. We do not control and are not responsible for the content, security, or privacy practices of those websites and services, and this Policy does not apply to them. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party website you visit.

We reserve the right to modify this Policy at any time. Modifications become effective upon posting of the revised Policy to the Site with an updated Effective Date. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of a revised Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy.

This Policy and any dispute arising out of or relating to it are governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

Questions regarding this Policy, and requests to exercise the rights described in Section 8, may be directed to:

Ashley L. Howarth, MD Plastic Surgery, PLLC
7373 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite C150
Scottsdale, Arizona 85253
Telephone: 480.535.5021