Scope of this policy
This privacy policy explains how information is handled on this website, which is the personal professional website of Dr. Gogineni Ratnakara Rao, Senior Consultant in Clinical and Interventional Pulmonary Medicine. It applies only to this website and to messages sent to the phone number and WhatsApp number published on it.
It does not apply to Apollo Hospitals or to any other hospital, clinic, laboratory or diagnostic centre. When you book an appointment through a hospital website or portal, register at a hospital reception, or undergo tests, your information is collected and held by that institution under its own privacy policy and its own record-keeping obligations. It also does not apply to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Google or any other platform linked from this site; each of those operates under its own policy.
By using this website you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. This policy should be read together with the Terms of Use and the Medical Disclaimer.
What information is collected
Information you do not have to give
This is an informational website. It has no registration, no login, no patient portal, no contact form and no payment facility. You can read every page without entering your name, your email address, your phone number or any health information.
Information you choose to send
If you call the published number or send a WhatsApp message, you provide your phone number and whatever you choose to write, which may include details about your symptoms or reports. This information is used only to respond to your query, to arrange or reschedule a consultation, and to provide continuity of care. It is not sold, rented or shared for marketing. WhatsApp messages are transmitted and stored by WhatsApp under its own terms and encryption, which are outside our control.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, the hosting server records standard technical data such as the IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, the pages requested, the date and time of the request, and the referring page. This data is used for security, for diagnosing faults and for understanding traffic patterns in aggregate.
Medical records and confidentiality
No medical records, prescriptions, imaging or laboratory reports are stored on this website or on its hosting server. Clinical records generated during a consultation are maintained by the treating institution in accordance with applicable medical record regulations and professional confidentiality obligations, and are accessible through that institution.
Information you share about your health during a consultation, by phone or by WhatsApp is treated as confidential and is disclosed only with your consent, to other clinicians involved in your care where that is necessary, or where disclosure is required by law, by a court, or by a statutory authority such as a notifiable disease reporting requirement.
Analytics and cookies
This website uses Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors find and use the pages, for example which condition pages are read most and whether visitors reach the site from search, social media or a direct link. Google Analytics sets cookies and processes an abbreviated form of your IP address on Google's infrastructure.
The analytics configuration records anonymous, aggregated events. These include page views and interaction events such as a click on a phone link, a WhatsApp link, an appointment booking link, a directions link, a review link or a social media link. These events tell us that a click occurred and from which page; they do not record who you are, what you said in a call or message, or any health information.
No advertising cookies, remarketing pixels or cross-site tracking tools are used on this site. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings, use your browser's private mode, or install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Blocking cookies does not affect your ability to read any part of this website.
| Purpose | What is used | Can you refuse it |
|---|---|---|
| Website functionality | No cookies are required to read the site | Not applicable |
| Traffic measurement | Google Analytics 4 cookies and aggregated event data | Yes, via browser settings or the Google opt-out add-on |
| Server security and fault diagnosis | Standard web server access logs | No, these are required to operate the site securely |
| Advertising or profiling | Not used on this site | Not applicable |
Third-party links and services
This website links to external services including the Apollo Hospitals appointment page, Google Maps for directions, the Google Business Profile review page, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. When you follow such a link you leave this website, and the destination service collects data about you according to its own privacy policy and cookie practices.
We do not control those services, do not receive your personal information from them, and are not responsible for their content or their data practices. You are encouraged to read the privacy policy of any third-party service before providing information to it.
Your rights
Indian data protection law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and the Information Technology Act 2000 with its allied rules, gives you rights over personal data that relates to you. In relation to information you have sent to us directly, you may:
- Ask what personal information about you is held and why.
- Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected or updated.
- Ask for information to be erased, subject to any legal or professional obligation to retain clinical records.
- Withdraw consent for non-clinical communication such as appointment reminders.
- Raise a grievance about how your information has been handled.
Requests are answered within a reasonable period. To protect your privacy, we may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. Rights relating to records held by a hospital must be exercised with that hospital directly.
Security, retention and children
The website is served over an encrypted HTTPS connection and standard security headers are applied. Server logs are retained only for the period needed for security and diagnostic purposes. Messages you send by phone or WhatsApp are retained only as long as necessary for your care and for any legal obligation, after which they are deleted.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and information sent over the internet or over a messaging platform carries an inherent risk that cannot be eliminated. Please consider this before sending sensitive information electronically.
This website is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed at children. Information about a child should be provided only by a parent or legal guardian.
Contact and changes to this policy
For any question or grievance about privacy on this website, contact the clinic on +91 74164 43331 or by WhatsApp, or in person at Apollo Hospitals, Financial District, Nanakramguda, Hyderabad 500032, or Anything in Lung Clinic, Chanda Nagar, Hyderabad 500050.
This policy may be updated to reflect changes in practice, technology or law. The version in force is the one published on this page, and the date below indicates when it was last revised. Continued use of the website after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Last updated: 10 September 2026.