IMPORTANT NOTICE - EMERGENCIES
This platform is NOT intended for medical emergencies. In case of emergency, call IMMEDIATELY:
1. Definitions
"Platform": the HeyDottore service accessible via web and mobile app.
"User or Patient": natural person who uses the Platform to communicate with Healthcare Professionals.
"Healthcare Professional or Doctor": medical doctor regularly registered with the Medical Association who uses the Platform.
"Consultation": asynchronous communication between Patient and Doctor through the Platform.
"Ticket": consultation request sent by the Patient.
"Operator": HeyDottore S.r.l., Via Mario Pagano 63, 20145 Milano (MI), P.IVA 14781390969.
2. Nature of Service
Patients pay only the final price displayed before confirmation, including each subscription renewal. HeyDottore commissions, collection management fees and VAT on platform services are charged to the doctor: patients incur no payment-method surcharge.
HeyDottore is a TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION PLATFORM that provides technological tools to facilitate communication between Patients and Healthcare Professionals.
What the Platform IS:
- Secure messaging service
- Document archiving system
- Prescription formatting tool
- Collection of fees in the Doctor's name and on their behalf, under their mandate (via Stripe)
What the Platform is NOT:
- Medical emergency service
- Healthcare service provider
- Substitute for in-person visits
- Provider of diagnoses or therapies
HeyDottore operates exclusively as a technology service provider (technical intermediary). The professional relationship exists EXCLUSIVELY between the Patient and the Doctor. HeyDottore is not part of this relationship and does not provide healthcare services.
Through the Platform, Doctors may provide, under their sole responsibility, remote medical assistance in asynchronous mode (clinical messaging). This mode does not constitute a televisit, an inter-professional teleconsultation, or telemonitoring as defined by the Italian national guidelines for the provision of telemedicine services (State-Regions Agreement of 17 December 2020) and the guidelines for telemedicine services (Ministerial Decree of 21 September 2022). The Doctor assesses on a case-by-case basis whether the Patient's request can be handled remotely or requires an in-person visit, in accordance with the Code of Medical Ethics and Italian Law 219/2017.
3. Access Requirements
The Platform is reserved for adults. To register and use the services you must be at least 18 years old. During registration your date of birth is requested to verify this requirement; providing untruthful age information is at the User's own responsibility. Direct use by minors under 18 is not permitted.
Consultations for a minor. Accounts are for adults only, but from your account you may ask a doctor for a consultation concerning your minor child, or a minor for whom you are the legal guardian. In that case you declare that you exercise parental responsibility and, where the decision requires it, that you act in agreement with the other parent. In the consultation you give the doctor the minor's name and age, and you give your consents as parent or guardian, on the minor's behalf. The doctor may ask you for further information, decline the request or ask for an in-person visit. You may request a consultation for another adult only with that person's agreement.
The User declares and warrants to:
- Provide truthful and complete information
- Keep access credentials confidential
- Not use the Platform for illegal purposes
- Not impersonate other people
4. Registration and Account
Registration requires:
- First and last name
- Valid email address
- Secure password
- Date of birth
- Acceptance of Terms and Privacy Policy
The User is responsible for:
- Keeping their data up to date
- Protecting access credentials
- Notifying unauthorized access
5. Platform Usage
Available features:
- Search and select Doctors by specialty/city
- Submit consultation requests (Ticket)
- Secure messaging with the Doctor
- Send attachments (images, documents, reports)
- Receive private prescriptions ("ricetta bianca"; the Platform does not handle Italian NHS/dematerialised prescriptions)
How the doctor search works
Search results include doctors who have completed profile activation (including identity and medical-register checks), accept new requests, can receive payments and have a HeyDottore plan that includes appearing in search. Other doctors can be reached by their patients through their link or invitation code. Unless you choose another order, results are sorted by the years of experience declared by the doctor, highest first; you can also sort them by consultation fee or subscription price. The doctor's plan determines whether they appear in search, not their position: the order of results does not depend on payments.
User Obligations:
- Provide accurate and complete health information
- Not omit relevant health information
- Follow the Doctor's instructions
- Not use the Platform to obtain drugs illegally
6. Consultations: contract, payment and refunds
6.1 Who your contract is with. The consultation is a service of the Doctor, offered at the fee set out by the Doctor and shown before payment. You pay when you send the request; the consultation contract is concluded between you and the Doctor when the Doctor accepts the request. HeyDottore is not a party to that contract: it provides the Platform and collects the payment on the Doctor's behalf (point 6.2).
6.2 Payment. The consultation fee is owed to the Doctor: you pay the Doctor, not HeyDottore. HeyDottore collects the amount in the Doctor's name and on their behalf, under their mandate, through Stripe (Stripe Connect): payment to HeyDottore discharges your debt towards the Doctor. The fiscal document for the healthcare service is issued in the Doctor's name and on their behalf; the fee for HeyDottore's services is borne by the Doctor and adds no surcharge to the published price. Until the Doctor replies, the amount is held by HeyDottore on the Doctor's behalf and is not transferred to them.
6.3 Deadlines and refunds
The Doctor has 24 hours from payment to accept or decline the request and, if they accept it, 48 hours from acceptance to send you the first reply. The amount is refunded to you in full, on the Doctor's behalf, to the payment method you used, if:
- (a) the Doctor does not accept the request within 24 hours of payment;
- (b) after accepting it, the Doctor does not send you the first reply within 48 hours of acceptance;
- (c) the Doctor declines the request;
- (d) you cancel the request before the Doctor has accepted it;
- (e) a technical problem of the Platform prevents the service.
In cases (a) to (d) the refund starts automatically; in case (e) it is carried out by HeyDottore support. The credit usually arrives within 5-10 business days, depending on your bank. Once the Doctor has accepted the request you can no longer cancel it: if they then fail to reply in time, case (b) applies.
6.4 After the Doctor replies. With the Doctor's first reply the service is performed: the fee is owed to the Doctor and the Platform provides no automatic refunds, even if you disagree with the content of the reply. Your statutory rights towards the Doctor in relation to the service remain unaffected (sections 8 and 13). The consultation stays open for up to 7 days from payment: during this period you can message the Doctor for clarifications on the same question. It then closes automatically; a new question requires a new consultation. You and the Doctor may close it earlier at any time.
6.5 Withdrawal. The consultation is a healthcare service: by law it is excluded from the right of withdrawal for distance contracts (art. 47(1)(b) Italian Consumer Code). Before payment we nevertheless ask you to expressly request that the Doctor start immediately and to acknowledge that, after their first reply, you will no longer be able to withdraw (arts. 51(8) and 59(1)(a) Consumer Code); the confirmation is in the receipt you get by email. The option to cancel under point 6.3 is a more favourable condition offered by the Doctor.
7. Doctor Subscriptions
Some Doctors offer monthly subscription plans that include consultations with that Doctor, as described in the plan. The subscription is a contract between you and the Doctor: HeyDottore provides the technical platform and collects the instalments in the Doctor's name and on their behalf, under their mandate, through Stripe; payment to HeyDottore discharges your debt towards the Doctor.
- Plan price and content are shown on the Doctor's page before activation
- Automatic renewal: the subscription renews automatically each month until cancelled
- Cancellation: you can cancel at any time from your settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period, which remains usable until expiry
- Withdrawal in the first 14 days: if you cancel within 14 days of activation, the subscription ends immediately and you are refunded, on the Doctor's behalf, the unused days of the paid period, less the value of the consultations the Doctor has already answered, calculated at the Doctor's single-consultation price. If that value exceeds the unused amount, there is no refund and the subscription stays active until the end of the paid period. This is a condition offered by the Doctor: for healthcare services the statutory withdrawal right for distance contracts does not apply (art. 47(1)(b) Italian Consumer Code)
- Deadlines for included consultations: the Doctor has 48 hours from submission to accept the request and 48 hours from acceptance to send you the first reply. If they do not, the consultation is cancelled and you can open another at no extra cost; since a single consultation has no price of its own, there is no per-consultation refund. Unanswered consultations do not reduce the amount refunded to you if you withdraw in the first 14 days
- If the Doctor closes their account, or their account is suspended or removed from the Platform, the subscription ends with no further charges and you are refunded, on the Doctor's behalf, the paid and unused part of the period; this refund is carried out by HeyDottore support and is not automatic. If the Doctor only stops offering new subscriptions, existing ones continue until cancelled
- Consultations included in the subscription remain subject to the Doctor's clinical appropriateness assessment
8. Roles and liability
8.1 The consultation is a professional service of the Doctor. The consultation contract is concluded between you and the Doctor when the Doctor accepts your request, and the subscription is also a contract between you and the Doctor (section 7); HeyDottore is not a party to these contracts, does not assume their obligations and takes no part in clinical assessments. Diagnoses, advice, prescriptions and any other professional act are the Doctor's, who is liable for them under the law (Law 24/2017) and is legally required to hold their own professional liability insurance.
8.2 HeyDottore is liable, under the law, for the services it provides directly: the operation of the Platform, the security of the data it processes and the proper execution of the collections and refunds it performs on the Doctor's behalf.
8.3 HeyDottore does not review the clinical content of messages or assess their urgency. The Platform delivers communications but is not suitable where a delay could harm your health: if symptoms change, worsen or worry you, do not wait for a reply and call 112 or 118, or your own doctor. Once the consultation is closed you can no longer write in it: for new symptoms or check-ups open a new consultation or see a doctor in person.
8.4 Nothing in these Terms limits your statutory rights as a consumer, nor excludes or limits HeyDottore's liability for wilful misconduct or gross negligence or for personal injury caused by its own act or omission.
9. Intellectual Property
The Platform, software, design, logos and original content are the exclusive property of HeyDottore or its licensors.
The User retains ownership of uploaded content and grants HeyDottore a limited license for processing necessary for service delivery.
10. Duration and Withdrawal
The contract has indefinite duration from registration.
The User can withdraw at any time:
- By deleting their account from settings
- By sending a request to support email
When you close your account we delete the data HeyDottore controls (account, contact details, sessions, preferences, files uploaded to your profile) and the consultations no Doctor has taken on. The records of consultations a Doctor has taken on stay with the Doctor, who is their controller and must keep them by law: we tell the Doctor you have closed your account and, if you want those records deleted too, you need to contact the Doctor. Messages and documents received through a delivery are deleted. Receipts and invoices are kept to meet tax obligations. Details are in the Privacy Policy (section 8).
11. Terms Modifications
HeyDottore may modify these Terms only for justified reasons: compliance with laws or authority decisions, security needs, technical or commercial evolution of the service. Changes are communicated via email with at least 15 days' notice. Changes do not apply to consultations already paid for; for ongoing subscriptions they apply from the first renewal after they take effect. If you do not wish to accept them, you may withdraw free of charge before they take effect, by deleting your account or contacting support. Continued use of the Platform after that date constitutes acceptance of the changes.
12. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by Italian law.
For consumer disputes (B2C):
- Consumer's place of residence (Art. 66-bis Consumer Code)
For out-of-court dispute resolution, Consumers may contact the ADR bodies listed under Art. 141-decies of the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 130/2015), available on the website of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. (The European ODR platform was discontinued on 20 July 2025.)
These Terms are drafted in Italian; the English version is a courtesy translation. In case of discrepancy the Italian text prevails, without prejudice to the rule that, for consumers, any doubt is resolved in the interpretation most favourable to them (art. 35(2) Italian Consumer Code).
13. Reports, complaints and points of contact
Point of contact. Users and authorities can write to supporto@heydottore.com or to the certified email address heydottore@pec.it, in Italian or English: this is the single point of contact under Arts. 11 and 12 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on digital services ("DSA"). A person from the HeyDottore team replies.
Reporting illegal content. If you believe that content on the Platform (for example a profile, a text or a message) is illegal, write to supporto@heydottore.com stating:
- where the content is: the page address, or the consultation and the date of the message;
- why you believe it is illegal;
- your name and email address, unless the report concerns child sexual abuse or exploitation offences;
- a statement confirming that you are acting in good faith and that the information is accurate and complete.
For a message received in chat you can also use the "Report" command. We confirm receipt and tell you our decision, with the reasons (Art. 16 DSA). Reports are examined by a person from the HeyDottore team, not by an automated system.
Disputes about the Doctor's service. HeyDottore does not assess the clinical merit of replies and does not decide disputes between you and the Doctor. For a dispute about the service, contact the Doctor; for ethical matters you can contact the Medical Association (Ordine dei Medici) the Doctor is registered with. If you cannot reach the Doctor, write to supporto@heydottore.com: we will give you the Doctor's Medical Association and registration number and forward your request to them. For a copy of the consultation records you can contact the Doctor, who is the data controller, or write to privacy@heydottore.com: we forward the request to the Doctor and assist them in handling it.
Complaints about HeyDottore. For a complaint about how the Platform works, about payments or about one of our decisions, write to supporto@heydottore.com: we reply in writing. The routes in section 12 (ADR bodies and the courts) always remain available.
Restriction or closure of your account. We may restrict, suspend or close your account in case of serious breaches of these Terms (for example using the Platform to obtain medicines unlawfully, harassing Doctors, payment fraud, false identities) or where required by law. We tell you by email about the decision, the facts it is based on and how to challenge it (Art. 17 DSA); you can reply to supporto@heydottore.com and we will review the decision.
14. Contacts
For information and assistance:
HeyDottore S.r.l.
Via Mario Pagano 63, 20145 Milano (MI)
VAT/Tax code and Milan-Monza-Brianza-Lodi Business Register no.: 14781390969
Share capital: €10,000.00 fully paid
Email: supporto@heydottore.com
PEC: heydottore@pec.it
Referente privacy: privacy@heydottore.com