Protected Health Information

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

 Therapy Partners is  required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information (“PHI”) and to provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”). Therapy Partners must abide by the terms of this Notice, and we must notify you if a breach of your unsecured PHI occurs. Therapy Partners can change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new Notice will be available upon request and on the Therapy Partners website (www.Therapy.Partners).

 Except for the specific purposes set forth below, Therapy Partners will use and disclose your PHI only with your written authorization (“Authorization”). It is your right to revoke such Authorization at any time by giving Therapy Partners written notice of your revocation.

 Some uses (Inside Practice) and Disclosures (Outside Practice) Relating to Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations Do Not Require Your Written Consent.

Therapy Partners can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:

1.         For your treatment:  Therapy Partners  can use and disclose your PHI to treat you, which may include disclosing your PHI to another health care professional. For example, if you are being treated by a physician or a psychiatrist, Therapy Partners can disclose your PHI to him or her to help coordinate your care, although our preference is for you to give Therapy Partners an Authorization to do so.

2.         To obtain payment for your treatment:   I Therapy Partners can use and disclose your PHI to bill and collect payment for the treatment and services provided by our therapists to you. For example, Therapy Partners might send your PHI to your insurance company to get paid for the health care services that our therapists have provided to you.

3.         For health care operations:  Therapy Partners can use and disclose your PHI for purposes of conducting health care operations pertaining to our practice, including contacting you when necessary. For example, Therapy Partners may need to disclose your PHI to our attorney to obtain advice about complying with applicable laws.

 Certain Uses and Disclosures Require Your Authorization

 1.     Psychotherapy Notes:  Therapy Partners therapists do keep “psychotherapy notes” as that term is defined in 45 CFR § 164.501, and any use or disclosure of such notes requires your Authorization unless the use or disclosure is:

a.         For your therapist’s use in treating you.

b.         For Therapy Partner’s use in training or supervising other mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills in group, joint, family, or individual counseling or therapy.

c.          For Therapy Partners use in defending our company or therapists in legal proceedings instituted by you.

d.         For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate Therapy Partner’s compliance with HIPAA.

e.         Required by law, and the use or disclosure is limited to the requirements of such law.

f.            Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes.

g.         Required by a coroner who is performing duties authorized by law.

h.         Required to help avert a serious threat to the health and safety of others.

2.     Marketing Purposes:  Therapy Partners will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes.

3.     Sale of PHI:  Therapy Partners will never sell your PHI in the regular course of business.

Certain Uses and Disclosures Do Not Require Your Authorization. Subject to certain limitations in the law, Therapy Partners can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:

 1.         When disclosure is required by state or federal law, and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law.

2.         For public health activities, including reporting suspected child, elder, or dependent adult abuse, or preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.

3.         For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.

4.         For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order, although my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.

5.         For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on my premises.

6.       To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.

6.         For research purposes, including studying and comparing the mental health of patients who received one form of therapy versus those who received another form of therapy for the same condition.

7.         Specialized government functions, including, ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counter-intelligence operations; or, helping to ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.

8.         For workers' compensation purposes. Although our preference is to obtain an Authorization from you, Therapy Partners may provide your PHI in order to comply with workers' compensation laws.

9.         Appointment reminders and health related benefits or services. Therapy Partners may use and disclose your PHI to contact you to remind you that you have an appointment. I Therapy Partners may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits.

 Certain Uses and Disclosures Require You to Have the Opportunity to Object.

Disclosures to family, friends, or others. I may provide your PHI to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.

 YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PHI

You have the following rights with respect to your PHI:

1.      The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI. You have the right to ask Therapy Partners not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. Therapy Partners is not required to agree to your request, and may say “no” if Therapy Partners believes that it may affect your health care.

2.     The Right to Request Restrictions for Out-of-Pocket Expenses Paid for In Full. You have the right to   request restrictions on disclosures of your PHI to health plans for payment or health care operations  purposes if the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or a health care service that you have paid for out-of-pocket in full.

3.      The Right to Choose How Therapy Partners Sends PHI to You. You have the right to ask Therapy Partners to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address. Therapy Partners will agree to all reasonable requests.

4.     The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI. Other than “psychotherapy notes,” you have the right to get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other information.  Therapy Partners will provide you with a copy of your record, or a summary of it, if you agree to receive a summary, within 30 days of receiving your written request, and Therapy Partners  may charge a reasonable, cost based fee.

5.     The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures Made.  You have the right to request a list of instances in which Therapy Partners has disclosed your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, or for which you provided an Authorization.  Therapy Partners will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list Therapy Partners  provides will include disclosures made in the last six years unless you request a shorter time. Therapy Partners will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you make more than one request in the same year, Therapy Partners will charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for each additional request.

6.     The Right to Correct or Update Your PHI. If you believe that there is a mistake in your PHI, or that a piece of important information is missing from your PHI, you have the right to request that Therapy Partners correct the existing information or add the missing information. Therapy Partners may say “no” to your request but will tell you why in writing within 60 days of receiving your request.

7.     The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice. You have the right to get a paper copy of this Notice, and you have the right to get a copy of this notice by e-mail.  Even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via e-mail, you also have the right to request a paper copy of it.

HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT MY PRIVACY PRACTICES

If you think Therapy Partners may have violated your privacy rights, you may file a complaint with our offices at admin@Therapy.Partners or directly to our Privacy Officer, Jan Buchanan at jbuchanan@Therapy.Partners, phone (720) 626-4228, address 1777 South Harrison St. Suite 1200 Denver, Colorado 80222.  You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by:

1. Sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201;

2. Calling 1-877-696-6775; or,

3. Visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints.

Therapy Partners will never retaliate against you if you file a complaint about our privacy practices.

PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION AND DIGITAL DATA

OVERVIEW

Therapy Partners operates the Therapy.Partners website and the Therapy Partner’s mobile application (“Online Sites”).  Therapy Partners also uses Zoom products to provide online HIPPA compliant video Telehealth sessions (please see Zoom’s site for security and privacy information).  This privacy policy (this “Policy”) describes the policies and procedures regarding our collection, use, and sharing of the information we collect through our website and mobile application.

How and Why We Use the Data We Collect

We collect several different types of information that can directly or indirectly identify an individual (“Personal Data”) for various purposes, including to provide our services and to improve our services. In addition to the information that we collect from you directly, we may also receive information about you from other sources, including third parties, or publicly available sources.  

Tracking Cookies Data. It helps us see what people like and don’t like on our site. Our website uses cookies and similar technologies, which are small files or pieces of text that download to a device when a visitor accesses a website or app. For information about viewing the cookies dropped on your device, visit The cookies Squarespace uses.

These functional and required cookies are always used, which allow Squarespace, our hosting platform, to securely serve this website to you.

These analytics and performance cookies are used on this website, as described below, only when you acknowledge our cookie banner. This website uses analytics and performance cookies to view site traffic, activity, and other data.

Usage Data. It helps us make sure everything works on your devices.

Account and Service Registration Data. It allows us to contact you about services.

While using our products and services, including this Site, we may ask you to provide us with certain information that can be used to contact you or understand how we can best provide you with services (“Account and Service Data”). Account and Service Data may include, but is not limited to, your name, email address, and telephone number. Additionally, when you create an account with Therapy Partners, we collect information directly from you, such as credit card information and details about your insurance. We may use Account and Service Data to contact you with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be helpful to you. Don’t want to subscribe? OK, no problem. We make it easy for you to opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from us. All you have to do is hit the unsubscribe link or the instructions provided in any communication we send.

Service and Support Data. It allows us to provide you with services and respond to your feedback.  While using our services, we will collect any information you choose to provide to us, including via a chat feature (“Service and Support Data”). Data may include, but is not limited to, audio data, electronic communications regarding your account or payments, and any communications to our customer support team. We use Service and Support Data to provide you with services and act upon your feedback or issues.

Health Data. It allows your therapist to access necessary information to provide treatment, and it allows us to render appropriate billing & operational services.  

For questions about how we collect and process your health information, see our Contact Us section below.

DISCLOSURES TO THIRD PARTIES

We may need to disclose your information to third parties for various reasons.

Disclosure for legal purposes. Under certain circumstances, Therapy Partners may disclose your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to subpoenas, warrants, court orders, or other legal processes. We may also share your information in order to establish or exercise our rights, to defend against a legal claim, to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding possible illegal activities, suspected fraud, safety of person or property, or a violation of our policies, or to comply with your request for the provision of services by a third-party intermediary.

Service Providers. We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our services, perform Site-related services or assist us in analyzing how our Site is used. These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose. Any information collected by a third-party service is subject to the privacy policies of the third-party service provider.

Links to Third Party Websites and Platforms. Our Site may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the privacy policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third-party sites or services. Our Site may also contain links or buttons to enable you to share or post content on third-party social media platforms. The privacy policy of such social media platforms will apply to any content you share or post, and Therapy Partners is not responsible for the privacy practices of such third-party platforms.

Business Transaction. If Therapy Partners is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, your Personal Data may be transferred. We will make reasonable efforts to provide notice before your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

Other Disclosures with Your Consent. We may share your information with other unaffiliated third parties who are not described elsewhere in this Policy and will always ask for your permission before we do so.

‍The Security of Your Data.  The security of your data is important to us but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data and other sensitive information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure (for example, if you feel that the security of any account with us has been compromised), please immediately notify us of the problem by contacting us in accordance with the “Contact Us” section below.

In the event, that we are required by law to inform you of a breach to your Personal Data we may notify you electronically, in writing, or by telephone, if permitted to do so by law.

YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS

You, and you alone, own your privacy. We want you to understand your rights and feel empowered to exercise them.

Opting-Out of Communications. Our newsletters, promotional emails, and promotional text messages include instructions for opting out of or receiving further communications. You may also opt out of marketing communications by contacting us via the “Contact Us” section below. Please note that even if you opt out of receiving marketing communications, we may still communicate with you regarding non-marketing-related matters, such as appointment reminders, notifications and information relating to your account, and other transactional messages.

Updating Your Personal Data or Cancelling your Therapy Partners account. If you have signed up for an account with Therapy Partners, you may review and update the Personal Data associated with your account by signing into your client portal. If you want us to disable your account at any time, just contact us. We may ask you to verify your identity and to provide other details before we disable your account or delete any information. 

Access Your Personal Data. You may request access to your Personal Data by contacting us at the address described below. If required by law, upon request, we will grant you reasonable access to the Personal Data that we have about you. In some circumstances, we may also be required to grant you access to your Personal Data in a portable format. Note that, as required by law, we will require you to prove your identity.  We may verify your identity by phone call or email. Depending on your request, we will ask for information such as your name, the date of your last therapy session, or the email address we have on file. We may also ask you to provide a signed declaration confirming your identity. Client data will be provided for a small processing fee.

Delete Your Personal Data. You may request that we delete your Personal Data by contacting us at the address described below.  If required by law we will grant a request to delete information, but in many situations we must keep your Personal Data to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, or for another one of our business purposes. Note that, as required by law, we may require you to prove your identity.  We may verify your identity by phone call or email. Depending on your request, we will ask for information such as your name, the date of your last therapy session, or the email address we have on file. We may also ask you to provide a signed declaration confirming your identity.

Online Tracking.  We do not currently recognize automated browser signals regarding tracking mechanisms, which may include "Do Not Track" instructions.

Children’s Privacy. This Policy addresses Therapy Partner’s procedures for handling the personal information of customers in the U.S. who are at least 13 years old. We do not seek to, nor do we knowingly collect, information from anyone under the age of 13 (“Child” or “Children”). If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us at the email address described below.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

Retention of Data. We will retain your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example,  we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes and enforce our legal agreements and policies. We will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of our Service, or we are legally obligated to retain this data for longer periods.

Changes to our Privacy Policy. We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the "Last Updated and Effective date" at the top of this Privacy Policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

CONTACT US

We welcome your comments or questions about this Policy by emailing us at admin@therapy.partners or by calling us at 1-720-626-4226.