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

Your health record contains personal information about you and your health. Provincial/Territory/State and federal law protects the confidentiality of this information. “Protected health information” (PHI) is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition and related health care services. Philosophia Within is required to comply with these regulations.

How We May Use and Disclose Health Information About You

For Treatment. We may use medical and clinical information about you to provide you with treatment or services.

For Payment. With your authorization, we may use and disclose medical information about you so that we can receive payment for the treatment services provided to you.

For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose your protected health information (“PHI”) for certain purposes in connection with the operation of our program.

Without Authorization. Applicable law also permits us to disclose information about you without your authorization in a limited number of other situations, such as with a court order. These situations are explained on the following pages.

With Authorization. We must obtain written authorization from you for other uses and disclosure of your PHI.

Your Rights Regarding Your PHI. You have the following rights regarding PHI we maintain about you:

Rights of Access to Inspect and Copy. You have the right, which may be restricted in certain circumstances, to inspect and copy PHI that may be used to make decisions about your care. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.

Right to Amend. If you feel that the PHI we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information although we are not required to agree to the amendment.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request an accounting of the disclosures that we make of your PHI.

Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the use of your PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required to agree to your request.

Right to Request Confidential Communication. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain locations.

Right to a copy of this Notice. You have a right to a copy of this notice

You have the right to file a complaint in writing to us. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

If you have any questions about this Notice of Privacy Practices, please contact us

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information (“PHI”) in accordance with all applicable law. It also describes your rights regarding how you may gain access to and control your PHI. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with notice of Privacy Practices. We reserve the right to change the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices at any time. Any new Notice of Privacy Practices will be effective for all PHI that we maintain at that time. We will make available a revised Notice of Privacy Practices by posting a copy on this website philosophiawithin.com sending a copy to you in the mail upon request, or providing one to you at your next appointment.

How We May Use and Disclose Health Information About You

Listed below are examples of the uses and disclosures that Philosophia Within may make of your protected health information. These examples are not meant to be exhaustive. Rather, they describe types of uses and disclosures that may be made.

Uses and Disclosures of PHI for Treatment, Payment and Health Care Operations

Treatment. Your PHI may be used and disclosed by your physician, counselor, program staff and others outside of our program that are involved in your care for the purpose of providing, coordinating, or managing your health care treatment and any related services. This includes coordination or management of your health care with a third party, consultation with other health care providers or referral to another provider for health care treatment. For example, your protected health information may be provided to the agency that referred you to our program to ensure that you are participating in treatment. In addition, we may disclose your protected health information from time-to-time to another physician or health care provider (e.g. a specialist or laboratory) who, at the request of the program, becomes involved in your care.

Payment. We will not use your PHI to obtain payment for your health care services without your written authorization. Examples of payment-related activities are: making a determination of eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits, processing claims with your insurance company, reviewing services provided to you to determine medical necessity, or undertaking utilization review activities.

Healthcare Operations. We may use or disclose, as needed, your PHI in order to support the business activities of our program including, but not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, training of students, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities.

We may contact you to remind you of your appointments or to provide information to you about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

Other Uses and Disclosures That Do Not Require Your Authorization

Required by Law. We may use or disclose your PHI to the extent that the use or disclosure is required by law, made in compliance with the law, and limited to the relevant requirements of the law. You will be notified, as required by law, of any such uses or disclosures. Under the law, we must make disclosures of your PHI to you upon your request.

Health Oversight. We may disclose PHI to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, and inspections. Oversight agencies seeking this information include government agencies and organizations that provide financial assistance to the program (such as third-party payors) and peer review organizations performing utilization and quality control. If we disclose PHI to a health oversight agency, we will have an agreement in place that requires the agency to safeguard the privacy of your information.

Medical Emergencies. We may use or disclose your protected health information in a medical emergency situation to medical personnel only. Our staff will try to provide you a copy of this notice as soon as reasonably practicable after the resolution of the emergency.

Child Abuse or Neglect. We may disclose your PHI to a state/provincial or local agency that is authorized by law to receive reports of child abuse or neglect. However, the information we disclose is limited to only that information which is necessary to make the initial mandated report.

Deceased Clients. We may disclose PHI regarding deceased patients for the purpose of determining the cause of death, in connection with laws requiring the collection of death or other vital statistics, or permitting inquiry into the cause of death.

Research. We may disclose PHI to researchers if (a) an Institutional Review Board reviews and approves the research and waiver to the authorization requirement; (b) the researchers establish protocols to ensure the privacy of your PHI; (c) the researchers agree to maintain the security of your PHI in accordance with applicable laws and regulations; and (d) the researchers agree not to redisclose your PHI except back to Philosophia Within.

Criminal Activity on Program Premises/Against Program Personnel. We may disclose your PHI to law enforcement officials if you have committed a crime on program premises or against program personnel.

Court Order. We may disclose your PHI if the court issues an appropriate order and follows required procedures.

Uses and Disclosures of PHI with Your Written Authorization

Other uses and disclosures of your PHI will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke this authorization at any time unless the program, or its staff, has taken action in reliance on the authorization of the use or disclosure you permitted.

Rights Regarding Your Protected Health Information

Your rights with respect to your protected health information are explained below. Any request with respect these rights must be in writing. A brief description of how you may exercise these rights is included.

You have the right to inspect and copy your Protected Health Information

You may inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI that is contained in a designated record set for as long as we maintain the record. A “designated record set” contains medical and billing records and any other records that the program uses for making decisions about you. Your request must be in writing. We may charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for the copies. We can deny you access to your PHI in certain circumstances. In some of those cases, you will have a right to appeal the denial of access. Please contact our Privacy Officer if you have questions about access to your medical record.

You may have the right to amend your Protected Health Information

You may request, in writing, that we amend your PHI that has been included in a designated record. In certain cases, we may deny your request for an amendment. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us. We may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy of it. Please contact Philosophia Within’s Privacy Officer if you have questions about amending your medical records.

You have the right to receive an accounting of some types of Protected Health Information disclosures

You may request an accounting of disclosures for a period of up to six years, excluding disclosures made to you, made for treatment purposes or made as a result of your authorization. We may charge you a reasonable fee if you request more than one accounting in any 12 month period. Please contact our Privacy Officer if you have questions about accounting of disclosures.

You have the right to receive a paper copy of this notice

You have the right to obtain a copy of this notice from us. Any questions should be directed to our Privacy Officer.

You have the right to request added restrictions on disclosures and uses of your Protected Health Information

You have the right to ask us not to use or disclose any part of your PHI for treatment, payment or healthcare operations or to family members involved in your care. Your request for restrictions must be in writing and we are not required to agree to such restrictions.

Please contact our Privacy Officer if you would like to request restrictions on the disclosure of your PHI.

You have a right to request confidential communications

You have the right to request confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternative location. We will accommodate reasonable, written requests. We may also condition this accommodation by asking you for information regarding how payment will be handled or specification of an alternative address or other method of contact. We will not ask you why you are making the request. Please contact the Privacy Officer if you would like to make this request.

Complaints

If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you may file a complaint in writing to us

Our Website Privacy Policy

Effective Date: April 2024

Please read carefully before using this Website

Your privacy on the Internet is important to us. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to let you know what information we collect through this website, how we collect, use and share that information, and how you may view, correct or change the information if you should desire to do so.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected on or through the websites owned and operated by Philosophia Within. Any specific web site, including all subordinate web pages, owned and operated by Philosophia Within is referred to as a “Site” or “Website.” Philosophia Within may engage third parties such as a hosting service to assist in the operation of any website including the website through which you linked to view this Privacy Policy. As used in this Privacy Policy, the terms “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Philosophia Within.

The information practices of sites that may be operated or maintained by Philosophia Within or by any third party are not covered by this Privacy Policy. By your use of the Website, “You” (the person using this Web site on behalf of yourself, as well as on behalf of any other person or entity on whose behalf or for whose benefit you are using the Web site) agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, including any changes to the Privacy Policy. If any portion of this Privacy Policy is unacceptable to you, do not use the Website. The use of the Website constitutes acceptance of this Privacy Policy.

Your use of this Website is also governed by our Website Terms of Use

Information Collected

The type of information collected on this Website will depend upon the features and functionalities available on this Website, which may be revised from time to time. For example, if this Website is currently operated as a “read-only” web site, we may not collect any personal information about you through the Website and will not learn who you are. On the other hand, if this Website permits you to “register,” “create an account,” make purchases, or take similar actions, we will collect information from you that can be used to specifically identify you as an individual (such as your name, telephone number, postal address, email address, and payment information, collectively “Personal Data”). This Web site also automatically collects aggregated information that is not linked to any specific individual such as information about traffic patterns on the Website, or the number of times a specific page was viewed in a particular month. We may use and share aggregated, de-identified, and anonymous data without restriction as it does not identify you or any other individual user.

Personal Data, Use, and Sharing

If this Website permits you to register, create an account, make purchases, or take similar actions, and if you chose to take such actions, then we will ask you to provide us with certain Personal Data about yourself. It is always your choice whether you wish to provide Personal Data through this Website, but if you do not provide requested Personal Data you may not be able to use all the features or functionalities of this Website.

Personal Data may be combined with other information we receive through other methods, such as from you in-person. Personal Data will not be sold or given to third parties for marketing purposes except in the limited cases described elsewhere in this Privacy Policy (for example we may transfer Personal Data to a successor organization). We reserve the right to share your Personal Data with third parties if we determine, in our sole discretion, that such action is necessary to comply with legal requirements or with legal process served upon us, or to protect the safety of you, members of the public, other users of this Website, or any other person, or to protect Philosophia Within’s rights. We also may use and/or share Personal Data with third parties that help us operate our business, for example, we may provide your email address to an email vendor that helps us send large volumes of email, and if you make a purchase we may share your Personal Data with third parties as necessary to process your order and receive payment. We may share Personal Data with Philosophia Within’s affiliate and subsidiary entities. Philosophia Within may transfer Personal Data to a successor entity such as in the case of a sale of our business, a particular business division, merger, spin-off, sale of substantially all assets, or a similar transaction. Philosophia Within may use Personal Data to provide requested services to you and to provide you with additional information we believe you may find interesting or useful. Depending upon the features of this Website, we may use Personal Data to track your activities/progress on and through this Web site, as well as purchases made through this site or other transaction history. We may contact you through any and all contact methods (e.g., cell phone, fax, email, etc.) you provide us through this Website.

Reviewing and Changing Personal Data

The Website, now or in the future, may provide the ability for you to view, inactivate and or update the Personal Data you have submitted. If such functionality is available, on a specific Website, click on the link or page to “sign in,” view your “account,” or similar link or heading. Note, due to the nature of third party hardware, software and other third-party tools, even when information is corrected or de-activated, an archive or other copy may remain.

Use of Cookies

The Web site does use cookies in a limited manner. A cookie is a small data file that most major Websites write to your hard drive for record-keeping purposes when you visit them. Cookies allow Website managers to measure activity on the site and to improve your user experience, for example, by remembering your passwords and viewing preferences, thus allowing you to visit various registered access parts of the site without re-registering.

These cookies are not created or used to collect any information (aggregate or personal) about you at any time. You may occasionally get cookies from other sites, which is standard in the Internet industry. Philosophia Within does not control these cookies, and these cookies are not subject to this Privacy Policy.

You do not have to accept cookies to use our Website, however, you may not be able to use certain features or access certain areas if you do not accept cookies. Although most browsers are initially set to accept cookies, you may reset your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or to reject cookies generally.

Public Forums

This Website, now or in the future, may include public forums such as message boards, bulletin boards, chat rooms, or similar activities through which users of the Website can communicate with one another. THIS PRIVACY POLICY DOES NOT PROTECT YOU WHEN YOU USE PUBLIC FORUMS OR PROVIDE INFORMATION (INCLUDING PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION) ABOUT YOURSELF. You should be aware that any information shared in a public forum such as a message board, bulletin board, chat room, or other forum is public information and may be seen by third parties that do not adhere to our Privacy Policy. You should think carefully before disclosing any information in any public forum, including the forums on our Website.

Social Media and Third Party Platforms

Certain sections or functionalities on this Website may permit you to choose to cross-post or share information on a third party social media site or platform such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, or other similar sites (collectively, “Social Media Sites”). Philosophia Within does not own or control such Social Media Sites, and posting your information on Social Media Sites is subject to the third party’s privacy policy and other legal terms, which may or may not provide privacy protections with which you agree. Philosophia Within is not responsible for any act or omission of any Social Media Site, nor are we responsible for the consequences of your choosing to share your information on Social Media Sites.

Security

The Website has security measures in place designed to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. However, data transmission over the Internet or wireless networks cannot be guaranteed to be completely secure. Although we are committed to safeguarding your privacy and security, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk. Philosophia Within is not responsible or liable for the illegal acts (such as hacking) of third parties.

Links to Other Websites

This Website may contain links to other web sites and those sites may not follow the same privacy policies as Philosophia Within. These sites may send their own cookies to you and may collect and use data in ways that Philosophia Within would not. Please note that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party Websites. We encourage you to be aware of this when you leave our Website and to read the privacy policies of every Web site that collects personally identifiable information from you. The Privacy Policy applies only to this Website.

Children’s Privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. The interactive features of our Website are not designed for or directed to children under the age of 18. Philosophia Within shall not be liable for any unauthorized use of the Website by minors. Please contact us if you believe a child under the age of 13 has provided Personal Data to this Website without parental consent.

Use of Website

Your access to and use of the Website are subject to certain terms and conditions, which are contained in our Terms of Use.

Contacting this Website

If you want to review or revise the personal information you provided during registration on the Web site, sign in to your account to update any information. Or, if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this Web site, or your dealings with this Web site, you can contact us by email at kathleen@philosophiawithin.com .