Notice of privacy practices (HIPAA):

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS UNDER STATE AND LOCAL LAW. PLEASE SEEK LEGAL COUNSEL FROM AN ATTORNEY LICENSED IN YOUR STATE IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING YOUR RIGHTS TO HEALTH CARE INFORMATION.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS NOTICE

This notice went into effect on August 21, 2023.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF PRIVACY NOTICE

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (hereafter, “HIPAA”), you have certain rights

regarding the use and disclosure of your protected health information (hereafter, “PHI”).

I. MY PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION:

I understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. I am committed to protecting health

information about you. I create a record of the care and services you receive from me. I need this record to provide you

with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care

generated by this mental health care practice. This notice will tell you about the ways in which I may use and disclose

health information about you. I also describe your rights to the health information I keep about you, and describe certain

obligations I have regarding the use and disclosure of your health information.

I am required by law to:

● Make sure that PHI that identifies you is kept private.

● Give you this notice of my legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.

● Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

● I can change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all the information I have about you. The

new Notice will be available upon request, in my office, and on my website.

II. HOW I MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:

The following categories describe different ways that I use and disclose health information. For each category of uses or

disclosures I will explain what I mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be

listed. However, all of the ways I am permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

For Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations: Federal privacy rules (regulations) allow health care providers who

have direct treatment relationship with the patient/client to use or disclose the patient/client’s personal health information

without the patient’s written authorization, to carry out the health care provider’s own treatment, payment or health care

operations. I may also disclose your PHI for the treatment activities of any health care provider. This too can be done

without your written authorization. For example, if a clinician were to consult with another licensed health care provider

about your condition, we would be permitted to use and disclose your PHI, which is otherwise confidential, in order to

assist the clinician in diagnosis and treatment of your health condition. I may also use your PHI for operations purposes,

including sending you appointment reminders, billing invoices and other documentation.

Disclosures for treatment purposes are not limited to the minimum necessary standard. Because therapists and other

health care providers need access to the full record and/or full and complete information in order to provide quality care.

The word “treatment” includes, among other things, the coordination and management of health care providers with a

third party, consultations between health care providers and referrals of a patient for health care from one health care

provider to another.

Business Associates: There are some tasks I may hire other businesses to do for me. Examples include a copy service

used to make copies of your health records, a biller for insurance, and a bookkeeper. These business associates need to

receive some of your health information to do their jobs properly. To protect your privacy, they agree in their contract

with me to safeguard your information. I may use your information to bill you, your insurance, or others so I can be paid

for the treatments I provide to you. I may contact your insurance company to check on exactly what your insurance covers.

I may have to tell them about your diagnoses, what treatments you have received, and the changes I expect in your conditions.

I will need to tell them about when we met, your progress, and other similar things.

Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit, I may disclose health information in response to a court or

administrative order. I may also disclose health information about you or your minor child(ren) in response to a subpoena,

discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to

tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

III. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:

1. Psychotherapy Notes. I 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 my use in treating you.

b. For my use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills in group,

joint, family, or individual counseling or therapy.

c. For my use in defending myself in legal proceedings instituted by you.

d. For use by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate my

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. I will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes without your prior written consent.

For example, if I request a review from you and plan to share the review publically online or elsewhere to advertise

my services or my practice, I will provide you with a release form and HIPAA authorization. The HIPAA

authorization is required in the instance that your review contains PHI (i.e., your name, the date of the service you

received, the kind of treatment you are seeking or other personal health details). Because you may not realize

which information you provide is considered “PHI,” I will send you a HIPAA authorization and request your

signature regardless of the content of your review. Once you complete the HIPAA authorization, I will have the

legal right to use your review for advertising and marketing purposes, even if it contains PHI. You may withdraw

this consent at any time by submitting a written request to me via the email address I keep on file or via certified

mail to my address. Once I have received your written withdrawal of consent, I will remove your review from my

website and from any other places where I have posted it. I cannot guarantee that others who may have copied

your review from my website or from other locations will also remove the review. This is a risk that I want you to

be aware of, should you give me permission to post your review.

3. Sale of PHI. I will not sell your PHI.

IV. USES AND DISCLOSURES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION.

Subject to certain limitations in the law, I can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following

reasons. I have to meet certain legal conditions before I can share your information for these purposes:

1. Appointment reminders and health related benefits or services. I may use and disclose your PHI to contact you to

remind you that you have an appointment with me. I may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about

treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that I offer.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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

5. For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order or subpoena,

although my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so if I am so allowed by the court or

administrative officials.

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

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

8. 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.

9. Specialized government functions, including, ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the

President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counterintelligence operations; or, helping to ensure the

safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.

10. For workers’ compensation purposes. Although my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you, I may

provide your PHI in order to comply with workers’ compensation laws.

11. For organ and tissue donation requests.

V. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT.

Disclosures to family, friends, or others: You have the right and choice to tell me that I may provide your PHI to a family

member, friend, or other person whom you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, or to share

you information in a disaster relief situation. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency

situations to mitigate a serious and immediate threat to health or safety or if you are unconscious.

VI. 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 me not to use or

disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. I am not required to agree to your

request, and I may say “no” if I believe it would 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 the disclosure 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 I Send PHI to You. You have the right to ask me to contact you in a specific way (for

example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address, and I will agree to all reasonable requests.

4. The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI. Other than in limited circumstances, you have the right to get an

electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other information that I have about you. Ask us how to do

this. I will provide you with a copy of your record, or if you agree, a summary of it, within 30 days of receiving your

written request. I may charge a reasonable cost based fee for doing so. If I determine that reviewing your records

may cause substantial and identifiable harm to you or others or would have a detrimental effect on your treatment,

on our professional relationship, or on your relationship with parents, guardians, spouses, or children, I may deny

access to your records.

5. The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures I Have Made.You have the right to request a list of instances in which I

have disclosed your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, ans other

disclosures (such as any you ask me to make). Ask me how to do this. I will respond to your request for an

accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list I will give you will include disclosures

made in the last six years unless you request a shorter time. I will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you

make more than one request in the same year, I 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 I correct the existing

information or add the missing information. I may say “no” to your request, but I 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 email. And, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via

email, you also have the right to request a paper copy of it.

8. The Right to Choose Someone to Act For You. If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if

someone is your legal guardian, that person can make choices about your health information.

9. The Right to Revoke an Authorization.

10. The Right to Opt out of Communications and Fundraising from our Organization.

11. The Right to File a Complaint. You can file a complaint if you feel I have violated your rights by contacting me

using the information on page one or by filing a complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights located at 200

Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington D.C. 20201, calling HHS at (877) 696-6775, or by visiting

www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints. I will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

VII. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

I can change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all the information I have about you. The new Notice

will be available upon request, in my office and on my website.

PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated August 21, 2023



This privacy notice for Megan Fisher LLC (doing business as Wandering Tides Counseling) ("we," "us," or "our"), describes how and why we might collect, store, use, and/or share ("process") your information when you use our services ("Services"), such as when you:
  • Engage with us in other related ways, including any sales, marketing, or events
Questions or concerns? Reading this privacy notice will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services. If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact us at megan@wanderingtidescounseling.com.


SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

This summary provides key points from our privacy notice, but you can find out more details about any of these topics by clicking the link following each key point or by using our table of contents below to find the section you are looking for.

What personal information do we process? When you visit, use, or navigate our Services, we may process personal information depending on how you interact with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. Learn more about personal information you disclose to us.

Do we process any sensitive personal information? We may process sensitive personal information when necessary with your consent or as otherwise permitted by applicable law. Learn more about sensitive information we process.

Do we receive any information from third parties? We do not receive any information from third parties.

How do we process your information? We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent. We process your information only when we have a valid legal reason to do so. Learn more about how we process your information.

In what situations and with which parties do we share personal information? We may share information in specific situations and with specific third parties. Learn more about when and with whom we share your personal information.

How do we keep your information safe? We have organizational and technical processes and procedures in place to protect your personal information. However, no electronic transmission over the internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Learn more about how we keep your information safe.

What are your rights? Depending on where you are located geographically, the applicable privacy law may mean you have certain rights regarding your personal information. Learn more about your privacy rights.

How do you exercise your rights? The easiest way to exercise your rights is by visiting __________, or by contacting us. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Want to learn more about what we do with any information we collect? Review the privacy notice in full.


TABLE OF CONTENTS



1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

Personal information you disclose to us

In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us.

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and Services, when you participate in activities on the Services, or otherwise when you contact us.

Personal Information Provided by You. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may include the following:
  • email addresses
  • names
  • phone numbers
  • contact preferences
  • personal history
Sensitive Information. When necessary, with your consent or as otherwise permitted by applicable law, we process the following categories of sensitive information:
  • health data
  • health insurance
  • financial data
Social Media Login Data. We may provide you with the option to register with us using your existing social media account details, like your Facebook, Twitter, or other social media account. If you choose to register in this way, we will collect the information described in the section called "HOW DO WE HANDLE YOUR SOCIAL LOGINS?" below.

All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.

Information automatically collected

In Short: Some information — such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or browser and device characteristics — is collected automatically when you visit our Services.

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the Services. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our Services, and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.

The information we collect includes:
  • Log and Usage Data. Log and usage data is service-related, diagnostic, usage, and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use our Services and which we record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us, this log data may include your IP address, device information, browser type, and settings and information about your activity in the Services (such as the date/time stamps associated with your usage, pages and files viewed, searches, and other actions you take such as which features you use), device event information (such as system activity, error reports (sometimes called "crash dumps" ), and hardware settings).
  • Device Data. We collect device data such as information about your computer, phone, tablet, or other device you use to access the Services. Depending on the device used, this device data may include information such as your IP address (or proxy server), device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, hardware model, Internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, operating system, and system configuration information.
  • Location Data. We collect location data such as information about your device's location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends on the type and settings of the device you use to access the Services. For example, we may use GPS and other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current location (based on your IP address). You can opt out of allowing us to collect this information either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on your device. However, if you choose to opt out, you may not be able to use certain aspects of the Services.
2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent.

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:
  • To deliver and facilitate delivery of services to the user. We may process your information to provide you with the requested service.
  • To respond to user inquiries/offer support to users. We may process your information to respond to your inquiries and solve any potential issues you might have with the requested service.

  • To enable user-to-user communications. We may process your information if you choose to use any of our offerings that allow for communication with another user.

  • To evaluate and improve our Services, products, marketing, and your experience. We may process your information when we believe it is necessary to identify usage trends, determine the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns, and to evaluate and improve our Services, products, marketing, and your experience.
  • To identify usage trends. We may process information about how you use our Services to better understand how they are being used so we can improve them.
  • To comply with our legal obligations. We may process your information to comply with our legal obligations, respond to legal requests, and exercise, establish, or defend our legal rights.

3. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

In Short: We may share information in specific situations described in this section and/or with the following third parties. 

We may need to share your personal information in the following situations:
  • Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
  • Affiliates. We may share your information with our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this privacy notice. Affiliates include our parent company and any subsidiaries, joint venture partners, or other companies that we control or that are under common control with us.
  • Business Partners. We may share your information with our business partners to offer you certain products, services, or promotions.

4. WHAT IS OUR STANCE ON THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES?

In Short: We are not responsible for the safety of any information that you share with third parties that we may link to or who advertise on our Services, but are not affiliated with, our Services.

The Services may link to third-party websites, online services, or mobile applications and/or contain advertisements from third parties that are not affiliated with us and which may link to other websites, services, or applications. Accordingly, we do not make any guarantee regarding any such third parties, and we will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by the use of such third-party websites, services, or applications. The inclusion of a link towards a third-party website, service, or application does not imply an endorsement by us. We cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of data you provide to any third parties. Any data collected by third parties is not covered by this privacy notice. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of any third parties, including other websites, services, or applications that may be linked to or from the Services. You should review the policies of such third parties and contact them directly to respond to your questions.

5. HOW DO WE HANDLE YOUR SOCIAL LOGINS?

In Short: If you choose to register or log in to our Services using a social media account, we may have access to certain information about you.

Our Services offer you the ability to register and log in using your third-party social media account details (like your Facebook or Twitter logins). Where you choose to do this, we will receive certain profile information about you from your social media provider. The profile information we receive may vary depending on the social media provider concerned, but will often include your name, email address, friends list, and profile picture, as well as other information you choose to make public on such a social media platform.

We will use the information we receive only for the purposes that are described in this privacy notice or that are otherwise made clear to you on the relevant Services. Please note that we do not control, and are not responsible for, other uses of your personal information by your third-party social media provider. We recommend that you review their privacy notice to understand how they collect, use, and share your personal information, and how you can set your privacy preferences on their sites and apps.

6. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy notice unless otherwise required by law.

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements).

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

7. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?

In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.

8. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?

In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.

We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 18 years of age. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent’s use of the Services. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under age 18, please contact us at megan@wanderingtidescounseling.com.

9. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short:  You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time.
 
If you are located in the EEA or UK and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your Member State data protection authority or UK data protection authority.

If you are located in Switzerland, you may contact the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Withdrawing your consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, which may be express and/or implied consent depending on the applicable law, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us by using the contact details provided in the section "HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?" below.

However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal nor, when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, you may email us at megan@wanderingtidescounseling.com.

10. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track ("DNT") feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage no uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this privacy notice.

11. DO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: Yes, if you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the "Shine The Light" law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.

If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with Services, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g., backups, etc.).

12. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?

In Short: Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.

We may update this privacy notice from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Revised" date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy notice, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

13. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?

If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at megan@wanderingtidescounseling.com or contact us by post at:

Megan Fisher LLC
801 W Big Beaver Rd
Suite 300 #1112
Troy, MI 48084
United States

14. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

Based on the applicable laws of your country, you may have the right to request access to the personal information we collect from you, change that information, or delete it. To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please visit: __________.
This privacy policy was created using Termly's Privacy Policy Generator.