Privacy Policy

Two different kinds of information

It helps to separate two things up front, because different rules apply to each.

• Website information — what we learn when you browse this site or send us a message through it. This is covered by the first half of this policy.
• Protected health information (PHI) — the medical and billing information we create and keep about you as a patient of the practice. This is covered by HIPAA and by our Notice of Privacy Practices, summarized in the second half of this policy.

Browsing this website does not by itself make you a patient, and it does not create a provider-patient relationship. See our Terms & Conditions.

Information we collect through this website

Information you give us:

• When you submit a contact, appointment or referral form, we collect the details you enter — typically your name, email address, phone number, preferred location, the treatment or condition you are asking about, how you would like us to reach you, and anything you write in the message field.
• If you complete a self-assessment questionnaire embedded on this site, your answers are collected by the questionnaire provider and shared with the practice.
• If you refer a patient, we collect the patient details and your provider contact details from the referral form.

Please keep web forms brief. Email and website forms are convenient but are not fully secure channels. Tell us what you would like help with and how to reach you — but please do not send detailed medical history, test results, or anything sensitive through this website. Once you are a patient, use the patient portal or call the office for anything clinical.

Information collected automatically: like most websites, we log basic technical data — IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, how long you stayed, and the site or search that referred you. This is used in aggregate to understand how the site is performing.

How we use website information

• To respond to your question and, if you would like, to schedule an appointment.
• To send information you asked us for.
• To operate, secure, troubleshoot and improve this website.
• To understand, in aggregate, which pages and services people find useful.
• To meet legal, regulatory and professional obligations.

We do not sell your information. We do not rent or trade it. We do not use health-related information collected through this site to target advertising to you, and we do not currently run advertising or retargeting pixels on this website. See our Cookie Policy for the specifics of what runs on these pages.

Who we share website information with

We share information with a small number of service providers who help us run the practice and this website — for example our website host, our form-delivery service, our analytics provider, our questionnaire and reviews widgets, our electronic health record and patient portal, and our telemedicine platform. They may only use the information to provide their service to us.

Where a vendor may handle protected health information on our behalf, we require a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement before that vendor is used for anything involving PHI.

We may also disclose information when the law requires it, to protect the safety of a person or the public, or in connection with a sale or reorganization of the practice.

Security

This website is served over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Patient records are maintained in our electronic health record system with administrative, physical and technical safeguards as required by the HIPAA Security Rule. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, which is why we ask you to keep clinical detail out of web forms and ordinary email.

Children

This website is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13 through this website. Clinical services for minors, where offered, are handled through the practice directly with a parent or legal guardian.

Wave Treatment Centers is required by law to protect the privacy of your protected health information, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect. The summary below applies to the health information we hold about you as a patient.

How we may use and disclose your health information

Without a separate authorization from you, we may use and disclose your health information for:

• Treatment — to provide and coordinate your care. For example, sharing relevant history with a therapist, laboratory, pharmacy, or another physician involved in your treatment.
• Payment — to bill and be paid for services. Because we are an out-of-network practice, this usually means giving you documentation (a superbill or statement) that you submit to your plan, or, at your request, providing information a plan needs to process your reimbursement.
• Health care operations — to run the practice. For example, quality review, staff training, scheduling, and business management.

We may also contact you about appointments, treatment alternatives, and other health-related benefits and services.

Other uses and disclosures permitted or required by law

In limited circumstances, the law permits or requires us to disclose health information without your authorization, including:

• When required by federal, state or local law.
• For public health activities, such as reporting communicable disease or adverse events.
• To report suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence.
• For health oversight activities such as audits, licensure and investigations.
• In response to a court order, subpoena, or other lawful process.
• To law enforcement in the narrow circumstances the law allows.
• To coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors.
• For organ and tissue donation.
• For research, where an approved review board has waived authorization.
• To prevent a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of you or another person.
• For specialized government functions such as military, national security and protective services.
• For workers’ compensation claims as authorized by law.

Uses that always require your written authorization

• Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes.
• Uses and disclosures for marketing purposes.
• Any sale of your health information.
• Any other use or disclosure not described in this notice.

You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time. A revocation does not undo disclosures we already made while it was in effect.

Substance use disorder records

Records of substance use disorder treatment receive additional federal protection beyond HIPAA under 42 CFR Part 2. Where those rules apply, we generally may not disclose that you attend the program, or any information identifying you as having a substance use disorder, without your specific written consent or a limited exception permitted by that regulation — and the federal rules restrict the recipient from re-disclosing it. Violation of those rules is a crime that may be reported to appropriate authorities. Ask the office if you have questions about how this applies to your records.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• Inspect and get a copy of your medical and billing records, usually within 30 days of your request, in the form and format you ask for if we can readily produce it. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
• Ask us to correct information you believe is incorrect or incomplete. We may deny the request, and if we do, we will tell you why in writing.
• Request confidential communications — for example, that we call you only at a certain number, or send mail to a different address. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
• Request a restriction on how we use or disclose your information. We are not required to agree to most restrictions — but we must agree to one: if you pay for a service in full, out of pocket, you may direct us not to share information about that service with your health plan.
• Get a list of disclosures we have made of your health information, other than for treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other exceptions.
• Get a paper copy of this notice, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
• Choose someone to act for you — a personal representative with legal authority may exercise these rights on your behalf.
• Be notified if a breach occurs that compromises the privacy or security of your information.

To exercise any of these rights, contact the office at (772) 300-9077 or [email protected]. We may ask you to put your request in writing.

Our responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we may in writing. If you tell us we may, you may change your mind at any time in writing.
• We may change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we hold. The current notice will always be posted on this page and available at the office.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, please tell us first — contact the office using the details below and we will look into it.

You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20201, by calling 1-877-696-6775, or at hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised, and the current version is always posted here.

Contact us

Questions about this policy, or about your health information, can go to the practice’s Privacy Officer:

Wave Treatment Centers, 777 37th St, Suite C103, Room 2, Vero Beach, FL 32960 · (772) 300-9077 · [email protected]