Website Privacy Policy

Website Privacy and Patient Privacy

This policy addresses our public website and related communications. Our separate Notice of Privacy Practices explains how we may use and disclose protected health information, your rights concerning that information, and our responsibilities under applicable healthcare privacy laws.

When information is protected by HIPAA or other applicable healthcare privacy laws, we handle it as required by those laws and our Notice of Privacy Practices.

Information We Collect

Information you provide when contacting us.

Our website offers three ways to contact our practice: telephone, email, and Spruce Health. We do not collect appointment requests through a website contact or intake form.

Depending on how you contact us, we may receive your name, phone number, email address, voicemail, message content, and other information you choose to provide.

Information collected when you visit our website.

Our website is hosted by Squarespace. Squarespace may collect technical information such as your IP address, browser and device information, pages viewed, referring website, and the date and time of your visit. Cookies and similar technologies may support website operation and, depending on our settings and your choices, website usage measurement.

Your Communication Options

Call us.

You may call our practice using the number listed on our website. If you leave a voicemail, please provide your name, callback number, and a brief message. Include only the information needed for us to respond.

Email us.

You may email us for general questions and scheduling inquiries. Ordinary email may not be encrypted and can carry privacy risks. Please do not email medical records, detailed symptoms, diagnoses, medication information, insurance documents, or other sensitive information. We may respond by email with general information or instructions for continuing through a secure service.

Connect via Spruce.

For private messages and sensitive health information, please use our designated Spruce secure messaging option. Following our Spruce link takes you to a separate service. Standard text messages are different from secure messages sent through Spruce.

How We Use Information

We use information as appropriate to:

• Respond to questions and requests.
• Coordinate scheduling and explain how to become a patient.
• Communicate about services you request.
• Support patient care and practice operations, as permitted by law.
• Operate, maintain, and protect our website and systems.
• Meet applicable legal, regulatory, and recordkeeping obligations.

Service Providers

We use service providers to support our website and practice, including:

• Squarespace, which hosts our public website.
• Spruce Health, which supports practice communications, including secure messaging.
• Tebra, which supports our electronic health records and related practice functions.
• Our business email provider, which supports email communications.

The information a provider handles depends on the service used. Visiting our public website does not automatically create a patient record in Tebra.

Where required, we maintain business associate agreements with vendors that handle protected health information on our behalf. Service providers also maintain privacy notices describing their own information practices.

How We Share Information

We disclose information as appropriate for the purposes described in this policy and as permitted or required by applicable law. This may include disclosure to authorized personnel and service providers supporting our operations, or disclosure necessary to meet legal obligations or protect rights and safety.

We do not sell personal information or use patient inquiries or patient information for targeted advertising.

Our Notice of Privacy Practices further describes uses and disclosures of protected health information.

Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for essential functions and website usage measurement, depending on the features enabled.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings and, where available, our website’s cookie preferences. Restricting cookies may affect some website functions.

We do not use advertising pixels or session-recording tools on our website.

Information Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the information we handle. No electronic communication or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure.

Please use Spruce secure messaging or our designated patient portal for sensitive health information. We may direct a telephone or email inquiry to a secure service when appropriate.

Information Retention

We retain information as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, practice operations, and applicable legal and recordkeeping requirements. Information that becomes part of a patient record is subject to applicable medical record retention requirements.

Your Privacy Requests

You may contact us to ask questions about our privacy practices or request access to, correction of, or deletion of information you have provided. We will evaluate and respond to requests as required by applicable law.

Some information must be retained for legal or medical recordkeeping purposes and may not be eligible for deletion. Rights concerning protected health information are described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

Please do not include sensitive medical information in an ordinary email privacy request. We may verify your identity and arrange a secure way to communicate.

External Links and Services

Our website may link to Spruce, Tebra, and other external services. Their privacy and security practices are governed by their own policies and applicable agreements. We encourage you to review their privacy notices before providing information.

Children’s Privacy

Our services are intended for adults age 18 and older. Our public website is not directed to children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information through the public website. Please contact us if you believe a child has provided information.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices or applicable requirements. The effective date above identifies when the current version took effect. We will provide additional notice when required by law.