Privacy Policy And Terms Of Service

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

By accessing or using the services of Hopkins Counseling and Consulting, you agree to the following Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Please read them carefully before using our services.

Section 1: Office Policies and Consent to Services

Welcome

We are honored to support you on your journey toward healing and well-being. This document outlines important information about our practice, policies, and your rights and responsibilities as a client.

Appointments

Regular attendance is essential for therapeutic progress. If you need to reschedule or cancel an appointment, please do so at least 48 hours in advance so we may offer the time to others in need.

Late Cancellation & No-Show Policy

To respect your time and ours, the following late cancellation policy applies:

• First late cancellation or no-show (less than 48 hours' notice): A $50 late cancellation fee will be charged.
• Second late cancellation or no-show: You will be billed the full session fee, as that time was reserved for you.
• Third late cancellation or no-show: Your treatment with Hopkins Counseling and Consulting will be terminated, and you will be referred to another qualified provider to support your continuity of care.

All outstanding balances related to missed sessions must be paid before any future sessions can be scheduled.

Payment Policies

• Payment Due: Payment, including any insurance co-pay, is due at your appointment, unless prior arrangements have been made.
• Card on File: Clients must keep an active card on file. If a payment fails due to insufficient funds or an expired card, you will be notified and responsible for resolving the balance.
• Outstanding Balances: You will receive a follow-up notice if a balance is unpaid after 30 business days. Unresolved debts may be referred to a collections agency, and you may be responsible for related legal or collection fees.
• Financial Support Options: If you are experiencing financial hardship, please reach out to discuss potential payment plans, sliding scale fees, or other available resources.
• Returned Checks: A $20.00 service fee applies to all returned checks.

Telephone Accessibility

You may leave a voicemail for non-urgent matters, and we will return your call within 24 business hours. If you are in crisis, please dial 911 or visit your nearest emergency room. For mental health support, you may also contact 988.

Social Media and Communication Boundaries

To protect your confidentiality:

• We do not accept friend or contact requests on social media from current or former clients.
• Please avoid discussing therapy-related topics via text, email, or social platforms. These are not secure for clinical communication.

Electronic Communication

Email and text are used for scheduling and administrative communication only. They are not monitored 24/7 and should never be used for emergencies or therapy-related discussions.

Telehealth Services

If sessions are held via video or phone, they remain subject to all applicable confidentiality protections. You may withdraw consent for telehealth anytime, which will not impact your right to care.

Section 2: Notice of Privacy Practices (HIPAA)

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.

I am required by law to:

• Make sure that protected health information ("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 information I have about you. The new Notice will be available upon request, in my office, and on my website.

How I May Use and Disclose Health Information About You

For Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations

Federal privacy rules 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 protected health information for the treatment activities of any health care provider. 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 personal health information in order to assist the clinician in diagnosis and treatment of your mental health condition.

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 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.

Uses and Disclosures That Require Your Authorization

1. Psychotherapy Notes

I do keep "psychotherapy notes" and any use or disclosure of such notes requires your Authorization unless the use or disclosure is:

• For my use in treating you.
• For my use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills.
• For my use in defending myself in legal proceedings instituted by you.
• For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate my compliance with HIPAA.
• Required by law and the use or disclosure is limited to the requirements of such law.
• Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes.
• Required by a coroner who is performing duties authorized by law.
• Required to help avert a serious threat to the health and safety of others.

2. Marketing Purposes

As a psychotherapist, I will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes.

3. Sale of PHI

As a psychotherapist, I will not sell your PHI in the regular course of my business.

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:

• When disclosure is required by state or federal law.
• 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.
• For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.
• For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order.
• For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on my premises.
• To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.
• For research purposes, including studying and comparing the mental health of patients who received different forms of therapy.
• Specialized government functions, including military missions, protecting the President, or intelligence operations.
• For workers' compensation purposes to comply with workers' compensation laws.
• Appointment reminders and health related benefits or services.

Disclosures That Require You to Have the Opportunity to Object

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.

Section 3: Your Rights With Respect to Your PHI

• 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.
• 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 service that you have paid for out-of-pocket in full.
• 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.
• 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 that I have about you. I 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 I may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for doing so.
• 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, or for which you provided me with an Authorization. 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Section 4: Website Privacy Policy

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

• Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
• Company (referred to as either "the Company," "We," "Us" or "Our" in this Agreement) refers to Hopkins Counseling and Consulting, Hopkins Counseling and Consulting, LLC, 3971A Southeastern Way, West Columbia, SC 29169.
• Cookies are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device, or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.
• Country refers to: Hopkins Counseling and Consulting, LLC, 3971A Southeastern Way, West Columbia, SC 29169
• Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone, or a digital tablet.
• Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
• Service refers to the Website.
• Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service.
• Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself.
• Website refers to Hopkins Counseling and Consulting, accessible from our homepage.
• You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service.

Collecting and Using Your Personal Data

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data: While using Our Service, We may ask You to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You, including but not limited to:

• Email address
• First name and last name
• Phone number
• Usage Data

Usage Data: Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service and may include information such as Your Device's Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers, and other diagnostic data.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses Cookies to help the website analyze how users interact with the site. The information generated by the Cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States.

Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators, and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage.

For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit: https://policies.google.com/privacy

You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Tracking Technologies and Cookies

We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on Our Service and store certain information. Tracking technologies used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze Our Service.

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of Your Personal 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, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Changes to this 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.

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

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us:

• By visiting this page on our website: Contact Us
• By phone number: (803) 291-2528