Privacy Policy

Introduction

Ruththomas LLC ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy and maintaining the confidentiality of your personal health information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website or use our services.

As a healthcare provider, we are required to protect your health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and applicable federal and state privacy laws.

HIPAA Compliance

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information (PHI). PHI includes information that identifies you and relates to your:

• Past, present, or future physical or mental health condition
• Healthcare services provided to you
• Payment for healthcare services

We provide you with a Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) that describes in detail how we may use and disclose your PHI. You will receive this notice at your first appointment.

Information We Collect

Personal Information

When you use our services, we may collect:

• Name, address, phone number, email address
• Date of birth and age
• Insurance information
• Emergency contact information

Health Information

• Medical history and current health conditions
• Psychiatric diagnoses
• Treatment plans and progress notes
• Medication records
• Laboratory test results

Website Usage Information

• Browser type and version
• IP address
• Pages visited and time spent on pages
• Referring website

How We Use Your Information

We use your information for:

Treatment

Providing, coordinating, or managing your healthcare and related services. This includes consultations between healthcare providers concerning a patient and referrals to other providers.

Payment

Billing and collecting payment for services, determining insurance eligibility and coverage, and processing claims.

Healthcare Operations

Quality assessment and improvement, training programs, accreditation, and business planning.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We will not share your information without your written authorization except in the following circumstances:

• Emergency Situations: To prevent serious harm to you or others
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or subpoena
• Public Health Activities: Reporting communicable diseases or child/elder abuse
• Business Associates: Third-party service providers who assist us (e.g., billing companies, IT support) under strict confidentiality agreements

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access: Request and receive a copy of your medical records
• Amendment: Request changes to your medical records if you believe they are incomplete or inaccurate
• Accounting of Disclosures: Receive a list of certain disclosures of your PHI
• Restrictions: Request restrictions on how we use or disclose your information
• Confidential Communications: Request we communicate with you in a specific way or at a specific location
• Revoke Authorization: Revoke any previously granted authorization (except to the extent action has already been taken)

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect your information, including:

• Encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) for our website, booking form, and patient portal
• Password-protected patient and staff accounts, with access to health information limited by role
• Telehealth video and audio that are encrypted between participants' devices; we do not record sessions
• Telehealth rooms that require a private link and a one-time access code, which we store only in scrambled (hashed) form
• Technical call-connection data that is encrypted and deleted automatically, typically within 24 hours

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses a small number of cookies and similar technologies:

• Essential cookies keep you signed in and protect our forms from misuse. The site cannot work without them.
• Google Analytics helps us understand how visitors use our public pages, such as which pages are viewed and how visitors found us. It is not loaded on sign-in, booking, or patient portal pages, so it does not receive information you enter there or your patient records. We have turned off Google signals and ad personalization for our analytics.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings, though some features of our website may not function properly.

Third-Party Services

We use outside service providers to run our practice and this website, including:

• SimplePractice: the electronic health record and practice management system our provider uses to keep clinical records. If you choose to request an appointment through SimplePractice on our booking page, its appointment-request form loads from SimplePractice's servers and SimplePractice's own privacy policy applies to what you enter there. That form is only loaded on the booking page, and the on-site request form does not send your details to SimplePractice.
• Website hosting: stores the information you submit through this website and patient portal
• Email delivery: sends appointment confirmations, reminders, and telehealth access codes
• Video connection services: help telehealth calls connect across networks. They pass along encrypted call data but cannot see or hear the session.
• Google Analytics: website traffic statistics for public pages, as described above
• Zocdoc: if you choose to book through Zocdoc, Zocdoc's own privacy policy applies to the information you give them

Under HIPAA, service providers that handle protected health information on our behalf must agree in writing, in a Business Associate Agreement, to protect it.

Children's Privacy

We provide services to adolescents (ages 13-17) with parental/guardian consent. For patients under 18, parents/guardians have the right to access their child's health information unless prohibited by law. In certain circumstances, minors may have the right to consent to treatment and control access to their health information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes will be effective when posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. We will notify you of material changes by email or through a notice on our website.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us: