Privacy Policy

Ascension PS Privacy Policy

Last Updated: December 14, 2022

Ascension Psychiatric Services LLC (“Ascension”, “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to maintaining robust privacy protections for its users.  Our Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy” or “Policy”) is designed to help you understand how and why we collect, use, and share information about your when you use our Ascensionpsych.com and TherapyPortal.com websites, applications, or other online services we provide (collectively, the “Services”).  By assessing the Ascensionpsych.com or TherapyPortal.com website or using our Services, you accept our Privacy Policy and the Terms of Service (collectively, the “Agreement”) and your consent to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy.  This Policy does not address the privacy practices of any third party, including those with whom your information may be shared through your use of the Services.  WE WILL NOT USE, SELL, or DISTRIBUTE YOUR INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES FOR MARKETING PURPOSES.  Please be sure to review the privacy practices of any third party before sharing your information.

Information We Collect

Some information we collect cannot be used to personally identify you, such as anonymous usage data, general demographic information, referring/exit pages, URLs, preferences you submit, and preferences that are generated based on the data you submit and number of clicks (collectively, “Non-Personal Information”).

We also collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly with a particular individual consumer or household (“Personal Information”).  We collect Personal Information about you when you create a user account (“Account”). We collect additional Personal Information about you as you complete your Account Information, including your (and/or your practice’s) address, phone number, and other information. Some aspects of the Services through you Account may be subject to fees. We collect Personal Information about your payment information, such as credit information, when you sign up for these aspects of the Services. We may de-identify and anonymize Personal Information, so it is no longer associated with any individual(s) in order to use it for other purposes, such as aggregating the data for statistical analysis.

Under a federal law call the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPPA”) and subsequent laws and regulations, when Ascension receives certain health-related-information, that information may be classified as “Protected Health Information (“PHI”) under the law. HIPPA provides specific protections for the privacy and security of PHI and restricts how it may be used and disclosed. Notwithstanding any statements about the use of your Personal Information more generally in this Privacy Policy, Ascension will only use and disclose PHI as authorized by you and/or your Service Provider(s) in accordance with applicable law.

To that end, before any PHI that you provide is shared with a Service Provider, you may be asked to affirmatively authorize Ascension to do so.  By providing such authorization, you are permitting Ascension to release your Personal Information, including PHI, to those specified Service Provider(s) pursuant to HIPPA.  Your authorization is entirely voluntary, but without authorization, Ascension will not be able to share your information with selected Service Providers.

Information Use and Sharing

Account Information

Some aspects of the Services require you to create a user account (“Account”) to access and use them. You Account Information is used to administer your account, provide support, develop the Services, provide you with information and updates about the Services and your account, and process any payments you may make through our third-party payment processing vendor.

Content You Submit

Throughout your use of the Services, you may submit various forms of additional information, texts, links, graphics, photos, videos, audio, streams, or other materials.  We will use the content you submit to administer, support, and provide Services.  We collect a range of Personal Information and usage statistics to maintain a high-quality user experience and deliver superior customer service.  We request some information directly from you during registration.  We gather other pieces of data indirectly from website traffic, your computer hardware and internet connection, or your activities within the Services, communications, and usage.

Information We Collect Automatically

Through your use of the Services, there are certain types of Non-Personal Information we will automatically collect with no direct input from you.

Logs and Usage Data

Like most other website providers, when you access or use the Services, we may collect your IP address, user agent, device and browser information, pages visited, links clicked, search terms, and interactions with results.  We may also collect your location information, either by you explicitly granting this permission to the Services or by deriving your approximate location based on other information, including your IP address.  We use this information to provide you with the best possible experience with the Services, understand user interactions with the Services, and monitor, improve, support, and develop the Services.

Cookies and Other Similar Technologies

We utilize cookies and other similar technologies within the Services.  You can find out more about the use of cookies and your choices about their use in the Cookie Policy below.

Information Collected from Third Parties

As you utilize various aspects of the Services, we may actively or automatically gather information from third parties (“Third Party Information”).

Analytics and Advertiser Information

We may collect Third Party Information about you and your use of the Services from third party analytics tools and advertisers.  We may combine the information received from third parties with our own information using a common account identifier.  We use this information to monitor, improve, support, and develop existing and new Services and customize your experience within the Services such as showing more relevant Content or advertising.

Additional Uses of Your Information

Compliance with Legal Requirements

We may access, preserve, and share information about your, without consent, to government or law enforcement agencies or private parties as we in good faith believe necessary or appropriate to respond to claims and legal process (including, but not limited to, subpoenas), to comply with applicable laws, to protect the property rights of Ascension, you or a third party, to protect the safety of the public or any person, or to prevent or stop activity we may consider to pose a risk of being, or is illegal, unethical or legally actionable.  This may include responding to legal requests from jurisdictions outside the United States where we have a good faith belief that the response is required by law in that jurisdiction, affects users in that jurisdiction, and is consistent with internationally recognized standards.  You shall be responsible for any fees and expenses reasonably incurred by Ascension in responding to a subpoena or other order.

We may also access, preserve, and share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to:  detect, prevent, and address fraud and other illegal activity; to protect ourselves, you, and others, including as a part of investigations; and to prevent death or imminent bodily harm.  Information we receive about your may be accessed, processed, and retained for an extended period when it is the subject of a legal request or obligation, governmental investigation, or investigations concerning possible violations of our terms or policies, or otherwise to prevent harm.

Change of Ownership or Corporate Organization

We may transfer to another entity or its affiliates or service providers some or all information about you in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, acquisition, sale of assets or any line of business, change in ownership control, or financing transaction.

Protection of Your Information

We implement commercially reasonable administrative, physical, and technical security measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access.  We cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to us or guarantee that this information will not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed.  We will make any legally required disclosures of any breath of the security, confidentiality, or integrity of your Personal Information.

Your Choices About Your Information

You may be able to modify certain features in your Account profile page.  In addition, please not the following:

• If we offer any communications by text message, you may opt-out of receiving messages by replying “STOP” to any text message received.
• In all promotional emails, you will be given the opportunity to opt-out of receiving such messages in the future by clicking the link at the bottom of the email that says “unsubscribe”.  It may take up to ten (10) business days for us to process your opt-out request.

Data Retention

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as it is necessary for legal and business purposes.  If you cease being a user or otherwise terminate your account, we may retain your information in the event you wish to rejoin the Services, for anti-fraud or other business purposes, or other purposes we deem necessary.  In the event we retain your information, it will be subject to the same provisions for protection and notification in the event of a breach as an active user of the Services.

Use of Cookies

Our website uses “cookies” to help personalize your online experience.  A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web server.  We, and third parties we allow, may use session cookies or persistent cookies.  Session cookies only last for the specific duration of your visit and are deleted when you close your browser.  Persistent cookies remain on your device’s hard drive until you delete them, or they expire.  Different cookies are used to perform different functions, which we explain below:

• Essential:  some cookies are essential to enable you to move around our website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of our Site.  Without these cookies, we cannot enable appropriate content based on the type of device you are using.
• Browsing and functionality:  One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide convenience feature to save you time.  Browing and functionality cookies tell the Web server that you have returned to a specific page.  For example, if you register with the Services, a cookie helps us to recall your specific information on subsequent visits.  This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on.  When you return to the Site, the information your previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use our Services that you customized.
• Analytics:  We use analytics cookies to measure how you interact with our website and improve your user experience.  In particular, we use Google Analytics.  To learn more about Google Analytics privacy practices and opt-out mechanisms, please visit Google Analytics Security and Privacy Principles page at: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en%C2%A0.  Google also provides a complete privacy policy and instructions on opting-out of Google Analytics at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
• Targeted Advertising:  Third parties may use cookies and other similar technologies to collect or receive information from our website and elsewhere on the Internet and use that information to provide you with targeted ads.   If you would like to opt-out of such advertising practices on the device on  which you are accessing this Privacy Statement, please go to https://optout.aboutads.info/.  The Network Advertising Initiative also offers means to opt-out of a number of advertising cookies.  Please visit https://thenai.org/opt-out/ama-opt-out/ to learn more.  Note that opting-out does not mean you will no longer receive online advertising.  It does mean that the company or companies from which you opted-out will no longer deliver ads tailored to your preferences and usage patterns.

You can accept or decline cookies.  Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies, if you prefer.  If you choose to decline cookies you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Site.

Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly collect or solicit any information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register for the Services.  The Services and their content are not directed at children under the age of 13.  In the event we learn that we have collected Personal Information from a child under the age 13 without parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible.  If you believe that we might have any information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately as listed below.

Third Party Links

Our websites contain links to other websites.  We encourage you to review the privacy statements of websites you choose to link to from us so that you can understand how those websites collect, use, and share your information.  We are not responsible for the privacy statements of other content on websites outside of our Services.

Do-Not-Track Signals

At tis time, our Services do not recognize automated browser signals regarding tracking mechanisms which may include Do-Not-Track instructions.

Privacy for Users in the European Union

The Services are not targeted to, nor intended for use by, any resident of the European Union. At no time shall the personal information of a resident of the European Union be entered into the Services.

Privacy Rights of United States Residents

Depending on where in the U.S. you reside, you may have additional data rights with respect to Personal Information (but not PHI):

Right to Know and to Access

You have the right to request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your Personal Information over the past 12 months.  This information is disclosed in our Privacy Policy.

You also have the right to request access to Personal Information collected about your and information regarding the source of that information, to purpose for which we collect it, and the third parties and service providers with whom we share it.  You may submit such a request as described below.  To protect our customers’ Personal Information, we are required to verify your identity before we can act on your request.

Right to Portability

You have the right to request that we provide a copy of the Personal Information we have collected about you, in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows you to transmit the data to another entity without hinderance.  Once we receive your request and confirm your identity, we will provide you with a copy of your data as required under the applicable data protection laws.  We may provide this data to you through your user account with us, or via email to the email address you have provided with your request.

Right to Delete

Subject to certain exceptions, you have the right to request that we delete any of your Personal Information.  Once we receive your request and confirm your identity, we will review your request to see if an exception allowing us to retain the information applies.  We will delete or de-identify Personal Information not subject to one of these exceptions from our records and will direct our service providers to take similar actions.

Right to Correct

Subject to certain exceptions, you have the right to request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information that we have collected about you.  Once we receive your request and confirm your identity, we will review your request taking into account the nature of our Personal Information and the purposes of the processing of the Personal Information to see if we can correct the data.  We may also request additional information showing that the information you want to correct is inaccurate.

Right to Opt-out

You have the right to opt-out of processing your Personal Information for the purpose of (i) targeted advertising, (ii) sale of Personal Information, or (iii) profiling to provide you with tailored content, including suggested advertising.

Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your data privacy rights.

How to Submit a Request

You may submit a request to exercise your rights through one of two ways:

1. By emailing us at info@ascensionpsych.com.
2. By calling us at (678)551-7083

Verification Procedures

In order to process your request to exercise your rights, we must first verify it.  We do this by asking you to:

1. • Provide personal identifiers we can match against information we may have collected from you previously.
   • Confirm your request using the email and/or telephone number stated in the request.

We will not collect additional Personal Information from you for the sole purpose of exercising your rights under the data protection laws.  Similarly, we will not require you to create an account with us, solely for the purpose of exercising your rights under the data protection laws.

Authorized Agent

You may authorize another individual or a business, called an authorized agent, to make requests on your behalf.  We may require that you and the individual complete notarized affidavits in order to verify the identity of the authorized agent and confirm that you have authorized them to act on your behalf.  Parents of minor children may submit a birth certificate of the child in lieu of an affidavit, in order to make requests on the child’s behalf.

Additional Rights for California Residents

As a resident of California, you may be eligible for additional protections and options under the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”).  We may disclose your Personal Information to our service providers and contractors either as a necessary business purpose for providing the Services or at your direction (such as to our credit card processing vendor to process a transaction on your behalf).  We have agreements in place with all service providers and contractors to ensure that your information is properly protected and cannot be further shared or sold.

We also act as a service provider to our professional customers, who are business owners and operators (“Professional”).  If you are a California resident and the client/patient of a Professional that Uses Ascension, you may have the right to request certain information from that Professional regarding the personal information they collected about you.  Please make any personal information requests that you have directly to the relevant Professional.  Note that not all professionals will be subject to CPRA.

Financial Incentive Program

We do not offer any financial incentives as those are defined under the applicable data protection laws.

California Shine the Light

Residents of the State of California have the right to request information about other companies to whom the company has disclosed certain categories of personal information during the preceding year for those companies’ direct marketing purposes.  If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please email:  info@ascensionpsych.com

Additional Rights for Virginia and Colorado Residents

Right to Appeal

If you make a request to exercise any of the above data access rights and we are unable to comply with your request, you may request to appeal our decision.  To appeal any data privacy request decision, please contact us by emailing:  info@ascensionpsych.com with the subject line “Data Access Request Appeal”. If after you complete the appeal process with us, you are still not satisfied with our response, you may contact your Attorney General to file a complaint. Below is the contact information for the appropriate entity where you can inquire about filing an appeal:

Virginia residents

Office of the Attorney General 

202 North 9th Street 

Richmond, Virginia 23219

Phone: (804) 786-2071

https://www.oag.state.va.us/

Colorado residents

Office of the Attorney General 

Colorado Department of Law 

Ralph L. Carr Judicial Building 

1300 Broadway, 10th Floor 

Denver, CO 80203

(720) 508-6000

https://coag.gov/

Special Information for Nevada Residents

Residents of the State of Nevada have the right to opt-out of the sale of certain pieces of their information to other companies who will sell or license their information to others.  We do not engage in the sale of information.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time.  The last date the Privacy Policy was updated is listed on the top under “Last Updated”.  You should periodically check the Site and this privacy page for updates.

Contact Us

You have the right to understand how we collect and use your information.  Please direct any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy to Info@ascensionpsych.com.