Last Updated: 12/23/2022

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) describes how Carolina Psychological Health Services (“CPHS,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), collects, uses, and shares information about you that is obtained through www.cphsnc.com (our “Website”). CPHS knows you care about your privacy and the protection of your personal information, and we are committed to protecting your data. By using, accessing or interacting with our Website in any manner, you acknowledge and agree to the terms of this Policy. Please read it carefully.

This Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason and, if so, the “Last Updated” date set forth above will be changed. You should consult this Policy regularly for any changes. Please note that this Policy will govern your use of the Website and you are responsible for reading and understanding it. Your use of the Website after any changes to the Policy have been posted means that you agree to all such changes.

This Policy does not apply to protected health information (“PHI”). CPHS’s Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we handle PHI. Any information submitted through a Secure Contact Form or via the Patient Portal, once CPHS accepts such information, our handling of that information is governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices.

Information Collection

Information Provided by You

CPHS collects information you provide directly to us through the Website. For example, we collect information when you create an account, request an appointment, make a payment or inquiry, or otherwise communicate or interact through the Website.

The information we collect from you may include personal information. “Personal Information” is information that, whether alone or in combination with other information, can be used to identify an individual (such as first and last name, e-mail address, home address, telephone number, or date of birth).  Information that has been de-identified such that it cannot be connected to an individual is not considered Personal Information for purposes of this Privacy Policy.

Information Collected Automatically

When you access or use our Website, certain information about your use of the Website may be collected automatically. For example, we may collect your IP address, device identifier, browser type, domain name, operating system characteristics, data regarding the device you are using and information about your visit, such as access times, duration, and how you arrived at the Website. This usage information may be combined with Personal Information, in which case we would treat the combined information as Personal Information.

In addition to logging information about your visit, we may use various tracking mechanisms such as cookies, web beacons (also known as tracking pixels), and embedded scripts (collectively, “Tracking Technologies”) to automatically collect information about interactions with our Site or e-mails.

• Cookies are small text files that a web page server places on your hard drive. The use of cookies is a common practice on many websites. We may place cookies on your computer to allow us to recognize you on the Site during future visits, to measure web traffic, to offer you certain products or services, or to customize your visit. Your Internet browser may include settings that permit you to block cookies or to be notified when cookies are placed. Please be aware that if you use these mechanisms to block or remove cookies, certain features and functions of the Site may be unavailable or may not operate optimally.
• Web beacons (also called “tracking pixels”) are smalls graphic images, also known as “Internet tags” or “clear gifs” that are embedded in web pages and e-mail messages. Web beacons may be used for a variety of purposes, such as to count the number of visitors to the Website, to monitor how users navigate the Website, or to verify how many articles or links were actually viewed.
• Embedded Scripts are designed to collect information about your interactions with the Website. These scripts are temporarily downloaded onto your computer from our web server, or the server of a third party with whom we work.
• We may also use third party website analytics services in connection with our Website. We use the information collected by such services to enhance usability on www.cphsnc.com. Such services do not collect personal information that you do not voluntarily enter into our Website, and they do not track your browsing habits across websites that do not use their services.

Tracking Technologies Generally

Regular cookies generally may be disabled or removed using tools available as part of most commercial browsers. In some instances, a browser may include settings that allow you to preemptively block cookies from being placed on your computer. Please be aware that if you disable or remove cookies and similar technologies, some parts of the Site may not work properly. Also, if you revisit the Site from a different computer or using a different browser, you may not be able to limit browser-based Tracking Technologies in the same way.

Information from Other Sources

We also may obtain information about you from other sources and combine that with information we collect about you. To the extent we combine such third-party sourced information with Personal Information we collect directly from you on the Site, we will treat the combined information as Personal Information under this Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the privacy statements or practices of third parties or on any other websites or online services that we do not control.

How We May Use Your Information

We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information, to operate our Website and to deliver the content and services you request. In addition, we may use information about you for other lawful purposes, including:

• Fulfilling your requests for products or services.
• Facilitating, managing, personalizing and improving your online experience;
• Responding to your comments, questions and requests, providing customer service, sending you informational notices, and contacting you if we need to obtain or provide additional information;
• Conducting research and analysis, including focus groups and surveys about current services or of potential new services;
• Preventing and addressing fraud, breach of policies or terms, and threats or harm;
• Offering products and services that may be of interest to you.
• Customizing the content, advertising and services to your preferences.
• Sending you solicitations, product announcements, and similar materials that may be of interest to you
• Sending you certain e-mail messages critical to your use of the Services, such as system status updates or order confirmations (because these messages contain important information, you may not be able to “opt out” of receiving such messages).
• “Pre-populating” forms that are displayed for the purpose of collecting individual data
• Billing, account maintenance, and record-keeping purposes.
• Operating, providing, improving, and maintaining our Site and Services, to develop new products and services, to personalize and display content for you, and for other administrative and internal business purposes.

We may use your information to contact you for your views on our services and to notify you occasionally about important changes or developments to our Website or our services. Further, we might also use your information to let you know about other services we offer that may be of interest to you and we may contact you by mail, telephone or fax, as well as by e-mail. We do collect anonymous, non-personal information about your use of our site.

How We May Share Your Information

We may permit our agents, advisors, vendors, consultants, and other service providers to access information collected through our Website to carry out work on our behalf. This includes a third-party service provider that assists us with processing credit card payments when payments are made through our Website. These third party service providers are prohibited from using Personal Information obtained in this manner for any purpose(s) other than to provide the services we have engaged them to perform. We also may share your information:

• To perform statistical analysis, send you e-mail or postal mail, or provide customer support;
• With our business partners, affiliates, and other third parties for purposes of sending their own marketing;
• With our affiliates for internal business purposes;
• If we are required to do so by law, regulation, or legal process (such as in response to a court order or subpoena);
• To fulfill requests by government agencies, such as law enforcement authorities;
• When we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity; or
• To enforce our policies, or protect rights, property, or safety.

We also may share your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any proposed or actual merger, purchase, sale, or any other type of acquisition or business combination of all or any portion of our assets, or any transfer of all or a portion of our business to another company. We reserve the right to transfer any information we obtain through our Website in the event we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets (including in the event of a merger, reorganization, or liquidation).

Links to Other Websites

This Website may include hyperlinks to other websites, online locations, platforms, or services for your convenience and information. Such linked websites may be operated by third parties that are not owned or controlled by CPHS. They may use their own cookies, web beacons, and other Tracking Technologies to collect information about you, and they may solicit Personal Information directly from you. If you follow links from our Website to other websites, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with their privacy policies and terms of use. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of websites that we do not control.

Analytics Services, Advertising, and Online Tracking

We may engage and work with third parties to serve advertisements on our behalf on the Website or on other websites, and to provide analytics services about use of the Website and performance of our ads and content on other websites. In addition, we may participate in online advertising networks and exchanges that display relevant advertisements to visitors, both on the Website and on other websites, based on the visitors’ interests as reflected by their browsing habits. Third parties may use cookies and other Tracking Technologies to automatically collect information about you and your activities, such as registering a unique identifier for your device and tying that to your online activities on and off of our Website. We may use this information to analyze and track data, determine the popularity of certain content, deliver advertising and content targeted to your interests, and better understand your online activity.

Information about your use of the Website and other websites may be collected using Tracking Technologies across time and services, and used for various purposes such as to associate different devices you use, and to deliver relevant and re-targeted content, including interest-based ads.

Educational and Informational Purposes

All health and health-related information contained within our Website is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for a visit with a health care professional. The information contained on the Website is intended to offer only a general basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider and not intended to establish any professional provider to patient relationship; and is not a substitute for the professional advice and consultation that would be obtained in a visit or call to a health care professional. Your health care provider should be consulted regarding matters concerning the medical condition, treatment and needs of you and your family.

CPHS does not provide any assurances as to the accuracy or completeness of the information available at or through this site. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within this Website is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Website user and should not be considered official.

Any provider-referral information is provided by the health care professional. CPHS does not provide any assurances as to the accuracy or completeness of the information available at or through this Site. Some of the health care professionals performing services for CPHS or our affiliates are independent contractors and not CPHS employees. Independent contractors are responsible for their own actions and CPHS or its affiliates shall not be liable for their acts or omissions.

Social Media

We may have a presence on various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We may receive from them information related to our presence on the respective social media platform(s) when you choose to visit us on those sites or to communicate with us. Communication with us through social media platforms should not be considered secure. Please be aware that social media websites have different privacy policies from CPHS and our Policy does not apply on those sites. If you visit another website, we encourage you to read that particular website’s privacy policy.

Your California Privacy Rights

California’s “Shine the Light” law permits customers in California to request certain details about how certain types of their information are shared with third parties and, in some cases, affiliates, for those third parties’ and affiliates’ own direct marketing purposes. Under this law, a business must either provide California customers certain information upon request, or permit California customers to opt-in to, or opt-out of, this type of sharing.

We may elect to share certain information about you that we have collected through our Website with third parties for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident, you may request information about our compliance with this law by contacting us. Requests must include “California Privacy Rights Request” in the first line of the description and include your name, street address, city, state, and ZIP code. Please note that we are only required to respond to one request per customer each year.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under the age of thirteen (13). We do not knowingly collect or maintain data about children under 13 unless such personal information is provided by a parent, legal guardian or authorized adult. If we learn that we have received any personal information from anyone who is not at least 13 years old, we will delete that information. IF YOU ARE UNDER 13, PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT ANY INFORMATION TO US.

Data security

We take reasonable measures to help protect personal information collected through our Website from loss, theft, misuse, and other unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Nevertheless, transmission via the Internet is not completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of your information collected through our Website.

Storage

We store all traffic data and review postings indefinitely, even after “deletion,” and may archive such information elsewhere. We will retain your personal information as long as your account is active or needed to provide you services. We will also retain your personal information as necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements. At any time, you may remove your personal information or instruct us to remove it, but you should be aware that it is not technologically possible to remove each and every record of the information you have provided to our Website from our servers.

Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or any of the practices described herein, please contact our office by calling 910-347-3010.