privacy policy

What Information Do We Collect?

Buddy’s Ranch collects information when you contact us or complete online forms on our website. When using our website, such as requesting a consultation, you may be asked to enter your: name, e-mail address, or phone number. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.

How Do We Use Your Information?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

To adjust our website for a better user experience (we are consistently improving our website based on feedback)
To personalize your user experience (your information narrates how we can serve your needs)
To process correspondence so we can provide you with optimum service
To improve our customer service

Whether public or private, your information will never be sold, or given away to another company. Furthermore, none of your information will be transferred or exchanged without your written consent for any reason other than collaborating with our medical staff and mental health professionals. We take your privacy with the utmost seriousness. Personal Data We may ask for personal data while you’re interacting with your team. This includes but is not limited to: Your name, phone number, email address, mailing address, emergency contacts, and insurance information. Our site may also collect cookies and may track your usage information while you are on our site. Additionally, we may use your personal data to get in touch with you regarding consultations, admission, promotions, or other information that is of specific interest to you. Should you wish not to receive promotional material, you can opt out of our email list at any time by contacting us. Buddy’s Ranch PO Box 802 Yuba City, CA 95992 Email: info@buddysranch.com Phone: (530) 632-8219

How We Protect Your Information

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information. Buddy’s Ranch uses a secure server. All supplied sensitive/credit information is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our database to be only accessed by those authorized with special access rights to our system. We are required by law to keep your information confidential, and we abide by this law to the maximum extent. After a transaction, your private information (credit cards, social security numbers, financials, etc.) are not stored on our servers.

How We Use Cookies

Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser (if you allow) that enables the sites or service providers systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information We use cookies to understand and save your preferences for future visits and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.

Do We Disclose Your Information to Outside Parties?

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect our rights, the rights of others, our property, or the safety of all parties involved. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses. Third-Party Links Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We, therefore, have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

Because we are committed to your privacy, we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. Therefore, will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

We are in compliance with the requirements of COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), we do not collect any information from anyone under 13 years of age. Our website, products, and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old or older.

Online Privacy Policy Only

This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline. Your Consent By using our site, you consent to our privacy policy. If we choose to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page.

Notice of Health Information Practices

This notice details how information about you might be used and disclosed. It also describes how you can get access to this information. Please review this information carefully.

Understanding Your Health Record and Personal Information

Your client and patient medical record contains information about your health history, test results, diagnoses, symptoms, examination results, treatment, and future treatment plans.

This information serves as: A basis for planning your treatment and care A means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care A legal document describing the care you receive A means by which you or a third party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided A tool to educate health professionals and our mental health team A source of data for ongoing medical research A source of information for public health officials responsible for improving the health of the nation A source of data for facility planning, marketing, or facility improvements A tool to help us assess and continually work to improve your care, the care of others, and achieve the outcomes that are optimal for all parties

Understanding Your Health Record

It is important to understand your health record. Your health information is made available to you, and it helps in these areas: Ensure and confirm record accuracy Gain a better understanding of who, what, when, where and why others may access your health information Provide the means to make better, more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others

Your Health Information Rights

While your health record is the physical property of the healthcare practitioner or facility that compiled it, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information as provided by 45 CFR 164.522 and 42 CFR, Chapter 1, Part 2
Obtain a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request Inspect and obtain a paper or electronic copy your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 164.524
Amend your health record as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
Request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
Revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken

Our Responsibilities

As your mental healthcare provider, Buddy’s Ranch is required to do the following:

Maintain the privacy of your health information
Provide you with a notice about our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to the information we collect and maintain about you
Abide by the terms of this notice and these policies
Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate personal health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
Notify you and the Department of Health and Human Services if it is determined through a risk analysis that a breach of your health information occurred

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we are required to distribute the modified version to new client-patients on or after the date of modification. We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

For More Information or to Report a Problem

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the Dept. of Health and Human Services / Office for Civil Rights by email at ocrcomplaint@hhs.gov or by calling the National Office at 202-205-8725 and asking for the OCR Health Information Privacy Complaint Form and/or for the appropriate Regional OCR Office. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

Examples of Disclosures for Treatment, Payment, and Health Operations

Buddy’s Ranch will use your health information for treatment. For instance, information obtained by a counselor, physician, nurse, or another member of our treatment care team will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. With your consent, we also provide an individual such as a physician or an entity such as a subsequent healthcare provider with copies of your diagnosis, various reports, assessments, and summaries, including psychotherapy notes where appropriate, that should assist them or the entity treating you once you are discharged from this program. Without your consent, we will not use or disclose your health information for marketing purposes, and we will not sell your health information. Other uses and disclosures not described in this Notice of Health Information Practices will only be made with your consent. With your consent, we will use your health information for payment. For example, a bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis and descriptions of treatment methods and procedures used. You have the right to restrict certain disclosures of health information to a health plan when you pay out of pocket in full for the healthcare item or services. We will use your health information for regular internal health operations. For example, members of the treatment staff, the utilization review coordinator, the quality improvement manager, or members of the quality improvement team may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the treatment and service we provide.

Other Uses or Disclosures

Business Associates: There are some services provided in our organization through contacts with business associates. Examples include care by external physicians (in the event urgent or emergency care is needed), pharmacy services (filling prescriptions), and laboratory tests. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we’ve asked them to do and bill for services rendered. So that your health information is protected, however, both we and the Dept. of Health and Human Services require business associates and their subcontractors to appropriately safeguard your information.

Notification: With your prior consent, in the event of an emergency or crisis, we may use or disclose your personal information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another persons that you designate as responsible for your continued care, your location, and general condition.

Communication with Family: With your consent, this program’s treatment personnel, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or another significant person that you identify, your personal health information that is relevant to that person’s involvement in your care – or for payment needs related to your care.

Un-emancipated Minor: If, and to the extent, permitted or required by an applicable provision of state or other law, including applicable case law, Buddy’s Ranch treatment representative may disclose and provide access to protected health information about an unemancipated minor to the parent or legal guardian, or other person acting in loco parentis.

Research: With your consent, we may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an Institutional Review Board, which has reviewed the research proposal and has established specific protocols to ensure the confidentiality of your health information.

Continuing Care and/or Marketing: With your prior consent, we may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about continuing care or other related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects or other information to enable the FDA to notify patients and physicians about emerging dangers.

Disability Insurance and Workers Compensation: With your consent, we may disclose the minimum health information needed to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to disability and workers compensation or other similar programs established by law.

Public Health: With your consent and if required by law, we may disclose the minimum necessary health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability.

Law Enforcement: We may disclose health information for law enforcement per 42 CFR: Chapter 1, Part 2 (see Notice of “Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records”). Federal law makes provision for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a workforce member or business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering you or patients, workers or the public. In this case, a court order is required per 42 CFR, Chapter 1, Part 2.

Buddy’s Ranch reserves the right to change the terms of its notice and privacy policy, and to make the new notice provisions effective for all protected health information that it maintains. Revisions of this privacy policy and notices will be posted at this location and on the Buddy’s Ranch website.

Reference: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (45 CFR Part 160-164) HIPAA Privacy Rule – Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information Adapted from the American Health Information Management Association Practice Brief, “Notice of Information Practices” (Updated November 2002); and 42 Contacting Us If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us using the information below. Buddy’s Ranch PO Box 802 Yuba City, CA 95992 Email: info@buddysranch.com Phone: (530) 632-8219