Notice of Privacy Practices

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Privacy Officer at 770-240-0163 or email us at info@joytlc.com.

The following is the privacy policy, “Privacy Policy”, of Joy Therapy and Learning Center, LLC as described in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA requires Covered Entities by law to maintain the privacy of your personal Health Information and to provide you with the notice of Covered Entity’s legal duties and privacy policies with respect to your personal Health Information. We are required by law to abide by the terms of the Privacy Notice.

Our obligations

We are required by law to:

• Maintain the privacy of protected health information.
• Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices regarding health information about you.
• Follow the terms of our notice that is currently in effect.

How we may use and disclose health information

The following describes the ways we may use and disclose health information that identifies you (“Health Information”). Except for the purposes described below, we will use and disclose Health Information only with your written permission. You may revoke such permission at any time by writing to our Privacy Officer (Managing Partner).

For treatment

We may use and disclose Health Information for your treatment and to provide you with treatment-related health care services.

For payment

We may use and disclose Health Information so that we or others may bill and receive payment from you, an insurance company, or a third party for treatment and services you received.

For health care operations

We may use and disclose Health Information for health care operations purposes. These uses and disclosures are necessary to make sure that all of our clients receive quality care and to operate and manage our office.

Appointment reminders, treatment alternatives, and health related benefits and services

We may use and disclose Health Information to contact you to remind you that you have an appointment with us. We also may use and disclose Health Information to tell you about treatment alternatives or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. Methods of contact may be via telephone call, email or text message, using the contact information you have provided.

Individuals involved in your care or payment of your care

Unless you object, when appropriate, we may share Health Information with a person who is involved in your healthcare or payment for your care such as a family member.

Special situations

We may use and disclose your PHI without your written authorization for the purpose of:

As required by law

We will disclose Health Information when required to do so by international, federal, state, or local law.

To avert a serious threat to health or safety

We may use and disclose Health Information when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Disclosures, however, will be made only to someone who may be able to prevent the threat.

Business associates

We may disclose Health Information to our Business Associates that perform functions on our behalf and provide us with services if the information is necessary for such functions or services.

Military and veterans

If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release Health Information as required by military command authorities. We also may release Health Information to the appropriate foreign military authority if you are a member of a foreign military.

Workers’ compensation

We may release Health Information for workers’ compensation or similar programs.

Public health risks

We may disclose Health Information for public health activities. These activities generally include disclosures to prevent or control disease, injury, or disability; report births and deaths; report child abuse or neglect; report reactions to medications or problems with products; notify people of recalls of products they may be using; a person who may have been exposed with a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition; and the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will only make this disclosure if you agree or when required or authorized by law.

Judicial and administrative proceedings

Such as in response to subpoenas or court orders.

Research

Under certain circumstances, we may disclose your protected Health Information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your protected Health Information.

Law enforcement

Such as disclosures about a suspected crime victim; to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; or about a crime committed in our office.

Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors

To identify a deceased person; to determine cause of death or to allow funeral directors to carry out their duties.

Your written authorization is required for other uses and disclosures

The following uses and disclosures of your Protected Health Information (PHI) will only be made with your written authorization:

• Uses and disclosures of Protected Health Information for marketing purposes; and
• Disclosures that constitute a sale of your PHI. This statement is required, however we will never sell information regarding our clients.

Your rights

You have the following rights regarding Health Information we have about you:

Right to inspect and copy records

You have a right to inspect and copy Health Information that may be used to make decisions about your care or payment for your care. This includes therapy and billing records. We may charge you a reasonable fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies associated with your request. You also have the right to a password protected electronic copy of your records.

Right to amend incorrect data

If you feel that Health Information we have is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment as long as the information is kept by or for our office.

Right to an accounting of disclosures

You have the right to request a list of certain disclosures we made of Health Information for purposes other than treatment, payment and healthcare operations or for which you provided written authorization.

Right to request restrictions

You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the Health Information we use or disclose for treatment, payment, or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the Health Information we disclose to someone involved in your care or the payment for your care. This request must be in writing to Joy Therapy and Learning Center, LLC.

Right to opt out of marketing and fundraising

Joy Therapy and Learning Center periodically mails out a newsletter or brochures regarding upcoming events. If you do not wish to receive mailings from us please notify front office staff.

Right to a paper copy of this notice

You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You are given a copy of this notice at your first visit; however, you may request another copy at any time. To obtain a paper copy, please contact our office, or print this page.

Changes to this notice

We reserve the right to change this notice and make the new notice apply to Health Information we already have as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of our most current notice at our office and on our website. The notice will contain the effective date.

Questions or complaints

Joy Therapy and Learning Center, LLC recognizes the importance of confidentiality, and your right to be fully informed of all regulations regarding protected health information. If you feel that your privacy rights have been violated, please contact the Privacy Officer to ask questions or file a complaint at 770-240-0163. Or you may contact the U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services. We can provide you with this address upon request. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

Website privacy

This section covers information collected through this website, which is separate from the protected health information covered by the notice above.

If you submit an inquiry through a form on this site, we receive the information you choose to enter, which may include your name, contact details, your child’s age, the service you are asking about and anything you write in a message field. We use it to respond to your inquiry and to arrange care if you go on to become a patient family. We do not sell your information and we do not share your inquiry with third parties for their own marketing.

Please do not send detailed health information through a website form. A web form is not a secure channel for protected health information. Call us instead at 770-240-0163.

Links to the patient portal, payment and telepractice systems take you to services operated by third parties under their own privacy terms. Once you leave this site, the practices described on this page no longer apply.

Analytics and cookies

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how this website is used, for example which pages families read and whether people find what they came for. It tells us about visits, not about people: we do not receive your name, your contact details or anything about your child through analytics, and we have not enabled any advertising or remarketing features.

Google Analytics sets cookies in your browser, named _ga and _ga_ followed by a code identifying this website. They record a randomly generated identifier so a returning visit is not counted twice, along with the pages viewed, the approximate region derived from your IP address, and the type of device and browser you used. These cookies typically last up to two years unless you clear them.

You can refuse or delete cookies in your browser settings, and Google publishes a browser add-on that switches Google Analytics off across every site you visit, at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. The website works normally without them.

The only other cookie this site may set is a short-lived one that lasts five minutes and exists solely to return what you typed if a form does not submit correctly. It contains no information about you or your child.

We do not use advertising cookies, cross-site trackers, session recording, heatmaps, or third-party spam-filtering services on our forms. When you send us an enquiry it goes directly to our own email, and this website keeps no copy of it.

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Joy Therapy and Learning Center, LLC
1715 Friendship Circle, Ste 300
Cumming, Georgia 30028
Phone: 770-240-0163
Fax: 470-745-6035
Email: info@joytlc.com