Privacy Policy

​I am Jeremy Mayer of Jeremy Mayer Counselling Services (“We” or “Us”). In order to provide you with services, and otherwise interact with you, we need to collect some of your personal information.  Personal information is information that can identify you.  This Notice sets out why we collect that information, what we do with it, and how we protect it.  We will handle your information in accordance with the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004. These protections are in addition to any obligations of confidentiality that may be owed to you through an established healthcare provider relationship. 

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WHAT WE COLLECT

We collect the information we need in order to provide you with services. The types of information will vary depending on the circumstances but may include your date of birth, contact information, health history, your physical and mental health, a record of your visits, and the care and support you receive during those visits. You may also provide us with other personal details in the course of our interactions, such as information about your race or ethnicity, marital status, sexual activity and social life (e.g., professional history, criminal activity).

We will generally collect your information directly from you through in-person or video interactions, or by you filling in forms or corresponding with us by phone, email, or otherwise. We may also collect information about you, for example your contact information, from other sources, such as publically available information or from a referring provider or your insurance company.

We also collect select financial information from you in order to receive payment for the Services provided to you.

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HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION

We will collect, use and disclose your personal information for the purposes of establishing a relationship with you, providing counselling services to you, communicating with you, operating our business, and to otherwise interacting with you (the “Services”).  For example, we will use your information to:

• Treat and care for you

• Deliver our programs

• Plan, administer and manage our internal operations

• Be paid or process, monitor, verify or reimburse claims for payment

• Provide appointment reminders to you

• Conduct risk management, error management and quality improvement activities

• Dispose of, or de-identify, your information

• Seek your consent (or consent of a substitute decision maker) where appropriate

• Respond to or initiate proceedings

• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements

• Fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law (e.g., to eliminate or reduce a significant risk of bodily harm, to comply with a court order, warrant, subpoena, etc.)

Any collection, use and disclosure of your personal information will be done in accordance with law.

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YOUR CHOICES

You generally have a right to make choices and control how your health information is collected, used, and disclosed, subject to a few exceptions.

For most health care purposes, your consent to collect and use your health information is implied as a result of your consent to treatment, unless you tell us otherwise. We may also share your health information in order to communicate or consult with other health care providers about your care unless you tell us you do not want us to do so.

There are circumstances where we are not allowed to assume we have your consent.  For example, we must have your permission to give your health information to people who do not provide you with health care, including your insurance company or your employer. We may also need consent to communicate with any family members or friends with whom you would like us to share information about your health (unless one or more of these individuals is your substitute decision-maker).  In those circumstances, we will seek your explicit consent. When we require and ask for your consent, you may choose to say no. Your choice to say no may be subject to some restrictions under applicable law. If you say yes, you may withdraw your consent at any time subject to legal and contractual restrictions. The withdrawal of consent cannot be retroactive. If you withdraw your consent or refuse to provide us with necessary information, we may not be able to provide you with certain Services. 

There are also cases where we may collect, use or disclose your health information without your consent, as permitted or required by law. For example, we do not require your consent to use your information for billing, risk management or error management, quality improvement purposes; to modify your information to conceal your identity (de-identification); to disclose personal health information in a number of permitted or required circumstances, including to eliminate or reduce a significant risk of serious bodily harm; or to fulfill mandatory reporting obligations under other laws such as for child protection or safe operation of a motor vehicle.  

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HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

We understand the importance of protecting your information and are committed to taking all reasonable steps to protect against unauthorized access, use, loss, modification and disclosure. We use a range of safeguards that are consistent with industry practices for the protection of similar information. These safeguards include the following methods of protection:

• Physical measures, such as locked filing cabinets and restricted access to offices and facilities.

• Organizational measures, such as policies, security and privacy training for staff, and risk assessments.

• Technological measures, such as the use of passwords, access controls (“need-to-know), encryption, and intrusion detection software.

• Vendor management, such as requiring vendors who services We use to have in place similar physical, organizational and technological measures that meet industry standards and best practices.

We will only share your information with our employees, contractors, designated agents, or third-party service providers who require it to assist us with providing services to you.  We rely on third-party services providers for support such as practice management, billing and payment processing, marketing and administrative support. For example, we use the Jane App for scheduling appointments, client communications, provision of telehealth, and records management. To the extent we enter into arrangements with service providers, agents and contractors to store, handle or process your information on our behalf, our policy will be to require such parties by contractual or other means to provide comparable privacy protection while the information is processed or handled by them.

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While we strive to protect your information, it is important to note that no computer system or online communication is perfectly secure. As such we cannot guarantee that communications between you and any of our Services, or information stored on our servers will be free from unauthorized access. We encourage you to take appropriate steps to protect your information, including not sharing with us more information than is necessary and not allowing other individuals to use your account.

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RETENTION

We will only retain your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Under some circumstances we may anonymize your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you.

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YOUR RIGHTS

By law you have the right to request access to the personal information that we hold about you, subject to limited exceptions.  If you request a copy of your record, one will be provided to you at a reasonable cost. If you wish to view the original record, one of our staff members must be present, and a reasonable fee may be charged for this access.

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It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate. If you believe your records are inaccurate or incomplete, you have a right to request that we correct the record.  You must be able to demonstrate the inaccuracy or incompleteness of the record and provide us with the information necessary to correct it. We may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect.

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You can make access and correction requests by emailing or writing to us at the contact information below (see Questions or Concerns). We may require personal information from you to verify your identity to process your request.  If your request for access or correction is denied, we will advise you of our reasons for doing so.   

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QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS

We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have about privacy practices. Mr. Jeremy Mayer is the primary contact for privacy issues and he can be reached at: jmayer8(AT)cogeco(DOT)ca

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You also have the right to complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.  The Commissioner can be reached at:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400

Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8

1-800-387-0073or visit the IPC website via http://www.ipc.on.ca