PRIVACY POLICY & NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Akasha Treatment Center, Inc. dba Ona Treatment Center ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website onatreatmentcenter.com (the "Site"), communicate with us, or utilize our intake portals.
If you are a prospective, current, or former patient of our treatment facility, your Protected Health Information (PHI) is also protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and its implementing regulations.
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We may collect information about you in a variety of ways, including when you visit the Site, complete a form, call, email, or text us, or enroll in our text messaging program. The information we may collect includes:
Personal and Health Data: Personally identifiable information, such as your name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and demographic information (such as your age, gender, and hometown). If you utilize our pre-admission or intake forms, you may voluntarily provide sensitive medical history, insurance details, and substance use history (Protected Health Information or PHI).
Communication Data: The content of messages, inquiries, and form submissions you send us, and records of our communications with you.
Mobile and Text Messaging Data: Your mobile phone number, your text message opt-in and opt-out status, the date, time, and method by which you gave consent, and delivery records for messages we send you.
Derivative Data: Information our servers automatically collect when you access the Site, such as your IP address, your browser type, your operating system, your access times, and the pages you have viewed directly before and after accessing the Site, as further described in Section 6.
Information you provide in connection with seeking or receiving treatment may be PHI and is protected as described in Sections 3, 4, and 8. Please do not send sensitive health information to us by regular email or text message.
2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
To respond to your questions and requests and to provide information about our services.
To process pre-admission and intake forms and to verify insurance benefits.
To provide, coordinate, and manage treatment, to obtain payment, and to carry out healthcare operations, as described in Section 3.
To send appointment reminders, scheduling and admissions follow-up, and other service-related communications by phone, email, or, if you have opted in, text message (see Section 5).
To operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site and our services.
To comply with legal, licensing, and regulatory obligations, and to protect the rights, safety, and security of our patients, staff, and the public.
We do not sell or rent your personal information. We use and disclose PHI only as permitted by HIPAA and other applicable law, or with your written authorization.
3. USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PHI (HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES)
Under HIPAA, your Protected Health Information may be used and disclosed for the following core purposes:
For Treatment: We may use your medical information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services.
For Payment: We may use and disclose your information so that the treatment and services you receive may be billed to and payment collected from an insurance company or third-party payer.
For Healthcare Operations: We may use your information to support our operational activities, such as quality assessment, staff reviews, and licensing or compliance audits.
Marketing Restrictions: We strictly do not sell or rent your information or PHI to third parties. We will not use your PHI for marketing or advertising purposes without your explicit, signed written authorization.
We may also use or disclose your PHI without your authorization when required or permitted by law, for example: when required by federal, state, or local law; for public health activities and to report abuse or neglect; to health oversight agencies for audits, inspections, and licensing; in response to a court order or other lawful process; to law enforcement in limited circumstances; to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety; and to business associates who perform services for us under a written Business Associate Agreement.
Uses and disclosures not described in this notice, including most uses of psychotherapy notes, uses of PHI for marketing, and any sale of PHI, require your written authorization. You may revoke an authorization at any time in writing, except to the extent we have already relied on it.
4. SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER RECORDS (42 CFR PART 2)
If you receive substance use disorder (SUD) services from us, records that identify you as a patient of our SUD program are also protected by the federal confidentiality law and regulations at 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2 and 42 CFR Part 2 (“Part 2”). In general, we may not disclose that you are a patient, or disclose information identifying you as having a substance use disorder, unless you consent in writing, a court issues a qualifying order, or the disclosure is otherwise permitted by Part 2 (for example, to medical personnel in a medical emergency, or to qualified personnel for audit, evaluation, or research). Part 2 records, and testimony describing their content, may not be used or disclosed in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings against you unless you consent or a court issues an order after notice and an opportunity to be heard. Violation of Part 2 is a violation of federal law, and you may report a violation as described in Section 11.
5. SMS / TEXT MESSAGING PROGRAM
If you provide your mobile phone number and agree to receive text messages, Akasha Treatment Center, Inc. dba Ona Treatment Center may send you text messages as described in this section.
Program Description: Our text messages are informational and service-related, such as appointment reminders, scheduling and admissions follow-up, and responses to your inquiries. We do not send marketing or promotional text messages unless you have separately agreed to receive them in writing.
How You Opt In: You opt in by (a) entering your mobile number on a Site or intake form and checking the consent box (which is never pre-checked), (b) signing a written consent form during admissions or intake, or (c) texting a keyword to us if we offer that option. Consent to receive text messages is not a condition of receiving treatment or any other service.
When you opt in online, you will see consent language similar to the following, together with links to this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service:
“By providing my mobile number and checking this box, I agree to receive text messages from Akasha Treatment Center, Inc. dba Ona Treatment Center at the number provided, including messages sent using automated technology. Consent is not a condition of treatment. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.”
Message Frequency: Message frequency varies depending on your appointments and your interactions with us.
Costs: Message and data rates may apply, according to your mobile plan.
How to Opt Out: You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any text message. You will receive a confirmation message, and we will stop sending text messages to that number. You may also contact us using the information in Section 11. Opting out of text messages will not affect your treatment or your ability to receive services.
Help: Reply HELP to any text message, or contact us at compliance@onatreatmentcenter.com or (530) 869-6163.
Carrier Disclaimer: Wireless carriers and their affiliates are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Privacy of Text Messages: Standard text messages are not encrypted and may be seen by others who have access to your phone or account. To protect your privacy, we limit the content of text messages to the minimum necessary and do not include diagnoses, treatment details, or substance use information. Please do not reply to text messages with sensitive health information. If you prefer not to receive text messages, or would like us to use a different method to contact you, let us know.
Mobile Information Sharing: No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties. We may use service providers, such as our text messaging platform provider, solely to deliver messages on our behalf. These providers are bound by written agreements (including a Business Associate Agreement where required by HIPAA) and may not use your mobile number or message data for their own purposes.
6. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
Like most websites, our Site may use cookies (small text files stored on your device), log files, and similar technologies. We use them in the following ways:
Essential Cookies: Required for the Site to function, such as maintaining a secure session and remembering basic preferences.
Performance and Analytics: On standard informational pages only, we may use limited analytics to understand how visitors use the Site, such as which pages are viewed, so that we can optimize navigation and site performance.
We do not use tracking pixels, cookies, or analytics tools on our intake or admission pages that transmit identifiable health tracking or search behaviors to unauthorized advertising networks. We do not use cookies or tracking technologies to sell your information, and we do not permit any tracking vendor to receive PHI unless it has signed a Business Associate Agreement with us.
Your Choices: Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies through their settings. If you disable cookies, some features of the Site may not work properly.
7. HOW WE PROTECT YOUR DATA (SECURITY & ENCRYPTION)
We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information and PHI.
Data Encryption: All sensitive clinical data and personal information transmitted through our online contact or intake forms are secured using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) / Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption technology (HTTPS).
Access Controls: Access to your data is strictly limited to authorized medical, clinical, and administrative personnel who require it to perform their professional duties.
Physical Safeguards: We maintain physical safeguards for our facilities, workstations, devices, and paper records.
Workforce Training and Oversight: Our workforce is trained on HIPAA privacy and security requirements and is required to keep patient information confidential.
Risk Management: We periodically assess risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the electronic PHI we maintain and take steps to address them.
Third-Party Transmissions: Any electronic transmission of your PHI complies with HIPAA security rules. We execute formal Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with any third-party software providers or IT infrastructure partners that store or process PHI on our behalf.
Breach Response: If a breach of your unsecured PHI occurs, we will notify you and government authorities as required by the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule and applicable state law.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. We encourage you to use caution when sending information by email or text message.
8. YOUR RIGHTS UNDER HIPAA
As a user and potential patient, you possess the following rights regarding the medical information we maintain about you:
Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your health and billing records.
Right to Amend: If you feel that health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.
Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you. If you pay for a service out of pocket in full, you may ask us not to share information about that service with your health plan for payment or operations purposes, and we will agree unless the law requires otherwise.
Right to Confidential Communications: You have the right to ask that we contact you in a particular way or at a particular location, such as by mail instead of phone or text message. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You may ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
Right to Be Notified of a Breach: You have the right to be notified if there is a breach of your unsecured PHI.
9. YOUR RIGHTS TO ACCESS, UPDATE, AND DELETE YOUR DATA
In addition to the HIPAA rights above, you may contact us at any time to exercise the following rights with respect to the personal information we hold about you:
Access: Request a copy of the personal information we have about you, including information from website inquiries and text messaging records. Requests for health and billing records should be made in writing to our Privacy Officer.
Update or Correct: Ask us to correct or update inaccurate or incomplete information, such as your contact details or mobile number. Requests to amend health records are handled under your Right to Amend in Section 8.
Delete: Ask us to delete personal information that is not part of your medical or billing records, such as website inquiries and your mobile number in our text messaging program. Medical records and other information we are required to keep under HIPAA, Part 2, California and federal law, or for billing, audit, and licensing purposes cannot be deleted on request until the applicable retention period ends. If we cannot delete something, we will explain why.
Withdraw Consent: You may withdraw your consent to receive text messages at any time by replying STOP, or by contacting us.
To make a request, contact our Privacy Officer using the information in Section 11. We may need to verify your identity before we act on a request, and we will respond within the time required by law. We will not retaliate against you for exercising your rights. California residents may have additional rights under state privacy law regarding personal information that is not PHI; we do not sell or share personal information for advertising purposes.
10. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your PHI, to give you this notice describing our legal duties and privacy practices, to notify you following a breach of unsecured PHI, and to follow the terms of this notice while it is in effect. We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing.
We may change this notice and our privacy practices, and the new terms will apply to all information we maintain. We will post the updated notice on the Site with a new “Last Updated” date and provide a copy upon request.
11. CONTACT AND GRIEVANCES
If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, or if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, please contact our Privacy Officer directly at:
Ona Treatment Center
Attn: Privacy Officer / Compliance Department
6041 Bald Mountain Rd.
Browns Valley, CA 95918
compliance@onatreatmentcenter.com
(530) 869-6163
You also have the right to file a formal complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if you believe your rights have been compromised. You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.
Questions about this page? Call (530) 869-6163 or email compliance@onatreatmentcenter.com. If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.