Website Privacy Policy
This policy covers the website only. How we handle your medical information as a patient is described separately in our Notice of Privacy Practices, which is the document governed by HIPAA.
1. Information we collect
Information you give us
If you submit the waitlist or contact form, we collect the name, email address, phone number, and other details you enter. We ask you not to include medical information in these forms.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, our host records basic technical information when you visit: IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, and the time of your visit. This is used for security and to understand general traffic patterns.
Cookies
We use only the cookies necessary for the site to function. We do not currently use analytics, advertising, or third-party tracking cookies. If that changes, we will update this section and add a consent mechanism before any such cookie is set.
2. How we use information
- To respond to your inquiry or add you to our waitlist
- To contact you when scheduling opens
- To maintain the security and functioning of the website
- To keep a basic record of inquiries so we can follow up in order
3. What we do not do
- We do not sell your information.
- We do not rent or trade your information.
- We do not use advertising trackers or retargeting pixels that would tell an advertising network you visited a psychiatric practice's website.
- We do not send marketing email to people who have not asked for it.
4. Text messages
If you give us a mobile number and agree to receive text messages, we use that number only to contact you about scheduling, appointment reminders, and the practical details of your care. You can agree on our waitlist form, on your intake forms, or by texting us first.
- Mobile phone numbers and text-message consent will not 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.
- You can stop texts at any time by replying STOP. Reply HELP for help, or call (734) 590-8088.
- We do not send diagnoses, medication details, or test results by text.
5. This form is not a secure channel
Email and web forms are not encrypted end to end and are not a HIPAA-secure method of communication. Please do not send medical details, diagnoses, medication information, or anything else you would want kept confidential through this website.
Once you become a patient, we communicate through a secure patient portal covered by a Business Associate Agreement.
6. Service providers
We use third parties to operate the site and our practice — website hosting, email, form handling, scheduling, and our electronic health record. Before any vendor is given access to protected health information, we put a Business Associate Agreement in place with that vendor. The form on this website is deliberately limited to contact details for exactly this reason: the vendor that receives it is not a business associate, so no health information is sent to it.
7. Data retention
Waitlist and inquiry information is kept only as long as needed to respond to you and for a reasonable period afterward, then deleted. Patient medical records are retained according to Michigan law and professional requirements — see the Notice of Privacy Practices.
8. Children
This website is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect information directly from children under 13 through this site. Parents and guardians submit information about their children on their behalf.
9. Your choices
- You may ask us to remove you from the waitlist or delete your inquiry at any time.
- You may tell us to stop emailing you, by replying to any message or writing to us, and we will stop.
- You may set your browser to refuse cookies, though parts of the site may not work correctly.
10. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect information. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
11. Changes
We may update this policy. The current version will always be posted here with its effective date.
12. Contact
FirstLight Mental Health
Ann Arbor, Michigan
privacy@firstlightmentalhealth.com