TeleCBT Inc. Privacy Policy
TeleCBT Inc. Privacy Policy was updated on July 23, 2020.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using the Service.
TeleCBT Inc. (“TeleCBT”, “we”, “us”) uses a number of safeguards to protect the privacy of Users of the TeleCBT Platform and the confidentiality of their Personal Information including Personal Health Information (collectively referred to together in this Privacy Policy as “Information”).
This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) summarizes how TeleCBT collects, uses, discloses, retains and protects Information as well as Data (information that does not identify an individual) in the course of providing our services.
We will treat your Information and Data confidentially and in accordance with applicable Provincial and Federal privacy legislation and this data protection declaration.
Note: this Policy does not apply to the collection, use, retention, disposal, destruction, and protection of Information by Physicians or Non-Physician Providers (collectively referred to as “Counsellors”). Counsellors are subject to privacy legislation and professional requirements that govern their management of Information, including Information they collect, use and retain in the course of providing services through the TeleCBT Platform. Please feel free to ask any Counsellor to whom you are referred if you have questions about how he or she will treat your Information.
Platform Security
All online therapy sessions are hosted through the OnCall Health platform.
OnCall Health complies with the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and all equivalent personal health information protection legislation in Canada. Servers are privately hosted and located in Canada.
Interactions through the OnCall Health Platform are encrypted and the content of video and audio sessions is never recorded or stored anywhere.
By using TeleCBT services, you are also agreeing to OnCall Heath’s privacy agreement. Refer to the OnCall Health Privacy Policy at https://oncallhealth.ca/privacy/.
Collecting and Using Information
TeleCBT collects and uses Information to provide our services, including to develop, assess, and improve our services. We only collect Personal Information if non-identifying information will not suffice. We minimize our collection and use of Information to what is needed for these purposes. For example, we do not record the audio or video portions of interactions between Users and Counsellors through the TeleCBT Platform.
Counsellors are responsible for their collection, use, disclosure, retention, destruction and protection of Information. The Privacy Agreement provides an overview of the use generally made of Information for the purpose of providing services through the TeleCBT Platform. However, a particular Counsellor may or may not choose to collect or use Information as described below in connection with a particular interaction with a User.
Counselling Services
Counsellors may collect Information about you when you provide it during Counselling Services (e.g., verbally or in texts), by viewing the Information that you have entered or uploaded to the TeleCBT Platform and/or by creating or compiling Information. Information that will be available to Counsellors includes: the details that you provide in your Client Intake Form; information you’ve entered or uploaded to your account; information created during earlier interactions through the TeleCBT Platform with other Counsellors or TeleCBT Personnel; the name, email address, phone number, gender and date of birth and province/territory that you provided when you registered; and your emergency contact’s name and contact information.
You are responsible for ensuring at all times that the Counsellor has current contact information and for ensuring the Counsellor knows if there is any reason that the Counsellor should not leave a message when contacting you by phone.
Counsellors use client Information to provide you with Counselling Services and must comply with the privacy legislation and medical record-keeping obligations to which they are subject. Counsellors may create Information such as treatment planning and other notes about your interaction with them through the TeleCBT Platform.
Counsellors may, but are not required to email or text your emergency contact if they believe that you are dealing with a medical emergency during a consultation. You are responsible for advising your emergency contact that you are providing their name and contact information to TeleCBT Inc. and Counsellors, and for obtaining any necessary consent from them for the provision and use of their information in connection with the TeleCBT Platform.
Provision of the TeleCBT Platform
- TeleCBT collects and uses your Information to register you, create your Account, authenticate you when you log in and personalize your experience while using the TeleCBT Platform. We confirm your eligibility to use the TeleCBT Platform for Counselling Services by asking you to confirm your place of residence and date of birth that you provide when registering.
- TeleCBT collects your provincial health card number in order to bill provincial health plans for those services that are eligible for coverage by provincial health plans.
- TeleCBT collects your credit card number in order to bill you for those services that are not eligible for coverage by provincial health plans.
- TeleCBT uses Information that you enter, or upload, to make it available to you when you access your Account.
- TeleCBT may use Information for loss prevention and anti-fraud purposes, and to comply with regulatory and legal requirements.
- TeleCBT may use Information to help us create, develop, operate, deliver, support and improve the TeleCBT Platform and its content.
Communicating with you
- Medical emergencies associated with requests for Counselling Services: If you submit Information about a medical issue, which is deemed an emergency by a Counsellor or TeleCBT Personnel, prior to the Counsellor’s or TeleCBT’s acceptance of your request for Counselling Services, TeleCBT reserves the right to contact you at any time using any of the contact information you have provided. This contact is strictly for the purpose of informing you that a Counsellor or TeleCBT Personnel has viewed your request and has declined the request based on their belief that your symptoms may represent a medical emergency.
- Updates and marketing: From time to time, we may send you service announcements, including policy updates and updates to our Terms of Service and software and keep you posted on our latest products and any upcoming events that may be of interest to you or apply to you. You may opt-out of receiving non-essential communications by emailing communications@telecbt.ca. For clarity, service announcements including updates to our policies and Terms of Service and software are not considered non-essential communications.
- Customer support: If you email, fax, write to us or submit a request through our website, we will collect the name and contact information that you provide to us and will use it to respond to you.
We only permit our Personnel to access Information to the extent necessary to perform their designated functions. We require them to protect the Information and maintain its confidentiality by complying with our policies, procedures and applicable law.
Electronic Communications
TeleCBT and the Counsellors use reasonable means to protect the security and confidentiality of electronic communications sent and received, such as, but not limited to, emails.
All communications within the TeleCBT App are encrypted and the content of video is never recorded or stored. The TeleCBT App complies with PHIPA, PIPEDA and all equivalent personal health information protection legislation in Canada.
However, TeleCBT and the Counsellors cannot guarantee the security and confidentiality of electronic communications and will not be liable for improper disclosure of confidential information which has been sent through non-secure electronic means.
By accepting the Terms of Service, the Client consents and agrees to the following conditions:
- Use of electronic communications to discuss sensitive information can increase the risk of such information being disclosed to third parties.
- Despite reasonable efforts to protect the privacy and security of electronic communication, it is not possible to completely secure the information sent through electronic communications.
- Online services may have a legal right to inspect and keep electronic communications that pass through their system.
- Electronic communications can introduce malware into a computer system, and potentially damage or disrupt the computer, networks, and security settings.
- Electronic communications can be forwarded, intercepted, circulated, stored or even changed without the knowledge or permission of TeleCBT, the Counsellor or the Client.
- Even after the sender and recipient have deleted copies of electronic communications, back-up copies may exist on a computer system.
- Electronic communications may be disclosed in accordance with a duty to report or a court order.
- Videoconferencing may be open to interception due to lack of user end security and use of Wi-Fi.
- If email or text outside of the TeleCBT App is used as an e-communication tool, the following are additional risks:
- Email, text messages, and instant messages can more easily be misdirected, resulting in increased risk of being received by unintended and unknown recipients;
- Email, text messages, and instant messages can be easier to falsify than handwritten or signed, hard copies. It is not feasible to verify the true identity of the sender, or to ensure that only the recipient can read the message once it has been sent.
- While Counsellors will attempt to review and respond in a timely fashion to the Client’s electronic communication, the Counsellor cannot guarantee that all electronic communications will be reviewed and responded to within any specific period of time.
- If the Client’s electronic communication requires or invites a response from the Counsellor and the Client has not received a response within a reasonable time period, it is the Client’s responsibility to follow up and determine whether the intended recipient received the electronic communication and when the recipient will respond.
- The Client is responsible for following up on the Counsellor’s electronic communication and for scheduling appointments where warranted.
- Electronic communication and/or the TeleCBT platform will not be used for medical emergencies or other time-sensitive matters.
- The Counsellor may forward electronic communications to those involved in the delivery and administration of the Client’s care.
- TeleCBT may use email to send appointment reminders to Clients. Information included in appointment reminders is limited to details needed to inform on date, time, purpose and instructions regarding the appointment and does not include any personal health information.
- TeleCBT may use email to send payment receipts to Clients. Information included in payment receipts is limited to details needed to inform on date, purpose and payment amount and does not include any personal health information or client credit card numbers.
- The Client agrees to inform the Counsellor in writing of any types of information the Client does not want sent via electronic communication, in addition to those set out above.
- TeleCBT is not responsible for information loss due to technical failures associated with the Client’s software or internet service provider.
Disclosing Information
We will not disclose, share, sell or rent your Information with or to any third party (except to the extent we disclose to Counsellors, TeleCBT Personnel, and/or others who are who are directly involved in provision of the Client’s healthcare (“Circle of care”), or to emergency contacts), and in compliance with regulatory and legal requirements as set out in this Policy, except with your informed consent, or to the extent necessary, in our good faith judgment, to:
- Comply with applicable laws or regulations, respond to a subpoena, order, or similar obligation to produce information;
- Establish or exercise TeleCBT’s legal rights or defend against legal claims;
- Investigate, detect, suppress, prevent or take action regarding illegal or prohibited activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the reputation or safety of any person
Confidentiality on the part of the Counsellor may be waived under circumstances wherein the Counsellor is bound by law to report to legal authorities. This may include the following circumstances:
- The Counsellor assesses that there is a risk of suicide or serious bodily harm to the Client or others;
- The Counsellor assesses that a child may have been harmed in the past, or that a child is at risk of harm or neglect in the present or future. In all cases, the Counsellor has a legal duty to report this;
- The Counsellor assesses that a resident of a care facility may have been harmed in the past, or is at risk of harm or neglect in the present or future;
- The Counsellor assesses that there is a risk to the country or threat of terrorism;
- The Counsellor assesses that there had been sexual abuse committed by a registered health professional;
- The Counsellor is required by a court order (subpoena), issued by a judge;
- The Counsellor is bound to report a colleague to their College for professional misconduct;
- The Counsellor is required to defend themselves against a complaint filed with their College.
We may use or disclose your email address, but never PHI, to market a product or service, either directly, or through a service provider or partner that performs services on our behalf.
Should TeleCBT conduct market or product research, it will never use personal nor personal health information, which is traceable to any individual. All information will be fully anonymized, meaning the risk of this information being traced back to a given individual is reduced to the greatest extent possible.
We may disclose Information for the purposes of the due diligence required for or for the completion of a transaction such as a merger, acquisition or asset sale. We will comply with any applicable legal requirements, including notice requirements, that apply to such transactions.
Consent to Share Information
If it is decided between the Client and the Counsellor to share information for reason of referral or consultation or for another agreed upon reason, a formal consent form will be completed and signed in advance by the Client. The Client has the right at any time to withhold or revoke consent.
The Counsellor does not provide completion of forms or letters for employers or for court purposes.
Safeguarding Information
TeleCBT stores your information in electronic format using PHIPA and PIPEDA complaint software and using computer systems with restricted access. We have in place appropriate physical, technological, and organizational safeguards to protect Information against loss, theft, and unauthorized access, use and disclosure. TeleCBT Personnel are obligated to protect Information by adhering to our policies, practices and applicable laws.
The Client plays an important role in protecting their privacy and the confidentiality of their Information. For example:
- Create a strong and unique password for your Account, and update it periodically.
- Do not share your Account or password with anyone. We will never ask you for your password, including in any unsolicited communication such as letters, phone calls or email messages, so please contact us if you receive such a request.
- Log out of your Account once you are finished using it, especially if you share your Device with anyone else.
- Have a strong and unique password on your Device.
- Choose a quiet, private location from which to receive services from Counsellors, without others present and devoid of distractions. The client should not use Wi-Fi hotspots in public as they may not be secure and you should reasonably limit or avoid using an employer’s or other third party’s computer.
Collecting, using and sharing Data
TeleCBT will collect and use Data for purposes that include: quality control activities; improving the TeleCBT Platform (through an understanding of usage and utilization patterns by Users and Counsellors); creating surveys, conducting research, and other analysis of data and trends. All information will be fully anonymized, meaning the risk of this information being traced back to a given individual is reduced to the greatest extent possible. We will not use Data to re-identify individuals.
Policy Changes
We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify, alter or otherwise update our Policy at any time and, by using the TeleCBT Platform after the amendment of the Policy, you are agreeing to be bound by such modifications, alterations or updates. Publish the policy on our website here: https://telecbt.ca/privacy/. Check back often to ensure you are aware of our current practices.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact us. Please include your name and contact information if you’d like us to respond to you.
TeleCBT Inc.
info@telecbt.ca
888.468.6178
ATTN: Chief Compliance Officer
1100 Burloak Dr., Ste 300
Burlington, ON L7L 6B2
Definitions
- “Physician” means a physician who is registered to practice medicine in a Province or Territory of Canada, meets TeleCBT’s other criteria, and is permitted to provide Counselling Services through the TeleCBT Platform.
- “Non-Physician Provider” means an independent, regulated health professional (such as a Social Worker, Psychotherapist or Psychologist) registered to provide healthcare in a Province or Territory of Canada, meets TeleCBT’s other criteria, and is permitted to provide Counselling Services through the TeleCBT Platform.
- “Counsellor” means a Physician or Non-Physician Provider who is permitted to provide Counselling Services through the TeleCBT Platform.
- “Data” means information collected or compiled through the TeleCBT Platform which has been anonymized.
- “Anonymize” in relation to PHI, means to remove information that identifies the individual or for which it is reasonably foreseeable in the circumstances that it could be utilized, either alone or with other information, to identify the individual.
- “Device” means a mobile or desktop device owned or controlled by a User and used to access TeleCBT Counselling Services.
- “Counselling Services” means the provision of psychotherapy by a counsellor through the TeleCBT Platform.
- “Session” means a Counselling Services appointment with a counsellor through the TeleCBT Platform.
- “TeleCBT Platform” means the hardware, software, applications, websites, content, products and services owned and/or operated by us.
- “Personal Information” means information about an identifiable individual which is not PHI and which is collected, created, compiled, used, disclosed or otherwise transmitted and/or stored on or by means of the TeleCBT Platform.
- “Personnel” in relation to TeleCBT, means its employees and agents including independent contractors, sub-contractors, students and volunteers.
- “PHI” or “personal health information” means information about an individual’s health or healthcare that is subject to Privacy Law and that is collected, created, compiled, used, disclosed or otherwise transmitted and/or stored on or by means of the TeleCBT Platform.
- “Privacy Law” means the applicable legislation governing the collection, use, disclosure, and/or protection of PHI in the Province or Territory in which a User resides.
- “User” or “Client” means an individual who has registered and created a TeleCBT Account in accordance with our Terms of Service and is thereby eligible to receive Counselling Services through the TeleCBT Platform.