Your health record is the property of Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness, but the information within it belongs to you. You have the following rights regarding your health and behavioral health information:

Request Restrictions: You have the right to request limits on how we use and disclose your health information, including your mental health and substance use treatment records.
Obtain a Copy of This Notice: You may request a paper copy of this privacy notice at any time.
Inspect and Copy Your Records: You have the right to view and copy your health and behavioral health records, except for psychotherapy notes. Please note that if accessing your records could be harmful to your health, as determined by your provider, your request may be denied under Arkansas State Statute (Arkansas Code § 16-46-106).
Request an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request a list of disclosures we’ve made of your health and behavioral health information, as outlined by federal regulations.
Request Alternative Communication: You can request that we communicate your health and behavioral health information to you through alternative means or at different locations.
Revoking Authorization: You have the right to revoke any written authorization you’ve provided for us to use or disclose your information, except where actions have already been taken based on that authorization.

We may use and share your health information for the following purposes related to your behavioral health care:

Treatment: To provide you with necessary behavioral health care and share information with other mental health or substance use professionals involved in your treatment.
Operations: To improve our behavioral health services, coordinate your care, and communicate with you about your appointments and treatment needs.
Billing: To bill for services rendered and receive payment for your care, including sharing your information with your health insurance company when required.

We are permitted or required to share your behavioral health information in the following situations:

Public Health and Safety: We may share your health information to prevent disease, aid in product recalls, report adverse reactions, or address situations involving abuse or neglect. We may also disclose information if we believe there is a serious threat to health or safety.
Research: We may share your information for health research, provided that legal conditions are met.
Legal and Compliance: We are required to share your health information when state or federal laws mandate it, including to comply with privacy regulations or to respond to law enforcement requests.
Substance Use Treatment: Your substance use treatment records are protected by 42 CFR Part 2 and cannot be disclosed without your written consent, except as required by law.
Workers’ Compensation: We may disclose your information for workers’ compensation purposes, or to respond to government requests related to such claims.
Medical Examiner or Funeral Director: We may share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director if necessary for their responsibilities.
Lawsuits and Legal Actions: We may be required to share your information in response to court orders or subpoenas.

For certain health information, you can instruct us how we should share your information. If you have preferences about how your information is shared, let us know, and we will comply with your instructions.

Family and Friends: You may choose to allow us to share your behavioral health information with family members or others involved in your care.
Disaster Relief: You may choose to allow us to share information in case of a disaster or emergency relief situation.

If you are unable to provide preferences (for example, if you are unconscious), we may share information if we believe it is in your best interest, or to prevent harm to you or others.

We are required by law to protect the privacy and security of your health and behavioral health information.
If there is a breach that compromises your information, we will notify you promptly.
We will not use or disclose your information except as described in this notice, unless you give us written permission to do so.
Substance abuse treatment records will not be shared without your written consent, except where required by law, and we will ensure that your rights to confidentiality are protected under 42 CFR Part 2.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint:

Internally: You may file a complaint through our website by clicking on “Complaint” under the Client section. Your complaint will be responded to in a timely manner.
Externally: You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Changes to This Notice

We may revise the terms of this notice. If changes are made, the new notice will apply to all health and behavioral health information we have about you. You may request a copy of the updated notice at any time.

Effective Date

This Privacy Notice is effective as of February 13, 2025.

Privacy Officer: Traci White

Phone: 501-620-511 Email: tracid@obhaw.org

SMS Privacy Policy

Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) governs how we treat the Personal Information that we collect and receive from you in connection with your use of the SMS Service (“Service”), which we make available to you through a third-party service provider. This Policy is incorporated into the Terms of Service. By using the Service, you agree to the terms of this Policy. Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify or change this Policy at any time with or without prior notice to you. The date of the last update will be posted at the top of this Policy for your convenience. This Policy, and any changes, are effective as soon as posted. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of any changes to the Policy constitutes your full acceptance of those changes. “Personal Information” is information that individually identifies you, such as your mobile phone number or user/screen name, as well as any Personal Information that you choose to include in messages you send through the Service.

Through the use of the Service, Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness will receive the following information from our third-party service provider: your mobile phone number when you send a text message to us, the text of messages that you send to other users of the Service, any user or screen name that you select in connection with the Service, as well as any comments or feedback regarding the Service that you send to us.

Any information collected as part of SMS consent (phone numbers) will not be shared with third parties or affiliates.

We use Personal Information to (a) provide you with the Service, (b) process and respond to inquiries, (c) improve the Service, (d) if necessary, contact you with important announcements or messages, (e) conduct research, and (f) provide anonymous reporting for internal and external clients and partners.

Each message that you send through the Service (either to us or to other users of the Service) is stored on our servers. We retain these messages on our servers. Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness utilizes servers and services owned by third parties.

We will not rent or sell your Personal Information to other companies or individuals unless we have your consent. We may use or disclose such information in any of the following limited circumstances:

We have your consent.
We need to enforce our Terms of Service.
We provide such information to trusted businesses or persons for the sole purpose of processing Personal Information on our behalf. When this is done, it is subject to agreements that oblige those parties to process such information only on our instructions and in compliance with this Policy and appropriate confidentiality and security measures. If the third party fails to comply with our terms, Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness is not accountable in any way for any liability or reimbursement.
We provide such information to third parties who have entered into non-disclosure agreements with us.
We provide such information to a company controlled by, or under common control with, Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness for any purpose permitted by this Policy.
We respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal processes, or to establish or exercise our legal rights, or the legal rights of others, or defend against legal claims.
We believe it is necessary to share Personal Information to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness’s Terms of Service, or as otherwise required by law.
We transfer Personal Information about you if Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness is, or its assets are, acquired by or merged with another company.

We may share aggregated information with others without further notice. An example of this would be the number of people who used the Service in a given month or the total number of texts sent in a given week.

Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness takes precautions to ensure the security of your Personal Information, including ensuring that our third-party service providers protect the security of your Personal Information. However, we cannot guarantee that hackers or unauthorized personnel will not gain access to your Personal Information despite our efforts. You should note that in using the Service, your information will travel through third-party infrastructures that are not under our control (such as a third-party SMS delivery platform or your carrier network).

We cannot protect, nor does this Policy apply to, any information that you transmit to other users. You should never transmit personal or identifying information to other users.

By using our services, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at general_information@obhaw.org or through other options described in greater detail below.

Agreement to receive text messaging: By sharing your mobile number, you agree to be contacted by Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness via tex (SMS, MMS, and other generally accepted protocols). The nature of text communications will be restricted to the provider-client relationship or business relationship between us including appointment reminders and requests for additional information related to our services.

A mobile user might opt-in by:

Entering a phone number online,
Sending an Mobile Originating (MO) message containing an advertising keyword,
Filling out a paper form that includes their phone number, or
Signing up during admission at an office location.

Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness’s third-party service provider gives you the ability to opt out of the Service for any reason.

E-MAILS: You may opt out of receiving newsletters or promotional emails from us by following the unsubscribe instructions included in the emails.

TEXT/SMS/MMS: Text messages (SMS/MMS/other industry standard protocols) may be discontinued at anytime by texting STOP to any prior text communication or by direct request to general_information@obhaw.org with STOP TEXTING in the subject line.

We reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to the Service, such as announcements and administrative messages, without offering you the opportunity to opt out of receiving them.

The Service is not intended for children under 13, and Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness does not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13.

Children aged 13 or older should not submit any Personal Information without the permission of their parents or guardians. By using the Service, you are representing that you are at least 18, or that you are at least 13 years old and have your parents’ permission to use the service.

Intended Audience

Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness requires that users of this service be limited to US residents only.

Use of the Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness text message-based services (the “Service”) is subject to the following Terms of Service. These terms constitute a legal agreement (the “Agreement”). Please read them carefully.

Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness will allow several different opportunities, such as filling out admission paperwork, to opt-in to SMS services. The opt-in received will be 'Thank you for opting into SMS messages from Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness. To opt out at any time reply STOP.'
Any information collected as part of SMS consent (phone numbers) will not be shared with third parties or affiliates.
You can cancel the Service at any time. Just reply "STOP". After you send the SMS message "STOP" to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If you want to join again, just reply “START”, and we will start sending SMS messages to you again.
If at any time you forget what keywords are supported, just reply "HELP". After you send the SMS message "HELP" to us, we will respond with instructions on how to use our Service as well as how to unsubscribe.
We can deliver messages to the following mobile phone carriers. Major carriers: AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, U.S. Cellular, Alltel, Boost Mobile, Nextel, and Virgin Mobile. Minor carriers: Cricket and StraightTalk ***Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages***
As always, message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you, and Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness is not liable for the cost of any such messages. Message frequency may vary. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider. For all questions about the Service provided by this short code, you can send an email to general_information@obhaw.org.
You understand that anyone with access to your mobile phone may be able to view the messages you receive when using the Service, and you agree that Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness will not be liable to you if this occurs.
You understand that you are not required to consent to the Service to receive any other services from Ouachita Behavioral Health & Wellness.
By agreeing to these Terms of Service and providing us with your mobile phone number when you opt into the Service, you authorize Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness to contact you by text message at your mobile phone number using an automatic telephone dialing system or device, or any other computer-assisted technology as applicable.
If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our Privacy Policy.