Privacy Policy

This policy explains what we collect through sunshinepsychservices.com and what we do with it. It is not our Notice of Privacy Practices — that is the document governing your medical record under HIPAA, and we give you a copy when you become a patient.

When you’re just looking around

Almost nothing. This site sets no cookies, runs no analytics, and loads nothing from advertisers, social networks, or anyone else — visiting a page here doesn’t tell any other company that you were here. Our web host keeps standard server logs, including the IP address a request came from, the way every website does.

When you use our intake form

We ask for your name, date of birth, sex, phone number, email address, mailing address, and which provider you’d like to see. You can also add photos of your insurance card and, if you like, a photo ID — both are optional, and they save you reading a member number down the phone.

What we don’t ask

The form has no free-text box. It asks nothing about your symptoms, your diagnosis, your medications, or why you’re getting in touch. Those are conversations for a person, not a web form.

Where it goes

Straight to our office. Your details go from your browser to our own Google Workspace account, which is covered by a HIPAA business associate agreement, and land in the inbox our front desk reads. The website doesn’t keep a copy, and neither does the company that built it.

When you call or email us

We collect whatever you choose to tell us, along with any health information you share with us in the course of your care.

Text messaging (SMS)

If you opt in, we may send SMS messages about appointments and updates. We do not share your phone number or your messaging consent with third parties, affiliates, or partners. You can opt out at any time by replying STOP.

How we use and share information

We use your information to respond to you, schedule and provide care, and operate our practice. We do not sell your personal information. We share it only as needed to provide our services, with service providers bound to protect it, or when required by law.

How we protect it

We take reasonable measures to safeguard your information. Email and web forms are never completely secure, so please don’t add details about your symptoms or treatment — our form doesn’t ask for them, and there’s no need. If you’d rather we contact you only by phone, say so and we will.

If you’re under 18

Our intake form is for adults. If you’re arranging care for someone under 18, call us at (312) 285-2982 so we can talk through consent with a parent or guardian.

How long we keep it

Information you send us becomes part of our records, and we keep patient records for as long as the law requires.

Your rights

You have rights over your health information, including the right to see it and to ask us to correct it. Our Notice of Privacy Practices describes those rights and how to use them. Illinois gives mental health records additional protection under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act, and records relating to substance use treatment are protected by federal law under 42 CFR Part 2.

In an emergency

This website is not for emergencies. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top of this page.

Questions

Questions about this policy? Call us at (312) 285-2982 or email intake@sunshinepsychservices.com.