Salam Therapy LLC – HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED, AND HOW YOU CAN ACCESS THAT INFORMATION. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.
Last Updated: 1/19/2026
1. Overview
Salam Therapy LLC (a private, multicultural therapy practice doing business as Salam Therapy) and the licensed mental‑health professionals who provide services through our practice (collectively, the Practice) are covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). This Notice explains how we may use and disclose your protected health information (“PHI”), your rights with respect to that information, and our obligations to protect it.
Our slogan, “Life’s hard enough. We make therapy easy.”, reflects our commitment to ethical, moral, affordable, and accessible care for people of all cultural backgrounds. The practices described below apply to all PHI we create, receive, maintain, or transmit in the course of providing mental‑health services, whether in‑person, via telehealth, or through our secure client portal at salamtherapy.com.
If you prefer a paper copy of this Notice, please let us know (see Contact Information below). We may update this Notice from time to time; the “Last Updated” date reflects the most recent version. Continued use of our services after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Notice.
2. How We May Use and Disclose Your PHI
We may use and disclose PHI for the three core purposes required by HIPAA: treatment, payment, and health‑care operations. The following examples illustrate typical uses; the list is not exhaustive.
Treatment
- Sharing your clinical notes, assessment results, and progress reports among therapists, psychiatrists, or other providers involved in your care.
- Referring you to a specialist (e.g., a prescriber within your insurance network) and providing that specialist with the information needed to continue treatment.
- Coordinating care with a primary‑care physician or another mental‑health professional when you authorize the exchange.
Payment
- Submitting claims to your health‑insurance carrier, Medicare, Medicaid, or third‑party payer for reimbursement of services you receive.
- Verifying your insurance eligibility, benefits, and coverage limits.
- Processing payments made by credit card, debit card, or electronic funds transfer through a HIPAA‑compliant business associate (e.g., Stripe, Square).
Health‑Care Operations
- Conducting quality‑improvement activities, peer‑review, and provider performance evaluations.
- Auditing compliance with professional standards, licensure requirements, and accreditation criteria.
- Analyzing aggregated, de‑identified usage data from our website and client portal to improve accessibility and user experience.
- Maintaining credentialing files, scheduling systems, and electronic health‑record (EHR) infrastructure.
Other Disclosures Requiring Your Written Authorization (unless an exception applies)
- Use of psychotherapy notes for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health‑care operations.
- Marketing communications, newsletters, or promotional offers (you may opt‑in or opt‑out at any time).
- Sale of personal information (we do not sell PHI).
3. Disclosures That May Occur Without Your Authorization
| Situation | What May Be Disclosed | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Emergencies | Minimum PHI needed to address an immediate threat to you or others. | To protect life or safety. |
| Judicial/Administrative Proceedings | PHI in response to a valid court order, subpoena, or other lawful process. | Required by law. |
| Public Health Activities | PHI to public‑health authorities when required (e.g., communicable disease reporting). | Statutory mandate. |
| Child, Elder, or Vulnerable Adult Abuse | PHI indicating suspected abuse or neglect. | Mandatory reporting laws. |
| Criminal Activity or Danger to Others | PHI if a crime is committed on our premises or if someone is in immediate danger. | Legal obligation. |
| Health‑Oversight Agencies | PHI for audits, inspections, or investigations by agencies such as CMS or state health departments. | Oversight requirement; “minimum necessary” standard applied. |
| Business Associates | PHI needed for services such as claims filing, billing, data hosting, analytics, or secure messaging. | Covered by Business Associate Agreements (BAAs). |
| Trusted Exchange Framework & Common Agreement (TEFCA) | PHI exchanged through TEFCA networks for treatment, payment, or operations. | Facilitates coordinated care. |
| Research | De‑identified or limited PHI for approved research projects. | Requires Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval or a waiver. |
| Scheduling & Reminders | PHI (appointment date/time, provider name) via email, SMS, or phone call. | Operational necessity; you may opt out of marketing messages. |
If you reside in a state that permits opting out of health‑information exchanges (HIEs) or requires opt‑in, you may do so by emailing privacy@salamtherapy.com with the subject line “HIE Opt‑Out” or “HIE Opt‑In.” Existing disclosures cannot be withdrawn, but future sharing will cease once your request is processed.
4. Your Individual Rights
- Right to Inspect & Copy – You may request to see or obtain a copy of your PHI (except for psychotherapy notes, which may be withheld). Requests must be in writing; a reasonable fee may be charged for copying.
- Right to Amend – You may ask us to amend inaccurate or incomplete PHI. Write to us explaining why the information should be changed. We may deny the request if the amendment would compromise the integrity of the record or is contrary to professional standards.
- Right to an Accounting of Disclosures – You may obtain a list of disclosures of your PHI made for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health‑care operations. Requests must be written and will be honored for six years after the last date of service.
- Right to Request Restrictions – You may request that we limit certain uses or disclosures of your PHI. While we are not required to agree to all restrictions, we must honor any restriction that applies to a payment disclosure when you have paid for services in full. Requests during active treatment should be made with your therapist; after treatment, direct them to the Privacy Officer.
- Right to Confidential Communications – You may request that we communicate with you in a specific manner or at a particular location (e.g., mail to a PO box, phone calls only during certain hours). Submit a written request specifying the preferred method. We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate.
- Right to File a Complaint – If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us (see Contact Information) or with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights. No retaliation is permitted for filing a complaint.
5. Email and Text Messaging
Many clients find email or text convenient for brief communications. Please be aware that these channels are not encrypted and carry inherent privacy risks (interception, accidental transmission, or device loss). Any email or text you send may become part of your medical record, and we may retain it for treatment, payment, or operations purposes. For urgent or emergency matters, do not rely on email or text; call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
You may opt out of marketing texts or emails at any time by replying STOP to a text message or clicking the “unsubscribe” link in an email. Transactional messages (appointment reminders, billing notices) will continue unless you specifically request otherwise.
6. About Salam Therapy LLC and Its Professional Entities
Salam Therapy LLC is the legal entity that owns and operates the multicultural therapy practice known as Salam Therapy. The clinical services are delivered by licensed mental‑health professionals who may practice under separate professional corporations (e.g., Salam Therapy, P.C., Salam Therapy, LLC, etc.) as required by state law. All such entities are considered a single “organized health‑care arrangement” under HIPAA and share PHI only as necessary to provide treatment, obtain payment, and conduct health‑care operations.
Each professional entity is overseen by a qualified medical director and adheres to this Notice. Business associates (billing vendors, cloud‑hosting providers, analytics firms, etc.) sign HIPAA Business Associate Agreements that obligate them to protect your PHI and to notify us promptly of any breach.
7. Contact Information
Privacy Officer – Salam Therapy LLC
Email: privacy@salamtherapy.com
Phone: 317-721-8188
You may submit any written request for inspection, amendment, accounting, restriction, or confidential communication to the Privacy Officer above. If you prefer a paper copy of this Notice, let us know and we will mail it to you at no cost.
8. Acknowledgment of Receipt
By signing below (or by electronically acknowledging this Notice through our client portal), you acknowledge that you have received a copy of this HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, understand its contents, and agree to its terms. You also acknowledge that you may request a paper copy at any time.
Signature (or electronic acknowledgment): _______________________________
Date: _______________________________
Salam Therapy LLC remains dedicated to providing ethical, culturally responsive, affordable, and accessible mental‑health care. If you have any questions about this Notice or about how we protect your privacy, please contact us using the information above.
