Mountain Speech Language Services
Last revised March 2024
Privacy Policy
Collection of Personal Information
Purpose: We collect personal and health information only for the purposes necessary to provide our services, conduct our operations, and fulfill our legal obligations.
Examples of information we may collect:
- Personal information: name, gender, spoken language, marital status, address, age, DOB, doctor, family names, home environment, education, employment, community involvement, hobbies, views, opinions, correspondence from us (email/phone call/in-person), credit card information
- Health: developmental history, medical history, diagnoses, allergies, vision, hearing ability
We collect and use information to remain in contact with you, communicate results of assessments, progress, treatment plans and goals, advise you of options and make recommendations, communicate with your family and other professional services.
Consent: We obtain consent from individuals before collecting their personal information, except where permitted or required by law.
Examples of consent: verbal and written consent and via electronic format.
It would be rare to collect personal and health information without your verbal or written consent. In this case, it may be due to an emergency, for example, a client becomes ill or unconscious requiring emergency services during our session.
Limitation: We collect only the minimum amount of personal and health information necessary to fulfill the specified purposes, and we do not use or disclose personal or health information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law.
Examples of specified purposes: obtain a case history, assess, treat, consult, collaborate with other professionals, agencies or services.
Safeguards: We implement appropriate physical, technical, and organizational measures to safeguard personal information against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.
Examples of safeguards: electronic health record, paperless – we do not store files/paper in our office. At the time of writing, it is all scanned and stored electronically, changing passwords frequently, password protect laptops/computers and lock, special care is used when transmitting electronic information through secure EMR messaging and email consent, faxes are sent securely with cover letters, your consent is obtained to share and obtain information from other service providers.
Retention: We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. We retain personal and health information for 10 years.
Accountability and Transparency
Responsibility: We designate individuals within our organization to be accountable for compliance with this privacy policy and applicable privacy laws. Our Information Officer is Melissa Mascio, Owner/Speech Language Pathologist at Mountain Speech Language Services.
Transparency: We make information about our privacy practices, policies, and procedures readily available to individuals upon request. Our privacy policy is located on our website and can be sent via email as a PDF.
Compliance and Oversight
Compliance: We regularly review and update our privacy practices to ensure compliance with applicable privacy laws and regulations.
Oversight: We provide mechanisms for individuals to address questions and concerns regarding our handling of their personal information, and we respond to such concerns or complaints in a timely and appropriate manner.
Concerns or questions regarding the collection, use, or disclosure of personal health information should be directed to our Information Officer at Mountain Speech Language Services.
Our Information Officer, Melissa Mascio, can be contacted:
Phone: 289-814-9672, 289-887-3407
Email: melissam@mountainspeech.ca
Melissa will respond to your questions and concerns.