Virtual Care Agreement
Only use our service if you’ve read this information and subsequently made an informed decision that our service is right for you. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
NOT FOR EMERGENCIES
You understand that you should never use Clarity Point Psychiatry in a medical or psychiatric emergency. You understand that in an emergency, you should dial 911, 988, or go to an emergency department.
WEBSITE, ANALYTICS AND MARKETING
The content on Clarity Point Psychiatry’s website is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or psychiatric advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have about your health. Never delay care or disregard medical advice based on something you’ve read on our website.
We do not use tracking pixels, cookies tied to health information, or any tools that monitor your activity within our HIPAA-compliant systems, such as our Patient portal, online forms, or video platform.
To help improve our website and understand how visitors interact with it, we use basic analytics tools that may collect limited, non-personally identifiable information such as device type, browser, pages visited, or general geographic location (e.g., city or region). We do not sell your information or use it to retarget you with advertising. If we ever engage in digital advertising (e.g., Google Ads), it will not be based on your personal health information or activity within any secure HIPAA-compliant Clarity Point Psychiatry systems. By continuing to use our website, you acknowledge this limited use of analytics.
BILLING
For services rendered by or on behalf of Clarity Point Psychiatry, you agree to pay Clarity Point Psychiatry all applicable charges at the prices or patient responsibility then in effect for the medical services provided to you. Billing information received by you may be shared with our billing partners and insurance payers, for the purpose of processing your claim and/or payment.
WHEN OUR DUTY OF CARE BEGINS
You understand that making a request for treatment (by requesting or scheduling a visit on the Website, providing supporting information and documents, answering questions, making a payment, or starting a video visit) does not, in and of itself, create a duty of care or create a nurse practitioner-patient relationship. Typically, a nurse practitioner-patient relationship and the duty of care begin after the first visit (care encounter), once the nurse practitioner (NP) has accepted the duty of care. You give permission for the nurse practitioner to provide medical care. You may withdraw this consent at any time by no longer seeking medical services from Clarity Point Psychiatry. You understand that the nurse practitioner has the right to refuse to take responsibility for your care if the nurse practitioner makes an independent professional judgment that you are not an appropriate candidate for the services provided by Clarity Point Psychiatry.
PHYSICAL LOCATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
You understand that healthcare regulations require the patient to be physically located in the state in which the treating nurse practitioner is licensed to provide care, even if the visit is occurring over remote synchronous video. Therefore, if you are traveling outside the state in which you initiated care with your nurse practitioner, you understand that you will need to postpone your appointment until your return. You understand that at each visit, you will be required to accurately disclose your location.
BENEFITS AND RISKS OF USING OUR VIRTUAL PSYCHIATRY SERVICES
You understand that Clarity Point Psychiatry offers virtual psychiatry services. You understand that by using the virtual service, you’re seeking convenient, affordable care. You understand that an online mental health consultation has potential benefits, including easier access to care and the convenience of meeting from a private location of your choosing. You understand that video conferencing technology will be used to facilitate the consultation, that the video visit is not recorded, and that it will not be the same as a direct patient/nurse practitioner visit because you will not be in the same room as your nurse practitioner.
Clarity Point Psychiatry uses a secure video conferencing platform provided by Doximity and/or Zoom for Healthcare to facilitate video conferencing only. You do not assume that your nurse practitioner has access to any or all of the technical information in the video conferencing platform provided by Doximity or Zoom, or that such information is current, accurate, or up-to-date. You will not rely on your nurse practitioner to have any technical information about the video conferencing platform used. To maintain confidentiality, you will not share your video conferencing appointment link with anyone unauthorized to attend your appointment. You understand this technology carries potential risks, including interruptions, unauthorized access, and technical difficulties. You understand that you or your nurse practitioner can discontinue the online synchronous video visit if it is felt that the video conferencing connection is not adequate for the situation.
You understand that you should join the video appointment from an appropriate, confidential, and quiet location where you feel comfortable discussing confidential information. You further acknowledge that if you are not in an appropriate location during the appointment, the nurse practitioner may choose not to continue the session and may reschedule the appointment for a later date and time; and that you will be billed for the terminated appointment.
You understand that by using the service for an online mental health consultation, you won’t have an in-person consultation or in-person physical exam that might identify a medical or psychiatric condition that needs further investigation or immediate treatment.
You understand that if you have any questions relating to your care that aren’t urgent, you may contact Clarity Point Psychiatry by email, phone, text, or secure portal messaging. You understand that the nurse practitioner may not review and respond to your messages for several days.
You understand that Clarity Point Psychiatry may change, suspend, or discontinue any of our partnerships, including health system partnerships, and insurance payer partnerships at any time. We will provide you with notices of such changes as applicable.
IMPORTANCE OF ANSWERING ALL QUESTIONS FULLY AND TRUTHFULLY
You understand that by using Clarity Point Psychiatry you seek to enter into a relationship where the nurse practitioner relies upon information that you provide to decide whether or not treatment is safe and appropriate. You understand that the nurse practitioner will consider information to be accurate, true, and complete, including (but not limited to), your age, gender, geographic location at the time of the visit, all your answers to health questions, and your photo identification. You understand that if you provide information that isn’t true and complete, then you will be at greater risk of adverse events from any treatment that the nurse practitioner prescribes and may receive a treatment that isn’t necessary, appropriate, or safe. You understand that even if you provide information that is true and complete, you are still at risk of adverse events from any treatment that the nurse practitioner prescribes.
RISKS OF ACCEPTING OUR PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICATION TREATMENT PLAN
You understand that all the medicines that the nurse practitioner may prescribe or recommend, including over-the-counter medicines and ‘behind-the-counter’ medicines, can cause serious side effects and adverse events that include severe allergic reaction, permanent disability, and death. You understand that it is your responsibility to make an informed decision whether to accept a treatment plan that the nurse practitioner proposes after weighing the risks and benefits of the medicine being prescribed, alternative treatment options and the risks and benefits of such alternatives, and the option of not seeking any treatment. You understand the importance of reading the manufacturer’s leaflet that comes with a medicine, including an over-the-counter or behind-the-counter medicine, before you take a medicine because this leaflet includes important information about risks and warnings. You understand that adverse events can be caused by a number of things, including an allergic reaction, side effects, or interactions between a medicine that the nurse practitioner prescribes and any medical conditions you may have, other prescription medicines or other things (e.g., supplements, herbs, over-the-counter medicines, or recreational drugs) you are taking, and lifestyle choices such as smoking tobacco products or drinking alcohol.
You understand that if you are a threat to yourself or to other people, you should not use Clarity Point Psychiatry and should instead call 911, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988, or go to the nearest emergency department.
You understand that the Clarity Point Psychiatry nurse practitioner may prescribe psychotropic medications including selective serotonin inhibitors (SSRIs), norepinephrine serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), atypical antidepressants (bupropion), atypical antipsychotics, typical antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, benzodiazepines, sedative hypnotics, and stimulants. You understand that taking these types of medicines may cause potentially life-threatening side effects, the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior, and can cause a severe allergic reaction that can lead to disability and even death. You understand that abruptly stopping any of the treatments may cause symptoms including but not limited to anxiety, irritability, agitation, dizziness, nausea, and sensory disturbances such as the feeling of having an electric shock.
You understand that as a condition of treatment, Clarity Point Psychiatry nurse practitioners will require you to provide an emergency contact person, as well as ensuring any weapons at home are both unloaded and locked.
You understand that as part of treatment, Clarity Point Psychiatry nurse practitioners may require you to abstain from any alcohol or substance use, including but not limited to marijuana, cocaine, and stimulants (uppers).
You understand that if you are unable to abide by these terms of treatment, you may not be an appropriate candidate for this service. You understand that there are alternatives to the prescription-only medicines available from Clarity Point Psychiatry nurse practitioners, like supportive counseling for treatment of depression or anxiety.
COMMUNICATION
By using our services, you consent to receive communications from us (including our employees, agents, and contractors) related to your care, account, and use of the platform. These communications may include, without limitation, information on fees and charges, transactional details, appointment reminders, administrative messages, progress tracking, quality assurance requests, engagement materials (such as welcome packets), and other service-related notices (“Communications”).
We primarily use electronic methods of communication, which may include: (1) emails to the address you provide, (2) short message service (“SMS”) text messages to the mobile number you provide, (3) phone calls and voicemails (including those with pre-recorded or artificial voices or placed using automated systems), and (4) push notifications or other electronic messages through the platform. Message frequency may vary. Your carrier’s message and data rates may apply. The wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
By providing your contact information, you authorize us to contact you at the number(s) and addresses provided. You agree to keep your contact information up to date to ensure you receive important messages. You acknowledge that SMS messages and unencrypted emails may carry a low but inherent risk of interception or unauthorized access. SMS messages may contain a minimum amount of protected health information (PHI). Others with access to your device may also view messages we send to you.
You may opt out of marketing or non-essential communications by following the unsubscribe instructions in emails or replying “STOP” to SMS messages. We may send you a confirmation message to verify your opt-out. Please note that opting out of certain communications does not affect our ability to contact you regarding your account, care, or other legally required or service-related notices. However, if you opt out, some functions of the platform may not be available to you, and you may not receive important reminders about your services.
You agree that any notices, agreements, disclosures, or other communications sent electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
We may record (audio) of Patient support interactions with you for quality assurance, training, and service improvement. We will keep such recordings confidential and will not publicly display them unless disclosure is required by law. By using the platform, you consent to such recordings for these limited purposes.
AI-ASSISTED NOTE-TAKING
Clarity Point Psychiatry nurse practitioners have access to HIPAA-compliant AI note-taking technology to document medical information efficiently and accurately. This AI technology lets your NP focus entirely on you during your visit (instead of actively taking notes) while still accurately capturing medical information.
Transcripts are securely stored and are not shared outside of your care team. We aim to delete transcripts within 30 days whenever possible; however, if your nurse practitioner uses third-party tools, deletion timelines may vary. In all cases, we expect our providers to follow Clarity Point Psychiatry’s data privacy standards and retain only what is necessary for care. We compile summaries from the transcript for record-keeping within our secure Electronic Medical Record. The transcribed notes will be reviewed and verified (and amended, as necessary) by your NP. The AI note-taking technology is not used to make any decisions about your care. Your Clarity Point Psychiatry NP will review all the information in your record, including the AI-scribed notes, before making any decisions about your care.
RISKS TO ELECTRONIC HEALTH INFORMATION
You understand that although Clarity Point Psychiatry implements a wide range of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect your health information, Clarity Point Psychiatry cannot guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of your health information.
The emails we send you are not secure because they are unencrypted. Other people may be able to read and forward the emails we send you and the emails you send us. Emails we send you may include a wide range of identifiers that include, but are not limited to, your name, your email address, phone number, visit type, the date you used our service, etc.
When you create an account on the Patient Portal, we ask for your email address to communicate with you about your care. If an incorrect email is provided, our messages may be sent to the wrong person without our knowledge.
The SMS/text messages we send you are not secure because they are unencrypted. Other people may be able to read the SMS/text messages we send you and any SMS/text messages you send us.
The safest way to communicate with us is by phone or through our secure portal messaging. We take a number of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the PHI we hold electronically in our secure systems. But despite these safeguards, no system is full-proof and we cannot guarantee that our systems and your PHI will not be hacked or otherwise compromised by unauthorized third parties.
Student Observation and Participation
Clarity Point Psychiatry supports the education of future healthcare professionals. Students may occasionally observe or participate in appointments under the direct supervision of your nurse practitioner and with your permission.
You will be informed of the student’s presence and role, and your consent will be obtained before the student observes or participates. Students are required to follow applicable patient privacy and confidentiality requirements. Your nurse practitioner remains responsible for your care and all treatment decisions.
Student involvement is voluntary. You may decline or withdraw your permission at any time without affecting your access to care or the quality of services you receive.
AGREEMENT TO TERMS
By using our services, you agree to be bound by the terms in this Agreement. Additionally, the terms of this agreement shall be binding upon any of your heirs, successors, assigns, and legal representatives. If you don’t agree to be bound by these Terms, do not use the services.