Notice of Privacy Practices

Speech Together LLC (Speech Together)
38 Main Street, Saugus, MA 01906
Phone: 781-604-0604
Email: hello@speechtogetherma.com

Effective date: October 21, 2026

Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Who this notice is for. Speech Together gives speech and language therapy to children. In this notice:

• “Your child” means our patient.
• “You” means the parent or legal guardian who makes health care decisions for your child.
• “We” and “us” mean Speech Together LLC.

If you are our patient and you are 18 or older, read “your child” as “you.”

Our privacy contact. Our speech-language pathologist is also our Privacy Officer. Contact her with any question, request, or complaint about your child’s privacy:

Taylor Reed, Privacy Officer
Speech Together LLC
38 Main Street, Saugus, MA 01906
Phone: 781-604-0604
Email: hello@speechtogetherma.com

Summary of This Notice

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Get a copy of your child’s paper or electronic record
• Correct your child’s paper or electronic record
• Request confidential communication
• Ask us to limit the information we share
• Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your child’s information
• Get a copy of this privacy notice
• Act for your child as a parent or guardian
• File a complaint if you believe we have violated your privacy rights

Your Choices

You have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we:

• Tell family and friends about your child’s condition
• Provide disaster relief
• Market our services or sell information. We never do either.

Our Uses and Disclosures

We may use and share your child’s information as we:

• Treat your child
• Run our practice
• Bill for your child’s services
• Help with public health and safety issues
• Do research
• Comply with the law
• Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
• Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

Federal law gives extra protection to some substance use disorder treatment records. The law is 42 CFR Part 2. If we have these records about your child, we will not share them for investigations or legal proceedings against your child. We make an exception only with (1) written consent or (2) a court order and a subpoena.

Your Rights

You have certain rights about your child’s health information. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

Get an electronic or paper copy of your child’s record

• You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your child’s record and other health information we have about your child. Ask us how to do this.
• We will give you a copy or a summary of the information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
• Massachusetts law gives you an extra right. We will not charge a fee if you need the record for a Social Security claim or appeal. The same is true for a claim or appeal under a federal or state needs-based benefit program. Show us reasonable proof of the claim when you ask. We will send that record within 30 days.

Ask us to correct your child’s record

• You can ask us to correct health information about your child that you think is wrong or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
• We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications

• You can ask us to contact you in a specific way, such as by home phone, cell phone, text, or email. You can also ask us to send mail to a different address.
• We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.
• We may send appointment reminders by text message or email. Regular text messages and email are not always secure. Tell us at any time if you want a different way to get reminders, or no reminders.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

• You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We do not have to agree to your request. We may say “no” if it could affect your child’s care. If we agree, we may still share the information if your child needs emergency treatment.
• If you pay in full for a service yourself, you can ask us not to share information about that service with your health insurer. This applies to sharing for payment or our operations. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

• You can ask for a list of the times we’ve shared your child’s health information in the six years before the date you ask. The law calls this list an “accounting” of disclosures. It shows who we shared the information with and why.
• The list includes all disclosures except those for treatment, payment, and health care operations. It also leaves out certain other disclosures, such as any you asked us to make. We will give you one list a year for free. We will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

Get a copy of this privacy notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to get the notice electronically. We will give you a paper copy promptly. You can also find this notice on our website at speechtogetherma.com.

Parents, guardians, and others who act for your child

• Parents and guardians usually act for the child. A parent or legal guardian usually makes health care decisions for a child under 18. The law calls this person a “personal representative” for the child. A personal representative can use all the rights in this notice and make choices about the child’s health information.
• We check authority first. Some people say they have legal authority to act for your child, such as a guardian. We will make sure the person has this authority before we take any action. We may ask to see court papers or other proof.
• Divorced or separated parents. Massachusetts law generally lets a parent see a child’s health records even if that parent does not have custody. A court can order us to keep some information, such as an address, from a parent. Please give us a copy of any court order about custody, guardianship, or access to your child’s records.
• When a parent does not act for the child. In a few cases, a parent is not the personal representative for some of the child’s information:
  • Massachusetts law lets some minors agree to their own care. Examples are a married minor, or a minor who lives on their own and manages their own money. In those cases, the minor controls the information about that care.
  • A court directs the child’s care.
  • A parent agrees that the child and the therapist can keep certain information private.
• Child safety. We may refuse to treat a person as your child’s personal representative. We do this if we believe the person has abused or neglected the child. We also do this if we believe that person’s role as representative could put the child at risk.
• When your child turns 18. Your child then controls their own health information, unless a court has named a guardian for them.

File a complaint if you feel we violated your rights

• You can complain to us if you feel we have violated your rights or your child’s rights. Contact our Privacy Officer using the information at the top of this notice.
• You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights:
  • Online: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html. The online form is at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/.
  • By mail: Centralized Case Management Operations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 509F HHH Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20201.
  • By phone: 1-877-696-6775.
• We will not retaliate against you or your child for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your child’s information in the situations below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

• Share information with family members, close friends, or others involved in your child’s care or payment for care. For example, a grandparent or babysitter may bring your child to therapy. We can talk with that person about the session if you tell us it is okay.
• Share information in a disaster relief situation.

Sometimes you may not be able to tell us your preference, for example in an emergency. Then we may share your child’s information if we believe it is in your child’s best interest. We may also share information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your child’s information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

Our promises to you:

• We never market or sell your child’s information.
• We do not contact families to raise money.
• We will not share your child’s information with your child’s school or child care program without your written permission. The only exception is when a law requires it.

Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your child’s health information?

We typically use or share your child’s health information in the following ways.

Treat your child

We can use your child’s health information and share it with other professionals who are treating your child.

Example: We send an evaluation report to your child’s pediatrician.

Run our organization

We can use and share your child’s health information to run our practice, improve your child’s care, and contact you when necessary.

Example: We use your child’s information to schedule visits and to send appointment reminders by text message or email.

We use outside companies to help us run our practice. For example, we use SimplePractice to schedule visits, keep records, and send bills. These companies must sign a contract that requires them to protect your child’s information.

Bill for your child’s services

We can use and share your child’s health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.

Example: We send your child’s diagnosis and dates of therapy to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts or your other health plan. The plan then pays for your child’s services.

How else can we use or share your child’s health information?

The law allows or requires us to share your child’s information in other ways. These ways usually help the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share information for these purposes.

Federal law protects some substance use disorder treatment records. The law is 42 CFR Part 2. If we have these records about your child, this limit applies in all cases, including those listed below. We cannot use or share these records in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigations or proceedings against your child. The only exceptions are (1) written consent or (2) a court order and a subpoena.

Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about your child for certain situations such as:

• Preventing disease
• Helping with product recalls
• Reporting adverse reactions to medications
• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. For example, we may report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Do research

We can use or share your child’s information for health research.

Comply with the law

We will share information about your child if state or federal laws require it. This includes the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we are following federal privacy law.

Respond to organ and tissue donation requests

We can share health information with organ procurement organizations.

Work with a medical examiner or funeral director

We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when a person dies.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests

We can use or share health information:

• For workers’ compensation claims
• For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
• With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
• For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services

Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

We can share health information in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

Special Protections Under Massachusetts Law

Massachusetts law gives extra protection to some information. When state law protects your child’s information more than federal law does, we follow the state law.

• HIV test results. Your child’s record may include HIV test results from another provider. We will not share those results without your specific written permission. We will not tell anyone that your child had an HIV test without that permission. You sign a separate form for each release.
• Genetic test results. Your child’s record may include genetic test results from another provider or a lab. We will not share those results without your specific written permission, unless a court orders it or the law allows it. You sign a separate form for this release.
• Free copies for benefit claims. See “Get an electronic or paper copy of your child’s record” above.
• Parents without custody. See “Parents, guardians, and others who act for your child” above.

Our Responsibilities

• The law requires us to maintain the privacy and security of your child’s protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your child’s information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your child’s information other than as described in this notice unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information see: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/notice-privacy-practices/index.html.

Changes to the Terms of this Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about your child. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website at speechtogetherma.com. The effective date is at the top of each notice.