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Social Media and Online Communications Policy

Introduction

Brush Neuropsychology Services, PLLC (“BNS,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) may use social media, online listings, website content, blog posts, educational materials, and other digital platforms to share general information about our practice, services, mental health, neuropsychology, cognitive functioning, therapy, and related topics.

This Social Media and Online Communications Policy explains how BNS uses social media and other online platforms, as well as the boundaries and expectations that apply when current clients, former clients, prospective clients, family members, caregivers, professionals, or members of the public interact with BNS online.

This policy is intended to protect client privacy, maintain professional boundaries, and reduce the risk of misunderstandings related to online communication.

To the extent information constitutes Protected Health Information under HIPAA, BNS’s HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices and applicable law will govern.

This policy should be read together with our Website Terms of Service, Website Privacy Policy, HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, and any applicable clinical consent forms or service agreements.

General Educational Purpose Only

Information shared by BNS on our website, social media pages, blog posts, online listings, or other public platforms is for general educational and informational purposes only.

Online content from BNS is not intended to be, and should not be understood as:

  • Medical advice;
  • Psychological advice;
  • Neuropsychological advice;
  • Therapy;
  • Diagnosis;
  • Treatment;
  • A crisis service;
  • A forensic opinion;
  • A disability determination;
  • A school accommodation determination;
  • Legal advice; or
  • A substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare professional.

Viewing, following, liking, commenting on, sharing, messaging, or otherwise interacting with BNS online does not create a clinician-patient relationship, psychologist-client relationship, therapist-client relationship, or any other professional relationship with BNS or any BNS clinician.

A professional relationship is established only after BNS agrees to provide services and the appropriate intake, consent, financial, and clinical documentation has been completed.

No Emergency or Crisis Communication Through Social Media

Social media, website forms, online comments, direct messages, email, and other non-secure electronic communications are not appropriate for emergencies or urgent clinical needs.

Do not use social media, online comments, direct messages, website contact forms, voicemail, email, or text messages to communicate about emergencies, safety concerns, urgent symptoms, abuse or neglect concerns, or crisis situations.

If you are experiencing a medical, psychiatric, or safety emergency, call 911, go to the nearest emergency room, or contact an appropriate crisis service.

BNS does not guarantee that social media messages, comments, tags, notifications, or online communications will be seen, reviewed, or responded to within any particular timeframe.

Clinical Questions and Case-Specific Information

BNS does not provide clinical advice, diagnosis, treatment recommendations, neuropsychological interpretations, therapy, consultation, or case-specific guidance through social media, public comments, online reviews, or direct messages.

Please do not post or send private clinical information through public or non-secure online platforms. This includes information about:

  • Mental health symptoms;
  • Medical history;
  • Neuropsychological concerns;
  • Therapy needs;
  • Testing results;
  • School concerns;
  • Legal matters;
  • Family conflict;
  • Custody issues;
  • Disability claims;
  • Medications;
  • Diagnoses;
  • Records;
  • Reports;
  • Appointments; or
  • Any other personal, health-related, educational, legal, or sensitive information.

If you are a current client and need to communicate with BNS about scheduling, billing, forms, records, or clinical care, please use the communication methods provided to you by the practice, such as phone, secure portal, or other approved communication channels.

Privacy and Confidentiality

BNS is committed to protecting client privacy and confidentiality. Because social media platforms are public or semi-public spaces, interactions with BNS online may create privacy risks.

If you choose to follow, like, comment on, share, tag, review, or otherwise interact with BNS online, others may infer that you have a relationship with BNS or an interest in neuropsychological, psychological, therapy, or healthcare services. BNS is not responsible for privacy risks created by your decision to interact with us publicly online.

To protect your privacy, we encourage you to avoid posting personal information, health information, or any information you would not want publicly associated with you.

BNS will not confirm or deny whether any person is a current or former client in response to public comments, reviews, tags, posts, or other online interactions.

Direct Messages

BNS does not use social media direct messaging as a regular method of clinical communication. Direct messages may not be secure, may not be monitored regularly, and may not become part of the clinical record.

If you send BNS a direct message through a social media platform, we may not respond through that platform. We may direct you to contact the practice by phone, secure portal, or another appropriate method.

Please do not use direct messages to send clinical information, records, reports, appointment details, crisis information, or sensitive personal information.

Friend, Follow, and Connection Requests

To maintain professional boundaries and protect confidentiality, BNS clinicians generally do not accept friend requests, follow requests, connection requests, or similar personal social media invitations from current or former clients on personal social media accounts.

BNS may maintain public business pages or professional profiles that individuals may choose to view or follow. Following or interacting with BNS’s public pages is voluntary and does not create a professional relationship.

BNS clinicians may also maintain professional profiles for general networking, education, or professional purposes. Even on professional platforms, online connection requests from current or former clients may be declined to protect privacy and maintain appropriate boundaries.

Comments, Tags, and Public Interactions

BNS may allow comments, reactions, tags, reviews, or other public interactions on certain platforms. However, BNS reserves the right to hide, delete, restrict, block, or decline to respond to content that includes:

  • Protected health information or other private information;
  • Confidential information about a client, family member, student, patient, or third party;
  • Harassing, threatening, discriminatory, defamatory, or abusive content;
  • Spam, solicitations, advertisements, or irrelevant promotional material;
  • Misinformation or misleading statements;
  • Profanity or inappropriate content;
  • Test materials or content that may compromise psychological or neuropsychological test security;
  • Legal, custody, forensic, or case-specific allegations;
  • Crisis statements or safety concerns that cannot be appropriately addressed through social media;
  • Content that violates platform rules or applicable law; or
  • Content BNS determines is inconsistent with the purpose of its online presence.

BNS’s decision to remove, hide, or decline to respond to content does not mean BNS agrees or disagrees with the content. It may simply reflect our privacy, confidentiality, professional boundary, or risk-management obligations.

Online Reviews

You may encounter BNS on review platforms, search engines, directories, or social media pages that allow public reviews.

BNS does not require, pressure, or expect clients to leave public reviews. Because public reviews may reveal your relationship with BNS or suggest that you received services from us, you should carefully consider your own privacy before posting a review.

If you choose to leave a review, we encourage you not to include personal health information, diagnoses, treatment details, testing results, family information, school information, legal details, or other sensitive information.

Due to confidentiality obligations, BNS generally cannot respond substantively to online reviews, even if a review contains inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information. BNS will not confirm or deny whether a reviewer is or was a client.

BNS may respond to reviews in a general manner, such as by encouraging the reviewer to contact the practice directly, but such responses should not be interpreted as confirming any person’s client status.

Testimonials

BNS does not solicit testimonials from current therapy clients in a way that could create pressure, confusion, or privacy concerns. Any use of testimonials, if applicable, will be handled in accordance with legal, ethical, professional, and privacy requirements.

BNS does not guarantee that any individual will have the same experience or outcome described by another person.

Search Engines and Online Searches

BNS does not routinely search for clients online. However, there may be limited circumstances in which a clinician may consider online information, such as when there is a serious concern about safety, risk, legal compliance, or another circumstance where the clinician believes access to publicly available information is clinically or ethically necessary.

If online information becomes relevant to clinical care, BNS will use professional judgment regarding whether and how to address it.

Use of Publicly Available Information

Information that you post publicly online may be visible to others, including BNS. However, public availability does not mean that social media is an appropriate place for clinical communication.

If you publicly tag, mention, comment on, or communicate with BNS, we may not respond, or we may respond only in a limited, general way to protect privacy and confidentiality.

Professional Boundaries

BNS maintains professional boundaries in online spaces. BNS clinicians and staff will not knowingly engage in informal personal relationships with current clients through social media, personal accounts, public comment threads, or direct messages.

Online interactions can blur boundaries, create misunderstandings, and risk confidentiality. This policy is designed to preserve the integrity of the professional relationship and protect clients, families, and the practice.

Social Media Is Not Part of the Clinical Record

Unless specifically stated otherwise, interactions on social media generally are not intended to become part of the clinical record and should not be used to communicate clinically relevant information.  However, BNS may document or retain communications when clinically, legally, ethically, or administratively appropriate.

Clinical communications should occur through approved practice channels. If you send clinically relevant information through social media, BNS may not monitor, review, respond to, or include that information in your clinical record.

Third-Party Platforms

Social media platforms, search engines, online directories, review sites, and other third-party platforms are not controlled by BNS. These platforms have their own terms of service, privacy policies, data practices, advertising practices, and security measures.

BNS is not responsible for how third-party platforms collect, use, disclose, store, analyze, or share information about your online activity.

Before interacting with BNS or any healthcare-related content online, you may wish to review the privacy settings and policies of the platform you are using.

No Monitoring Obligation

BNS does not undertake any duty to monitor social media platforms, comments, tags, reviews, or direct messages for clinical communications, emergencies, or crisis situations.

Advertising, Analytics, and Tracking

BNS may use general online tools to support website functionality, online visibility, practice information, or general marketing.  BNS seeks to avoid the use or disclosure of protected health information for targeted advertising or marketing purposes except as permitted or authorized by law.

Our use of website analytics, online tracking tools, cookies, and related technologies is addressed more fully in our Website Privacy Policy.

Intellectual Property

Content posted by BNS, including text, graphics, logos, images, videos, educational content, downloadable materials, and other original materials, is owned by BNS or used with permission unless otherwise stated.

You may not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, or use BNS content for commercial purposes without prior written permission.

You may share publicly available BNS posts through standard platform-sharing tools, provided the content is not altered, misleadingly presented, or used in a way that suggests endorsement, clinical advice, or a professional relationship.

Media Requests and Professional Inquiries

Members of the media, attorneys, schools, healthcare providers, and other professionals should contact BNS through official practice communication channels rather than through social media direct messages or public comments.

BNS does not provide case-specific consultation, legal opinions, forensic opinions, or clinical recommendations through public online platforms.

Changes to This Policy

BNS may update this Social Media and Online Communications Policy from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised “Last Updated” date.

Your continued use of or interaction with BNS’s website, social media pages, or online presence after changes are posted means you acknowledge the revised policy.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Social Media and Online Communications Policy, please contact us:

Brush Neuropsychology Services, PLLC
2855 Coolidge Hwy
Troy, MI 48084
Phone: (248) 270-5974
Email: admin@brushneuropsych.com
Website: www.brushneuropsych.com

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