Privacy Policy

Who We Are

InTandem Music Therapy is directed by Micaela Pirritano, MTA. We work with individuals of all ages who seek support services through our private practice. We also sometimes work with consultants or agencies that may, in the course of their duties and in best ethical practices, have limited access to personal health information in our possession.

What is Personal Health Information?

Personal health information is data that can be used to identify a person and details of their healthcare. This may include contact information (e.g., name, address, telephone number, e-mail address), personal characteristics (e.g., age, gender, cultural/ethnic background), and health details (e.g., presenting issues, health history, medical/mental health conditions, treatments being received).

Collection and Use of Personal Health Information:

In order to provide healthcare services, InTandem Music Therapy collects relevant personal health information about you. We may also ask you to complete questionnaires or other self-report tests to enable a better understanding of your health-related support needs.

The primary purpose of collecting this information is so we may:

• Evaluate your health-related needs;
• Recommend appropriate treatment options; and
• Provide therapy.

Third party payers, when applicable, may request specific information about your healthcare:

• Extended-health benefits insurers, for example, often have your consent for us to release information about session dates, duration and the clinical provider’s information (name, title, registration number); and
• Auto insurers, WCB, Long-Term Disability insurers and legal representatives may request information related to your health conditions, treatment needs, treatment progress and disability in order to make determinations of your entitlement to funding.

Electronic Communication of Personal Health Information (“E-mail”):

InTandem Music Therapy offers e-mail communication as a method of contact between yourself and our practice. We use e-mail to provide appointment confirmations and reminders, and to send invoices for services rendered. We may also use e-mail to communicate with you about appointment bookings and cancellations if we cannot reach you by telephone (or if you request we use e-mail as a primary method of contact).

E-mail is convenient and efficient; however, communicating by e-mail also encompasses risks that should also be considered.

E-mail is not recognized as a secure form of communication.  Risks of transmitting your information by e-mail include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The privacy and security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed;
• E-mail is easier to falsify than phone, fax or mail. It is also impossible to verify the true identity of the sender, or to ensure that only the recipient can read the e-mail once it has been sent;
• E-mail can introduce viruses into a computer system, and potentially damage or disrupt the computer;
• E-mail can be forwarded, intercepted, circulated, stored, or even changed without the knowledge or permission of the sender or recipient. E-mail senders can easily misaddress an e-mail, resulting in it being sent to unintended and unknown recipients; and
• E-mail creates a permanent record. Even after the sender and recipient have deleted their copies of the e-mail, back-up copies may exist on a computer or in cyberspace.

We will use reasonable means to protect the security and confidentiality of e-mail information sent and received. However, because of the risks outlined above, we cannot guarantee the security and confidentiality of e-mail communication.

Consent to the use of e-mail indicates your agreement with the following conditions:

• E-mails from you containing clinically relevant information may be printed in full and made part of your clinical record. Because these would become part of your clinical record, other individuals authorized to access the clinical record will have access to those e-mails;
• We will make reasonable efforts to read and respond to e-mails promptly. However, we cannot guarantee that any particular e-mail will be read and responded to within any particular period of time. Therefore, e-mail should not be used for emergencies or other time-sensitive matters; and
• E-mail communication is not an appropriate substitute for treatment. You are responsible for following up with us to schedule appointments, where warranted

E-mail should not be used to discuss sensitive personal health information, such as that related to mental health, disability or substance use. Therefore, we will not discuss such matters over e-mail.

E-mail communication is voluntary. Please advise us if you do not wish to engage in e-mail communication, and we will remove your e-mail address from our system.

Tele-Services (Virtual Sessions and Telephone-based Assessments):

InTandem Music Therapy offers in-person, virtual (video) and telephone-based options for assessment and treatment services. Micaela will discuss which mode of service is recommended based on your needs, and changes can be made throughout the course of your treatment with respect to the mode of therapy you both decide to use.

Virtual care is offered through Zoom currently, although there are some privacy limitations within Zoom. Zoom is not certified for the privacy regulations in Canada. Zoom has issued a statement to address their security and privacy policy:

At Zoom, we are committed to protecting the security and privacy of our customers’ data. This includes enabling our
customers in Canada to be compliant with Canadian Data Protection regulations, including the Personal Information
Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, locally, the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA).

Link here for more info

We highly recommend you test your video/audio settings the day before your session, and contact Zoom’s tech support for assistance if needed. In the event of technical problems during your session, a back-up plan (e.g., a phone number where you can be reached) will be used to restart the session or to reschedule it. Micaela may elect to use a different videoconferencing platform; the benefits/risks of that platform will be discussed with you prior to beginning virtual sessions.

Telephone-based assessments will involve InTandem Music Therapy contacting you by phone at your scheduled appointment time. Please note that in some cases, the Caller ID may show up as “Unknown” or blocked. We ask you to ensure you are available and can answer the call at the scheduled appointment time.

Virtual sessions are convenient and may be used when in-person sessions are not possible. Engaging in treatment using virtual care or by telephone encompasses risks that should also be considered.

Consent to the use of virtual and telephone-based sessions indicates your agreement with the following conditions:

• Confidentiality still applies for mental health tele-services, and the session will not be recorded by the music therapist or yourself without permission from the other person(s).
• It is important to be in a quiet, private space that is free of distractions during the session.
• It is important to use a secure internet connection rather than public/free Wi-Fi.
• For child/adolescent clients, permission of your parent/legal guardian (and their contact information) is required to engage in tele-sessions.

Use of virtual and telephone-based sessions is voluntary. Please advise us if you no longer wish to engage in tele-services and we will discuss alternate options with you at that time.

Access to Your Personal Health Information & Requests for Correction:

With a few exceptions, you have the right to access or amend your personal health information. This means that you may request to read clinical notes in your file, ask for corrections to be made to factual information, and for a copy of your health information.

In these cases, your therapist will review the clinical notes with you and can help you understand any information that is not clear (e.g., short-forms, technical terms, etc.). Copies of your file will take time to provide due to the busy nature of our practice – we will provide an estimate of the timeframe when your request is made.

If we cannot give you access, we will advise you in writing within 30 days if possible, and will outline the reason, as best we can, as to why we cannot give you access.

Storage and Destruction of Personal Health Information:

A record containing your personal health information and information about your therapy sessions and other materially relevant interactions are maintained in a secured place while you are engaged in InTandem Music Therapy’s services.

We are required to retain your personal health information for a period of 10 years after our last contact with you (for adults) or 10 years after you turn 18 years of age (for children), whichever is later. Any personal health information that is stored electronically is protected by appropriate security measures (e.g., PHIPA-compliant software that includes bank-level encryption). After 10 years, your personal information is destroyed in a secure manner that protects your privacy.

Questions and Complaints:

If you have any questions about our privacy practices and procedures, we encourage you to contact us.

Additional Privacy Policy Information

Personal Data collected for the following purposes and using the following services:

• Analytics
  • Google Analytics and AIOSEO Content Analytics
    • Personal Data: Cookies; Usage Data
• Contacting the User
  • Contact form
    • Personal Data: email address; first name; last name; various types of Data
  • Phone contact
    • Personal Data: phone number
  • Mailing list or newsletter
    • Personal Data: email address; first name; last name; Usage Data
• Content commenting
  • Comment system managed directly
    • Personal Data: Cookies; email address; first name; last name; Usage Data; website
• Data transfer outside the EU
  • Data transfer abroad based on consent, Data transfer abroad based on standard contractual clauses, Data transfer from the EU and/or Switzerland to the U.S based on Privacy Shield, Data transfer to countries that guarantee European standards and Other legal basis for Data transfer abroad
    • Personal Data: various types of Data
• Displaying content from external platforms
  • Google Maps widget, YouTube video widget
    • Personal Data: Cookies; Usage Data
  • Google Fonts
    • Personal Data: Usage Data; various types of Data as specified in the privacy policy of the service
• Interaction with external social networks and platforms
  • Pinterest “Pin it” button and social widgets and Facebook Like button and social widgets
    • Personal Data: Cookies; Usage Data
• SPAM protection
  • Google reCAPTCHA
    • Personal Data: Cookies; Usage Data