Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 1, 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to the privacy policy of MHAC – Mental Health Advisors & Care California (“MHAC,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). We are a licensed addiction treatment center located at 7462 N Fresno St, Fresno, CA 93720, and we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal and health information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website mhaccare.com, contact our facility, or receive treatment services at our Fresno, California location. It also describes your rights regarding your personal data and how you can exercise those rights.

By accessing or using our website and services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our practices, please discontinue use of our website and contact us with any questions.

2. Information We Collect

MHAC collects information in several ways to provide and improve our addiction treatment services in Fresno, California. The types of information we may collect include:

2.1 Personal Information You Provide

  • Contact Information: Name, phone number, email address, mailing address
  • Demographic Information: Date of birth, gender, marital status, emergency contact details
  • Insurance Information: Health insurance provider, policy number, group number, subscriber details
  • Payment Information: Billing address, payment card details (processed through secure third-party payment processors)
  • Inquiry Information: Details you share when calling (559) 550-6001, completing our online forms, or emailing [email protected]

2.2 Protected Health Information (PHI)

  • Medical History: Past and present medical conditions, medications, allergies
  • Substance Use History: Substance use patterns, previous treatment history, relapse history
  • Mental Health Records: Psychiatric evaluations, diagnoses, therapy notes, treatment plans
  • Treatment Records: Admission/discharge information, progress notes, lab results, medication administration records
  • Assessment Data: Clinical assessments, screening results, and outcome measurements collected during your care at our Fresno facility

2.3 Information Collected Automatically

  • Device Information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type
  • Usage Data: Pages visited on mhaccare.com, time spent on pages, referring URLs, click patterns
  • Location Data: General geographic location derived from your IP address
  • Cookies and Tracking Data: Information collected through cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies (see Section 6 for details)

3. How We Use Your Information

MHAC uses the information we collect for the following purposes:

3.1 Treatment and Care

  • Providing substance abuse treatment, medical detoxification, residential rehabilitation, outpatient programs, and dual diagnosis care at our Fresno, California center
  • Coordinating care among our clinical team, physicians, therapists, and counselors
  • Creating and managing individualized treatment plans
  • Communicating with you about appointments, treatment progress, and aftercare planning

3.2 Administrative and Operational Purposes

  • Processing admissions and verifying insurance coverage
  • Billing and collecting payment for services rendered
  • Responding to inquiries submitted through our website, by phone at (559) 550-6001, or via email
  • Maintaining internal records and compliance documentation
  • Conducting quality improvement and clinical outcome analysis

3.3 Website Improvement

  • Analyzing website usage patterns on mhaccare.com to improve user experience
  • Personalizing your experience on our website
  • Monitoring and maintaining the security and functionality of our site

3.4 Legal and Regulatory Compliance

  • Complying with federal and California state laws, including HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
  • Fulfilling reporting obligations to state licensing authorities and accreditation bodies
  • Responding to lawful requests from law enforcement or government agencies

4. HIPAA Compliance & Protected Health Information

As a healthcare provider offering addiction treatment services in Fresno, California, MHAC is subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its implementing regulations, including the HIPAA Privacy Rule and Security Rule. We take our obligations under HIPAA seriously and have implemented comprehensive policies and procedures to protect your Protected Health Information (PHI).

4.1 Our HIPAA Obligations

  • Notice of Privacy Practices: Upon admission to MHAC, you will receive our full Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP), which provides a detailed description of how your PHI may be used and disclosed. This Privacy Policy supplements, but does not replace, the NPP.
  • Minimum Necessary Standard: We limit the use, disclosure, and request of PHI to the minimum amount necessary to accomplish the intended purpose.
  • Business Associate Agreements: We require all third-party vendors and partners who access your PHI to sign Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) ensuring they protect your information in compliance with HIPAA.
  • Privacy Officer: MHAC has designated a Privacy Officer responsible for overseeing our HIPAA compliance program at our Fresno facility.

4.2 42 CFR Part 2 Protections

Because MHAC provides substance use disorder treatment, your records are additionally protected under the federal regulation 42 CFR Part 2 (Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records). This regulation provides heightened privacy protections for substance use disorder treatment records beyond those provided by HIPAA, including:

  • Your substance use disorder treatment records cannot be disclosed without your specific written consent, except in limited circumstances defined by law
  • Your records are protected from use in legal proceedings against you, with very limited exceptions
  • Any information disclosed with your consent must be accompanied by a prohibition on re-disclosure
  • Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect may be made as required by California law

4.3 Uses and Disclosures of PHI

MHAC may use or disclose your PHI in the following circumstances:

  • Treatment: To provide, coordinate, and manage your care, including sharing information among members of your treatment team at our Fresno center
  • Payment: To obtain payment for services, including verifying insurance coverage and processing claims
  • Healthcare Operations: For quality assessment, compliance activities, training programs, and other operational functions
  • With Your Authorization: For any purpose not described above, only with your written authorization, which you may revoke at any time
  • As Required by Law: When required by federal, state, or local law, including mandatory reporting of communicable diseases or suspected abuse
  • Health and Safety: To prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of the public

5. Information Sharing & Disclosure

MHAC does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information or protected health information to third parties for marketing purposes. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

5.1 Service Providers

We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our facility in Fresno, California, and our website mhaccare.com, including:

  • Electronic health record (EHR) systems
  • Insurance verification and billing services
  • Laboratory and diagnostic testing providers
  • Website hosting and analytics services
  • Secure email and communication platforms

All service providers are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality of your information and use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed.

5.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to:

  • Comply with a valid court order, subpoena, or legal process
  • Respond to a government investigation or audit
  • Protect the safety of our patients, staff, or the public
  • Report suspected child abuse or neglect to California authorities, as required by California Penal Code Section 11164
  • Report to public health authorities for disease control purposes

5.3 Referral Partners

With your written consent, we may share relevant clinical information with referring physicians, aftercare providers, or other treatment facilities to ensure continuity of care after you leave our Fresno program.

5.4 Business Transfers

In the event MHAC undergoes a merger, acquisition, or transfer of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Our website mhaccare.com uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and analyze site usage.

6.1 Types of Cookies We Use

  • Essential Cookies: Required for the website to function properly, such as session management and security features. These cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with mhaccare.com by collecting aggregated, anonymous usage data (e.g., pages visited, time on site, traffic sources).
  • Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences (such as language or region) to provide a more personalized experience.

6.2 Third-Party Analytics

We may use third-party analytics services (such as Google Analytics) to collect and analyze usage data. These services may use cookies and similar technologies to track your activity on mhaccare.com. The data collected is typically aggregated and does not identify you personally. These services have their own privacy policies governing how they use and protect your information.

6.3 Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to:

  • View which cookies are stored on your device
  • Block all cookies or only third-party cookies
  • Delete cookies when you close your browser
  • Set preferences for specific websites

Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of certain features on our website.

6.4 Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers send “Do Not Track” (DNT) signals. At this time, there is no universally accepted standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals. However, MHAC does not engage in tracking your activity across third-party websites.

7. Your Rights

Under HIPAA, California law (including the CCPA/CPRA), and other applicable regulations, you have the following rights regarding your personal information and protected health information held by MHAC:

7.1 Right to Access

You have the right to request access to and obtain a copy of the personal information and health records MHAC maintains about you. This includes your medical records, treatment plans, billing records, and other information in your designated record set. We will respond to your request within 30 days (or 15 days for electronic health records, where applicable under California law).

7.2 Right to Correction (Amendment)

You have the right to request that we amend or correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information or health records. If we deny your request, we will provide you with a written explanation and your right to submit a statement of disagreement.

7.3 Right to Deletion

You may request the deletion of certain personal information we hold about you, subject to legal exceptions. Please note that we are required by law to retain medical records for a minimum period (generally 7 years for adults in California, or until a minor patient reaches age 19, whichever is longer) and cannot delete records that are required to be maintained.

7.4 Right to Restrict Use and Disclosure

You have the right to request restrictions on how MHAC uses and discloses your PHI. While we are not required to agree to all restriction requests, we must comply with a request to restrict disclosure to a health plan if you have paid for a service in full out of pocket.

7.5 Right to an Accounting of Disclosures

You may request an accounting of certain disclosures of your PHI made by MHAC during the six years preceding your request (or since the compliance date of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, whichever is shorter).

7.6 Right to Receive Confidential Communications

You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information in a particular way or at a specific location. For example, you may request that we contact you only at your work phone number or via email at a specific address.

7.7 Right to Opt Out of Marketing

You have the right to opt out of receiving marketing communications from MHAC at any time. Note that MHAC will not use your PHI for marketing purposes without your prior written authorization.

7.8 Right to Non-Discrimination

MHAC will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights. You will not be denied treatment, charged different rates, or provided a different level of care for exercising your rights under this policy.

Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at:

We may require identity verification before fulfilling your request to protect the security of your information.

8. Data Security

MHAC takes the security of your personal information and protected health information seriously. We have implemented administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include:

8.1 Administrative Safeguards

  • Regular HIPAA compliance training for all MHAC staff at our Fresno facility
  • Designation of a Privacy Officer and a Security Officer
  • Workforce access management with role-based access controls
  • Documented incident response and breach notification procedures
  • Periodic risk assessments and security audits

8.2 Technical Safeguards

  • Encryption of data in transit (SSL/TLS) and at rest
  • Secure user authentication and unique user identification
  • Automatic session timeouts and access logging
  • Firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and antivirus protection
  • Regular software updates and security patches

8.3 Physical Safeguards

  • Restricted access to areas of our Fresno facility where PHI is stored
  • Locked file cabinets and storage rooms for paper records
  • Workstation security controls and clean desk policies
  • Secure disposal of paper and electronic records containing PHI

8.4 Breach Notification

In the event of a breach of your unsecured protected health information, MHAC will notify you as required by HIPAA and California law. Notification will be made without unreasonable delay and no later than 60 days after discovery of the breach. We will also notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and, where required, the California Attorney General.

Our website mhaccare.com may contain links to third-party websites, services, or resources that are not owned or controlled by MHAC. These links are provided for your convenience and informational purposes only.

MHAC is not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of any third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any website you visit through links on our site before providing any personal information. The inclusion of a link on mhaccare.com does not imply our endorsement of the linked website or its content.

10. Children’s Privacy

Our website mhaccare.com is not directed to children under the age of 13, and MHAC does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through our website. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided personal information to us through our website, please contact us immediately at (559) 550-6001 or [email protected], and we will take steps to delete such information.

For minors who are receiving treatment services at our Fresno facility, their health information is collected, used, and disclosed in accordance with HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and California law regarding the privacy of minors’ health information. California law provides additional protections for minors seeking substance use disorder treatment, and parental consent is not always required under these statutes.

11. Changes to This Policy

MHAC reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time. When we make changes, we will update the “Effective Date” at the top of this page and post the revised policy on mhaccare.com. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how MHAC is protecting your information.

If we make material changes to how we handle your protected health information, we will notify you by posting a prominent notice on our website and, where required by law, by providing direct notice. Your continued use of our website and services after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

12. Contact Us for Privacy Concerns

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about this Privacy Policy, our privacy practices, or how your personal or health information is handled, please contact MHAC using any of the following methods:

MHAC – Mental Health Advisors & Care California

Phone: (559) 550-6001
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address: 7462 N Fresno St, Fresno, CA 93720

Our Privacy Officer will review and respond to your inquiry in a timely manner. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you also have the right to file a complaint with:

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights: You can file a complaint online at hhs.gov/ocr/complaints or by calling 1-800-368-1019.
  • California Attorney General’s Office: For concerns related to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), you may contact the California Attorney General at oag.ca.gov.

MHAC will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint regarding our privacy practices.