Acceptable Use Policy
This Acceptable Use Policy is a part of the Counseling Bridge Subscription Agreement. It sets out the standards of conduct required of Subscribers and the circumstances in which Counseling Bridge may suspend or remove a profile. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given to them in the Subscription Agreement. The examples in this Policy are illustrative and not exhaustive.
1. Application
This Policy applies to each Subscriber maintaining a profile on the Platform, and to any individual accessing the Platform under a Subscriber’s credentials, including employees, associates, and Practitioners associated with a group practice or professional entity. Subscriber is responsible for compliance with this Policy by any such individual.
2. Accuracy of Subscriber Information
Users rely on Subscriber profiles when determining whether a Subscriber is a potential fit for their needs. Accordingly, Subscriber agrees to:
- Provide accurate information regarding licensure, credentials, training, and the services offered;
- Maintain a current and accurate list of accepted insurance plans, and update that list promptly upon joining or leaving any plan;
- Maintain a current and accurate availability status, including whether Subscriber is accepting new clients;
- Provide mental health services to a User only in a state in which Subscriber holds an active license or an operational compact privilege for the state in which the User is located, and accurately reflect Subscriber’s states of authorization in the profile;
- Refrain from claims of specialty, board certification, or treatment outcome that Subscriber does not hold or cannot substantiate;
- Update the Subscriber profile promptly upon any material change to the foregoing; and
- Respond to periodic requests from Counseling Bridge to confirm that profile information remains accurate. Representing services, credentials, or specialties that Subscriber does not hold or is not authorized to provide constitutes a breach of this Policy.
3. Rates and Insurance Representations
Subscriber shall honor any rate listed on the Platform, any sliding scale offered, and any rate offered to a User through a Platform feature. Quoting one rate on the Platform and charging another higher rate will result in removal of the Subscriber’s listing. Where Subscriber indicates acceptance of a particular insurance plan, Subscriber shall accept that plan on the terms of Subscriber’s arrangement with the applicable insurer. Directing a User to self-pay after that User has contacted Subscriber on the basis of insurance listed on the Subscriber profile constitutes a breach of this Policy. Subscriber shall comply with any applicable good-faith estimate or self-pay cost disclosure obligations.
4. Referral Characterization; No Fee-Splitting or Kickbacks
The Platform is a self-directed tool that allows Users to identify potential providers; it does not refer, recommend, endorse, or steer Users to any particular Subscriber, and any decision by a User to contact a Subscriber is independent of the Platform. To preserve this arrangement and to comply with applicable law, Subscriber agrees to:
- Refrain from describing, marketing, or representing the Platform to any User, insurer, or third party as a referral service or as a source of referrals;
- Refrain from offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving any payment, fee, commission, or other remuneration that is tied to, or varies with, the number or value of Users obtained through the Platform;
- Refrain from any fee-splitting, patient brokering, or similar arrangement in connection with Users obtained through the Platform; and
- Acknowledge that the Subscription Fee is a flat charge for access to the Platform and does not entitle Subscriber to any referral, recommendation, preference, or endorsement. Subscriber is responsible for structuring its own arrangements to comply with applicable anti-kickback, fee-splitting, and patient-brokering laws, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (18 U.S.C. § 220), as applicable to Subscriber’s practice.
5. Protection of User Information
Any User who contacts Subscriber through the Platform entrusts Subscriber with sensitive information from the outset of that contact. Subscriber agrees to:
- Handle all information concerning a User in accordance with HIPAA and Subscriber’s professional obligations, applying the minimum-necessary principle;
- Refrain from disclosing information concerning a User to any other Subscriber on the Platform, or to any third party without a legitimate need to know;
- Refrain from disclosing another Subscriber’s rates, terms, or profile information; and
- Report any suspected or actual unauthorized access to, or breach of, User information in accordance with the Subscription Agreement. Counseling Bridge does not participate in the clinical relationship between Subscriber and a User and is not Subscriber’s business associate with respect to that relationship. Subscriber is solely responsible for its own HIPAA compliance.
6. Access and Credentials
Subscriber agrees not to:
- Share Platform access credentials with any person or entity;
- Access the Platform by automated means, including scrapers, bots, or scripts;
- Collect, copy, or compile information regarding other Subscribers listed on the Platform;
- Use the Platform to gather information for the purpose of developing or operating a competing service;
- Manipulate, or attempt to manipulate, the Platform functions, including through keyword stuffing, false or misleading specialty tags, or fabricated reviews;
- Upload or transmit any malware, or any unlawful, infringing, or impersonating content, or use User contact information obtained through the Platform for unrelated marketing or for any other reason beyond offering or providing mental health services to the User; or
- Probe, scan, or test the security of the Platform, or attempt to access any system, data, or functionality to which Subscriber has not been granted access.
7. Professional Conduct; Advertising and Licensure
Subscriber agrees to:
- Comply with applicable anti-discrimination law and Subscriber’s professional and ethical obligations in every interaction arising from the Platform;
- Comply with the advertising, testimonial, and telehealth rules of the applicable state licensing board or authority, e.g., the Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure, and refrain from false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims and guarantees of outcome;
- Comply with all mandatory-reporting obligations and any professional duty to warn or protect;
- Decline respectfully where a User is not an appropriate fit for Subscriber’s practice; and
- Refrain from harassing, threatening, or demeaning conduct toward any person encountered through the Platform, including Counseling Bridge personnel. Profile content that is discriminatory, harassing, or otherwise inappropriate to a healthcare setting will be removed.
8. No Emergency or Crisis Services
The Platform is not an emergency or crisis service and is not monitored in real time. Subscriber shall not represent the Platform to any User or third party as assistance or a channel for emergency, crisis, or urgent clinical communication, and is encouraged to direct Users in crisis to appropriate resources, such as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or 911. Where Subscriber becomes aware through the Platform that a User may be at risk of harm, Subscriber shall respond in accordance with Subscriber’s professional and legal obligations. Subscriber shall not rely on Counseling Bridge to act.
9. Non-Exhaustiveness; Lawful Use
The standards and examples in this Policy are illustrative and not exhaustive. Subscriber shall not use the Platform in any unlawful manner, or in any manner that could reasonably harm a User, another Subscriber, or Counseling Bridge, whether or not the specific conduct is expressly described in this Policy. This Policy supplements, and does not limit, the obligations set out in the Subscription Agreement.
10. Enforcement
Nothing in this Policy limits any right available to Counseling Bridge under the Subscription Agreement, and the actions described below are examples of, and in addition to, the suspension and termination rights set out in that Agreement. Depending on the nature and severity of the conduct at issue, Counseling Bridge may:
- Contact Subscriber to inquire about the conduct, or request that it be corrected;
- Correct or remove specific profile content;
- Suspend the Subscriber profile; or
- Remove the Subscriber profile and terminate the subscription. Counseling Bridge will typically contact Subscriber before suspension or termination. However, in addition to circumstances set forth in the Subscription Agreement, Counseling Bridge may act without advance notice where there is a risk to the safety of any person, a risk to the security or operation of the Platform or where required by law.
11. Modification of this Policy
Counseling Bridge may update this Policy from time to time. The current version, identified by version or date, will be posted on the Platform. Consistent with the Subscription Agreement, changes are effective upon posting. Counseling Bridge will endeavor to notify Subscribers of material changes, where practicable, before they take effect, and may require re-acknowledgment of the updated Policy as a condition of continued access.