Privacy, HIPAA & Clinic Policies

Section 1Notice of Privacy Practices

Southern Wellness Clinic, PLLC is required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to protect the privacy of your health information, to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.

How we use and disclose your information

We may use and disclose your protected health information for the following purposes without additional authorization:

• Treatment — to provide, coordinate, or manage your care, including consultation with our medical director, laboratories, pharmacies, and other providers involved in your treatment.
• Payment — to obtain payment for services, including processing your payment method, and administering membership billing.
• Health care operations — for quality assessment, staff training and evaluation, business planning, and administrative functions of the clinic.
• As required by law — including reporting to state prescription monitoring programs for controlled substances, public health reporting, responding to lawful requests from health oversight agencies, and complying with court orders or subpoenas.
• To prevent serious harm — where disclosure is necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or that of others.

Uses that require your written authorization

Most uses and disclosures beyond those described above require your written authorization. This always includes marketing communications, any sale of your information, and most uses of psychotherapy notes. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted on it.

Appointment reminders and communications

We may contact you by phone, text message, or email to confirm appointments, share results, or provide treatment-related information. If you prefer we use a specific method or number, let us know and we will accommodate reasonable requests.

Section 2Your Health Information Rights

You have the following rights regarding the health information we maintain about you:

• Access and copies — you may inspect and request a copy of your records. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.
• Amendment — you may ask us to correct information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. We may deny the request in certain circumstances, and will explain why in writing.
• Accounting of disclosures — you may request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your information.
• Restrictions — you may ask us to limit how we use or disclose your information. We are not required to agree, except where you pay for a service in full out of pocket and ask us not to share that information with a health plan.
• Confidential communications — you may ask us to contact you at a particular phone number or address.
• Paper copy — you may request a paper copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices at any time.
• Breach notification — you will be notified if a breach occurs that compromises the privacy or security of your information.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 8. We may ask you to submit your request in writing.

Section 3Website Privacy

This website is informational. We do not collect health information through this site, and there is no patient portal or intake form hosted here.

• Online booking — our "Book Now" links take you to DaySmart, a third-party scheduling platform. Any information you enter there is handled under DaySmart's own privacy policy and terms, not this one.
• Outbound links — links to Facebook, Instagram, and Nutrafol lead to third-party sites governed by their own policies.
• Hosting logs — our hosting provider records standard technical information such as IP address, browser type, and pages requested, for security and reliability purposes.
• Fonts — typography is loaded from Google Fonts, which may receive your IP address as part of serving those files.

Please do not send personal health details through social media messages or unencrypted email. To discuss anything clinical, call us at (931) 364-2700 or speak with us at your visit.

Section 4Appointments & Cancellations

We strive to provide an exceptional standard of care, and that depends on scheduling that works for everyone. We appreciate your cooperation with the following:

• 24-hour notice — please give us at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule. Your deposit will be refunded or applied to your new appointment.
• Late cancellations — cancellations made within 24 hours of the scheduled time are subject to a $25 cancellation fee.
• Missed appointments — a missed appointment with no notice is charged at the full cost of the scheduled service.
• Arriving late — if you arrive more than 15 minutes late, we may need to shorten your treatment or reschedule. The full price of the originally scheduled appointment still applies.

Life happens, and we understand that. These policies exist so that a held appointment time can be offered to another patient when plans change.

Section 5Membership Terms

Membership provides ongoing access to wellness services, member pricing, and exclusive offers. If you enroll, you will sign a separate Membership Agreement, and that signed agreement governs your membership. The following summarizes its key terms:

Billing and payment

• Your monthly membership fee is charged automatically to the payment method on file on the 1st day of each month.
• Membership fees are non-refundable and are charged whether or not benefits are used that month.
• You are responsible for keeping a valid payment method on file.

Membership credit

• Your monthly fee is credited to your clinic account and may be applied toward eligible services and products.
• Credits have no cash value and cannot be redeemed for cash.
• Credits are non-transferable and may only be used by the enrolled member.
• Where credit rollover applies to your plan, unused credits roll over month to month while the membership is active and in good standing. If your membership is cancelled, any unused credits must be redeemed within 90 days.
• The clinic determines which services and products are eligible for credit redemption.

Term and cancellation

• Membership requires a 12-month commitment beginning on the enrollment date.
• Cancelling before completing the 12-month term incurs a one-time $100 early cancellation fee, charged to the payment method on file.
• Cancellation requests must be submitted in writing.
• We reserve the right to terminate a membership for non-payment, fraudulent activity, inappropriate behavior, or violation of clinic policies.
• Membership benefits are subject to change at the discretion of the clinic.

Section 6Medical Disclaimers

This website is not medical advice

Information on this site, including service descriptions and pricing, is provided for general informational purposes. It is not medical advice and does not create a provider-patient relationship. Always speak with a qualified provider about your individual circumstances.

Evaluation and informed consent

Every treatment begins with a medical evaluation. Our providers determine whether a treatment is medically appropriate for you, explain the risks, benefits, and alternatives, and obtain your informed consent before beginning. Providers may decline or discontinue any treatment at their clinical discretion.

Medications and FDA status

Medications used for weight management may or may not be FDA-approved for weight loss. Some are prescribed for other FDA-approved indications or used off-label when medically appropriate, and some are compounded preparations, which are not FDA-approved products. Your provider will explain the status of any medication recommended to you, along with its risks, benefits, and alternatives, before you begin treatment. We believe in education, transparency, and informed choice.

Results are not guaranteed

Individual results vary. No guarantees have been made regarding weight loss, wellness outcomes, or treatment results. Successful treatment depends on following recommendations, attending follow-up visits, and reporting side effects or health changes. Care may be discontinued based on lack of progress or benefit.

Emergencies

We are not an emergency facility. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Section 7Photo & Video Release

We sometimes photograph our space, our team, and — with permission — our patients, for use in promotional materials such as print advertising, our website, social media, and educational materials.

• We never publish a patient's photograph or video without a signed Photo & Video Release.
• Signing a release is entirely voluntary and is never a condition of receiving care.
• Photographs and videos taken by the clinic remain the property of Southern Wellness Clinic, PLLC and are used only for the purposes stated in the release.
• If you have previously signed a release and wish to withdraw permission for future use, contact us and we will stop using the material going forward.

Section 8Questions & Complaints

If you have questions about this notice, want to exercise any of your rights, or believe your privacy rights have been violated, please contact us. You will never be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.