Personal Information Protection Policy
Larke Consulting Inc., operating as Psychoeducational Testing & Assessment Services (“we,” “us,” or “our”), is committed to safeguarding the personal information entrusted to us by our clients. We manage personal information in accordance with Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and other applicable laws and professional obligations. This policy outlines the principles and practices we follow in protecting personal information.
What Is Personal Information?
Personal information means information about an identifiable individual. This includes, but is not limited to, an individual’s name, home address, telephone number, age, sex, marital or family status, identifying numbers, financial information, educational history, and health information.
What Personal Information Do We Collect?
We collect personal information that is necessary and relevant to providing psychological services and managing our private psychology practice. This information may include:
• name and contact information
• date of birth
• pronouns
• health and mental health information
• family and developmental history
• educational information
• payment and billing information
We generally collect personal information directly from clients. In some circumstances, we may also collect information from other sources (such as teachers, schools, or allied health professionals), which would be discussed with you in advance.
Personal information may be collected in various ways, including by telephone, in writing or by email, in person at our clinic, or electronically through secure online systems. Information may be stored in electronic records and/or handwritten paper records.
Consent
We obtain consent to collect, use, or disclose personal information, except where collection, use, or disclosure without consent is authorized or required by law.
Consent may be implied when you voluntarily provide information for an obvious purpose (for example, contacting us to inquire about services).
We obtain express consent prior to initiating psychological services. Express consent is typically obtained in writing through signed consent forms and/or verbally (in person or by telephone) . If consent is not provided for the collection, use, or disclosure of necessary personal information, we may be unable to provide services.
Clients may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or regulatory requirements. Withdrawal of consent may limit or prevent our ability to provide services.
How Do We Use and Disclose Personal Information?
We use personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, unless otherwise permitted or required by law. This includes, but is not limited to:
• responding to inquiries
• communicating regarding appointments and services
• providing psychological assessment and related services
• billing and payment processing
In limited circumstances, disclosure of personal information without consent may be permitted or required by law. Examples include:
• when a minor is in need of protection
• when disclosure is necessary to prevent imminent and serious harm to an individual or the public
• in response to a legal process (such as a subpoena, court order, or regulatory request)
• for the purpose of collecting a debt owed to our organization
How Do We Safeguard Personal Information?
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, or modification.
Safeguards include physical, administrative, and technical measures, such as:
• locked filing cabinets for paper records
• encrypted and password-protected electronic systems
• secure, encrypted website connections (SSL)
• limited access to personal information
• compliance with PCI Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) for credit card processing
Our website uses session cookies (including “Test” and “Crumb”) to ensure functionality and protect against security threats such as cross-site request forgery. These cookies do not collect personal information beyond what is necessary for site operation.
We retain records for periods consistent with professional and regulatory requirements, including those of the College of Alberta Psychologists. When records are no longer required to be retained, we securely destroy them by shredding paper records and permanently deleting electronic records.
In the event of a security breach that creates a real risk of significant harm, we will notify the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta without unreasonable delay, as required by PIPA.
External Websites
Our Website may contain links to external websites that are not governed by this Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.
Access to Personal Information
Clients are provided with copies of their assessment reports upon completion of services and receipt of payment. Requests for access to records after services have concluded may be subject to a reasonable fee, in accordance with PIPA. No fee will be charged for correcting factual errors.
We make reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete. If you believe there is an error in your information, please notify us and we will make corrections where appropriate.
Clients are responsible for informing us of changes to their personal information that may affect service provision or communication.
How to Contact Us
If you have a question or concern about any collection, use or disclosure of personal information, or about a request for access to your own personal information, please contact Ian D. Larke.