Refer Me Privacy Statement

Effective Date: October 5, 2026 · Last Updated: October 30, 2026

At Refer Me (“we,” “our,” or “us”), we are committed to providing a secure, practitioner-focused referral platform that respects practitioner privacy and protects client confidentiality. This Privacy Statement explains how we collect, use, store, and protect information when you access or use the Refer Me application, platform, and related services (collectively, the “Platform”).

By accessing or using Refer Me, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Statement.

1. Our Privacy Philosophy: Privacy by Design

Refer Me is built as a peer-to-peer clinical referral routing utility. We do not collect, process, transmit, or store Protected Health Information (PHI) as defined under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

To ensure maximum privacy and legal compliance:

• Strict De-identification: Referring clinicians must never enter client names, contact details, diagnoses, or identifying details into Refer Me.
• Objective Matching Criteria: Referral requests are processed strictly using de-identified, high-level criteria (e.g., insurance provider, state licensure, competency area, and availability).
• External Client Engagement: Prospective clients initiate direct contact with receiving providers through external links. Refer Me does not host patient intake forms or client-practitioner messaging.

2. Information We Collect

We collect limited information necessary to operate the Platform and facilitate accurate clinical matching.

A. Practitioner Profile Data (Account Creation)

When you register as a provider on Refer Me, we collect:

• Contact & Identity Information: Full name, professional title, work email address, phone number, and physical practice location(s).
• Licensure & Credentials: State license type(s), license number(s), jurisdiction of practice, and professional group affiliations.
• Clinical Criteria: Insurance contracts accepted (in-network/out-of-network), clinical modalities, specializations, target populations, and real-time caseload availability status.

B. Referral Request Queries

When a referring provider submits a referral query, we collect the structured tags they choose (e.g., State: WA, Payer: Regence, Competency: Trauma) and the request text they post. Referring providers agree to omit all identifying client information prior to submission.

When you use Email to client on your request, Refer Me drafts the email in your browser and you send it from your own email account. The client’s email address and the message never pass through Refer Me. We keep a record of which providers you included and when, so you can document the referral, and, if you choose, let those providers know a client may contact them. Nothing about the client is stored.

C. Contacts

Members can keep a private list of contacts: colleagues they refer to, made up of each colleague’s name and email address. Only the member who added a contact can see that entry. A member can view the ReferMe profile of a contact who has joined ReferMe. If the colleague isn’t on Refer Me, we email them an invitation to create their own profile, naming the member who invited them; the member can resend it at most once a week. Members never enter a colleague’s practice details. A colleague appears on recommendation links only after they have joined Refer Me, filled in their own profile, and set themselves to Accepting New Clients or Waitlist. Colleagues can ask us to remove their name and email at any time.

D. Technical & Usage Data

When you navigate the Platform, we automatically collect basic system log data, including IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, and interaction metrics (e.g., button clicks, search queries) to maintain platform stability and security.

We use Google Analytics to understand how the Platform is used, such as which pages are visited and what kind of device and browser are used. Google Analytics sets cookies and receives the page addresses you visit, with private referral links removed. It never receives the contents of referral requests, client details, or your profile information.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information solely to:

• Facilitate Clinical Matches: Match referral queries with relevant, available providers in our network.
• Send Match Notifications: Alert registered providers via email or push notifications when an active referral request matches their practice profile.
• Generate Referral Links: Produce clean, de-identified recommendation summary links that clinicians can share with prospective clients.
• Verify Credentials: Review license information and check it against state licensing records.
• Platform Operations: Improve search algorithms, troubleshoot technical issues, and maintain system security.

4. Data Sale Prohibition & Third-Party Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, lease, trade, or monetize any of your personal, professional, or practice information to third parties under any circumstances.

We share information only in the limited ways necessary to operate the Platform:

• With Network Practitioners: Your public professional profile details (Name, Competencies, Insurance Accepted, Availability) are visible to other clinician members of the Platform to facilitate peer-to-peer referral matching. Your identity and race/ethnicity selections are never shown to other members; they are used only to match you to requests that ask for them. Your street address is not shown on your profile to other members; it is included only when a member you responded to emails your details to a client seeking in-person sessions.
• Client-Facing Recommendation Links: When a clinician selects your profile to recommend to a prospective client, your name, credentials, practice, phone, email, website, city, and what you offer (session types, insurance, competencies, modalities, and populations) are included on the de-identified recommendation page provided to that client. Anyone with the link can view it until it expires, and it is hidden from search engines.
• Essential Service Infrastructure: We share data strictly with trusted technology vendors (such as secure cloud hosting, automated email delivery, and website analytics) required to keep the Platform running. These vendors are legally restricted from using your data for any other purpose.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information only if required by law, subpoena, or official court order.

5. Ethical & Regulatory Compliance

Anti-Kickback & Fee-Splitting Policy

Refer Me strictly adheres to healthcare regulations and professional codes of ethics (including APA, ACA, NASW, and state licensing boards).

• Zero Referral Fees: Refer Me does not charge, collect, or distribute per-lead fees, referral commissions, or percentage splits on clinical sessions.
• Flat Fee Model: Platform fees (if any) are charged strictly as flat software subscription or cooperative operational fees, entirely independent of the volume or value of referrals made or received.

6. Data Security & Retention

We implement industry-standard administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your data against unauthorized access, loss, or alteration, including:

• Encryption: Data in transit is encrypted using SSL/TLS protocols.
• Access Controls: Restricted internal access to user account databases.
• Data Retention: We retain practitioner profile data for as long as your account is active. De-identified referral query logs are retained temporarily for analytical and algorithm improvement purposes, after which they are permanently deleted or anonymized.

7. Your Rights & Choices

As a registered provider on Refer Me, you have full control over your data:

• Update Account Info: You can update your clinical competencies, insurance contracts, and contact details at any time via your account settings.
• Availability Setting: You can change your status to “Waitlist” to show that openings may not come soon, and turn on “Pause match emails” at any time to stop referral match notifications. Whether you've paused them isn't shown to other members.
• Account Deletion: You may request complete account deletion by contacting us at privacy@referme.services. Upon request, your profile will be permanently removed from the network.

8. Changes to This Privacy Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will notify registered users of material updates via email or an in-app notice prior to the changes taking effect.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or privacy inquiries regarding this Privacy Statement or Refer Me’s data practices, please contact us at: