SMS Text Messaging Privacy Policy

Townsen Memorial Health System LLC (“Townsen,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates Townsen Memorial Hospital, Townsen Memorial Hospital West, and the surgery centers, imaging centers, and emergency rooms listed on our website. We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our patients, visitors, and other individuals who communicate with our facilities by text message. This policy covers text messages sent by Townsen or by a vendor on our behalf. Other healthcare providers, including independent physicians and physician groups that practice at our facilities, have their own policies.

This SMS Text Messaging Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect, and share personal information in connection with our Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging programs. It supplements, and does not replace, our Notice of Privacy Practices and our website Privacy Policy. Information that is protected health information (PHI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is also governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices. If this policy and our website Privacy Policy differ on the handling of mobile telephone numbers or text messaging consent, this policy controls. This policy is publicly available on our website and does not require a login to access.

Our text messages are intended to support your care and to give you timely information about appointments, procedures, and the other matters described below.

When you enroll in or communicate through our SMS messaging services, we may collect the following information:

• Your name and mobile telephone number.

• Appointment dates, times, and facility locations.

• Communication preferences and SMS consent records, including opt-in status, consent date, and method of enrollment.

• Responses to text messages and communication history.

• Your wireless carrier name, message delivery status, and interaction data (such as whether a message was delivered or whether you replied STOP or HELP).

• Limited information necessary to coordinate healthcare services.

• Other information you voluntarily provide through SMS.

Some of this information is PHI. We collect and use only the information reasonably necessary for the communication, consistent with HIPAA’s minimum necessary standard and other applicable law.

We may use SMS text messaging for the following purposes:

1. Appointment and Scheduling Communications

   1. Appointment confirmations and reminders.

   2. Scheduling and rescheduling notifications.

   3. Patient registration, check-in, and electronic form completion requests.

   4. Facility location and arrival information.

2. Surgical and Procedural Communications

   1. Preoperative appointment reminders.

   2. General preparation and arrival instructions.

   3. Procedure scheduling updates.

   4. Postoperative follow-up reminders.

   5. Instructions to contact our clinical staff.

   6. Prescription and medication reminders.

   7. Notifications that laboratory or other test results are available in the patient portal.

3. Patient Services and Administrative Communications

   1. Billing and payment notifications.

   2. Insurance verification reminders.

   3. Patient portal notifications.

   4. One-time passcodes and account verification messages.

   5. Patient satisfaction surveys.

   6. General facility and service announcements.

4. Marketing Communications

   1. We send marketing or promotional text messages only to individuals who have given us separate prior express written consent to receive them, and only as permitted by law, including the HIPAA marketing rules and the Texas Medical Records Privacy Act. Marketing consent is never a condition of treatment, payment, or any other service.

By providing your mobile telephone number and agreeing to receive text messages, you consent to receive text messages from Townsen about the categories of communications covered by your consent. Messages may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system or other automated technology.

Consent may be obtained through:

Patient registration or intake forms.

Online appointment scheduling forms.

Patient portal communication preferences.

Electronic consent forms.

Other documented opt-in mechanisms.

We obtain separate prior express written consent before sending any marketing text message.

Consent to receive text messages is not a condition of receiving medical treatment or of purchasing any goods or services.

Message frequency varies depending on your appointments, the services you receive, and your communication preferences.

Message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. If you have questions about your text or data plan, please contact your wireless provider.

SMS services may not be available on all carriers or devices. SMS message delivery is not guaranteed. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

You may opt out of receiving text messages at any time by replying:
STOP
to any message from us. We also honor replies of QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL, or UNSUBSCRIBE, and requests made by any other reasonable method, including a call or email to the contacts in Section 6 or a change to your communication preferences in the patient portal. We will honor your request promptly, and in any event within ten business days. After receiving your request, we may send one final message confirming it; that message will contain no marketing content.

Once your opt-out is processed, you will no longer receive text messages from the program to which you replied. If you receive more than one type of text message from us, our confirmation message may ask whether you want to stop all text messages from Townsen or only that type. If you do not respond, we will stop all text messages to your number that require your consent. Opting out does not stop messages that the law allows us to send without consent, such as messages sent for emergency purposes. You may re-enroll at any time by providing consent again or by updating your communication preferences in the patient portal.

Opting out of text messages does not affect other communications permitted by law, including live telephone calls, postal mail, email, and secure patient portal messages.

For assistance with text messaging, reply:
HELP
You may also contact:
Organization: Townsen Memorial Health System LLC
Telephone: 1-877-494-9487
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: https://www.townsenmemorial.com
For medical emergencies, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Do not use text messaging to communicate emergency or urgent medical needs.

We do not share, sell, rent, or provide your mobile information, including your mobile telephone number and your text messaging opt-in and consent data, to third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.
Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties, excluding the aggregators and service providers that deliver our text messages on our behalf.
We may disclose your mobile telephone number, message content, and delivery information to the service providers that deliver our text messages, including telecommunications carriers, messaging platforms, and technology vendors, solely as necessary to provide those services on our behalf and subject to confidentiality and security obligations, including a business associate agreement where HIPAA requires one.
We may also disclose information when required or permitted by law.
All other uses and disclosures of PHI are governed by our Notice of Privacy Practices, and all other uses and disclosures of personal information are governed by our website Privacy Policy. The sharing described in those documents excludes text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties for marketing or promotional purposes.

Townsen is a HIPAA covered entity. Our handling of PHI, including PHI sent by text message, is governed by HIPAA and the Texas Medical Records Privacy Act. Texas law also requires us to tell you that your PHI may be disclosed electronically, and text messaging is one way that may occur.

Standard text messages are not encrypted and are not as secure as messages sent through our authenticated patient portal. Anyone with access to your mobile device or your wireless carrier account may be able to read them. By enrolling, you accept these risks for the messages you have agreed to receive.

To reduce privacy risks:

We limit sensitive clinical information included in text messages to the minimum necessary (for example, appointment date, time, and location).

We use secure patient portals or other approved communication methods when appropriate.

We implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for information maintained in our systems.

We restrict access to patient information to authorized personnel and service providers.

We enter into business associate agreements with vendors that create, receive, maintain, or transmit PHI on our behalf, as HIPAA requires.

Do not send Social Security numbers, payment card numbers, passwords, detailed medical information, or medical records by standard text message. Use the patient portal or another secure method we identify.

Our Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we use and disclose PHI and your rights under HIPAA, including your right to ask us to communicate with you by other means or at another location.

We maintain reasonable safeguards designed to protect personal information collected through our SMS messaging services from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or misuse.
SMS-related records, including consent documentation and communication history, are retained according to applicable laws, regulatory requirements, and organizational record-retention policies.
Although we take steps to protect information, standard SMS transmissions may pass through third-party telecommunications networks, and complete confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.

We use third-party messaging providers to deliver our text messages.
These providers may process mobile telephone numbers, message content, delivery status, and related technical information to deliver messages and support our communications program. They may not use that information for their own purposes.
When providers create, receive, maintain, or transmit PHI on our behalf, we enter into business associate agreements with them, as HIPAA requires.
We require our service providers to maintain appropriate confidentiality and security protections.

Patients may request to:
Update their mobile telephone number.
Change their SMS communication preferences.
Withdraw consent for optional text messaging.
Request information about our privacy practices.
Exercise applicable privacy rights concerning personal information or PHI.
Requests may be submitted using the contact information provided in this policy.
Additional HIPAA rights are described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

SMS communications involving minors are managed in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, including requirements governing parental or legal guardian authority, consent, and confidential healthcare services.
Where required, communications will be directed to an authorized parent or legal guardian, subject to applicable confidentiality restrictions.

We may update this SMS Text Messaging Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our services, technology, legal requirements, or privacy practices.
Updates will be published on our website with a revised effective date.
Continued participation in SMS communications will be governed by the updated policy, subject to any additional consent required by applicable law.

For questions or concerns about this SMS Text Messaging Privacy Policy, please contact:
Townsen Memorial Health System LLC
Attention: Privacy Officer
1475 FM 1960 Bypass Road East
Humble, TX 77338
Phone: 1-877-494-9487
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: https://www.townsenmemorial.com
Related Policies:
Notice of Privacy Practices: https://www.townsenmemorial.com/notice-of-privacy-practices
Website Privacy Policy: https://www.townsenmemorial.com/privacypolicy
SMS Text Messaging Terms and Conditions: https://www.townsenmemorial.com/sms-terms-and-conditions