Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a legal agreement between you and PTPCS, d/b/a Path Forward Care Program (“Path Forward,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), governing your access to and use of our client portal, scheduling tools, telehealth sessions, and messaging services (together, the “Service”). If you are accessing the Service on behalf of a minor as their parent or legal guardian, “you” includes you acting in that capacity, and you are responsible for that minor’s use of the Service.

If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Service. We may update these Terms from time to time as described in Section 11.

Path Forward Care Program provides outpatient behavioral health and substance use treatment services. The Service is the technology we use to support that care: an online client portal for scheduling and paperwork, secure messaging with our clinical and administrative staff, telehealth video sessions, and appointment notifications sent by text message and email.

The Service is administrative and communication infrastructure. It is not itself a form of treatment, and using it does not create a clinician-client relationship on its own — that relationship is established through your intake and ongoing care with our clinical staff, under the terms of your separate treatment agreement and our Notice of Privacy Practices.

You must provide accurate, current information when you create a portal account or provide contact details for scheduling and messaging, and keep that information up to date. You’re responsible for safeguarding your login credentials and for any activity that happens under your account. Tell us right away at info@ptpcs.org or 540-307-0171 if you suspect unauthorized access.

The portal is intended for use by adult clients, and by parents or legal guardians managing a minor client’s care. You must be at least 18, or accessing the Service on behalf of a minor in a caregiving capacity, to create an account.

You’ll only receive text messages from Path Forward Care Program at your mobile number if you’ve opted in — either yourself, through your client portal account settings, or by telling our staff verbally while scheduling. See exactly how and where we collect this consent.

What we send. Appointment reminders and confirmations, rescheduling and cancellation notices, and account-related notices (for example, a new secure message waiting in your portal). We do not send marketing or promotional text messages.

Message frequency varies based on your appointment schedule and the notices above — typically a few messages per month, more often if you have frequent appointments.

Message and data rates may apply, depending on your mobile carrier and plan.

To stop receiving texts, reply STOP to any message from us at any time. You’ll receive one confirmation text, and no further messages until you opt back in. For help, reply HELP, or contact us directly at info@ptpcs.org or 540-307-0171.

Opting out of text messages does not affect your ability to receive treatment services — consenting to text messages is never a condition of care. We’ll still reach you by phone, email, or portal notice instead.

Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Supported carriers include the major U.S. wireless carriers; coverage and features may vary. For how we handle the data collected through this program, see Section 4 of our Privacy Policy.

You agree not to:

• Use the Service to impersonate another person, or to access an account or chart that isn’t yours or a dependent’s you’re authorized to manage;
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems or another client’s information;
• Use the Service for anything unlawful, abusive, or harassing toward our staff or other clients; or
• Upload or transmit malicious code, or interfere with the Service’s normal operation.

We may suspend or terminate portal access for a violation of this section.

Fees for treatment services, copays, and coinsurance are governed by your treatment agreement and, where applicable, your insurance plan — not by these Terms. Payments you submit through the portal are processed by our third-party payment processor; we do not store your full card number on our servers.

You may stop using the portal and messaging services at any time; this does not end your treatment relationship with us, which is governed separately by your treatment agreement and applicable clinical discharge policies. We may deactivate portal access after a period of inactivity or if your active treatment relationship with us ends.

The Service is provided “as is.” While we work to keep it reliable, we don’t guarantee it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or available at all times — technology can fail, and text or email delivery is never guaranteed. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Path Forward Care Program is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service, including a missed notification.

Nothing in this section limits any liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, or affects the standard of care owed to you in your treatment relationship with our clinical staff.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms will be brought in a state or federal court located in Virginia.

We may update these Terms as our Service or legal obligations change. If we make a material change, we’ll update the effective date above and, where required by law, notify you directly. Continuing to use the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.