Privacy Policy

GENERAL POLICY

Your privacy is our concern at Spine and Wellness Centers of America (“SWCA”). Accordingly, SWCA is setting forth below, its privacy policy for the use of data obtained by SWCA from you through this web site, SMS text messages, and/or emails sent by you to SWCA, its affiliates and/or its agents.


Notice

If you only access SWCA’s web site to read or download data from https://spinewellnessamerica.com, SWCA collects and stores the name of the domain from which you access the Internet; the time and date you access our site; IP addresses and names; the web pages you accessed; and the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to SWCA’s site. SWCA periodically reviews and uses the web logs created with this information. SWCA uses this data to determine the nature of the parties accessing SWCA’s data. The information is not used to market to you individually. SWCA may also use the information to make the site more useful to future visitors and to measure its effectiveness.


Text Messaging

Message and data rates may apply.

The goal of text messaging by SWCA is to enable our team to expedite contact with a client to schedule a time/date to meet, facilitate internal office communications, provide a new communication channel with patients, customers, and potential new contacts.

Text messaging is particularly applicable in situations where a patient, client or partner is not responding to traditional means of follow-up, e.g., phone calls and/or field visits. The purpose of sending a text message is to engage the individual. Sending a text message carries the same risks as leaving a voicemail on a home answering machine, a note at a home, or a message with a friend/family member. Because text messages may be viewed by people other than the intended recipient, make sure you provide the correct phone information when approving and consenting to these herein terms and conditions. No protected health information will be permitted in text messages.

 

All cell phones or smart devices used to send or receive text messages must be password protected. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance regardless of the tools used for communication.

Texting should not be used to conduct any interview, examination, or medical counseling sessions. Text messages sent and received will be recorded into SWCA data systems.

If you send an email to SWCA or use the Site’s custom solution configuration software, (which automatically sends SWCA an email), you may provide your personal information such as name, address, phone number, company name, or the products you are shopping for or purchasing. The information provided by you will be used to support your customer relationship with SWCA and to provide you with information on SWCA’s products and services. SWCA currently does not give or sell information about you to any outside company for its use in marketing or solicitation without your consent. This policy may change based on changes in SWCA’s business procedures. If you do not wish to have your data sold, please do not provide the data to SWCA.

SWCA does not obtain personal information about you unless you chose to send that information to SWCA.


Consent

By using SWCA’s phone system, text SMS messages, and/or web site, you agree and consent to the SWCA Privacy Policy. If you do not consent and agree to this policy, do not provide any information to SWCA and do not use this web site. These policies are subject to any change at any time without notice. Please review these policies for any changes. By using the SWCA site after any changes, you consent and agree to the revised policies.


Access To Your Information

Should you wish to access the information that you provided to SWCA or to change that information please request that information from SWCA’s General Counsel.


Enforcement

If you are aware of any violations of this policy, please provide information about the breach to SWCA’s General Counsel.

 

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY POLICY

SWCA does not attempt to obtain or maintain any data on any child under the age of 21. If any data was sent to SWCA by a child under 21, upon being informed or upon determining that SWCA received any information on a child under the age of 21, SWCA will delete all data on the child. Please send an email to SWCA’s General Counsel if you are aware of any information provided by a child under the age of 21.


ADDITIONAL RIGHTS UNDER OTHER JURISDICTIONS

Depending on where you live, local laws may require that we provide you with additional notices and rights. This section provides information about how we process Personal Information that is subject to these laws and the rights you may have under these laws.

EU/UK Privacy Notice. If you are a resident of the European Union (“EU”) or the United Kingdom (“UK”), our processing of your Personal Information may be subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) or the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA”). These laws may provide you with additional rights with respect to your Personal Information.

California Privacy Notice. If you are a resident of California, our processing of your Personal Information may be subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). Under this law, you may be entitled to certain additional information. To learn more about our processing of Personal Information about California residents and the rights you may have under the CCPA, please read our California Privacy Notice.

Virginia Privacy Notice.  The Virginia Consumer Data Protection act may provide additional rights when enacted into law (expected January 2023).

 

COOKIES

WE MAY USE COOKIES TO UNDERSTAND AND SAVE YOUR PREFERENCES FOR FUTURE VISITS, KEEP TRACK OF ADVERTISEMENTS AND COMPILE AGGREGATE DATA ABOUT SITE TRAFFIC AND SITE INTERACTION SO THAT WE CAN OFFER BETTER SITE EXPERIENCES AND TOOLS IN THE FUTURE. WE MAY CONTRACT WITH THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS TO ASSIST US IN BETTER UNDERSTANDING OUR SITE VISITORS. THESE SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO USE THE INFORMATION COLLECTED ON OUR BEHALF EXCEPT TO HELP US CONDUCT AND IMPROVE OUR BUSINESS.


OTHER WEBSITES

You should be aware that hyperlinks on this site may direct you to other websites that we do not control. These websites may be subject to a different privacy statement. SWCA is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of websites to which we link, list, rank or identify by means of a search. SWCA takes no responsibility for the products, services, policies, or actions of third parties or the content of third-party websites. We encourage you to be aware when you are leaving our site and to read the privacy policies of each website you visit.

Virtual Reality Effects on Pain Perception: Implications for Pain Management

Current Status: Pending

Literature suggests that the use of virtual reality distraction for adjunctive pain control has been successful. In clinical settings and experimental studies, participants immersed in a virtual reality experienced reduced levels of pain, general distress/unpleasantness and reported a desire to use virtual reality again during painful medical procedures.

There has been research into the use of virtual reality distraction for adjunctive pain control with significant success. There has been growing evidence for the use of EEG for the measurement of pain. It has also been suggested that virtual reality could be used an alternative to marijuana and opioids for pain management. Further implications have been seen specifically among chronic pain sufferers. This is especially interesting since there is a reduced risk of addiction as is seen associated with marijuana and opioid use. This study aims to investigate the effect of virtual reality distraction on pain perception.

Additionally, we intend to create a body of open source content for potential use by other investigators utilizing similar tools. 

The intervention has the potential to relieve chronic pain sufferers of their pain with a non-invasive mechanism and minimal risk. The participants may experience a temporary decrease in the perception of pain during the course of the experiment or a distraction from said pain.

Pending IRB approval at UM

Seniors Over 60 With Chronic Pain Using Medical Marijuana

Current Status: Active

 

The purpose of this study is to identify what is effective and safe for older adults with chronic pain to develop an understanding of what educational materials are required for facilitate access to appropriate products at medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTC). 

Survey older adults (> 50 years) with chronic pain who have MM access cards and receive their product from state-approved dispensaries to document: demographic/health data; patterns of use; product specifics; pain effects on daily life; pain-related medical conditions; education prior to MM purchase; helpful and problematic effects of MM use. 

The proportion of Florida’s population that is 60 and older is growing more rapidly than other components of the population. Musculoskeletal disorders with associated chronic pain are a common problem in later life. Symptom management in older adults, including chronic pain management can be challenging (Briscoe, 2018). Medications, especially opioids, can increase the risk of confusion, constipation, falls and injury (Briscoe,2018). Medical marijuana (MM) is often recommended by doctors in the treatment of these medical conditions, guided by state law that defines qualifying conditions.

Medical marijuana use among older adults is growing at a rate more rapid than younger age groups (Lum, et al, 2019). The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated a 2.9% prevalence of marijuana use among this older population. However, the survey did not ascertain if use was for medical or recreational purposes (Han et al., 2016). Older adults may have important differences in pathophysiology, pharmacological interaction of medications, comorbid conditions, and toxicological responses to cannabis.

There is little evidence to evaluate the differences associated with medical marijuana use among older adults, such as individual reasons for use and problems arising with use (Haug et al., 2017).

Chronic pain is a major public health problem. Approximately 178 million (41%) adults in the U.S. age 18 and older suffer from at least one painful health condition (Nahin, et al, 2019).

In Florida, there are 327,492 medical marijuana card holders and chronic non-malignant pain was the No. 1 diagnosis for which patients are registered (The Florida Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use, 2020). Yet, it is not a qualifying condition, creating challenges for physicians wishing to support patient use of MM for chronic pain.

Chronic pain accounted for nearly 34 percent of diagnoses at certified dispensaries (The Florida Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use, 2019).