TERMS & CONDITIONS

P.A.R.T. Memberships & Story Use Authorization (Summary)

This page explains the membership agreement for P.A.R.T. Texas and includes a summary of how your story may be used. It does not replace the full Story / My Story Use Agreement, which is available on our dedicated story page and includes photos and details about our intake team.

P.A.R.T. operates at both the state and national level. Memberships may be offered through P.A.R.T. Texas or P.A.R.T. USA, depending on the membership selected. P.A.R.T. USA is currently being established as a national organization, and national memberships are being offered to support the development of federal advocacy efforts and future state chapters.

Words that look like this link to our glossary, where you can see plain-language definitions.

Scroll down to read the full agreement ▼

1. Why this agreement exists

P.A.R.T. Texas (Pain Awareness Right to Treatment) is an advocacy organization for chronic pain patients, caregivers, and supporters in Texas.

When you become a member and/or submit your story, you are:

  • Adding your voice to a documented group of Texans who are being harmed by current policies and practices, and
  • Giving us permission to speak on your behalf in a general, non-identifying way to lawmakers, agencies, and other decision-makers.

You are not required to tell your full story to become a member. Membership is not contingent on submitting a story. You can still join the membership even if you never fill out a My Story form.

However, when members do share their stories, it gives us much stronger data and leverage with lawmakers. That means we can advocate more effectively for you and for other Texans in pain over the long term. In short: we can still fight for you without your story, but we can often do a lot more with it.

This Membership & Story Use Authorization page is a summary. For full details of how stories are handled, please visit our separate My Story & Story Use page (linked from the main menu and from the story form).

2. What you are authorizing P.A.R.T. Texas to do

By joining as a member, you authorize P.A.R.T. Texas to:

  • Represent you as part of a group of Texas pain patients, caregivers, and supporters in front of lawmakers, regulatory agencies, task forces, and public hearings about chronic pain policy.
  • Use your de-identified story and data to show how Texas pain patients are being harmed by current laws, guidelines, regulations, insurance policies, or medical practices.
  • Communicate with you about legislative updates, advocacy actions, and opportunities to testify if you choose.

You are NOT giving us permission to sign contracts in your name, make medical decisions, or act as your individual attorney. You ARE giving us permission to use your story and membership to advocate on your behalf as part of our organizational mission.

3. What information we collect (summary)

When you submit your story, we may collect:

  • Name and contact information
  • General location (city/county/region of Texas)
  • Your elected officials, if provided
  • Details about your experience, including tapering, refusals, denials, or regulatory barriers

Stories are submitted via a secure, encrypted ProtonMail inbox.

The full story-use agreement on the My Story page explains this in greater detail, including how long data is kept and how it may be used in group statistics (combined with many other stories) .

4. Who can see your identifying information (and where to verify)

Only three designated intake personnel will have direct access to the encrypted inbox and the original stories.

All three have already signed legally binding NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) and confidentiality agreements.

All nine P.A.R.T. Texas board members have also signed NDAs and confidentiality agreements. They do not access your identified story unless you explicitly authorize it.

Our dedicated My Story & Story Use page includes:

  • The names and headshot photos of the three intake personnel
  • A statement confirming they are the only individuals with access to identified stories
  • Confirmation that all required NDAs and confidentiality agreements have been signed and are on file
  • A link to contact us if you have questions before submitting your story

5. How your story is used

After intake:

  • Identifying details are removed (“scrubbed”).
  • Stories are categorized by issue type.
  • Only de-identified summaries are used for advocacy, reports, testimony, or statistics.

You will never be personally identified without explicit written consent.

The full story-use agreement on the My Story page goes into more detail about examples of how de-identified stories may be used in reports, presentations, and legislative testimony.

6. Withdrawing your permission or membership

You may withdraw authorization for story use and/or your membership at any time by written request.

Upon withdrawal of story authorization:

  • Identified story use stops immediately in all future materials.
  • Past use cannot be undone.
  • Already-de-identified data may remain in aggregated statistical sets and cannot always be separated out.
  • You will never be identifiable in any ongoing or future data usage.

To withdraw your membership, you may email memberships@parttexas.com with the subject line “Withdraw Membership”. We will also provide an online form (linked here once it is live) that will send your request directly to this same membership inbox.

[Planned link placeholder to withdrawal page: Request withdrawal of membership]

7. Important limits and disclaimers

P.A.R.T. Texas is an advocacy organization, not a law firm or medical provider.

We commit to acting ethically, transparently, and responsibly.

We cannot promise specific legislative or regulatory outcomes.

We advocate for systemic change but cannot control the actions of external parties such as doctors, pharmacies, insurers, or agencies.

8. Your agreement and digital signature

By typing your full name, you affirm:

  • You understand and agree to this Membership & Story Use Authorization (summary).
  • You authorize representation and de-identified story use as described here.
  • Your identifying information will only be accessible to the three intake personnel bound by NDAs.
  • You may withdraw authorization at any time.
  • YOUR INFORMATION WILL NEVER BE SOLD.

For the most detailed and updated explanation of story handling, please refer to the My Story & Story Use page. [We will add a direct link here once that page is live.]

9. Options if you do not agree

If you do not agree with any part of this Agreement, you have two options:

  1. Contact the Founder of P.A.R.T. Texas.
    You may contact the Founder to ask questions or request clarification. Explanations provided are informational only and non-binding unless a formal written agreement is requested. Any such request must be reviewed and approved by the full Board of Directors.
    Email: founder@parttexas.com
  2. Decline membership but still support the organization.
    Membership is voluntary. You may still make one-time donations as often as you wish without any membership obligations or representation attached.

End of Membership & Story Use Authorization (Summary).

Before continuing: please confirm that you agree to the terms above. Typing your full legal name below and clicking “I Agree” will serve as your digital signature.

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