Privacy is a very important concern for all those who come to this office. It is also complicated because of federal and state laws and our profession. Because the rules are complicated, some parts of this Notice are quite detailed.
This Notice will tell you how we handle information about you. It tells how we use this information here in this office, how we share it with other professionals and organizations, and how you can see it. We want you to know all of this so that you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family. We are also required to tell you about this because of the privacy regulations of a federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
What We Mean by Your Medical Information
Each time you visit this practice or any doctor's office, hospital, clinic, or any other healthcare provider, information is collected about you and your physical and mental health. It may be information from your past, present, or future health/conditions. It may also be information of the treatment or other services you received from your therapist or from others or about payment for healthcare. The information we collect from you is called, in the law, Protected Health Information (PHI). This information goes into your medical or healthcare record or file at the office. In this office, this PHI is likely to include these kinds of information:
- Your History - as a child in school, at work, marital, and other personal history.
- Reasons you came for treatment - your problems, complaints, symptoms, needs, and goals.
- Diagnoses - medical terms for your symptoms.
- A treatment plan - services that are designed to best help you.
- Progress notes - written account of what occurs during our sessions.
- Records we obtain from other providers.
- Educational or Psychological Testing - results and interpretations.
- Information about medications you took or are taking.
- Legal matters.
- Billing and insurance information.
We use this information for many purposes:
- To plan your care and treatment.
- To decide how well the treatments are working for you.
- To discuss your treatment with other healthcare providers who are also treating you.
- To show that you actually received the services for which we have billed your or your health insurance company.
Although your health record is the physical property of the healthcare practitioner or facility, the information belongs to you. You can inspect, read, or review it. If you want a copy, we can make one for you, but you may be charged the cost of copying (and mailing if you want it mailed to you or someone else). In some very unusual situations you cannot see all of what is in your records. If you find anything in your records that you think is incorrect or something important is missing, you can ask us to amend (add information to) your record, although in some rare situations, we do not have to agree to do that.
Couples/Family and Therapy
All information obtained during couples or family therapy will be kept in a single chart. Therefore, to release information, we must have authorization from all parties If an individual requests access to the chart, a redacted (edited) chart, with all other members’ information removed, could be requested.
Privacy and the Laws About Privacy
The HIPAA law requires us to keep your PHI private and to give you this notice of our legal duties and our privacy practices, which is called the Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP). We will obey the rules of this notice as long as it is in effect, but if we change it, the rules of the new NPP will apply to all PHI we keep. If we change the NPP, we will provide you with a new Notice.
How Your Protected Health Information Can Be Used and Shared
When your information is read by personnel in this office, this is called, in the law, “use.” If information is shared with or sent to others outside this office, that is called, in the law, “disclosure.” Except in special circumstances, when we use your PHI here or disclose it to others, we share only the minimum necessary PHI needed for the purpose. The law gives you the right to know about your PHI, how it is used, and to have a say in how it is disclosed.
We use and disclose PHI for several reasons. Mainly, we will use and disclose (share) for routine purposes. For other uses, we must have written authorization from you unless the law allows or requires us to make the use of disclosure without your authorization. The law also says that we are allowed to make some uses and disclosures without your consent.
Uses and disclosures of PHI in healthcare with your consent - After you read this Notice, you will be asked to sign a separate consent form to allow us to use and share your PHI. In almost all cases, we intend to use your PHI here or share your PHI with other people or organizations to provide treatment to you, arrangement for payment for our services, or some other health care operation (TPO). Together, these routine purposes and the Consent form, allow us to use and disclose your PHI for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations (TPO).
For Treatment
We use your medical information to provide you with psychotherapy and evaluation services. These might include individual, couples, or family therapy, educational or psychological testing, and treatment planning.
We may share or disclose your PHI to others who provide treatment to you. We are likely to share your information with your physician. If you are being treated by a team, we can share some of your PHI with them so that the services you receive will be coordinated. We may refer you to other professionals or consultants for services we cannot offer such as special testing or treatments. When we do this we need to tell them things about you and your condition. We will receive their findings and opinions, and that information will go into your records here. If you receive treatment in the future from other professionals, we can also share your PHI with them.
For Payment
We may use your information to bill you, your insurance, or others to be paid for treatment we provide you. If you indicate that you wish your therapist to assist in insurance reimbursement for her services, she may contact your insurance company to verify your coverage. Your therapist may have to tell them about your diagnoses, what treatments you have received, and what your therapist expects as she treats you. Your therapist will need to tell them about when your sessions occurred, your progress, and other similar things.
For Health Care Operations
There are some other ways we may use or disclose your PHI, which are called health care operations. For example, your therapist may use your PHI to see where she can make improvements in the care and services she provides. We may be required to supply some information to some government health agencies so they can study disorders and treatment and make plans for services that are needed. If we do, your name and identity will be removed from what we send.
Other Uses in Healthcare
Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose medical information to reschedule or remind you of appointments.
Treatment Alternatives: We may use and disclose your PHI to tell you about or recommend possible treatments or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
Other Benefits and Services: We may use and disclose your PHI to tell you and health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Authorization
If we want to use your information for any purpose besides the TPO or those we described above, we need your permission on an Authorization Form. If you authorize us to use or disclose your PHI, you can revoke (cancel) that permission, in writing, at any time. After that time, we will not use or disclose your inforain for the purposes to which we agreed. Of course, we cannot take back any previously discussed information for which we had authorization.
Uses and Disclosures NOT Requiring Consent or Authorization
The laws allow us to use and disclose some of your PHI without your consent or authorization in some cases. We may use or disclose PHI without your consent or authorization in the following circumstances:
Child Abuse: If a therapist is treating a chid and that therapist knows or suspects that chid to be a victim of child abuse or neglect she is required to report the abuse or neglect to a duly constituted authority.
Adult and Domestic Abuse: If a therapist has reasonable cause to believe an adult, who is unable to take care of himself or herself, has been subjected to physical abuse, neglect, exploitation, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse, that therapist must report this belief to the appropriate authorities.
Health Oversight Activities: If the state licensing board is conducting an investigation into our practice, then we are required to disclose PHI upon receipt of a subpoena from the Board.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a court proceeding and a request is made for information about your diagnosis and treatment and the records thereof, such information is privileged under state law, and we will not release information without written authorization of you or your legally appointed representative or court order. The privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third party or where the evaluation is court ordered. The privilege also does not apply in child custody issues.
Serious Threat to Health or Safety : Your therapist may disclose your PHI to the appropriate individuals if your therapist believes in good faith that the disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of you or another identifiable person.
Uses and Disclosures Requiring You to Have an Opportunity to Object
Your therapist can share some information about you with your family or close others that you choose. She will ask you about who you want to tell what information about your condition or treatment. You can tell your therapist what you want, and she will honor your wishes as long as it is not against the law.
If an emergency occurs - such that we cannot ask you if you disagree- we can share information if we believe that it is what you would have wanted and if we believe it will help you if we share it. If we share information in an emergency, we will tell you as soon as we can. If you don’t approve, we will stop as long as it is not against the law.
An Accounting of Disclosures
When we disclose your PHI, we will keep some records of whom we sent it to, when we sent it, and what we sent. You can get an accounting (a list) of these disclosures.
If You Have Questions or Problems
If you need more information or have questions about the privacy practices described above, please ask us to explain it in further detail. If you have a problem with how your PHI has been handled, or if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, discuss this with us, so that we can correct the problem. You have the right to file a complaint with the Secretary of the Federal Department of Health and Human Services. We promise that we will not in any way limit your care here or take actions against you if you complain.
HIPAA ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Your signature below indicates that you have read the information in this document and agree to abide by its terms during our professional relationship. If you wish a copy of the HIPAA Notice Form, it will be provided to you.