SOLID GROUND NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
(HIPAA AND MINNESOTA LAW) AND CLIENT PRIVACY STATEMENT
This Notice is effective April 14, 2003, and governs our privacy practices on and after that date.
This Notice describes how your medical information may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
Federal and state privacy and medical records laws protect your rights as a client of Solid Ground. This notice applies to your current contact with Solid Ground and all future contacts, whether the contact is in person, by telephone, or by mail.
Solid Ground and affiliated businesses are required to protect the privacy of your Protected Health Information (PHI). We are also required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to provide you with a notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI. The terms we, our, and us refer to Solid Ground, and the terms you and your refer to our clients.
NOTICE INFORMATION
This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your PHI to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations and for other purposes that are specified by law.
We reserve the right to change this Notice. The changes will apply for PHI we already have about you and PHI we receive about you in the future. We will provide an updated Notice to you when you request one. If you have questions about this Notice, our privacy practices, or the Solid Ground services this Notice applies to, please contact us at:
Solid Ground
3521 Century Avenue N
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651-773-8401
PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
Protected Health Information (PHI) is:
- Information about your physical or mental health, related health care services, or payment for health care services.
- Information that is provided by you, created by us, or shared with us by related organizations.
- Information that identifies you or could be used to identify you, such as demographic information, address and phone number, social security number, age, date of birth, dependents, and health history.
HOW SOLID GROUND PROTECTS YOUR PHI
Except as described in this Notice or specified by law, we will not use or disclose your PHI. We will use reasonable efforts to request, use, and disclose the minimum amount of PHI necessary.
Whenever possible, we will de-identify or encrypt your personal information so that you cannot be personally identified. We may put physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in place to protect your PHI and comply with federal and state laws.
YOUR RIGHTS
You have the following rights with respect to your PHI.
Obtain a copy of this Notice. You may obtain a copy of the Notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy.
Request restrictions. You may ask us not to use or disclose any part of your PHI. Your request must be in writing and include what restriction(s) you want and to whom you want the restriction(s) to apply. We will review and grant reasonable requests, but we are not required to agree to any restrictions.
Inspect and copy. You have the right to inspect and get a copy of your PHI for as long as we maintain the information. You must put your request in writing. We may charge you for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies that are necessary to grant your request.
We do have the right to deny your request to inspect and copy. If you are denied access, you may ask us to review the denial.
Request amendment. If you feel that your PHI is incomplete or incorrect, you may ask us to amend it. You may ask for an amendment for as long as we maintain the information. Your request must be in writing, and you must include a reason that supports your request.
In certain cases, we may deny your request. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with our decision.
Receive a list (an accounting) of disclosures. You have the right to receive a list of the disclosures (an accounting) that we have made of your PHI on or after April 14, 2003
The list will not include disclosures that we are not required to track, such as disclosures for the purposes of treatment, payment, or health care operations: disclosures which you have authorized us to make; disclosures made directly to you or to friends or family members involved in your care; or disclosures for notification purposes.
Your right to receive a list of disclosures may also be subject to other exceptions, restrictions, and limitations.
Your request for an accounting must be made in writing and state the time period for which you would like us to list the disclosures. We will not include disclosures made more than six years prior to the date of your request, or disclosures made prior to April 14, 2003.
You will not be charged for the first disclosure list that you request, but you may be charged for additional lists provided within the same 12-month period as the first.
Request confidential communication. You may ask us to communicate with you using alternative means or alternative locations. For example, you may ask us to contact you about medical records only in writing or at a different address than the one in your file. Your request must be made in writing and state how and when you would like to be contacted.
You do not have to tell us why you are making the request, but we may require you to make special arrangements for payment or other communications.
We will review and grant reasonable requests, but we are not required to agree to any restrictions.
Note: Special Rules for Psychotherapy Notes. Only psychotherapy notes collected by a psychotherapist during a counseling session are considered PHI. If those notes are kept separate from a client’s medical records, HIPAA requires that they be treated with higher standards or protection than other PHI.
It is not Solid Ground's practice to keep psychotherapy notes as defined by HIPAA, or to keep any client notes separate from the client’s file.