Notice of Privacy Practices

 

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. 

 

Privacy and confidentiality are of upmost importance and will be protected to the highest level possible in accordance with law. 

 

Healthcare providers have a duty to provide notice of privacy practices because we are legally required to apply and follow the practices described herein.

 

Privacy has become quite complicated because of the many state laws, federal laws, and professional ethics involved. Because the rules are so complicated they can be difficult to understand. If you have any questions or concerns please bring them to our attention.  

 

 

Contents of this notice

 

    A.    Introduction: To our clients 

    B.    What we mean by your medical information 

    C.    Privacy and the laws about privacy 

    D.    How your protected health information can be used and shared 

    1.    Uses and disclosures with your consent
a. The basic uses and disclosures: For treatment, payment, and health care operations
b. Other uses and disclosures in health care

    2.    Uses and disclosures that require your authorization 

    3.    Uses and disclosures that don’t require your consent or authorization
a. When required by law
b. For law enforcement purposes
c. For public health activities
d. Relating to decedents
e. For specific government functions
f. To prevent a serious threat to health or safety 

    4.    Uses and disclosures where you have an opportunity to object 

    5.    An accounting of disclosures we have made 

    E.    Your rights concerning your health information 

    F.    If you have questions or problems 

 

 

 

1. Introduction: To our clients

 

This notice will tell you how your medical information can be handled. It will tell you how we may use your medical information, how we may disclose (share) your medical information with other professionals and organizations, and it will tell you how you can see your medical information. By knowing this you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family. 

 

 

B. What we mean by “your medical information”

 

Each time you interact with any health care provider, facility, or service, information is collected about you. It may be information about your physical and mental health. It may be about past, present, or future conditions. It may be about assessments, tests, and treatments you’ve received. It may be about payment for health care. All this information is called “PHI,” which stands for “protected health information,” and it goes into your health care records.

 

In this office, your PHI is likely to include these kinds of information:

 

• Reasons for treatment: Your problems, symptoms, needs, and goals.

• Diagnoses: These are the medical terms for your problems or symptoms.

• Treatment plan: This is a list of the treatments and other services that we think will best help you.

• Program plan: This is a client/clinician collaborative treatment plan.

• Progress notes: These notes record your progress including information about how you are doing, what we notice about you, and what you tell us.

• History: Things that happened to you in your past.

• Medical history: Reported problems, diagnoses, treatments, and medications.

• Psychological test scores, assessments, and other reports.

• Records we get from other professionals who have treated or evaluated you.

• Legal matters.

• Billing and insurance information.

 

PHI is used for many purposes, and therefore other kinds of information may be included in your health care records, for example:

 

• To plan your care and treatment.

• To decide how well our treatments are working for you.

• To improve our services by measuring the results of our work.

• To show you received services from us, billed to you or to your health insurance company.

• To talk with other health care professionals treating you.

• For public health officials trying to improve health care in this area of the country.

• For medical or psychological research.

 

By understanding what is in your record and what it is used for, you can make informed decisions about who, when, and why others should have this information.

 

 

C. Privacy and the laws about privacy

 

We are required to tell you about privacy because of federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the HIPAA OMNIbus Final Rule of 2013. HIPAA requires us to keep your PHI private. It also requires us to give you this notice about our legal duties and our privacy practices. We do obey the rules described in this notice.

 

In the future, if laws change how PHI is used and shared, our Notice of Privacy Practices will also change to reflect the new laws. Our most recent Notice of Privacy Practices is always available to clients through SimplePractice.com and you can also get an updated copy anytime by request. If we do change our privacy practices, the changes will apply to all PHI we keep.

 

 

D. How your protected health information can be used and shared

 

The law gives you rights to know about your PHI, to know how it is used, and to have a say in how it is shared. Mainly, we use and disclose PHI for routine purposes to provide care (more about this is explained below). The law says we must tell you about these and other uses, and we must obtain your signed consent on a written authorization form as a condition of providing treatment to you. 

 

The law also says that there are some uses and disclosures that don’t need your consent or authorization (more about this is explained below). When we must use or disclose your PHI, we share only the minimum necessary.

 

1. Uses and disclosures with your consent

 

After you have read this notice, or the abridged option, you will be asked to sign a separate consent form to allow us to use and disclose your PHI.  We intend to use your PHI in our office, to share it with other people or organizations to provide treatment for you, to arrange for payment for our services, or for other business functions called “health care operations.”  In other words, we need information about you and your condition to provide care to you; and we need your agreement to let us collect the information, use it, and share it to care for you properly.  Therefore, you must sign our Consent to Use and Disclose Your Health Information form before we can treat you.

 

    a.  The basic uses and disclosures; For Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations 

 

        For Treatment. We use your information to provide you psychological treatments or services. These might include individual, couple, relationship, family, group, and psycho-educational therapy; testing, evaluations, and assessments; or measuring the benefits of our services. Professionals treating you enter their findings, the actions they took, and their plans into your health care record in order to consider the best treatments and services for you when making or revising your treatment plan. If you are treated by a team, some of your PHI is shared between team members so that the services you receive will work well together. We can share your PHI with others who provide treatment to you: your personal physician for example. We may refer you to outside professionals or consultants for services we cannot provide, which involves sharing some of your PHI.  When we get back their findings and opinions, these will be entered into your health care records. If you receive future treatment from other professionals we can share your PHI with them. These are some examples so that you can see how we can use and disclose your PHI for treatment. 

 

        For Payment. We can use your information to bill you, or others, in order to be paid for treatments and services provided to you. We can communicate with your insurance company or contact them to find out exactly what your insurance covers. We may have to tell them about your diagnoses, what treatments you have received, and the changes we expect in your conditions. If we communicate with your insurance company about you, we will need to tell them about when we met, your progress, and other similar things.

 

        For Health Care Operations. Using or disclosing your PHI for health care operations goes beyond our care and your payment. For example, we may use your PHI to see where we can make improvements in the care and services we provide. We may be required to supply some information to government health agencies so they can study disorders and treatment and make plans for needed services. If we do, your name and personal information will be removed from what we send. 

 

    b.    Other uses and disclosures in health care 

 

        Appointment reminders. We can use and disclose your PHI to reschedule or remind you of appointments. If you want us to communicate with you only at your home or your work, or in any other way limit how we contact you, let us know.

 

        Treatment alternatives. We can use and disclose your PHI to tell you about or recommend possible treatments or alternatives that may be of help to you. 

 

        Other benefits and services. We can use and disclose your PHI to tell you about health and wellness-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you. 

 

        Research. We can use or share your PHI to do research to improve treatments—for example, comparing two treatments for the same disorder. In all cases, your name and personal information will be removed from the information given to researchers. In the rare case that they need to know who you are, we will discuss the research project with you and will not send any information unless you sign a special authorization form.

 

Business associates. We hire other businesses to do some jobs for us. In the law, they are called our “business associates.” Examples include a copy service to make copies of health records, a billing service to figure out, submit, and collect payments for our services, etc.. These business associates need some of your PHI to do their jobs properly. To protect your privacy, we only hire businesses that contract with us to safeguard your information.

 

1. Uses and disclosures that require your authorization 

 

If we want to use your information for any purpose besides those described above, we need your permission on an authorization form. If you grant your permission, allowing us to use or disclose your PHI, you can cancel that permission in writing at any time. We would then stop using or disclosing your information for that purpose. Of course, we cannot take back any information we have already disclosed or used with your permission. 

 

1. Uses and disclosures that don’t require your consent or authorization

 

In some cases the law requires us to use and disclose some of your PHI without your consent or authorization. For example:

 

1. 1. When required by law 

 

There are some federal, state, and local laws that require us to disclose PHI: 

 

1. 1. • We have to report suspected child abuse, elder abuse, or abuse of a dependent adult.

      • We may have to release some of your PHI if you are involved in a lawsuit or legal proceeding and we receive a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process. We will only do so after trying to tell you about the request, consulting your lawyer, or trying to get a court order to protect the information they requested.

      • We have to disclose some information to the government agencies that check on us to see that we are obeying the privacy laws.

      • For law enforcement purposes.

 

1. 1. We can release information if required to do so by a law enforcement official to investigate a crime or criminal.

 

c.     For public health activities

 

We can disclose some of your PHI to agencies that investigate diseases or injuries.

 

      d.    Relating to decedents 

We can disclose PHI to coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors, and to organizations relating to organ, eye, or tissue donations or transplants. 

 

      e.    For specific government functions 

We can disclose PHI of military personnel and veterans to government benefit programs relating to eligibility and enrollment. We can disclose your PHI to workers’ compensation and disability programs, to correctional facilities if you are an inmate, or to other government agencies for national security reasons.

 

1. 1. To prevent a serious threat to health or safety

 

We can disclose some of your PHI if we come to believe that there is a serious threat to your health or safety, or that of another person or the public. We will only disclose to persons who can prevent the danger.

 

4.      Uses and disclosures where you have an opportunity to object 

 

        We can share some information about you with your family or close others. We will only share information with those involved in your care and anyone else you choose, such as close friends or clergy. We will ask you which persons you want us to tell, and what information you want us to tell them about your condition or treatment. You can tell us what you want, and we will honor your wishes as long as it is not against the law. 

 

        If it is an emergency, and we cannot ask if you disagree, we can share information about you if we believe it is what you would have wanted and if we believe sharing the information will help you. If we do 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. 

 

5.  An accounting of disclosures we have made

 

When we disclose your PHI, we will keep a record of whom we sent it to, when we sent it, and what we sent. You can get an accounting of many of these disclosures. 

 

 

E. Your rights concerning your health information

 

    1.    You can ask us to communicate with you in a particular way or at a certain place that is more private for you. We will try our best to do as you ask, and we don’t need an explanation. 

        Sending information in emails or text messaging has some risk that these emails or messages could be read by someone else. We can set up secure communication service to prevent this. However, if you decide to accept the risk of using email or text messaging, limit these communications to simple messages, like changing an appointment time. We ask that you do not email or text message any information you want kept private, such as PHI or sensitive information. By signing the separate consent form, you agree to this use of email and text messaging. Anything you send us electronically becomes part of your records. Please do not electronically send anything from or about third parties or others in your life.

 

    2.    You have the right to ask us to limit what we tell people involved in your care or with payment for your care, such as family members and friends. We don’t have to agree to your request, but if we do agree, we will honor it except when it is against the law, or in an emergency, or when the information is necessary to treat you. 

 

    3.    You have the right to prevent our sharing your PHI with your insurer or payer for its decisions about your benefits or some other uses, if you paid us directly (“out of pocket”) for treatment or services and you are not asking the insurer to pay for those, unless we are under contract with your insurer (on their panel of providers).

 

    4.    You have the right to look at the health information we have about you, such as your medical and billing records. In some circumstances, if there is very strong evidence that reading this would cause serious harm to you or someone else, you may not be able to see all of the information.

 

    5.    You can get a copy of these records, but we can charge you. In some situations, you cannot see all of what is in your records. We will be happy to review the records with you or provide a summary to you, or work out any other method that satisfies you. Contact our compliance officer to arrange how to see your records.

 

     6.    You have the right to amend your records to explain or correct anything in them. If you believe information in your records is incorrect or missing something important, you can ask us to make additions or include your own written statements to correct the situation. You have to make this request in writing and send it to our compliance officer. You must also tell us the reasons you want to make the changes.

 

    7.    You have the right to a copy of this notice. If we change this notice, our most recent Notice of Privacy Practices is always available to clients through SimplePractice.com and you can also get an updated copy anytime by request. If we do change our privacy practices, the changes will apply to all PHI we keep.

 

    8.    If you have a problem with how your PHI has been handled, or if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, contact our compliance officer. We will do our best to resolve any problems and do as you ask. You have the right to file a complaint with us and with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Filing a complaint will not change the health care we provide to you in any way. 

 

You may have other rights that are granted to you by the laws of our state, and these may be the same as or different from the rights described above. We will be happy to discuss these situations with you now or as they arise.

 

 

F. If you have questions or problems

 

If you need more information, or if you have any questions or problems about this notice or about our health information privacy policies, or if you have a problem with how your PHI has been handled, or if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, please contact: Anne Katrin Gillespie (compliance officer) by phone 619-284-2535, or by email akgillespie@mlpsych.com. 

 

Effective date of this Notice of Privacy Practices: October 1, 2020