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Dr. Attaway & Associates 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 THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

 

Your health record contains personal information about you and your health. This information about you  that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition  and related health care services is referred to as Protected Health Information (“PHI”). This Notice of  Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your PHI in accordance with applicable law,  including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), regulations promulgated  under HIPAA including the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, and the AAMFT Code of Ethics. It also  describes your rights regarding how you may gain access to and control your PHI.  

 

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI. We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices. We reserve the right to change the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices at any time. Any new Notice of Privacy Practices will be effective for all PHI that we maintain at that time. We will  provide you with a copy of the revised Notice of Privacy Practices by posting a copy on our website,  sending a copy to you in the mail upon request or providing one to you at your next appointment.  

 

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU  

 

For Treatment. Your PHI may be used and disclosed by those who are involved in your care for the  purpose of providing, coordinating, or managing your health care treatment and related services. This  includes consultation with clinical supervisors or other treatment team members. We may disclose PHI to  any other consultant only with your authorization.  

 

For Payment. We may use and disclose PHI so that we can assist you in gaining reimbursement for the treatment services provided to you. This will only be done with your written authorization. Examples of  payment-related activities are: reviewing services provided to you to determine medical necessity or  undertaking utilization review activities. Payment for services at Dr. Attaway & Associates is due at the time  of service. If it becomes necessary to use collection processes due to lack of payment for services, we will  only disclose the minimum amount of PHI necessary for purposes of collection.  

 

For Health Care Operations. We may use or disclose, as needed, your PHI in order to support our  business activities including, but not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities. For example, we may share your PHI  with third parties that perform various business activities (e.g., billing or typing services) provided we  have a written contract with the business that requires it to safeguard the privacy of your PHI. For training or teaching purposes PHI will be disclosed only with your authorization.  

 

Required by Law. Under the law, we must disclose your PHI to you upon your request. In addition, we  must make disclosures to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose  of investigating or determining our compliance with the requirements of the Privacy Rule.  

 

Without Authorization. Following is a list of the categories of uses and disclosures permitted by HIPAA without an authorization. Applicable law and ethical standards permit us to disclose information about  you without your authorization only in a limited number of situations.  

 

As mental health professionals licensed in this state, it is our practice to adhere to more stringent privacy  requirements for disclosures without an authorization. The following language addresses these categories  to the extent consistent with the AAMFT Code of Ethics and HIPAA.  

 

Child Abuse or Neglect. We may disclose your PHI to a state or local agency that is authorized by law to  receive reports of child abuse or neglect.  

 

Elderly/Disabled Person Abuse or Neglect. We may disclose your PHI to a state or local agency that is  authorized by law to receive reports of elderly or disabled people’s abuse or neglect.  

 

Suicidal Ideation. We may disclose your PHI to the police if you threaten to kill yourself and are unable  or unwilling commit to a safety plan with your counselor. If your counselor deems it necessary to seek hospitalization on your behalf, they will make every effort to discuss this with you before taking any  action.  

 

Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may disclose your PHI pursuant to a judicial subpoena or similar process, as required by law.  

 

Deceased Patients. We may disclose PHI regarding deceased patients as mandated by state law, or to a family member or friend that was involved in your care or payment for care prior to death, based on your  prior consent. A release of information regarding deceased patients may be limited to an executor or administrator of a deceased person’s estate or the person identified as next-of-kin. PHI of persons that  have been deceased for more than fifty (50) years is not protected under HIPAA.

 

Medical Emergencies. We may use or disclose your PHI in a medical emergency situation to medical  personnel only in order to prevent serious harm. Our staff will try to provide you a copy of this notice as  soon as reasonably practicable after the resolution of the emergency.  

 

Family Involvement in Care. We may disclose information to close family members or friends directly  involved in your treatment based on your consent or as necessary to prevent serious harm.  

 

Law Enforcement. We may disclose PHI to a law enforcement official as required by law, in compliance  with a subpoena, court order, administrative order or similar document, for the purpose of identifying a  suspect, material witness or missing person, in connection with the victim of a crime, in connection with a  deceased person, in connection with the reporting of a crime in an emergency, or in connection with a  crime on the premises.  

 

Specialized Government Functions. We may review requests from U.S. military command authorities if  you have served as a member of the armed forces, authorized officials for national security and  intelligence reasons and to the Department of State for medical suitability determinations, and disclose your PHI based on your written consent, mandatory disclosure laws, or the need to prevent serious harm. 

 

Public Safety. We may disclose your PHI if necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat  to the health or safety of a person or the public. If information is disclosed to prevent or lessen a serious threat it will be disclosed to a person or persons reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat, including  the target of the threat.  

 

Verbal Permission. We may also use or disclose your information to family members that are directly involved in your treatment with your verbal permission.  

 

With Authorization. Uses and disclosures not specifically permitted by applicable law will be made only  with your written authorization, which may be revoked at any time, except to the extent that we have  already made a use or disclosure based upon your authorization. The following uses and disclosures will  be made only with your written authorization: (i) most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes  (which are separated from the rest of your medical record) and (ii) other uses and disclosures not  described in this Notice of Privacy Practices.  

 

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PHI 

 

You have the following rights regarding PHI we maintain about you. To exercise any of these rights, please submit your request in writing to our Privacy Officer at 3036 Redwood Drive, Riverside Ca 92501.

  • Right of Access to Inspect and Copy. You have the right, which may be restricted only in  exceptional circumstances, to inspect and copy PHI that is maintained in a “designated record set”. A  designated record set contains mental health/medical and billing records and any other records that  are used to make decisions about your care. Your right to inspect and copy PHI will be restricted only  in those situations where there is compelling evidence that access would cause serious harm to you or  if the information is contained in separately maintained psychotherapy notes. We may charge a  reasonable, cost-based fee for copies. If your records are maintained electronically, you may also  request an electronic copy of your PHI. You may also request that a copy of your PHI be provided to  another person.  

  • Right to Amend. If you feel that the PHI we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask  us to amend the information although we are not required to agree to the amendment. If we deny your  request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us. We may  prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy. Please contact the Privacy  Officer if you have any questions.  

  • Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request an accounting of certain of the  disclosures that we make of your PHI. We may charge you a reasonable fee if you request more than  one accounting in any 12-month period.  

  • Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the use or  disclosure of your PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required to agree  to your request unless the request is to restrict disclosure of PHI to a health plan for purposes of  carrying out payment or health care operations, and the PHI pertains to a health care item or service  that you paid for out of pocket. In that case, we are required to honor your request for a restriction.  

  • Right to Request Confidential Communication. You have the right to request that we communicate  with you about health matters in a certain way or at a certain location. We will accommodate  reasonable requests. We may require information regarding how payment will be handled or specification of an alternative address or other method of contact as a condition for accommodating  your request. We will not ask you for an explanation of why you are making the request.  

  • Breach Notification. If there is a breach of unsecured PHI concerning you, we may be required to  notify you of this breach, including what happened and what you can do to protect yourself.  

  • Right to a Copy of this Notice. You have the right to a copy of this notice. 

 

COMPLAINTS

 

If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you have the right to file a complaint in writing with our Privacy Officer at 3036 Redwood Drive, Riverside Ca 92501.

 or with the Secretary of Health and  Human Services at 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 or by calling (202) 619- 0257. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. "

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