Notice of Privacy Practices

Your rights

When it comes to your health information, you have important rights. This section explains those rights and some of our responsibilities.

Get an electronic or paper copy of your record

• You may ask to inspect or receive an electronic or paper copy of health and billing records we maintain about you, with limited exceptions allowed by law.
• We will generally provide access within the time required by law and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your record

• You may ask us to correct health information you believe is incorrect or incomplete.
• We may deny the request in some circumstances, but we will explain the reason in writing as required by law.

Request confidential communications

You may ask us to contact you in a specific way—for example, at a particular telephone number or email address—or to send mail to a different address. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

• You may ask us not to use or disclose certain health information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. We are not always required to agree, particularly when the information is needed to provide care.
• If you pay for a service in full out of pocket and ask us not to disclose information about that service to your health plan for payment or healthcare operations, we will honor the request unless disclosure is required by law.

Receive a list of certain disclosures

You may request an accounting of certain disclosures of your health information made during the six years before your request. The accounting does not include every disclosure, such as many disclosures for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations.

Get a copy of this notice

You may request a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.

Choose someone to act for you

If someone has legal authority to act for you, such as a legal guardian or authorized personal representative, that person may exercise your rights. We may ask for documentation of that authority.

Your choices

For certain health information, you may tell us your preferences about what we share. Tell us if you have a clear preference regarding:

• Sharing information with family members, friends, caregivers, or others involved in your care or payment for care.
• Sharing information in a disaster-relief situation.
• Contacting you about fundraising efforts, if we conduct them.

If you cannot tell us your preference—for example, during an emergency—we may disclose information when we believe it is in your best interest and permitted by law. We may also disclose information when needed to reduce a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

We will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing health information for most marketing purposes, selling health information, or using and disclosing psychotherapy notes when such authorization is required. You may revoke an authorization in writing, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance on it.

How we may use and disclose health information

Treatment

We may use and disclose health information to provide, coordinate, or manage services and to communicate with other professionals involved in care when permitted.

Payment

We may use and disclose health information to bill and receive payment from health plans, funding sources, or other responsible parties, including for eligibility, authorization, claims, and utilization-review activities.

Healthcare operations

We may use and disclose health information to operate our practice, improve quality, supervise and train staff, conduct compliance activities, manage risk, coordinate business functions, and contact you when necessary.

Other uses and disclosures permitted or required by law

We may use or disclose information, subject to applicable legal requirements, for purposes including:

• Public-health and safety activities.
• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, or domestic violence.
• Health oversight, licensing, audits, and government investigations.
• Workers’ compensation and similar programs.
• Responding to lawsuits, court orders, subpoenas, and lawful law-enforcement requests.
• Working with coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors.
• Research approved under applicable privacy protections.
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to health or safety.
• Specialized government functions and other disclosures required by law.

We will not use or disclose health information for a purpose not described in this notice unless you authorize it or applicable law otherwise permits or requires it.

Special protections for certain records

Some types of information may receive additional protection under federal or state law. When a more protective law applies, we follow that law.

Substance use disorder records

If we receive or maintain records protected by 42 CFR Part 2, those records receive additional confidentiality protections. Such records generally may not be used or disclosed in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings against an individual without written consent or a qualifying court order. When Part 2 records are disclosed with consent for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, further use and disclosure are governed by applicable HIPAA and Part 2 requirements.

Minors and personal representatives

A parent, guardian, or other personal representative generally may exercise privacy rights for a minor or another individual when authorized by law. Exceptions may apply depending on the service, consent authority, court orders, safety considerations, and other legal requirements.

Our responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of protected health information.
• We will notify affected individuals when a breach of unsecured protected health information requires notification.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in the notice currently in effect.
• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint or exercising a privacy right.

Changes to this notice

We may change this notice and make the revised notice effective for health information we already maintain as well as information we receive in the future. The current notice will be available on our website and upon request.