C. Privacy and the laws about privacy
I am required to tell you about your privacy and related rights because of regulations created in a federal law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). This law requires that I keep your Personal Health Information (PHI) private, and that I notify you of my legal duties and privacy policies and practices with this Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP). I will obey the rules of this notice as long as it is in effect, but if I change it, the rules of the new NPP will apply to all PHI that is in my possession. If] change the NPP, I will post the new notice in my office where it may be seen by anyone. You may request a copy of this notice.
D. How your protected health information (PHI) may be used or shared
When your information is read by me, or others in this office and used by us to make decisions about your care, that is called, in the law "use". If the information is shared with or sent to others outside this office, that is called. in the law "disclosure". Except in some special circumstances, when I use your PHI here in the office or disclose it to others, I share only the minimum necessary needed by those others to do their jobs. 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 (shared). The following information will explain in some detail what I might do with your information.
I use and disclose PHI for a variety of reasons, in a variety of ways. For some uses, I am required to tell you about them and have a written authorization to do so. In other uses, the law allows disclosure without your authorization. These are spelled out below.
1. Uses and disclosures of PH in healthcare with your consent.
After you read this Notice, you will be asked to sign a separate Consent Form to allow me to use and share your PHI. In almost all cases, I intend to use your PHI here or share your PHI with other people or organizations to provide treatment for you, arrange payment for your services, or some other business called healthcare operations. Together, these routine purposes are referred to as TPO, and the Consent Form allows us to use and disclose your PHI for TPO. I know this is a bit confusing, but please read carefully as it is very important.
1 a. Basic uses and disclosures for Treatment, Payment or Healthcare Operations - TPO
I need information about you and your condition in order to provide treatment for you. You have to agree to let me collect the information, use and/or share it, to care for you properly. Therefore, you must sign the Consent form before I begin treatment, because it you do not, I cannot treat you.
In most cases, when you come to see me, I will be the only one who will collect information from you, and put it in your healthcare records here. In some circumstance, and only with your prior agreement, you may meet jointly with another professional, in order to address specific goals, problems or issues. This person(s) would be a professional associate, who is bound by contract with me to safeguard the privacy of any information which you agree to share with them. Generally, I may use or disclose your PHI for three purposes: treatment, obtaining payment or healthcare operations.
Treatment: I use your medical information to provide you with psychological treatments or services. These might include individual, couples, family, or group therapy, treatment planning. or measuring the benefits of our services.
I may disclose your PHI to others who provide treatment to you, such as your personal physician. If you are treated by a team, I can share some of your PHI with them. Other professionals treating you may verbally or in writing, give me information about their findings, the actions they took, and their treatment recommendations, so that we can all decide what works best for you and make up a Treatment Plan. In cases where you may require additional services I am unable to provide, 1 may refer you to other professionals or consultants. When I do this, I will need to tell them some things about you and your conditions. We will get back their findings and opinions and those will go into your records here. If you receive treatment in the future from other professionals, I may also share your PHI with them.