Privacy and Confidentiality
Within certain limits, information revealed by you during treatment will be kept strictly confidential and will not be revealed to any other person or agency except as needed to conduct normal business.
Exceptions to this law are:
1) You or your legal representative provide written consent; 2) You reveal the contemplation of a crime or harmful act; 3) You are a minor and the victim or subject of a crime; 4) You waive the privilege of confidentiality by filing charges; 5) I receive a subpoena from a court of law; 6) You reveal the abuse of children, adult dependents or developmentally disabled persons.
In such cases, your therapist has mandatory reporting requirements that she must adhere to. Your therapist may inform you of her actions although the law does not require that she do so.
In couple and family therapy, or when different family members are seen individually, confidentiality and privilege do not apply between the couple or among family members. Your therapist will use her clinical judgment when revealing such information. Your therapist will not release records to any outside party unless authorized to do so by all adult family members who were part of the treatment.
Disclosure of confidential information may be required by your health insurance carrier or EAP in order to process the claims, including the clinical notes. If you instruct your therapist, only the minimum necessary information will be communicated to the carrier. Your therapist has no control or knowledge over what insurance companies do with the information that is submitted or who has access to this information. You must be aware that submitting a mental health claim for reimbursement may carry a certain amount of risk to confidentiality, privacy, or to future eligibility to obtain health or life insurance.
Uses and Disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) with your consent:
- Treatment: PHI can be shared with professionals who are treating you to help manage the treatment you receive.
- Health Care Operations: PHI can be used to improve health care operations such as audits, quality improvement, and care coordination.
- Payment: PHI can be used to coordinate payment for services from a health plan.
Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Authorization:
- Psychotherapy notes
- Court Proceedings
Uses and Disclosures Not Requiring Your Authorization:
- Child Abuse, Adult Abuse, and Domestic Violence
- Health Oversight
- Serious Threat to Public Health & Safety Issues/Self or Others.
- Worker’s Compensation
- Complying with the Law
Your Rights:
- Get a copy of your health and claims records
- Ask me to correct health and claims records
- Request confidential communications
- Ask me not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment or health care operations but I may say no if it would affect your care.
- Get a copy of this privacy notice
- Choose someone to act for you (i.e., power of attorney, legal guardian)
- File a complaint if you feel your rights have been violated. Letter of complaint can be sent to U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington DC, 20201 or call 1 (877) 696-6776, or visiting https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/complaint-process/index.html.