Lewes Mental Health

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.

I. PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION:

LEWES MENTAL HEALTH creates a record of the care and services you receive from us. This notice applies to all records of care generated by us.

We are required by law to:

• Ensure that protected health information (“PHI”) that identifies you is kept private.
• Give you this notice of my legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.
• Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
• We can change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new Notice will be available upon request.

II. HOW I MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:

1. For Treatment Payment, or Health Care Operations: Federal privacy rules (regulations) allow health care providers who have direct treatment relationship with the patient to use or disclose the patient’s personal health information without the patient’s written authorization, to carry out the health care provider’s own treatment, payment or health care operations. We may also disclose your protected health information for the treatment activities of any health care provider without your written authorization. For example, if a clinician were to consult with another licensed health care provider about your condition, we would be permitted to use and disclose your personal health information, which is otherwise confidential, in order to assist the clinician in diagnosis and treatment of your mental health condition. The word “treatment” includes, among other things, the coordination and management of health care providers with a third party, consultations between health care providers and referrals of a patient for health care from one health care provider to another.
2. Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit, I may disclose health information in response to a court or administrative order. I may also disclose health information about your child in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute.

III. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:

1. Psychotherapy Notes. LEWES MENTAL HEALTH keeps “psychotherapy notes” as that term is defined in 45 CFR § 164.501, and any use or disclosure of such notes requires your Authorization unless the use or disclosure is: (a) For my use in treating you. (b) For my use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills in group, joint, family, or individual counseling or therapy. (c) For my use in defending myself in legal proceedings instituted by you. (d) For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate my compliance with HIPAA. (e) Required by law and the use or disclosure is limited to the requirements of such law. (f) Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes. (g) Required by a coroner who is performing duties authorized by law. (h) Required to help avert a serious threat to the health and safety of others.
2. Marketing Purposes. As a psychotherapist, I will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes without your expressed informed consent.
3. Sale of PHI. As a psychotherapist, I will not sell your PHI in the regular course of my business without your express informed consent.

IV. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION. Subject to certain limitations in the law, LEWES MENTAL HEALTH can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:

1. Directly to you.
2. When disclosure is required by state or federal law, and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law.
3. To health-care personnel to the extent necessary in an emergency to protect the health or life of the person who is the subject of the information from serious, imminent harm.
4. To the public safety authority during a public health emergency.
5. To the Child Death Review Commission or to the Child Protection Accountability Commission.
6. For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order.
7. For public health activities, including reporting suspected child, elder, or dependent adult abuse, or preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.
8. To the Division of Health Care Quality for health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.
9. For research, regardless of the source of funding of the research, provided that the researcher provides documentation that an alteration to or waiver, in whole or in part, of the individual authorization required by subsection (a) of this section for use or disclosure of protected health information has been approved by the applicable privacy board in accordance with HIPAA regulations.
10. For patient treatment and care coordination.
11. To a health plan, health-care clearinghouse, business associate, or health-care provider, to use for transactions that transmit information between 2 parties to carry out financial or administrative activities related to health care, health-care operations, and health insurance, as set forth in 45 C.F.R Parts 160, 162, and 164.
12. To the Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission.
13. To the Prescription Monitoring Program.
14. For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes during our sessions.
15. To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law
16. Pursuant to Federal regulations.
17. Appointment reminders and health related benefits or services. I may use and disclose your PHI to contact you to remind you that you have an appointment with me. I may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that I offer.

V. YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PHI:

1. The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI. You have the right to ask me not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. LEWES MENTAL HEALTH is not required to agree to your request.
2. The Right to Request Restrictions for Out-of-Pocket Expenses Paid for In Full. You have the right to request restrictions on disclosures of your PHI to health plans for payment or health care operations purposes if the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or a health care service that you have paid for out-of-pocket in full.
3. The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI. Other than “psychotherapy notes” and Information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or for use in, a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding, you have the right to get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other information that I have about you. I will provide you with a copy of your record, or a summary of it, if you agree to receive a summary, and I may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for doing so.
4. The Right to Correct or Update Your PHI. If you believe that there is a mistake in your PHI, or that a piece of important information is missing from your PHI, you have the right to request that I correct the existing information or add the missing information. I may say “no” to your request.
5. The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice. You have the right get a paper copy of this Notice, and you have the right to get a copy of this notice by e-mail. And, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via e-mail, you also have the right to request a paper copy of it.

VI. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

If you prefer to communicate via text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, I will accommodate. By providing your phone number on the Demographics Form, you consent to receive text messages from LEWES MENTAL HEALTH regarding inquiries, updates, and other relevant information. Message frequency may vary. Message and data rates may apply. For assistance, reply HELP or contact us directly. To stop receiving messages, reply STOP. No further messages will be sent. Please note that confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media cannot be guaranteed by LEWES MENTAL HEALTH. While I may try to return messages in a timely manner, I cannot guarantee immediate response and request that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies. Your phone number will be used solely for delivering communications and will not be sold.