Notice of Privacy Practices
NOTICE OF PRIVACY POLICIES TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION (HIPAA)
This notice describes how psychological and medical information about you may be used and discussed and how you can obtain access to this information. Please review this document carefully.
Effective Date: January 1, 2021
We are required to provide this Notice of Privacy Practices to you pursuant to HIPAA
INFORMATION GATHERED BY VOLUNTARY USER SUBMISSION
River Tree Health Partners, LLC collects the name, postal address and email address of users who contact us through our website. Any information collected from our website will not be sold under any circumstances and is reserved solely for the use of River Tree Health Partners, LLC.
INFORMATION GATHERED BY OUR WEB SERVER
For each visitor to our website, our web server recognizes the consumer’s domain name, the pages or areas of the site that are visited, and the link followed to gain access to the client portal. Our web server does not collect the email address of individual users. We use this information to assess user trends and interest in various areas of our website and for site evaluation and development.
I. USES AND DISCLOSURES FOR TREATMENT, PAYMENT, AND HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS
I may use or disclose your protected health information (PHI) for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes with your consent. To help clarify these terms, here are some definitions:
PHI refers to information in your chart that could identify you.
Treatment is when I provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and other services related to your health care. An example of treatment would be when I consult with another health care provider, such as your PCP or another therapist.
Payment is when I obtain reimbursement for your health care. Examples of payment are when I disclose your PHI to your health insurer to obtain reimbursement for your health care or to determine eligibility or coverage.
Health Care Operations are activities that relate to the performance and operations of my practice. Examples of health care operations are quality assessment and improvement activities, business-related matters, such as audits and administrative services, and case management and case coordination.
Use applies to activities within my practice, such as sharing, employing, applying, utilizing, examining, and analyzing information that identifies you.
Disclosure applies to activities outside of my practice, such as releasing, transferring, or providing access to information about you to other parties.
II. USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRING AUTHORIZATION
I may use or disclose PHI for purposes outside of treatment, payment, and health care operations when your appropriate authorization is obtained. An “authorization” is written permission above and beyond the general consent that permits only specific disclosures. In those instances when I am asked for information for purposes outside of treatment, payment, and health care operations, I will obtain an authorization from you before releasing this information. I will also need to obtain an authorization before releasing your psychotherapy notes. “Psychotherapy notes” are notes I have made about our conversation during a private, group, joint, or family counseling session, which I have kept separate from the rest of your chart. These notes are given a greater degree of protection than PHI. It is my policy not to keep separate psychotherapy notes. All documentation we keep is a part of your clinical chart.
I will also obtain an authorization from you before using or disclosing PHI in a way that has not been described in this notice.
I will not use your PHI for marketing or sales purposes under any conditions.
III. USES AND DISCLOSURES WITH NEITHER CONSENT NOR AUTHORIZATION
I may use or disclose PHI without your consent or authorization in the following circumstances:
- CHILD ABUSE: If I, in my professional capacity, have reasonable cause to believe that a minor child is suffering physical or emotional injury resulting from abuse inflicted upon him or her which causes harm or substantial risk or harm to the child’s health or welfare (including sexual abuse), or from neglect, including malnutrition, I must immediately report such a condition to the appropriate authorities as required by law.
- ADULT AND DOMESTIC ABUSE: If I have reasonable cause to believe that an elderly person (age 60 or older) is suffering or has died as a result of abuse, I must immediately make a report to the appropriate authorities as required by law.
- HEALTH OVERSIGHT: I may disclose PHI to the Maine Board of Examiners of Psychologists, or one of its representatives, as required for regulation, accreditation, licensure, or certification.
- JUDICIAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS: If you are involved in a court proceeding and a request is made for information about your diagnosis and treatment and the records thereof, such information is privileged under state law and I will not release information without written authorization from you or your legally appointed representative, or a court order. The privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third party or where the court evaluation is court ordered. You will be informed in this case.
- SERIOUS THREAT TO HEALTH OR SAFETY: If you communicate to me an explicit threat to kill or inflict serious bodily injury upon an identified person and you have the apparent intent and ability to carry out the threat, I must take reasonable precautions. Reasonable precautions may include warning the potential victim, notifying law enforcement, or arranging for your hospitalization. I must also do so if I know you to have a history of physical violence and I believe there is a clear and present danger that you will attempt to kill or inflict bodily injury upon an identified person. Furthermore, if you present a clear and present danger to yourself and refuse to accept further appropriate treatment and I have a reasonable basis to believe that you can be committed to a hospital, I must seek said commitment and may contact members of your family or other individuals if it would assist in protecting you.
- WORKER’S COMPENSATION: If you file a worker’s compensation claim, your records relevant to that claim will not be confidential to entities such as your employer, the insurer and the Division or Worker’s Compensation.
IV. PATIENT’S RIGHTS AND MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIAN’S DUTIES
PATIENT’S RIGHTS
- RIGHT TO REQUEST RESTRICTIONS: You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information about you. However, I am not required to agree to a restriction you request.
- RIGHT TO RECEIVE CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS: You have the right to request and receive confidential communication of PHI by alternative means and at alternative locations. (For example, you may not want a family member to know that you are seeing me. Upon your request, I will send your bills to another address).
- RIGHT TO INSPECT AND COPY: You have the right to inspect or obtain a copy (or both) of PHI in my mental health and billing records used to make decisions about you for as long as the PHI is maintained in the record. I may deny your access to PHI under certain circumstances, but in some cases, you may have the decision reviewed. On your request, I will discuss with you the details of the amendment process.
- RIGHT TO AMEND: You have the right to request an amendment of PHI for as long as the PHI is maintained in the record. I may deny your request. On your request, I will discuss with you the details of the amendment process.
- RIGHT TO AN ACCOUNTING: You generally have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of PHI for which you have neither provided consent nor authorization (as described in Section III of this Notice). On your request, I will discuss with you the details of the accounting process.
- RIGHT TO A PAPER COPY: You have the right to obtain a paper copy of the notice from me upon request, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically.
- RIGHT TO RESTRICT DISCLOSURES WHEN YOU HAVE PAID FOR YOUR CARE OUT-OF-POCKET: You have the right to restrict certain disclosures of PHI to a health plan when you pay out-of-pocket or in full for my services.
- RIGHT TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN THERE IS A BREACH OF YOUR UNSECURED PHI: You have a right to be notified if: (a) there is a breach (a use or disclosure of your PHI in violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule) involving your PHI; (b) that PHI has not been encrypted to government standards; and (c) my risk assessment fails to determine that there is a low probability that your PHI has been compromised.
MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIAN’S DUTIES:
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with a notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI.
We reserve the right to change the privacy policies and practices described in the notice. Unless we notify you of such changes, however, we are required to abide by the terms currently in effect. If we revise our policies and procedures, we will notify current clients and post the new policies on our website and in the waiting area.
V. COMPLAINTS
If you are concerned that we have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your records, you may contact Carol Ann Faigin, Ph.D. at River Tree Health Partners, LLC, 10 State Road, Suite 9-1015, Bath, ME 04530 or call (207) 447-3007.
You may also send a written complaint to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
VI. EFFECTIVE DATE AND CHANGES TO PRIVACY POLICY
This notice will go into effect January 1, 2021. We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all PHI that we maintain. We will notify current clients of changes in person or by mail and closed client cases can, if interested, call and ask if our policies have changed and obtain a copy by mail or view one in our waiting area.