Privacy policy.
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.
I. Everhart Therapy LLC’s Pledge Regarding Health Information
We, Everhart Therapy LLC (“we”), understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. We are committed to protecting all information about your health. This information includes the record we create of the care and services we provide to you, and records we collect from other providers. We must maintain these records for quality of care and legal compliance purposes.
This Notice applies to all the information that we create, receive, or maintain regarding your health history, status, and care that identifies you (“your protected health information” or “your PHI”). This Notice explains the circumstances in which we may use or disclose your PHI. This Notice also describes your rights regarding your PHI, and describes certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your PHI.
The terms of this Notice may change from time to time, such changes will apply to your PHI, and the changed Notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website.
In summary, state and federal laws require us to:
Keep your PHI private.
Give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.
Follow the terms of the Notice that is currently in effect.
II. How We May Use and Disclose Health Information about You
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose health information. For each category of uses or disclosures, we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.
Treatment Payment or Health Care Operations: Federal privacy rules (regulations) allow health care providers who have a direct treatment relationship with you to use or disclose your PHI without your written Authorization, to carry out the health care provider’s own treatment, payment, or health care operations. We may also disclose your PHI for the treatment activities of any health care provider. This too can be done 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 PHI, which is otherwise confidential, in order to assist the clinician in diagnosis and treatment of your mental health condition.
Disclosures: For safety or treatment purposes, not limited to the minimum-necessary standard, because therapists and other health care providers need access to the full record and/or full and complete information in order to provide quality care. 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 you for health care from one health care provider to another.
Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit, we may disclose health information in response to a court or administrative order. We 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, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
III. Certain Uses and Disclosures Require Your Authorization
Psychotherapy Notes: We keep “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:
For our use in treating you.
For our use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills in group, joint, family, or individual counseling or therapy.
For our use in defending ourselves in legal proceedings instituted by you or on your behalf.
For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate our compliance with HIPAA.
Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes.
Required by a coroner who is performing duties authorized by law.
Required to help avert a serious threat to the health or safety of others.
Marketing Purposes: We will not use or disclose your PHI for such purposes.
Sale of PHI: We will not sell your PHI in the regular course of our business.
IV. Certain Uses and Disclosures Do Not Require Your Authorization
Subject to certain limitations under the law, we can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:
When the use or 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.
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.
For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.
For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order, although our preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.
For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on our premises.
To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.
For research purposes, including studying and comparing the mental health of patients who received one form of therapy versus those who received another form of therapy for the same condition.
Specialized government functions, including: ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counterintelligence operations; or, helping to ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.
For workers’ compensation purposes, although our preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.
Appointment reminders and health-related benefits or services (we may use and disclose your PHI to: contact you to remind you that you have an appointment with us; or tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that we offer).
V. The Minimum-Necessary Standard
Federal law permits us only to use and disclose the minimum PHI necessary for the intended purpose under some circumstances.
The minimum-necessary standard does not apply to uses and disclosures for treatment purposes, pursuant to an Authorization, and under other circumstances, because therapists and other health care providers need access to the full record and/or full and complete information in order to provide quality care.
VII. Your Right to Have the Opportunity to Object to Certain Uses and Disclosures
You have the right to object to certain uses and disclosures in advance. For example, we may provide your PHI to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. This consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.
VIII. You Have the Following Rights with Respect to Your PHI
The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI: You have the right to ask us not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. We are not required to agree to your request, and may say “no” if we believe it would affect your health care.
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 service that you have paid for out-of-pocket in full.
The Right to Choose How We Send PHI to You: You have the right to ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address, and we will agree to all reasonable requests.
The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI: You have the right to get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other information that we have about you, except for “psychotherapy notes.” We will provide you with a copy of your record, or a summary of it, if you agree to receive a summary, within 30 days of receiving your written request, and we may charge a reasonable cost-based fee for doing so.
The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures We Have Made: You have the right to request a list of instances in which we have disclosed your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, or for which you provided us with an Authorization. We will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list we will give you will include disclosures made in the last 6 years unless you request a shorter time. We will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you make more than one request in the same year, we will charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for each additional request.
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 we correct the existing information or add the missing information. We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days of receiving your request.
The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice: You have the right to get a paper copy of this Notice, and you have the right to get a copy of this Notice by email. And, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via email, you also have the right to request a paper copy of it.
Additional Requirements
Other state or federal laws may apply and impose additional or different obligations on us. For example, if you are receiving treatment for substance use disorders, state or federal law (including under 42 CFR Part 2) may impose different requirements.
To obtain additional information about our privacy practices, you may contact:
Everhart Therapy LLC
Attn: Lindsay Everhart
571-360-4083
324 N Fairfax St. Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314