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Notice of Privacy Practices
Housing Partnership, Inc.
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES
HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED,
AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
Effective Date of this Notice and Policy: April 14, 2003
1. PURPOSE
Housing Partnership, Inc. and its professional staff,
employees, and trainees follow the privacy practices described
in this Notice.
Housing Partnership, Inc. keeps your mental health information
in records that will be maintained and protected in a confidential
manner, as required by law. Please note that in order to provide
you with the best possible care and treatment all professional
staff involved in your treatment and employees involved in the
health care operations of the agency may have access to your records.
2. WHAT ARE TREATMENT AND HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS?
Your treatment
includes sharing information among mental health care providers
who are involved in your treatment. For example,
if you are seeing both a physician (psychiatrist) and a psychotherapist,
they may share information in the process of coordinating your
care. Treatment records may be reviewed as part an on-going process
directed toward assuring the quality of Agency operations. Staff
members designated by the Quality Improvement Committee may access
clinical records periodically to verify that Agency standards are
met.
3. HOW WILL THE HOUSING PARTNERSHIP, INC. USE MY PROTECTED HEALTH
INFORMATION?
Your personal mental health record will be retained by Housing
Partnership, Inc. for approximately eight (8) years after your
last clinical contact. After that time has elapsed, your practice
records will be erased, shredded, burned or otherwise destroyed
in a way that protects your privacy. Copies of mental health records
that have been distributed to other entities may continue to exist
and managed by their policies.
Until the records are destroyed they may be used for the following purposes unless
you request restrictions on a specific use or disclosure:
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Appointment reminders and notification
when an appointment is cancelled or rescheduled; |
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As may be required by law; |
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For public health purposes such as reporting
of child or elder abuse or neglect; reporting reactions to
medications; infectious disease control; notifying authorities
of suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence (if you agree
or as required by law); |
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Mental health oversight activities, e.g., audits,
inspections or investigations of administration and management
of Housing Partnership, Inc.; |
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Lawsuits and disputes; |
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Law enforcement (e.g., in response to a court
order or other legal process) to identify or locate an individual
being sought by authorities; about victim of a crime under
restricted circumstances; about a death that may be the result
of criminal conduct; about criminal conduct that occurred in
the practice; when emergency circumstances occur relating to
a crime; |
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To prevent a serious threat to health or safety; |
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To carry out treatment and health care operations
functions through transcription and billing services; |
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To military command authorities if you are a
member of the armed forces or a member of a foreign military
authority; |
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National security and intelligence activities; |
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Protection of the President or other authorized
persons for foreign heads of state, or to conduct special investigations; |
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Psychotherapy notes that are kept separate from
the medical record enjoy special protection and require authorization
for release, with certain exceptions. |
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Psychotherapy notes exclude medication prescription
and monitoring, counseling session start and stop times, the
modalities and frequencies of treatment furnished, results
of clinical tests, and any summary of the following items:
diagnosis, functional status, the treatment plan, symptoms,
prognosis, and progress to date, employment, application, utilization,
examination, or analysis of such information within an entity
that maintains such information. |
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Alcohol and drug abuse information has special
privacy protections. Housing Partnership, Inc. will not disclose
any information identifying an individual as being a client
or provide any mental health or medical information relating
to a client¹s substance abuse treatment unless: (i) the
client consents in writing; (ii) a court order requires disclosure
of the information; (iii) medical personnel need the information
to meet a medical emergency; (iv) qualified personnel use the
information for the purpose of conducting research, management
audits, or program evaluation; or (v) it is necessary to report
a crime or a threat to commit a crime or to report abuse or
neglect as required by law. |
4. YOUR AUTHORIZATION IS REQUIRED FOR OTHER DISCLOSURES.
Except
as described previously, we will not use or disclose information
from your record unless you authorize (permit) in writing to do
so. You may revoke your permission, which will be effective only
after the date of your written revocation.
5. YOU HAVE RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
You
have the following rights regarding your health information, provided
that you make a written request to invoke the right on
the form provided by Housing Partnership, Inc.:
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Right to request restriction. You
may request limitations on your mental health information we
may disclose, but we are not required to agree to your request.
If we agree, we will comply with your request unless the information
is needed to provide you with
emergency treatment. |
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Right to confidential communications. You may
request communications in a certain way or at a certain location,
but you must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. |
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Right to inspect and copy. You may have the
right to inspect and copy your mental health information regarding
decisions about your care; however, psychotherapy notes may
not be inspected and copied. We may charge a fee for copying,
mailing, and supplies. Under limited circumstances, your request
may be denied; you may request review of the denial by another
licensed mental health professional chosen by Housing Partnership,
Inc. The Housing Partnership, Inc. will comply with the outcome
of the review. |
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Right to request clarification of the record.
If you believe that the information we have about you is incorrect
or incomplete you may ask to add clarifying information. You
may ask for a form for that purpose and the form will require
certain specific information. Housing Partnership, Inc. is
not required to accept the information that you propose. |
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Right to accounting of disclosures. You may
request a list of the disclosures of your mental health information
that have been made to persons or entities other than for treatment
or health care operations in the last eight (8) years, but
not prior to April 14, 2003. |
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Right to a copy of this Notice. You may request
a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you have been
provided with an electronic copy. You may print out a copy
of this notice from any clinical website we provide |
6. REQUIREMENTS REGARDING THIS NOTICE
Housing Partnership, Inc.
is required to provide you with this Notice that governs our privacy
practices. Housing Partnership,
Inc. may change its policies or procedures in regard to privacy
practices. If and when changes occur, the changes will be effective
for mental health information we have about you as well as any
information we receive in the future. Any time you come in to Housing
Partnership, Inc. for an appointment, you may ask for and receive
a copy of the Privacy Notice that is in effect at the time.
7. COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated,
you may file a complaint with Parent-Child Center, Inc or with
the HHS
Office of Civil Rights. You will not be penalized or retaliated
against in any way for making a complaint. Call Housing Partnership,
Inc. at (561) 841-3500 and ask to speak to the person/official
responsible for privacy.
If you have a complaint, if you have any questions about this
notice, or if you wish to request restrictions on uses and disclosure
for health care treatment or operations, you may obtain any of
the forms mentioned to exercise your individual rights described
above.
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