HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective Date: 01/01/2024
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact Maritza Garcia at Concierge Counseling Service at 214-494-0971. You may also write to Concierge eCare LLC dba Concierge Counseling Service, 545 Melton Street, Magnolia, TX 77354. Please note that this notice is required by Federal law, and the information it contains is mandated by that law. If you have any questions about how your Protected Health Information (PHI) is used, please contact us at the above number.
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
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.
Concierge Counseling Services is required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information (PHI) and to provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices (Notice). We must abide by the terms of this Notice, and we must notify you if a breach of your unsecured PHI occurs. We can change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all information about you. The new Notice will be made available upon request, in our office, and on our website. The website will always have the most recent version.
Except for the specific purposes set forth below, we will use and disclose your PHI only with your written authorization. It is your right to revoke such authorization at any time by giving us written notice of your revocation. Uses (Inside Practice) and Disclosures (Outside Practice) Relating to Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations, Do Not Require Your Written Consent.
We can use and disclose your PHI without your authorization for the following reasons
1. For your treatment. We can use and disclose you PHI to treat you, which may include disclosing your PHI to another health care professional. For example, if you are being treated by a physician, or a psychiatrist, we can disclose your PHI to him/her to help coordinate your care, in an emergency. Under normal circumstances, however, we will require you to give your counselor a written Authorization to do so.
2. To obtain payment for your treatment. We can use and disclose your PHI to bill and collect payment for the treatment and services provided by our counselors to you. For example, we might send your PHI to your insurance company (when we can facilitate insurance) to get paid for the health care services that we have provided to you. However, we will always first attempt to attain written Authorization to do so.
3. For health care operations. We can use and disclose your PHI for purposes of conducting health care operations pertaining to our practice, including contacting you when necessary. For example, we may need to disclose your PHI to our attorney to obtain advice about complying with applicable laws.
Certain Uses and Disclosures Require Your Authorization.
1. Psychotherapy Notes. We do keep psychotherapy notes as that term is defined in 45 CFR 164.501. You may request that we prepare a summary of your treatment including start and ending dates as well as the number of sessions and the reasons for the services. There may be reasonable, cost-based fees involved with copying the record or preparing the summary.
2. Marketing Purposes. As counselors and life coaches, we will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes. Marketing is defined as receiving financial remuneration for communicating about other businesses' health-related services or products to patients.
3. Sale of PHI. As counselors and/or life coaches, we will not sell your PHI in the regular course of our business.
Certain Uses and Disclosures Do Not Require Your Authorization. Subject to certain limitations, mandated by law, we can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reason:
1. 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.
2. For public health activities, including reporting suspected child, elder, or dependent adult abuse, or preventing/reducing a serious threat to anyone's health or safety.
3. For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.
4. For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order, although we prefer to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.
5. For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on the premises of Calvary Pentecostal Church in Euless, TX or Greater Life Church in Sherman, TX, or any other facility being used by Concierge Counseling.
6. To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.
7. 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.
8. Specialized government functions, including ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counter-intelligence operations; or helping to ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.
9. For workers' compensation purposes; however, we prefer to obtain an Authorization from the client. We may provide your PHI without said Authorization to comply with workers' compensation laws.
10. 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 at Concierge Counseling Services. We may also use and disclose you PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that we offer.
Certain Uses and Disclosures Require You to Have the Opportunity to Object.
Disclosures to family, friends, or others. 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. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.
YOUR RIGTHS REGARDING YOUR PHI
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 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 we may say 'no' if we believe it would affect your health care.
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 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.
4. The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI. Other than psychotherapy notes, you have the right to get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other information that we have about you. 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 fee for doing so.
5. 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 written request. The list we will give you will include disclosures made in the last six years, unless you request a shorter time period.
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 fee for each additional request.
6. 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 your PHI, you have the right to request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. We may deny your request, but we will notify you in writing within 60 days of receiving your request as to our reasoning.
7. The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice, and you have the right to an electronic copy by way of email. Even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via email, you can also request a paper copy of it.
HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES
If you think we may have violated your privacy rights, you may file a complaint with Maritza Garcia. Her address and telephone number are at the beginning of this document. You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services Office for Civil Rights by:
1. Sending a letter to 200 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201
2. Calling 877-696-6775; or
3. Visiting www.hs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints.
We will not retaliate against you if you file a complaint about our privacy practices.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS NOTICE
This Notice went into effect on January 1, 2024. The latest version is effective on the date noted at the beginning of this document.