text: THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO IT. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.	
  We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, legal obligations, and your rights concerning your health information (“Protected Health Information”, or PHI). We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice (which may be amended from time to time). For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed in Section G of this Notice.
  I.	USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
  A.	Permissible Uses and Disclosures without Your Written Authorization
  We may use and disclose PHI without your written authorization, excluding Psychotherapy Notes as described in Section II, for certain purposes as described below. The examples provided in each category are not meant to be exhaustive, but instead are meant to describe the types of uses and disclosures that are permissible under federal and state law.
  1. Treatment: We may use and disclose PHI in order to provide treatment to you. For example, we may use PHI to diagnose and provide counseling services to you. In addition, we may disclose PHI to other health care providers involved in your treatment.
  2. Payment: We may use or disclose PHI so that services you receive are appropriately billed to, and payment is collected from, your health plan. By way of example, we may disclose PHI to permit your health plan to take certain actions before it approves or pays for treatment services.
  3. Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose PHI in connection with our health care operations, including quality improvement activities, training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing, or credentialing activities.
  4. Required or Permitted by Law: We may use or disclose PHI when we are required or permitted to do so by law. For example, we may disclose PHI to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. In addition, we may disclose PHI to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others. Other disclosures permitted or required by law include the following: disclosures for public health activities; health oversight activities including disclosures to state or federal agencies authorized to access PHI; disclosures to judicial and law enforcement officials in response to a court order or other lawful process; disclosures for research when approved by an institutional review board; and disclosures to military or national security agencies, coroners, medical examiners, and correctional institutions or otherwise as authorized by law.
  5.	We may use and disclose PHI in connection with scheduling of appointments, including communication by telephone and leaving messages on your answering machine (if applicable) in the furtherance of scheduling appointments for your treatment, or in the furtherance of your treatment.
  6.	If you sign an “Authorization to Release Information”, we may use and disclose PHI to family members whom you so designate.	
  B. Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Written Authorization
  1. Psychotherapy Notes: Notes recorded by your clinician documenting the contents of a counseling session with you (“Psychotherapy Notes and/or ‘raw’ test data”) will be used only by your clinician and will not otherwise be used or disclosed without your written authorization.
  2. Marketing Communications: We will not use your health information for marketing communications without your written authorization.
  3. Other uses and Disclosures: Uses and disclosures other than those described in Section I.A. above will only be made with your written authorization. For example, you will need to sign an authorization form before we can send PHI to your life insurance company, to a school, or to your attorney. You may revoke any such authorization at any time.
  II.	YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
  A. Right to Inspect and Copy. You may request access to your medical record and billing records maintained by us in order to inspect and request copies of the records. All requests for access must be made in writing. Under limited circumstances, we may deny access to your records. We may charge a fee for the costs of copying and sending you any records requested. [Note: State law may regulate such charges]. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a minor, please note that certain portions of the minor’s medical record will not be accessible to you.
  B. Right to Alternative Communications. You may request, and we will accommodate, any reasonable written request for you to receive PHI by alternative means of communication or at alternative locations.
  C. Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction on PHI used for disclosure for treatment, payment or health care operations. You must request any such restriction in writing addressed to the Privacy Officer as indicated below. We are not required to agree to any such restriction you may request.
  D. Right to Accounting of Disclosures. Upon written request, you may obtain an accounting of certain disclosures of PHI made by us after April 14, 2003. This right applies to disclosures for purposes other than treatment, payment or health care operations, excludes disclosures made to you or disclosures otherwise authorized by you, and is subject to other restrictions and limitations.
  E. Right to Request Amendment. You have the right to request that we amend your health information. Your request must be in writing, and it must explain why the information should be amended. We may deny your request under certain circumstances.
  F. Right to Obtain Notice. You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice by submitting a request to the Privacy Officer at any time.
  G. Questions and Complaints. If you desire further information about your privacy rights, or are concerned that we have violated your privacy rights, you may contact the Privacy Officer, Dawna Gutzmann, MD. You may also file written complaints with the Director, Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate against you if you file a complaint with the Director or your clinician.
  III.	EFFECTIVE DATE AND CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
  A. Effective Date. This Notice is effective on April 14, 2003.
  B. Changes to this Notice. We may change the terms of this Notice at any time. If we change this Notice, we will make the new notice terms effective for all PHI that we maintain, including any information created or received prior to issuing the new notice. If we change this Notice, we will post the revised notice in the waiting area of our office. You may also obtain any revised notice by contacting our Privacy Officer.
  LIMITS OF CONFIDENTIALITY
  Contents of all therapy sessions are considered to be confidential. Both verbal information and written records about a client cannot be shared with another party without the written consent of the client or the client’s legal guardian. Noted exceptions are as follows:	
  Duty to Warn and Protect
  When a client discloses intentions or a plan to harm another person, the mental health professional is required to warn the intended victim and report this information to legal authorities. In cases in which the client discloses or implies a plan for suicide, the health care professional is required to notify legal authorities and make reasonable attempts to notify the family of the client.
  Abuse of Children and Vulnerable Adults
  If a client states or suggests that he or she is abusing a child (or vulnerable adult) or has recently abused a child (or vulnerable adult,) or a child (or vulnerable adult) is in danger of abuse, the mental health professional is required to report this information to the appropriate social service and/or legal authorities.
  Prenatal Exposure to Controlled Substances
  Mental Health care professionals are required to report admitted prenatal exposure to controlled substances that are potentially harmful.
  Minors/Guardianship
  Parents or legal guardians of non-emancipated minor clients have the right to access the clients’ records.
  Insurance Providers
  Insurance companies and other third-party payers are given information that they request regarding services to clients
  Information that may be requested includes type of services, dates/times of services, diagnosis, treatment plan and description of impairment, progress of therapy, case notes and summaries.