NEW YORK STATE NOTICE
Notice of Psychologists' Policies and Practices to Protect the
Privacy of Your Health Information
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU
CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
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 health record that could identify you.
• "Treatment, Payment and Health Care
Operations"
- 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 family physician or another
psychologist.
- Payment is
when I obtain reimbursement for your healthcare. 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
operation 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 care coordination.
• "Use"
applies only to activities within my group such as sharing, employing,
applying, utilizing,
examining, and analyzing information that identifies you.
• "Disclosure" applies
to activities outside of my group 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 medical record. These notes are
given a greater degree of
protection than PHI.
You may revoke all such authorizations (of PHI or psychotherapy
notes) at any time,
provided each revocation is in writing. You may not revoke an
authorization to the extent
that (1) I have relied on that authorization; or (2) if the
authorization was obtained as a
condition of obtaining insurance coverage, and the law provides
the insurer the right to
contest the claim under the policy.
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, in my professional capacity, a child
comes before me which I have
reasonable cause to
suspect is an abused or maltreated child, or I have reasonable
cause to suspect a child
is abused or maltreated where the parent, guardian, custodian
or other person legally
responsible for such child comes before me in my professional
or official capacity and
states from personal knowledge facts, conditions or
circumstances which, if
correct, would render the child an abused or maltreated child,
I must report such abuse
or maltreatment to the statewide central register of child
abuse and maltreatment,
or the local child protective services agency.
• Health Oversight: If there
is an inquiry or complaint about my professional conduct
to the New York State
Board for Psychology, I must furnish to the New York
Commissioner of
Education, your confidential mental health records relevant to this
inquiry.
• Judicial or
Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a court proceeding
and a request is made
for information about the professional services that I have
provided you and/or the
records thereof, such information is privileged under state
law, and I must not
release this information without your written authorization, or a
court order. This
privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third
party or where the
evaluation is court ordered. I must inform you in advance if this is
the case.
• Serious Threat to
Health or Safety: I may disclose your confidential information to
protect you or others from a serious threat of
harm by you or to you.
• Worker's Compensation: If you
file a worker's compensation claim, and I am
treating you for the
issues involved with that complaint, then I must furnish to the
chairman of the
Worker's Compensation Board records which contain information
regarding your
psychological condition and treatment.
IV. Patient's Rights and Psychologist'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 by Alternative Means and at
Alternative Locations - You have the right to request and receive
confidential
communications 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 and psychotherapy notes 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 this decision reviewed. On your request, I will discuss
with you the
details of the request and denial 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.
Psychologist's Duties:
I am required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide
you with a notice
of my legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI.
I reserve the right to change the privacy policies and practices
described in this notice.
Unless I notify you of such changes, however, I am required to
abide by the terms
currently in effect. If I
revise my policies and procedures, I will post the changes on my
website, http://www.taconicnet.com.
V. Complaints:
If you are concerned that I have violated your privacy rights, or
you disagree with a
decision I made about access to your records, please speak to
me. You may also
send a written complaint to the Secretary of the U.S. Department
of Health and
Human Services.
VI. Changes to
Privacy Policy
I reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and to make
the new notice
provisions
effective for all PHI that I maintain. I will provide you with a revised notice
posting the changes on my website, http://www.taconicnet.com