Privacy Policy 

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

I. OUR PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION:
Innovative Care understands that health information about you and your health care is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. For recipients of services provided through their employer, we maintain the bare minimum possible. We will not create a traditional clinical record for the services rendered however will provide your employer with just the name and dates of service for those who elect to participate in group or individual professional services.

This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by this mental health care practice. This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose health information about you. We also describe your rights to the health information we keep about you, and describe certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your health information. We are required by law to:

·        Make sure that protected health information (“PHI”) that identifies you is kept private.

·        Give you this notice of my legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.

·        Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

·        We can change the terms of this Notice, however the new Notice will be available upon request.

II. HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:
The following categories describe different ways that I use and disclose health information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what is meant 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.

At this time, Innovative Care LLC elects NOT to participate in any court-involved cases. This means, the practice will not provide evaluations, testimony or records for legal proceedings, including custody disputes. Specialized Legal matters, such as custody evaluations, should be handled by professionals specifically trained for those assessments. If you are seeking care through the practice and are involved in any legal proceedings, by proceeding to intake, you are acknowledging and in agreement that you will not at any time request the practice to be involved in legal proceedings; this is a condition of receiving services. Violation of this agreement complicates the therapeutic relationship and therefore will result in termination of services. 

III. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:

1.      Psychotherapy Notes. Your clinician does 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: a. For our use in treating you. b. 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. c. For our use in defending myself in legal proceedings instituted by you. d. For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate compliance with HIPAA. e. Required by law and the use or disclosure is limited to the requirements of such law. f. Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes. g. Required by a coroner who is performing duties authorized by law. h. Required to help avert a serious threat to the health and safety of others.

2.      Marketing Purposes. As a psychotherapist, we will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes.

3.      Sale of PHI. As a psychotherapist, we will not sell your PHI under any circumstance.

IV. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION. Subject to certain limitations in the law, I can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:

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 or 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 my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.

5.      For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on my premises.

6.      To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.

7.      For workers' compensation purposes. Although my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you, we may provide your PHI in order to comply with workers' compensation laws.

8.      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 the practice. We may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that are offered.

V. 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 that we not 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 believed 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 I Send PHI to You. You have the right to ask that we 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; a $25 / fee applies.

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 the practice with an Authorization. We will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list given you will include disclosures made in the last six 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, you will be charged a reasonable cost-based fee for each additional request ($25).

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 from your PHI, you have the right to request that the practice 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.

7.      The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice. You have the right get a paper copy of this Notice, and you have the right to get a copy of this notice by e-mail. And, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via e-mail, you also have the right to request a paper copy of it.

We have a business associate / affiliation agreement with Emily Cliber Business Solutions who are responsible for billing claims and inquiries. We use Simple Practice for our telehealth and electronic health records management. We use Doxy.Me as a our back-up telehealth system.

This notice went into effect on February 19, 2020; updated on 1/24/2024 and 1/24/2025

Acknowledgement of Receipt of Privacy Notice

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), you have certain rights regarding the use and disclosure of your protected health information. By checking the box below, you are acknowledging that you have received a copy of HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.