HIPAA Privacy Rule

Last Updated March 16, 2023
This document contains important information about federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), that provides privacy protections and patient rights with regard to the use and disclosure of your Protected Health Information (PHI) used for the purpose of treatment, payment, and health care operations.
HIPAA requires that we provide you with a Notice of Privacy Practices (the Notice) for use and disclosure of PHI for treatment, payment, and health care operations. The Notice explains HIPAA and its application to your PHI in greater detail.
The law requires that we obtain your signature acknowledging that we have provided you with this. If you have any questions, it is your right and obligation to ask so we can have a further discussion prior to signing this document. When you sign this document, it will also represent an agreement between us. You may revoke this Agreement in writing at any time. That revocation will be binding unless we have taken action in reliance on it.

Limits on Confidentiality

The law protects the privacy of all communication between a patient and a therapist. In most situations, we can only release information about your treatment to others if you sign a written authorization form that meets certain legal requirements imposed by HIPAA. There are some situations where we are permitted or required to disclose information without either your consent or authorization. If such a situation arises, we will limit my disclosure to what is necessary. Reasons we may have to release your information without authorization:
There are some situations in which we are legally obligated to take actions, which we believe are necessary to attempt to protect others from harm, and we may have to reveal some information about a patient’s treatment:

Client Rights and Therapist Duties

Use and Disclosure of Protected Health Information:

Patient’s Rights:
Therapist’s Duties:

Complaints

If you are concerned that I have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your records, you may contact me, the State of Pennsylvania Department of Health, or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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