NOTICE OF PRIVACY POLICY
HIPAA 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.
WHO WE ARE
This notice describes the privacy practices of The Carpenter Shed and “Triumph Clinical Services”. “The Carpenter Shed” is inclusive of inpatient, outpatient and virtual services offered at these facilities, individually and collectively. The Carpenter Shed is required by law to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of your health information and to provide you with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information. Please also respect the privacy of others you encounter in treatment.
OUR PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY OBLIGATIONS
This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your Protected Health Information (“PHI”) in accordance with all applicable laws. It also describes your rights regarding how you may gain access to and control your PHI. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with a Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP). We reserve the right to change the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices at any time. Any new Notice of Privacy Practices will be effective for all PHI that we maintain at that time. The following laws outline applicable regulations for PHI.
Protected Health Information in connection with substance use disorder services:
42 CFR Part 2 protects your health information if you are applying for or receiving services (including diagnosis or treatment, or referral) for substance use disorder. Generally, if you are applying for or receiving services for substance use disorder, we may not acknowledge your participation to a person outside the program that you attended any program, except under certain circumstances that are listed in this notice.
All Protected Health Information, including substance use disorder services:
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Regulations (45 CFR Parts 160 and 164), also protect your health information whether or not you are applying for or receiving services for substance use disorder. Generally, if you are not applying for or receiving services for substance use disorder, the way we may use and disclose information differs slightly. These differences are listed in this notice.
YOUR RIGHTS
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.
Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record
You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
Ask us to correct your medical record
You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.
Request confidential communications
You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.
Ask us to limit what we use or share
You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information
You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
Get a copy of this privacy notice
You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
Choose someone to act for you
If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated
You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting our Quality Management Office at 318-450-4315 or by e-mail at info@thecarpentershed.com.
You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
YOUR CHOICES
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.
In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
Share information in a disaster relief situation
Include your information in a hospital directory
If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
Marketing purposes
Sale of your information
Most sharing of psychotherapy notes
In the case of fundraising:
We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.
OUR USES AND DISCLOSURES
How do we typically use or share your health information?
We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
Treat you
We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.
Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.
Run our organization
We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.
Bill for your services
We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.
Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.
How else can we use or share your health information?
We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.
Help with public health and safety issues
We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:
Preventing disease
Reporting adverse reactions to medications
Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
Do research
We can use or share your information for health research.
Comply with the law
We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.
Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
We can use or share health information about you:
For workers’ compensation claims
For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.
Our Responsibilities
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.
For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.
Changes to the Terms of this Notice
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site.
Other Instructions for Notice
This notice is effective on June 20th, 2024.
Contact our Privacy Office at Quality Management Office at 318-450-4315 or by e-mail at info@thecarpentershed.com.