Privacy Policy

HIPAA Notice of Client Privacy Practices

Effective 1/1/2020

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.

If you have questions or comments regarding this notice please contact NMA WC at the abovementioned address or telephone number. All requests, notifications, and complaints should be submitted to Northern Minnesota Addiction Wellness Center., Attention: Program/Treatment Director.

WHO DOES THIS NOTICE APPLY TO?

This notice has been published by Northern Minnesota Addiction Wellness Center It applies to everyone who works for the NMAWC including all of our employees, contractors. student interns and volunteers

WHY Do WE PUBLISH THIS NOTICE?

As medical professionals, we understand that information about you and your health is sensitive and personal. We are also required by law to maintain the privacy of information that we gather and use about you and all of the clients we serve, and to provide you with notices of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your information.

We are committed to the privacy of our clients' information. However, in order to serve you we need to obtain, secure and utilize records of this information. We occasionally need to share information with other healthcare providers. This notice is intended to inform you how we use and disclose information about you.

This notice is also to inform you about certain legal rights you have with respect to the information we secure about you. You have the right to review and/or receive a copy of your records of information. You may also request that we amend these records, and ask us to account for certain disclosures we may have made of information about you.

WHEN DOES THIS NOTICE BECOME EFFECTIVE?

We are required to comply with the terms of this notice while it is in effect. We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice, and make the new terms effective for all information to which this notice applies. This notice will be in effect from January 1, 2011, until the date we publish an amended notice. If we do publish an amended notice, we will notify you of the amendment at your next appointment at NMAWC.

A copy may be requested by contacting us at the above- mentioned telephone number or address. This notice covers all information in our written or electronic records which concerns you, your healthcare, and payment for your healthcare

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION.

We can use or disclose information about you for the following purposes:

1. Treatment. We may use or disclose information about you for treatment purposes to doctors, counselors, therapists, or other individuals who work in our agency who are involved in providing your healthcare.

a. For example, we may wish to review the quality of care you receive in order to help us deliver the best care we can, or we may review our management practices so we can become more efficient.

2. Health Care. We may use or disclose information about you in connection with the These activities may include practice quality improvement, training of graduate students, insurance underwriting, medical or legal review, and business planning or administration of our practice. For example, to deliver quality care to you, we may wish to review the quality of care you receive. Or, we may audit our management practices so we can become more efficient. These are only examples, and we may use or disclose information about you for healthcare operations in many other ways.

WRITTEN CONSENT

We may only disclose information about you without your consent for the follow purposes:

I. It is determined you are a threat to yourself or another person.

2. In the event of suspected child abuse, to the appropriate governmental agency.

3. In other cases of suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence, to the appropriate governmental authority, with your agreement or if required by law, or if you are incapacitated or it appears necessary to prevent serious harm to you or others.

4. In litigation subject to certain requirements controlling the terms of the disclosure.

5. For psychological research purposes, subject to your authorization or approval by an institutional review board. There is a medical emergency.

WHAT LEGAL RIGHTS Do You HAVE IN CONNECTION TO YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION?

By law, you are entitled to:

I. Request a Restriction: Ask us to further restrict our use and disclosure of information about you. We are not required to grant such a request, but if we do, we must be clear on the restrictions that are implemented.

2. Confidential Communications: Receive confidential communication from us, at an alternative address until you provide the information to us.

3. Request a Summary of Your Care: You may receive from your counselor or therapist a summary of your counseling start and stop times, the modalities and frequencies of treatment furnished, results of clinical tests, and any summary of the following items: diagnosis, functional status, the treatment plan, symptoms, prognosis, and progress to date.

4. Right to Obtain Accounting of Disclosures: Obtain an accounting of all persons to which we have disclosed information about you, for any purpose except your treatment to our healthcare operations.

5. Right to Revoke Consent For Treatment and Health Care Operations: If you have provided us with an authorization for any purpose, you may revoke it at any time. You may revoke an authorization by giving us written notice at our contact address mentioned above. Your revocations will be effective as of the time we receive it, and will not apply to any uses of disclosures which occur before we have received such a request.

6. Right to Revoke Consent: You may revoke your consent to uses and disclosures for treatment and healthcare operations purposes at any time. You may revoke your consent by giving us a written notice at our contact address mention above. Your revocation will be effective as of the time we receive it, and will not apply to any uses or disclosures which occur before we have received your request. If you revoke your consent, we may elect to discontinue your healthcare treatment.

7. Right to File a Complaint: If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you may forward us a written complaint to our contact address mentioned above. You may also file a complaint with the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. If you do file a complaint, we are legally prohibited from retaliating against you.

Complains can be submitted to:
Region VIII Officer for Civil Rights; US Department of Health and Human Services;
1961 Stout Street,
Room 1185 FOB:
Denver, CO 80294-3538
Phone: (303)844-2025
TDD (303)844-3439