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.

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES:

Privacy is a natural concern for all those who seek counseling through this agency and it is an important concern to all those who work within the agency.  Privacy is also complicated because of federal and state laws that govern it and the general standards of the counseling profession itself.  Because the rules are so complicated, some parts of this Notice are quite detailed. You may have to read them several times to understand them.  If you have any questions, you may ask your therapist or contact our Privacy Officer who will be happy to help you.  His or her name and contact numbers are at the end of this Notice.

CONTENTS OF THIS NOTICE

A.   Introduction - To Our Clients
B.   What we mean by your medical information
C.   Privacy and the laws about privacy
D.   How your protected health information can be used and shared
1. Uses and disclosures with your consent
a. The basic uses and disclosures - For treatment, payment, and           
        health care operations (TPO)
b. Other uses and disclosures in health care
2. Uses and disclosures requiring your Authorization
3. Uses and disclosures not requiring your Consent or
Authorization
4. Uses and disclosures requiring you to have an opportunity to
object
5. An Accounting of disclosures we have made
E. If you have questions or problems
A.  Introduction - To our clients

This notice will tell you about how we handle information about you.  It tells how we use this information within the agency, how we share it with other professionals and organizations, and how you can see it.  We want you to know all of this so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family.  We are also required to tell you about this because of the privacy regulations of a federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).  Because this law and the laws of this state are very complicated and we don't want to make you read a lot that may not apply to you, we have simplified the parts relevant to our counseling agency.  If you have any questions or want to know more about anything in this Notice, please ask our Privacy Officer for more explanation or more details.

B.  What we mean by your medical information

Each time you visit a PCSM clinician or any doctor's office, hospital, clinic, or any other

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