Notice of Privacy Practices

Face to Face Psychiatry is required by law to protect the privacy of your health information, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.

What this covers

"Protected health information" (PHI) means information that identifies you and relates to your physical or mental health, the care you receive, or payment for that care. It includes what you tell us in session, what we write in your chart, your prescriptions, your lab results, and your billing records.

How we may use and disclose your information without your authorization

Treatment

To provide and coordinate your care — for example, sending a prescription to your pharmacy, ordering labs, or discussing your case with another clinician involved in your treatment.

Payment

To bill and collect payment — for example, sending claims to your insurer, confirming benefits, or obtaining prior authorization for a medication.

Health care operations

To run the practice — for example, quality review, credentialing, training, and business management.

Other permitted or required uses

• Appointment reminders and follow-up, in the way you have asked us to contact you
• Telling you about treatment alternatives or health-related benefits and services
• Where required by law, including reporting abuse, neglect or exploitation of a child, elder or vulnerable adult
• Public health activities, including reporting communicable disease or adverse drug events
• Health oversight, including licensure boards and audits
• Judicial and administrative proceedings, in response to a valid court order or subpoena
• Law enforcement, coroners and medical examiners, as the law allows
• Workers' compensation, as state law requires
• Research, only where approved and with privacy protections in place
• To prevent a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety, or to the health or safety of another person

Uses that always require your written authorization

• Psychotherapy notes. Notes recorded during a counselling session and kept separate from the rest of your record get extra protection. With narrow exceptions, we will not use or disclose them without your written authorization.
• Marketing. We will not use your information to market products or services to you without your authorization.
• Sale of information. We do not and will not sell your health information.
• Most other uses not described in this notice.

You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time. Revoking it stops future use, but it cannot undo a disclosure we already made in reliance on it.

Your rights

1. Inspect and copy. You may see and get a copy of your record, including an electronic copy where we hold it electronically. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee. In limited situations we may deny access, and you may have that denial reviewed.
2. Request an amendment. If you believe something in your record is wrong or incomplete, you may ask us to correct it. We may deny the request, and if we do we will explain why in writing and you may file a statement of disagreement.
3. An accounting of disclosures. You may ask for a list of certain disclosures we made, other than those for treatment, payment and operations.
4. Request restrictions. You may ask us to limit how we use or disclose your information. We are not required to agree, except in one case: if you pay for a service in full and out of pocket, you may require us not to disclose that information to your health plan, and we must honour that.
5. Confidential communications. You may ask us to contact you a specific way or at a specific address — for example, only by mobile, or never by voicemail at home. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
6. A paper copy of this notice, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
7. Notification of a breach of unsecured protected health information.
8. Choose someone to act for you. A personal representative with legal authority may exercise these rights on your behalf.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below. Most requests must be made in writing.

Our responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your health information
• We must notify you promptly if a breach compromises the privacy or security of your information
• We must follow the terms of the notice currently in effect
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here, unless you tell us in writing that we may — and if you change your mind, you may tell us in writing at any time

Florida law

Where Florida law provides greater protection for your health information than federal law — as it does for mental health, substance use and HIV-related information — we follow the stricter standard.

Changes to this notice

We may change this notice and make the new terms effective for all information we maintain. The current notice will always be posted on this page with its effective date, and a copy is available at the office.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the practice using the contact details below, or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights:

200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 1-800-368-1019 · TDD 1-800-537-7697
Online: hhs.gov/ocr/complaints