Our practice is dedicated to protecting your rights of privacy and protecting your personal and confidential information entrusted to us. Every employee is trained and dedicated to the principal tenet so that your health information shall never be compromised. While we may, from time to time, amend our privacy policies and practices, we will always inform you of any changes that might affect our obligations and your rights.
Collecting Your Personal Information
We will only request personal information needed to provide our standard of quality health care, implement payment activities, conduct normal health practice operations, and comply with the law. This may include your name, address, telephone number(s), Social Security Number, employment data, medical history, health records, etc. While most of the information will be collected from you, we may obtain personal data from third parties if it is deemed necessary. Regardless of the source, your personal information will always be protected to the full extent of the law.
Protecting Your Personal Information
We use and disclose the information we collect from you only as allowed by the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act and the state of WA. This includes issues relating to your treatment, payment, and our health operations. Your personal health information will never be otherwise given or disclosed to anyone – even family members – without your consent or written authorization. You, of course, may give written authorization to us to disclose your information to anyone you choose, for any purpose.
Our Offices and electronic systems are secure from unauthorized access, and our employees are trained to make certain the confidentiality, integrity, and access to your records is always protected. Our privacy policy and practices apply to all former, current and future patients, so you can be confident that your protected health information will never be improperly disclosed and released.
Disclosing Your Personal Information and Your Personal Rights
As stated above, we may disclose information as required by law. We are obligated to provide information to law enforcement and government officials under certain circumstances. We will not use your health information for marketing or fundraising purposes without your written consent. We may use and/or disclose your health information to communicate reminders about your appointments including voicemail messages, answering machines, and postcards unless you direct us otherwise. We will never use, disclose, sell, or otherwise allow access to your personal, protected information in exchange for or receipt of financial remuneration.
Any breach in the protection of your personal health information, including unauthorized acquisition, access, use, or disclosure, will be fully investigated, addressed, and mitigated as established by the HIPPA Privacy Breach notification Rule. You have the right to and will be provided with all information relating to any breach involving your personal private health information.
SUD Treatment Information
If we receive or maintain any information about you from a substance use disorder treatment program that is covered by 42 CFR part 2 (a “Part 2 Program”) through a general consent you provide to the Part 2 Program to use and disclose the Part 2 Program record for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations, we may use and disclose your Part 2 Program record for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes as described in this notice. If we receive or maintain your Part 2 Program through specific consent you provide to us or another third party, we will use and disclose your Part 2 Program record only as expressly permitted by you in your consent as provided to us. In no event will we use or disclose you Part 2 Program record, or testimony that describes the information that describes the information contained in your Part 2 Program record, in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings in any Federal, State, or local authority, against you, unless authorized by your consent or the order of a court after it provides you notice of the court order.