HIPAA & Notice of Privacy Practices
MountainView Mind & Mood
MountainView Mind & Mood is committed to maintaining and protecting the confidentiality of the individual’s PHI. MountainView Mind & Mood is required by federal and state law, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), to protect the individual’s PHI and other personal information. MountainView Mind & Mood is required to provide the individual with this Notice of Privacy Practices regarding their specific policies, safeguards, and practices. When MountainView Mind & Mood uses or discloses an individual’s PHI, MountainView Mind & Mood is bound by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices, or the revised Notice of Privacy Practices, if applicable.
I. My Pledge Regarding Your Personal Health Information
I understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. I am committed to protecting health information about you. I create a record of the care and services you receive from me. I need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by this mental health care practice. This notice will tell you about the ways in which I may use and disclose health information about you. I also describe your rights to the health information I keep about you, and describe certain obligations I have regarding the use and disclosure of your health information. I am required by law to:
Make sure that protected health information (“PHI”) that identifies you is kept private.
Give you this notice of my legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.
Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
I can change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all information I have about you. The new Notice will be available upon request, in my office, and on my website.
II. How I May Use and Disclose Your Health Information
The following describes the ways MountainView Mind & Mood may use and disclose PHI. Except for the purposes described below, MountainView Mind & Mood will use and disclose PHI only with the individual’s written permission. The individual may revoke such permission at any time by writing to MountainView Mind & Mood's Compliance Officer.
For Treatment:
We may use and disclose PHI for the individual’s services. For example, MountainView Mind & Mood may disclose PHI to doctors, nurses, technicians, or other personnel, including people outside MountainView Mind & Mood, who are involved in the individual’s medical care and need the information to provide the individual with medical care.
For Payment:
We may use and disclose PHI so that we or others may bill and receive payment from the individual, an insurance company, or third party for the treatment and services the individual received. For example, we may tell the individual’s insurance company about a treatment the individual is going to receive to determine whether the individual’s insurance company will cover the treatment.
For Health Care Operations:
We may use and disclose PHI for health care operation purposes. The uses and disclosures are necessary to make sure that all MountainView Mind & Mood patients receive quality care and to operate and manage our office.
Appointment Reminders, Treatment Alternatives, and Health-Related Benefits and Services:
We may use and disclose PHI to contact the individual to remind them that they have an appointment with MountainView Mind & Mood. We also may use and disclose PHI to tell the individual about treatment alternatives or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to the individual.
Research:
Under certain circumstances, MountainView Mind & Mood may use and disclose PHI for research. For example, a research project may involve comparing the health of patients who received one treatment to those who received another for the same condition. MountainView Mind & Mood will generally ask for the individual’s written authorization before using the individual’s PHI or sharing it with others to conduct research. Under limited circumstances, we may use and disclose PHI for research purposes without the individual’s permission.
Incidental Use and Disclosure:
We are not required to eliminate every risk of an incidental use or disclosure of your PHI. Specifically, a use or disclosure of your PHI that occurs as a result of, or incident to, an otherwise permitted use or disclosure is permitted as long as I have adopted reasonable safeguards to protect your PHI, and the information being shared was limited to the minimum necessary.
III. Special Situations in Which I May Disclose PHI Without Your Consent
As Required by Law: We will disclose PHI when required to do so by international, federal, state, or local law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose PHI when necessary to prevent a serious threat to the individual’s health and safety or the health and safety of others. Disclosures, however, will be made only to someone who may be able to help prevent or respond to the threat, such as law enforcement or a potential victim. For example, we may need to disclose information to law enforcement when a patient reveals participation in a violent crime.
Law Enforcement: We may release PHI if asked by a law enforcement official if the information is:
In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons, or similar process.
Limited information to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person.
About the victim of a crime, even if, under certain very limited circumstances, MountainView Mind & Mood is unable to obtain the individual’s agreement.
About a death MountainView Mind & Mood believes may be the result of criminal conduct.
About criminal conduct on MountainView Mind & Mood premises.
In an emergency to report a crime, the location of the crime or victims, or the identity, description, or location of the person who committed the crime.
IV. SMS & Text Messaging Communications
MountainView Mind & Mood LLC may communicate with patients via SMS/text message for purposes including appointment reminders, scheduling coordination, administrative updates, and care-related communication. We do not send marketing or promotional text messages.
Patients must provide prior written consent to receive text messages. Consent is obtained through our secure intake process within our HIPAA-compliant electronic medical record system. Providing consent to receive text messages is not a condition of receiving treatment.
Message frequency varies based on patient needs. Standard message and data rates may apply according to your mobile carrier plan.
Patients may opt out of receiving text messages at any time by replying STOP to any message or by contacting our office directly at (240) 382-2105. After opting out, no further SMS messages will be sent unless consent is re-established.
We take reasonable safeguards to protect your information; however, SMS/text messaging may not be a fully secure form of communication. Patients are advised not to send highly sensitive information via text message.
MountainView Mind & Mood LLC does not sell, rent, or share mobile phone numbers or SMS consent data with third parties for marketing purposes.