Privacy policy.
Gloria Mitchell, PhDMidtown Center for Personal Development 141 East 55th Street, Suite 9G New York, New York 10022 212.935.8842 midtowncenterpsychology.com
Privacy Statement
Psychotherapy is only effective when you can be open and honest. To help you do that, this notice describes how confidential information about you, including what you share with me, may be used, disclosed and safeguarded. Please review it carefully, and if you have any questions, talk to me about it.
I. Our Obligations
Confidentiality is a key part of psychology's code of ethics. Both my office and our remote sessions are a safe space for you to talk about anything you’d like without fear of that information being disclosed except as described in this notice.
In addition to the Code of Ethics, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) contains a privacy rule with which this office complies. This covers not only what you share in therapy, but any record of any diagnoses, treatments and referrals for further care. It also includes bills, insurance claims, or other payment information that the office maintains related to you.
II. Uses and Disclosures of Information
As a general rule, I keep what I know, hear and write down about you private, and don’t disclose it to anyone unless you authorize me to do so or disclosure is specifically permitted or mandated by law for purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations. I will not release your personal information to anyone else except in the following circumstances:
1. With your consent for treatment and payment purposes. Your consent may be in writing, oral or implied, for example if you send us a written request to send a copy of your records to another provider, or you ask us to sign or provide a health insurance claim form for your insurance carrier.
2. Pursuant to your written authorization, for other than treatment or payment purposes, as when we receive a request or release signed by you asking us to provide personal health information to a lawyer, or an employer or potential employer.
3. As otherwise permitted or required by federal or state law or regulation, including, for example, in an emergency situation (where there seems to me to be a serious and imminent danger to you, me or others) or where necessary to report a suspicion of abuse, neglect or domestic violence to appropriate authorities. If such a report is optional, I will use my professional judgment in deciding whether or not to make such a report. If feasible, I will inform you promptly that I have made such a disclosure.
4. Pursuant to a warrant, subpoena or court order in connection with an investigation by law enforcement officials or with a judicial or administrative proceeding, in accordance with our legal obligations.
5. In the course of providing treatment to you, for health care or business purposes. For example, I share information with my employees and business associates in order to prepare billing or make appointments, but only to the extent necessary for them to perform such functions.
6. If you are an un-emancipated minor under New York law, there may be circumstances in which I disclose health information about you to a parent or guardian, in accordance with my legal and ethical responsibilities, but I will discuss such disclosure with you in advance, if possible.
III. Your Health Information Rights
Under the law, you have certain rights regarding the health information that we collect and maintain about you. This includes the right to:
1) Request that we restrict information to be sent to a health plan for payment or health care operations purposes if the disclosure relates to products or services that were paid for solely out-of-pocket and such disclosure is not otherwise required by law.
2) Request to review, or to receive a copy of, the health information about you that is maintained in our files and used to make decisions about your treatment, except:
a) psychotherapy notes (my notes documenting or analyzing the contents of conversations during a private or joint counseling session and which are maintained separately from the rest of your records);
b) information compiled for use in or in anticipation of civil, criminal, or administrative actions or proceedings; or
c) where access is otherwise proscribed by law.
3) Request a paper copy of this statement.