Notice of Privacy Practices

Healthy Minds Psychiatry is committed to protecting the privacy of your health information.

We are required to maintain the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI), provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.

We will notify affected individuals as required by law if a breach of unsecured PHI occurs.

We may use or disclose your health information without a separate written authorization when permitted or required by applicable law, including for the following purposes.

• Treatment: We may use your information to evaluate, diagnose, and treat you and may share relevant information with other healthcare professionals involved in your care.
• Payment: We may use or disclose information to obtain payment for services, submit insurance claims, verify eligibility, determine benefits, and address billing questions.
• Healthcare Operations: We may use information for quality improvement, practice administration, credentialing, compliance activities, and other permitted healthcare operations.
• Appointment Reminders and Care Communications: We may contact you regarding appointments, treatment, medication follow-up, test results, billing, and other practice-related matters using the communication methods you have authorized or that are otherwise permitted by law.
• Legal Requirements and Public Safety: We may disclose information when required or permitted by law, such as for certain public health activities, reporting abuse or neglect, responding to valid legal processes, qualifying law enforcement requests, oversight activities, or preventing a serious and imminent threat when legally permitted.
• Other Permitted Disclosures: Other disclosures may be permitted for workers’ compensation, certain government functions, or other purposes specifically authorized by law.

We will not use or disclose your information for purposes that require your authorization without obtaining that authorization, unless an applicable legal exception permits the disclosure.

Mental health information is treated as confidential under applicable federal and Washington law. Certain records may receive additional protection.

If records are subject to the federal substance-use-disorder confidentiality regulations under 42 CFR Part 2, additional restrictions may apply to their use and disclosure. This notice does not eliminate any additional protections required for those records.

Psychotherapy notes, when maintained as a distinct category of records under HIPAA, may have additional authorization requirements.

Subject to applicable legal requirements and exceptions, you may have the right to:

• Access your records: Request to obtain a copy of your health and billing records.
• Request corrections: Ask us to amend information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. We may deny a request in certain circumstances, and you may have the right to submit a statement of disagreement.
• Request confidential communications: Ask us to contact you by a particular method or at a particular address. We will accommodate reasonable requests as required by law.
• Request restrictions: Ask us to limit certain uses or disclosures. We are not required to agree to every request, except where law requires a restriction.
• Request an accounting of disclosures: Ask for an accounting of certain disclosures, subject to applicable exceptions.
• Receive a paper copy: Request a paper copy of this notice even if you have agreed to receive it electronically.
• Choose someone to act for you: A legally authorized personal representative may exercise applicable rights on your behalf.
• File a complaint: Complain to us or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a privacy complaint.

Certain uses and disclosures require your written authorization unless an exception under applicable law applies. These may include certain disclosures of psychotherapy notes, marketing activities, and other uses or disclosures not otherwise permitted by law.

You may revoke an authorization in writing, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance on it or another legal limitation applies.

We may use service providers to support our operations, such as billing services, electronic health record vendors, electronic prescribing systems, and secure technology providers.

When required, we enter into business associate agreements and require appropriate safeguards for protected health information.

We reserve the right to revise this notice as permitted by law. Revised notices will apply to information we maintain and will be made available as required.

The current notice will be available from the practice and on our website.

Telephone: 253-364-6950
Mailing address: 1230 South 336th St, Suite F, Federal Way, WA 98003

You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights: hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint.