General
IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL PRIVACY REGULATIONS, THIS SECTION DESRIBES HOW YOUR PROTECTED MEDICAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED. PLEASE REVIEW CAREFULLY.
The CCF is required by the maintain the privacy of Protected Medical Information as stipulated in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). With regard to sensitive patient information, we are required to abide by the terms of this legislation so long as it remains in effect.
If all CCF guidelines are followed, there should never be Protected Medical Information/Private Health Information displayed on any part of the CCF website. If a user violates our Terms of Service by posting such information, for example to our internal review system, CCF will actively regulate such activity as appropriate and required by law.
We are committed to protecting your data, especially as it relates to health home services. Some examples of protected information include:
- Information about your or a child’s health conditions;
- Information about health care services you or a child have received or may receive in the future;
- Information about you or a child’s healthcare benefits under an insurance plan;
- Geographic information;
- Demographic information;
- Unique numbers that may identify you or a child; and
- Other types of information that may identify an individual.
Your Rights
You have the following rights, subject to certain limitations, regarding protected medical information that CCF may maintain about you or a child under your guardianship:
Right to Inspect and Copy
You have the right to inspect and receive a copy of your protected medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care or payment for your care, including information contained within your electronic medical record, and/or tell us where to send the information. CCF may deny your request to inspect or receive copies in certain limited circumstances. If you are denied you have the right to request review of the denial.
Right to Amend and Correct
You have the right to request amendment and/or corrections to the protected medical information maintained by CCF. C CF is not obligated to make all requested amendments/corrections, but will give each request careful consideration. Requests can be denied if the protected medical information was not created by CCF, is not part of the protected medical information maintained by or for CCF; is not part of the protected medical information to which you have a right to access; and/or is accurate and complete as determined by CCF. All requests must be made in writing, include the reason(s) for the request, and must be signed.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures made by CCF of your protected medical information for a time period of six years prior to the date of the request of accounting. Examples of disclosures include protected medical information to insurance departments, pursuant to valid legal proceedings or for law enforcement purposes. All accounting disclosure requests must be in writing and signed.
Right to Request Restrictions
You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the protected medical information that we use or disclose for treatment, payment or medical care initiatives. You also have the right to request a limit on the protected medical information that we disclose about you or a child to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care.
Right to Request Confidential Communications
You have the right to request how we communicate with you about your protected medical information in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we contact you only by mail or at work. We will accommodate reasonable requests. Requests for confidential communications must be made in writing and signed.
Notification of Privacy Practices
You have the right to receive a copy of CCF’s Notice of Privacy Practices. A copy can be provided to directly to you, sent electronically, or via the internet at: ccfhh.org
Use and/or Disclosure of Your Protected Medical Information
The Collaborative for Children & Families may use or disclose your PMI without your permission for your or a child’s treatment.
Payment: CCF may use and disclose your protected medical information in order to pay for the treatment and services you or a child receives from CCF, to determine your eligibility for benefits and our responsibility to pay benefits for claims submitted for your treatment and to process claims for medical care services you or a child receive, including coordination of other benefits you may have. CCF may share your protected medical information with government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare to coordinate benefits.
Treatment: CCF may use or disclose your protected medical information to arrange for your treatment or the coordination of your care. For example, a treating physician/psychiatrist at another facility may request your protected medical information to ensure continuity of care (i.e., transferring of service supports).
Health Care Operations: CCF may use and disclose your protected medical information for certain facility operations. These uses/disclosures are necessary to manage the facility and to monitor and improve our quality of care. For example, CCF may use/disclose your protected medical information for quality reviews, accounting, legal, risk management, insurance services, and compliance and audit functions.
Reminders and Other Information: CCF may use your protected medical information to contact you to remind you about appointments with providers who treat you, to give you information on treatment alternatives, and to provide you with information on other medical related benefits and services.
CCF may also use or disclose your protected medical information, in most cases without your permission for the following reasons listed below:
Required by Law: CCF may use or disclose your protected medical information when and to the extent we are required by local, state and federal law to do so.
Victims of Abuse/Neglect/Domestic Violence: CCF is a mandated reporting agency and is therefore required by law to disclose protected medical information of any client whom we reasonably believe is a victim of abuse or neglect.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: CCF may disclose your protected medical information in response to a court order, subpoena or administrative request. Efforts will be made to contact you about the request or to obtain an order agreement protecting the information.
Law Enforcement: CCF may disclose limited protected medical information to law enforcement personnel as required by law to comply with reporting requirements, including to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, witness, or victim of a crime or to report a crime on our premises.
Juvenile Detention/Correction Facilities: CCF may disclose your protected medical information to a juvenile detention center, correctional institution, or law enforcement official having custody of you.
Business Associates: CCF, at times, contracts with individuals and businesses to perform certain functions on our behalf, known as Business Associates. Business Associates are required to sign a contract with us to protect the privacy of your protected medical information and are not allowed to use or disclose any information other than specific in our written agreement with them.
Commitment Proceedings: As part of any involuntary commitment proceedings, the judge may direct that the court or mental medical review officer assigned under the Mental Medical Procedures Act have access to your protected medical information for purposes of conducting the hearing.
To Avert Serious Threat to Medical/Safety: CCF may use or disclose information when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your or a child’s medical/safety or the medical/safety of another person or the public. Any disclosure, however, will be made to someone who may be able to help prevent the threat.
Specialized Government Functions: CCF may disclose your protected medical information requested by the federal government for specialized functions such as national security and intelligence activities, protected services for the United States President and others.
Public Health Activities: CCF may disclose your protected medical information for public health purposes to an authority (i.e., Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration) that is legally authorized to collect or receive your protected medical information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability, including but not limited to the reporting of a communicable disease, births, and deaths.
Health Oversight Activities: CCF may disclose your protected medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law such as audits, investigations, licensing, and inspections. These activities are necessary for government oversight of the health care system, government payment or regulatory programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
Research: CCF may use or disclose your protected medical information for research purposes provided that the researcher adheres to certain privacy protections and only after special approval process that protects safety/confidentiality.
Coroners, Funeral Directors and Organ Donation: CCF may disclose your protected medical information to a coroner or medical examiner for identification purposes, cause of death determinations, organ donation, and related reasons. Protected medical information may also be disclosed to funeral directors as needed to in order that may carry out their duties.
Disaster/Emergency Relief: CCF may disclose your protected medical information to an organization assisting in a disaster/emergency relief effort(s) to assist in notification and general condition to family as others involved in your care (i.e., Red Cross, City of New York Emergency Management Team).
De-identifying Information: CCF may use your medical health information by removing any information that could be used to readily identify you.
Use and Disclosures that Require Your Written Consent
CCF will not use or disclose any of your protected medical information unless you sign a written authorization that gives us permission to do so, with the exception of those instances listed above. The following list contains the types of uses and disclosures that require your written authorization:
Psychotherapy Notes: CCF documents and maintains psychotherapy notes on the clients it serves. Written authorization is required for most uses and disclosure of psychotherapy notes.
Marketing Communications: CCF will not use or disclose your protected medical information for marketing purposes or sell your protected medical information without your authorization. CCF will use and disclose protected medical information other than described in this Notice only with your written authorization. In some situations, federal and state laws provide special protection for certain kinds of health information such as information about drug and/or alcohol abuse treatment, mental health or illness, HIV/AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases. CCF will not use or disclose that specifically protected information without your written consent as required by law.
Revocation of Authorization
You may revoke your prior authorizations to use or disclosed protected medical information in writing, at any time. If you revoke your authorization, CCF will no longer use or disclose your protected medical information with the exception of information has already been used or disclosed or any action taken before receipt of the revocation. Authorization for purposes related to obtain insurance may not be revoked.
What to do in the event of a HIPAA-Protocol Breach
If an employee or business associate believes in good faith that CCF engaged in unlawful conduct or otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially hurting clients, employees or the public, CCF may give your protected medical information to an appropriate medical oversight agency, public medical authority, or attorney.
CCF may use your contact information and other medical information to investigate and notify you or government authorities of an unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of or possible access to your protected medical information.
Exercising Your Rights
If you have questions about this HIPAA declaration, or wish to exercise any of the rights outlined herein, please contact:
Jodi Saitowitz, Executive Director
590 Avenue of the Americas
12th floor
New York, NY 10011
(212) 444-5437
jsaitowitz@ccfhh.org
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with CCF or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services within 180 days of a violation of your rights.
To file a complaint with us, contact Jodi Saitowitz at the address listed above.
All complaints must be made in writing. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.
You can further submit your complaint to:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue,
Washington, D.C. 20201
1-877-696-6775
www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints