HIPPA Privacy Practices & Notice

Policy 

Counterpoint adheres to all HIPPA compliance procedures. 

Purpose 

Ensuring strong privacy protections is critical to maintaining individuals' trust in their health care providers and willingness to obtain needed health care services, and these protections are especially important where very sensitive information is concerned, such as mental health and substance use information. 

Procedure 

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. 

Counterpoint is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal and health information we collect or create as part of providing health care services to our clients, known as "Protected Health Information" or "PHI." PHI typically includes your name, address, date of birth, billing arrangements, care, and other information that relates to your health, health care provided to you, or payment for the health care provided to you. PHI DOES NOT include information that is de-identified or cannot be linked to you. 

This notice of Health Information Privacy Practices (the "Notice") describes Counterpoint's duties with respect to the privacy of PHI, Counterpoint's use of ~d disclosure of PHI, client rights, and contact information for comments, questions, and complaints. 

Privacy Procedures and Legal Obligations 

Counterpoint obtains most of its PHI directly from you, through care applications, assessments, and direct questions. We may collect additional personal information depending upon the nature of your needs and consent to make additional referrals and inquiries. We may also obtain PHI from community health care agencies, other governmental agencies, or health care providers as we set up your service arrangements. 

Counterpoint is required by law to provide you with this notice and to abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect. Counterpoint reserves the right to amend this Notice at any time to reflect changes in our privacy practices. Any such changes will be applicable to and effective for all PHI that we maintain including PHI we created or received prior to the effective date of the revised notice. Any revised notice will be provided to you upon request. 

Counterpoint is required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI. Counterpoint will comply with federal law and will comply with any state law that further limits or restricts the uses and disclosures discussed below. In order to comply with these state and federal laws, Counterpoint has adapted policies and procedures that require its employees to obtain, maintain, use and disclose PHI in a manner that protects client privacy. 

Uses and Disclosures with your Authorization 

Except as outlined below, Counterpoint will not use or disclose your PHI without your written authorization. The authorization form is available from Counterpoint. You have the right to revoke your authorization at any time, except to the extent that Counterpoint has taken action in reliance on the authorization. 

The law permits Counterpoint to use and disclose your PHI for the following reasons without your authorization: 

  • For Your Treatment: We may use or disclose your PHI to physicians, psychologists, nurses, and other authorized healthcare professionals who need your PHI in order to conduct an examination, prescribe medication, or otherwise provide health care services to you. 
  • To Obtain Payment: We may use or disclose your PHI to insurance companies, government agencies, or health plans to assist us in getting paid for our services. For example, we may release information such as dates of treatment to an insurance company in order to obtain payment. 
  • For Our Healthcare Operations: We may use or disclose your PHI in the course of activities necessary to support our health care operations such as performing quality checks on your employee services. We may also disclose PHI to other persons not in Counterpoint's workforce or to companies who help us perform our health services (referred to as "Business Associates") we require these business associates to appropriately protect the privacy of your information. 
  • As Permitted or Required by the Law: In some cases, we are required by law to disclose PHI. Such disclosures may be required by statute, regulation court order, government agency, we reasonably believe an individual to be a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violences: for judicial and administrative proceedings and enforcement purposes.
  • For Public Health Activities: We may disclose your PHI for public health purposes such as reporting communicable disease results to public health departments as required by law or when required for law enforcement purposes. 
  • For Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your PHI in connection with governmental oversight, such as for licensure, auditing, and the administration of government benefits. 
  • To Avert Serious Threat to Health and Safety: We may disclose your PHI if we believe in good faith that doing so will prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to the health and safety of a person or the public. 
  • Disclosures of Health-Related Benefits or Services: Sometimes we may want to contact you regarding service reminders, health-relat4ed products or services that may be of interest to you, such as health care providers or settings of care or to tell you about other health-related products of services offered at Counterpoint. You have the right not to accept such information. 
  • Incidental Uses and Disclosures: Incidental uses and disclosures of PHI are those that cannot be reasonably prevented, are limited in nature, and that occur as a by-product of a permitted use or disclosure. Such incidental uses and disclosures are permitted as long as Counterpoint uses reasonable safeguards and use or disclose only the minimum amount of PHI necessary. 
  • To Personal Representatives: We may disclose PHI to a person designated by you to act on your behalf and make decisions about your care in accordance with state law. We will act according to your written instructions in your chart and our ability to verify the identity of anyone claiming to be your personal representative. 
  • To Family and Friends: We may disclose PHI to persons that you indicate are involved in your care of the payment of care. These disclosures may occur when you are not present, as long as you agree and do not express objections. These disclosures may also occur if you are unavailable, incapacitated, or facing an emergency medical situation and we determine that a limited disclosure may be in your best interest. We may also disclose limited PHI to a public or private entity that is authorized to assist in disaster relief efforts in order for that entity to locate a family member or other person that may be involved in caring for you. You have the right to limit or stop these disclosures. 

Your Rights Regarding Your Protected Health Care Information 

  • The right to request restrictions on some of the ways Counterpoint uses and discloses your information. These restrictions can go beyond the restrictions already in the law. Counterpoint is not responsible for consequences that may occur legally, financially, or professionally if Counterpoint is restricted from communicating or advocating on your behalf. However, Counterpoint may not always agree to implement these additional restrictions. 
  • The right to receive confidential communications. However, this right is not absolute and may be restricted on the client's treatment plan. 
  • The right to inspect and get copies of your health care information held by Counterpoint by making a request in writing. Counterpoint may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of providing this information. Staff may restrict access to some information based on clinical and psychiatric conditions. 
  • The right to request that counterpoint amend or correct information about you. To make such a change, Counterpoint will ask you to make the request in writing with the reason you want your record changed, Counterpoint may not always agree to such requests. 
  • The right to a list of Counterpoint disclosures that were unrelated to treatment and payment. .
  • The right to choose someone to act for you such as medical power of attorney or a legal guardian. Counterpoint will confirm the person has the authority to act in such a way before taking any actions. 

If you have any questions or complaints about the way Counterpoint handles your protected health care information or if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, contact the Counterpoint administrative team at info@counterpointrecoverynow.com or in-person. You can also contact the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Please note that there will be not retaliation against you for filing a complaint or making requests regarding your health care information, or for disagreeing with a Counterpoint related decision.

Counterpoint may need to change its privacy practices from time to time. Before making such changes, Counterpoint will modify this notice and begin distributing it to clients being treated by a Counterpoint program. These new practices will then apply to all information held by Counterpoint. At any time, anyone has the right to get a paper copy of the latest version of this notice by asking the Counterpoint Administrative team. 

How to Opt Out 

You have the right to opt out of authorized uses and disclosures at any time. This opt out, by law, will not apply to disclosures that are legally permitted, disclosures we make to companies that perform services on our behalf, or companies that process or service transactions you request or authorize. 

Once your request to opt out is received, Counterpoint will have a reasonable amount of time to stop the disclosures. You may always contact us for assistance if you wish to revoke your election or opt out. 

You may direct us not to make disclosures (other than disclosures permitted by law) by writing a letter of request to rescind disclosure. This letter can be emailed or mailed to the following: info@counterpointrecoverynow.com