Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Welcome to MSD Therapeutic Services!

HIPAA and PHI

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was put in place in 1996 to maintain the privacy of your Protected Health Information (PHI). This includes things such as your medical records. At MSD Therapeutic Services, we take information safety and security very seriously. We not only follow federal guidelines, but the more stringent NYS guidelines, as well.

PHI at MSD Therapeutic Services includes, but is not limited to:

  • Demographic Information
  • Diagnoses (clinical term for the symptoms you are experiencing)
  • Personal, Medical, and Psychiatric History
  • Treatment Plan, Goals, and any Clinical Documentation (e.g., progress notes)
  • Any Completed Assessment
  • Billing Statements
  • Even the fact that you are a client!

If your name is on it, we consider it PHI, and will treat it accordingly.

Disclosure

In most instances, we will not disclose any PHI without your written permission and a signed release of information (ROI) on file. This ROI allows you the opportunity to decide which information to release to whom (e.g., you may want us to discuss your symptoms of anxiety with your primary doctor, but not necessarily the reasons why you are anxious). You have the right to withdraw the ROI at anytime for any reason. If there is NO ROI, we will not even acknowledge that you are a client at our practice.

We keep a detailed log of any instance where your PHI is disclosed.

Disclosure Exceptions

There are certain instances when MSD Therapeutic Services does not need an ROI or verbal permission to disclose PHI. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Certain instances when staff, other than your assigned therapist/coach, need to access your information (e.g., IT maintenance)
  • Any situation where your safety is at risk, whether medical, psychiatric, or otherwise
  • Any situation where there is reasonable concern that you plan to cause harm to someone else
  • Any information that poses a public health concern
  • Certain law enforcement or judicial cases (e.g., a subpoena)
  • Any other disclosure mandated by federal, state, or local laws

If it is an emergency situation or legal obligation, we will do our best to inform you of the disclosure, but ultimately do need to follow the law and our clinical and moral obligations to safety.

Safety Protocols to Maintain Compliance

Our website, scheduling system, phone system (including texting), email, video calls, and information storage system are all HIPAA and NYS compliant. To maintain this, our emails come encrypted. Please note that if you send us an unencrypted email, it is not HIPAA compliant; and, therefore, should not contain any PHI.

It is OUR responsibility to make sure that reasonable efforts are made to ONLY disclosure the minimum amount of PHI necessary to accomplish the intended purpose. This rule applies to ANY disclosure. We promise to go above and beyond the minimum requirements of privacy standards.

Provider Requirements

Some of our providers are independent contractors, not employees. Regardless of status, they are responsible for following the state and federal guidelines AND anything else outlined in this Notice of Privacy Practices.

Patient Rights

As a client of MSD Therapeutic Services, you have the right to:

  • Receive a copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices either electrically or by mail
  • Request a copy of or an amendment to your health records
  • Request restrictions on the disclosure of your PHI *Please note that a request to limit disclosure cannot supercede state or federal guidelines for disclosure without consent
  • Receive (or request a copy of) the instances where your PHI was disclosed for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, if your signed authorization was not required in order to make the disclosure*
  • Receive HIPAA compliant communications
  • Inquire or make complaints to us or the Secretary of the Federal Department of Health and Human Services regarding the privacy and confidentiality of your PHI

*We keep a detail log of ANYTIME your information is disclosed, regardless of the situation. It is your right to request a copy of this log (called accounting of disclosures) at anytime for any reason.

Our Duties

We are responsible for and have the right to:

  • Abide by the terms of the current Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Maintain all PHI in appropriate manner as dictacted by state and federal laws and outlined by this document
  • Provide you with a copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices, including your Patient Rights, and our Duties for maintaing PHI
  • Make provisions to our Notice of Privacy Practices and have those provisions apply to all existing clients *We will notify you via encrypted email whenever changes are made

Questions, Concerns, Comments?

Please direct all inquiries and complaints to [email protected]. You also have the right to file a complaint with the Secretary of the Federal Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC.

While MSD Therapeutic Services reserves the right to stop treatment at any point in time without notice, we will not retaliate or take any action against you for filing a complaint with or about us. It is your right to ask questions and make sure your PHI is handled appropriately.

Effective Date: April 4, 2022