Privacy Policy

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED BY MILESTONE FAMILY COUNSELING AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

I. MY PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION

Milestone Family Counseling understands that health information about you and your health care is personal. The practice is committed to protecting health information about you. Milestone Family Counseling creates a record of the care and services you receive. This record is needed to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by this mental health care practice. This notice will tell you about the ways in which Milestone Family Counseling may use and disclose health information about you. It also describes your rights to the health information the practice keeps about you and describes certain obligations Milestone Family Counseling has regarding the use and disclosure of your health information.

Milestone Family Counseling is required by law to:
Make sure that protected health information ("PHI") that identifies you is kept private.
Give you this notice of the practice's legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.
Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

Milestone Family Counseling can change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all information held about you. The new Notice will be available upon request, on the virtual platform, and on the practice's website.

II. HOW MILESTONE FAMILY COUNSELING MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

The following categories describe different ways that Milestone Family Counseling uses and discloses health information. For each category of uses or disclosures, an explanation will be provided, along with some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways Milestone Family Counseling is permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

For Treatment Payment, or Health Care Operations: Federal privacy rules (regulations) allow health care providers who have a direct treatment relationship with the patient/client to use or disclose the patient/client's personal health information without the patient's written authorization to carry out the health care provider's own treatment, payment, or health care operations. Milestone Family Counseling may also disclose your protected health information for the treatment activities of any health care provider. This too can be done without your written authorization. For example, if a clinician were to consult with another licensed health care provider about your condition, Milestone Family Counseling would be permitted to use and disclose your personal health information, which is otherwise confidential, in order to assist the clinician in diagnosis and treatment of your mental health condition.

Disclosures for treatment purposes are not limited to the minimum necessary standard because therapists and other health care providers need access to the full record and/or full and complete information in order to provide quality care. The word "treatment" includes, among other things, the coordination and management of health care providers with a third party, consultations between health care providers, and referrals of a patient for health care from one health care provider to another.

Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit, Milestone Family Counseling may disclose health information in response to a court or administrative order. Milestone Family Counseling may also disclose health information about your child in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

III. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION

Psychotherapy Notes: Milestone Family Counseling does keep "psychotherapy notes" as that term is defined in 45 CFR § 164.501, and any use or disclosure of such notes requires your Authorization unless the use or disclosure is:
For Milestone Family Counseling's use in treating you.
For Milestone Family Counseling's use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills in group, joint, family, or individual counseling or therapy.
For Milestone Family Counseling's use in defending itself in legal proceedings instituted by you.
For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate Milestone Family Counseling's compliance with HIPAA.
Required by law and the use or disclosure is limited to the requirements of such law.
Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes.
Required by a coroner who is performing duties authorized by law.
Required to help avert a serious threat to the health and safety of others.

Marketing Purposes: As a psychotherapist, Milestone Family Counseling will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes.
Sale of PHI: As a psychotherapist, Milestone Family Counseling will not sell your PHI in the regular course of its business.

IV. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION

Subject to certain limitations in the law, Milestone Family Counseling can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:
When disclosure is required by state or federal law, and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law.
For public health activities, including reporting suspected child, elder, or dependent adult abuse, or preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone's health or safety.
For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.
For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order, although Milestone Family Counseling's preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.
For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on the virtual platform.
To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.
For research purposes, including studying and comparing the mental health of patients who received one form of therapy versus those who received another form of therapy for the same condition.
Specialized government functions, including ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counter-intelligence operations; or helping to ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.
For workers' compensation purposes. Although Milestone Family Counseling's preference is to obtain an Authorization from you, it may provide your PHI in order to comply with workers' compensation laws.
Appointment reminders and health-related benefits or services. Milestone Family Counseling may use and disclose your PHI to contact you to remind you that you have an appointment. Milestone Family Counseling may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that are offered.

V. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT

Disclosures to family, friends, or others: Milestone Family Counseling may provide your PHI to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.

VI. YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PHI

The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI: You have the right to ask Milestone Family Counseling not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. Milestone Family Counseling is not required to agree to your request, and it may say "no" if it believes it would affect your health care.

The Right to Request Restrictions for Out-of-Pocket Expenses Paid for In Full: You have the right to request restrictions on disclosures of your PHI to health plans for payment or health care operations purposes if the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or a health care service that you have paid for out-of-pocket in full.

The Right to Choose How Milestone Family Counseling Sends PHI to You: You have the right to ask Milestone Family Counseling to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address, and reasonable requests will be agreed to.

The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI: Other than "psychotherapy notes," you have the right to get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other information that Milestone Family Counseling has about you. Milestone Family Counseling will provide you with a copy of your record, or a summary of it if you agree to receive a summary, within 30 days of receiving your written request, and a reasonable, cost-based fee may be charged for doing so.

The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures Milestone Family Counseling Has Made: You have the right to request a list of instances in which Milestone Family Counseling has disclosed your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, or for which you provided Authorization. Milestone Family Counseling will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list provided will include disclosures made in the last six years unless you request a shorter time. Milestone Family Counseling will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you make more than one request in the same year, a reasonable, cost-based fee will be charged for each additional request.