Privacy Policy

Rebecca Martinez Fitzgerald, MSW, PLLC
3326 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd, B-130
Durham, NC 27707
(919)726-8008 / rebecca@unconditioninglove.us

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES (Last Updated 7/2020)

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.

I am required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information. I am also required to give you this Notice about my privacy practices, legal obligations, and your rights concerning your health information ("Protected Health Information" or "PHI"). I will follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice. If I amend this Notice, I will provide you with the amended Notice for your information and signature.
For more information about my privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please let me know your questions as soon as they arise.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
Permissible Uses and Disclosures Without My Written Authorization. I may use and disclose your PHI without your written authorization for certain purposes as described below. The examples provided in each category are not meant to be exhaustive, but instead are meant to describe the types of uses and disclosures of your mental health information that are legally permissible.
Treatment: I may use and disclose your PHI to my clinical supervisor and to other clinicians involved in your care in order to better provide integrated treatment to you. For example, I may discuss your diagnosis and treatment plan with your psychiatrist or nurse practitioner. In addition, I may disclose your PHI to other health care providers in order to provide you with appropriate care and continued treatment.
Payment: I may use or disclose your PHI for the purposes of determining coverage, billing, claims management, and reimbursement. For example, a bill sent to your health insurer may include some information about our work together so that the insurer will pay for the treatment. I may also inform your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive in order to determine whether the plan will cover the treatment.
Health Care Operations: I may use and disclose your PHI in connection with health care operations, including quality improvement activities, training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities. For example, I may disclose disguised information about our work for training purposes.
Required or Permitted by Law: I may use or disclose your PHI when I am required or permitted to do so by law. For example, I may disclose your PHI to appropriate authorities if I reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, or the possible victim of other crimes. In addition I may disclose your PHI to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others. Other disclosures permitted or required by law include the following: disclosures for public health activities; health oversight activities including disclosures to state or federal agencies authorized to access your PHI; disclosures to judicial and law enforcement officials in response to a court order or other lawful process; disclosures for research when approved by an institutional review board; disclosures for workers’ compensation claims, and disclosures to military or national security agencies, coroners, medical examiners, and correctional institutions as authorized by law.

Permissible Uses and Disclosures That May Be Made Without My Authorization, But For Which You Have An Opportunity to Object.
Fundraising: I may use your PHI to contact you in an effort to offer you new services. I may also disclose PHI to any foundation with which I am connected so that the foundation may contact you in an effort to raise money for its operations. Any fundraising communications with you will include a description of how you may opt out of receiving any further fundraising communications.
Family and Other Persons Involved in Your Care. I may use or disclose your PHI to notify, or assist in the notification of (including identifying or locating) your personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, location, general condition, or death. If you are present, then I will provide you with an opportunity to object prior to such uses or disclosures. In the event of your incapacity or emergency circumstances, I will disclose your PHI consistent with your prior expressed preference, and in your best interest as determined by my professional judgment. I will also use my professional judgment and my experience to make reasonable inferences of your best interest in allowing another person access to your PHI regarding your treatment with me.
Disaster Relief Efforts. I may use or disclose your PHI to a public or private entity authorized by law or its charter to assist in disaster relief efforts for the purpose of coordinating notification of family members of your location, general condition, or death.

Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Written Authorization.
Psychotherapy Notes. I will not disclose the records of our work that I keep separate from the medical record, known as psychotherapy notes, for my personal use and clinical supervision except as permitted by law.
Marketing Communications; Sale of PHI. I must obtain your written authorization prior to using or disclosing your PHI for marketing or the sale of your PHI, consistent with the related definitions and exceptions set forth in HIPAA.
Other Uses and Disclosures. Uses and disclosures other than those described in this Notice will only be made with your written authorization. For example, you will need to sign an authorization form before I can send your PHI to your life insurance company or to your attorney. You may revoke any such authorization at any time by providing me with written notification of such revocation.

YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
Right to Inspect and Copy. You may request access to your medical records and billing records maintained by me in order to inspect and request copies of the records. All requests for access must be made in writing. Under limited circumstances, I may deny access to your records. I may charge a fee for the costs of copying and sending you any records requested.
Right to Alternative Communications. You may request, and I will accommodate, any reasonable written request for you to receive your PHI by alternative means of communication or at alternative locations.
Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction on your PHI that I use or disclose for treatment, payment or health care operations. You must request any such restriction in writing addressed to Rebecca Martinez Fitzgerald, MSW, PLLC; 3326 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd, B-130, Durham, NC 27707. I am not required to agree to any such restriction you may request, except if your request is to restrict disclosing your PHI to a health plan for the purpose of carrying out payment or health care operations, the disclosure is not otherwise required by law, and the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or service which has been paid in full by you or another person or entity on your behalf.
Right to Accounting of Disclosures. Upon written request, you may obtain an accounting of disclosures of your PHI made by me in the last six years, subject to certain restrictions and limitations.
Right to Request Amendment: You have the right to request that I amend your PHI. Your request must be in writing, and should explain why the information should be amended. I may deny your request under certain circumstances.
Right to Obtain Notice. You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice by submitting a request to Rebecca Martinez Fitzgerald, MSW, PLLC; 3326 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd, B-130, Durham, NC 27707 at any time.
Right to Receive Notification of a Breach. I am required to notify you if I discover a breach of your unsecured PHI, according to requirements under federal law.
Questions and Complaints. If you desire further information about your privacy rights, or are concerned that I have violated your privacy rights, please contact me at 919-726-8008. You may also file a written complaint with the Director, Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I will not retaliate against you if you file a complaint.

EFFECTIVE DATE AND CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
Effective Date. This Notice is effective on 7/31/2020.
Changes to this Notice. I may change the terms of this Notice at any time. If I change this Notice, I may make the new notice terms effective for all PHI that I maintain, including any information created or received prior to issuing the new notice. If I change this Notice, I will post the revised notice in the waiting area of my office and on my supervisor’s website at www.jamesmccrackenlcsw.com. You may also obtain any revised notice by asking me directly.
Acknowledgement of Receipt of Privacy Notice
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), you have certain rights regarding the use and disclosure of your protected health information.