NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
McGinnis Behavioral is committed to protecting your Protected Health Information (PHI). We are required by law to maintain and protect a record of services, inform you of these requirements and how you may review or receive a copy of these records, and follow the terms of the notice currently in effect. The terms of this notice may change and the revised notice will be available upon request.
Subject to other paragraphs of this notice, should you desire a copy of or review your PHI, you may submit a written, signed, and dated request to Dr. McGinnis (chief privacy officer under HIPAA) via email (to office@mcginnisbehavioral.com), fax (to 561-250-6832), or US Mail (to 2141 S. Alt. A1A, Suite 330, Jupiter, FL 33477). You are allowed by law to suggest corrections or updates to your PHI, although we are allowed by law to reject such a request; in such a case, we will explain our decision in writing within 60 days. You are also allowed by law to request a list of all disclosures made, which will be fulfilled within 60 days.
With few exceptions discussed here, our work and your records are entirely confidential and you have complete control over release of information. Without your agreement, we won’t even let on that you are a client if we are asked. Those exceptions, without consent or authorization, or notification of release of information at the time of release, are:
when you choose to access your insurance benefits (the insurance company wants to know what they are paying for and for whom);
when you or your child threatens to harm self or someone else (this is required by law);
when we believe that a child, older adult, or other dependent person has been or will be abused or neglected (this is required by law);
when the legal process (e.g., divorce) begins to involve us;
when we must pursue collections of past due accounts; and
as otherwise allowed or required by law, and for law enforcement and health oversight purposes including audits and investigations.
Release of information. Sharing information with a physician, educational planning team, and others can be quite beneficial. In each case, however, with the exception of that provided for in the next section, you will be asked for your consent and therefore you will know ahead of time of what will be shared with whom. Requests for records from outside McGinnis Behavioral will include a release of information you have already signed for the requesting individual or agency.
Note that in cases in which parents are separated or divorced from one another, the parent not signing this form may be entitled to a copy of the records should they be requested outside of the context of legal proceedings.
Coordination of care with the referring physician. When physicians refer to us, they anticipate close teamwork and expect to be apprised of our progress. By initiating services, you are providing your consent for McGinnis Behavioral to communicate with the referring physician and/or your child’s primary care provider on record for the purposes of coordination of care. The format of release may be via analog and/or digital transmission and/or in person. You may refuse this provision or later revoke your consent in writing to McGinnis Behavioral. Revocation will not apply to authorized information already released. Refusal or revocation may be communicated to McGinnis Behavioral via email to office@mcginnisbehavioral.com.
Confidentiality for your child. Should treatment include individual work with your child, it is important to acknowledge that your child will likely not choose to share information with our clinicians critical to therapeutic success if he or she believes or suspects that we will then betray their trust and share it with you. By initiating services, you acknowledge your trust in our clinicians as to their careful balancing of your desire to know with your child’s need to feel safe in sharing certain information, and waive your right to certain information in your child’s records. In all cases, however, parents are provided information about general progress and immediately given information and direction in the event there is reasonably suspected or known immediate risk of harm. In most cases, we will work to improve overall family dynamics and communication, which means that such limited confidentiality between our clinicians and your child is likely to be a short-term and not a long-term arrangement. Such arrangements will always be discussed and individualized beforehand.
Meeting in public. Should you coincidentally see our clinicians around the community in public, by policy they will refrain from acknowledging you unless and until you first acknowledge them, and even then they will not bring up the therapeutic relationship (that you are a client) unless or until you do; otherwise the story is that we simply know one another from around the community.
Social media. Our clinicians do not initiate or accept friend requests on social media. Another consideration given the modern age pertains to online reviews of McGinnis Behavioral and our clinicians; in the event you, your child, and/or your representative(s) post(s) an unfavorable review for any or no reason, by executing our Services Agreement you waive confidentiality and provide your full informed consent for us and/or our representative(s) to respond to such a review online and you acknowledge your understanding that we may engage the services of an attorney to among other things ensure the public has access to the full story. We urge you in the strongest terms to instead bring any concerns you may have to our attention immediately.
Waiting room. All clients coincidentally seeing each other in the waiting room are expected to maintain the confidentiality of the other party and to not disclose their identities to anyone.
Telehealth and other electronic communication. Telehealth, like in-person appointments, requires mutual trust that the conversation is private and confidential and that there will be no recording of any online session. Any audio or video recording of our work must be mutually authorized beforehand in each instance. Just as you would expect our clinicians to, they expect you to make them aware immediately when there is another person off-camera or otherwise listening in on the conversation. Telehealth services require clients to choose and have available a quiet, private, and secure location.
Appointment reminders. The practice offers appointment reminders based upon the contact information you provide. Because there is a chance that other individuals may see these emails or texts on your end, we encourage you to safeguard your devices with password or similar protections.
Redaction. Due to the sometimes delicate nature of behavioral services, McGinnis Behavioral with you in mind must and shall exercise discretion as to exactly what should and will be shared with others in the event of a records request. We retain the right to redact any specific information to be released, regardless of whether a subpoena has been issued with the exception of a court order signed by a duly appointed judge.
Psychotherapy notes. “Psychotherapy notes” as defined in 45 CFR § 164.501 are separate from PHI, represent the private notes and property of our clinicians, and shall not be requested or released.
Divorce and other legal matters. Your signing our Services Agreement means you have knowingly and freely waived your right to request the release of information to attorneys and other officers of the court and agree to not instruct or approve of your attorney(s) to include our clinicians or the practice in the legal process in any way. Such release of records shall only be in response to a court order signed by a duly appointed judge.
Presentations and research. Unless you provide your consent in writing for the specific purpose, no personally identifying information will ever be shared in the event we choose to utilize information from your records for the purposes of professional presentations and applied research.
Training. McGinnis Behavioral offers training experiences for postdoctoral fellows and predoctoral and undergraduate interns. Each trainee receives training in confidentiality requirements and considerations prior to participating in sessions with families. You may encounter a trainee in the course of our work. You will, however, always be asked for your consent for a trainee to participate in each session, and there is no obligation on your part to offer your consent.
Marketing and sale of PHI. The practice does not disclose PHI for marketing purposes without your informed consent, nor does it sell your PHI.
Effective date of this notice. This notice went into effect on January 1, 2018.
GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE
Under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act, client families have a right to receive a Good Faith Estimate as to the costs of services. This form attempts to offer a reasonable estimate of overall costs. Additional information as to the costs of services and the services themselves is found in the Services Agreement.
Our Services Agreement governs our working relationship, including all charges, and is always available to client families for review or download via the Client Portal found at www.mcginnisbehavioral.com/client-portal. The Good Faith Estimate is neither the Services Agreement nor a contract and does not create an obligation to receive services from McGinnis Behavioral. The final cost of services rendered is likely to differ somewhat from this initial Good Faith Estimate which is intended as a guide. Client families are encouraged to bring any and all concerns to us immediately, and updated Good Faith Estimates may be requested anytime.