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.

Prospect Park Psychiatry ("the Practice," "we," "us") is required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information (PHI) and to provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices. We are required to follow the terms of this notice. We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and to make any revised notice effective for PHI we already have as well as PHI we receive in the future. Updated notices will be available upon request and posted on our website.

How we may use and disclose your health information

Treatment

We may use and disclose your health information to provide you with treatment and coordinate your care. For example, we may share information with other healthcare providers involved in your care — such as your primary care physician or a therapist — with your written authorization, or in circumstances permitted by law.

Payment

We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for the services we provide. This includes submitting claims to your insurance company, obtaining prior authorization, and responding to billing inquiries from your insurer.

Healthcare operations

We may use and disclose your health information for our healthcare operations, including quality assessment, practice management, training, and legal and compliance activities.

As required by law

We will disclose your health information when required to do so by federal or state law — for example, in response to a valid court order or subpoena, or when required to report certain information to public health authorities.

Public health activities

We may disclose your health information to public health authorities authorized to collect information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease or injury.

Serious threats to health or safety

We may use or disclose your health information if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or to the health or safety of another person. This includes situations involving imminent risk of harm to yourself or others.

Psychotherapy notes

Psychotherapy notes (notes recorded during a private counseling session, separate from the rest of your medical record) receive additional protection under HIPAA and New York law. In most circumstances, we will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing psychotherapy notes.

Uses and disclosures requiring your authorization

Other than as described above, we will not use or disclose your health information without your written authorization. This includes disclosures to family members, employers, and for marketing purposes. You may revoke an authorization at any time, in writing, except to the extent that we have already acted in reliance on it.

Your rights regarding your health information

Right to access your records

You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your medical records. To request access, please contact us in writing. We may charge a reasonable fee for copies. In most cases, we will respond within 30 days.

Right to request amendment

If you believe information in your records is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend it. We may deny the request under certain circumstances, in which case we will explain the reason in writing.

Right to an accounting of disclosures

You have the right to request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your health information during the past six years. The list does not include disclosures for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.

Right to request restrictions

You may request restrictions on how we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. We are not required to agree to your request unless it involves disclosures to a health plan for services you have paid for in full.

Right to request confidential communications

You may request that we communicate with you in a particular way or at a particular location — for example, by email only or at a specific address. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Right to a paper copy of this notice

You have the right to receive a paper copy of this notice upon request, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically.

Right to file a complaint

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Practice or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. Filing a complaint will not affect your care.

To file a complaint with HHS: www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint

Contact us

For questions about this notice or to exercise your rights:

Prospect Park Psychiatry
Privacy Officer / Practice Contact
Brooklyn, New York
Contact the practice