Notice of Privacy Practices
Updated January 9, 2025
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.
Dear Patient: The Federal laws, HIPPA-Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, have been written to protect the confidentiality of your health information. Your personal health history is NEVER unnecessarily made available to others outside of our office. Protecting your Confidential Health Information is always important to us.
Our Legal Duty
We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. This Notice of Privacy Practices (Notice) is provided pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) as revised in the 2013 HIPAA Omnibus Rule. This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations, for administrative purposes, to evaluate the quality of care you receive, and for the purposed that we are permitted or required by law. This Notice describes your rights and our duties with respect to your protected health information. “Protected health information” is information about you that may identify you and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health/condition and related health care services.
You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this notice, please contact the office: Clear Voice Therapy LLC, 433 Broadway, Providence RI 02909. 401-529-6944 or [email protected]
WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS
Payment
We may use or disclose your health information in order to obtain payment. This may include sending a bill to you, your insurance company, a government program, or third party payers. We may contact your health insurer to certify that you are eligible for benefits (and for what range of benefits), and we may provide your insurer with details regarding your treatment to determine if your insurer will cover, or pay for, your treatment. We may disclose your health information to other health care providers and entities to assist in their billing and collection efforts.
Treatment
We may use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your treatment and any related services. We may disclose your protected health information to other third party providers involved in your health care. For example, your protected health information may be provided to a physician or other health care provider to whom you have been referred to ensure that the physician or other health care provider has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you.
To Conduct Health Care Operations
It is possible that health information will be disclosed during audits by insurance companies or government appointed agencies as part of their quality assurance and compliance reviews. Your health information may be reviewed during the routine processed of certification, licensing, or credentialing activities. We also may disclose information to other providers such as speech- language pathologists, physicians, and other personnel for educational and learning purposes.
Patient Communication
We may contact you to follow up on your care and inform you of treatment options or services that may be of interest to you or your family. These communications may include postcards, letters, telephone calls, voice mail, bulletins or email. We may contact you by telephone, email or text to schedule appointments. We may provide appointment reminders by text, voice mail or email.
Abuse or Neglect
We will notify government authorities if we believe a patient is the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. We will make this disclosure only when we are compelled by our ethical judgment, when we believe we are specifically required or authorized by law or with the patient’s agreement.
Public Health and National Security
We may be required to disclose to Federal officials or military authorities’ health information necessary to complete an investigation related to public health or national security. Health information could be important when the government believes that the public safety could benefit when the information could lead to the control or the prevention of an epidemic or the understanding of a new medical device.
For Law Enforcement
As permitted or required by State or Federal Law, we may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for certain law enforcement purposes, included (under certain limited circumstances) if you are a victim of a crime or in order to report a crime.
Family, Friends, and Caregivers
We may share your health information with those you tell us will be assisting you with your treatment or payment. In the case of emergency, we will contact the emergency contact given on intake, and share only relevant health information.
Medical Research
Advancing medical knowledge often involved learning from the careful study of the medical histories of prior patients. Formal review and study of health histories as a part of research study will happen only under the ethical guidance, requirements and approval of an Institutional Review Board.
Authorization to Use or Disclose Health Information
Other than what is stated about or where Federal, State, or Local law requires us, we will not disclose your health information without your written authorization. You may revoke that authorization in writing at any time.
Patients’ Rights
This law is careful to describe that you have the following rights related to your health information.
Restrictions
You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information. We will make every effort to honor reasonable restriction preferences from our clients.
Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that we communicate with you in a certain way. You may request that we only communicate your health information privately with your other family members present or through mailed communications that are sealed. We will make every effort to honor reasonable requests for confidential communications.
Inspect and Copy Your Health Information
The right to inspect and receive a copy your health information – You may request access to your health information to review or request copies of the information. This usually includes medical and billing records maintained by Clear Voice Therapy, LLC. You have the right to request and receive an electronic copy of your electronic medical record.
Changes to this Notice
We reserve the right to change this notice and to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. If the terms of this notice are changed, Clear Voice Therapy, LLC will update changes this notice on our website and provide you with a revised notice upon request.
Complaints or Questions
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated you may file a complaint with us by notifying Michele Fava, Clear Voice Therapy, LLC or the Secretary of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
If you have any additional questions or concerns about the policies outlined here, please reach out to us.