MENTAL HEALTH CENTER OF EAST CENTRAL KANSAS NOTICE OF INFORMATION PRACTICES

The Mental Health Center of East Central Kansas maintains client records consisting of personal, financial, social, and medical information. This information is used for contact, scheduling, determining financial ability, claims for third-party payers, diagnosis and treatment. Non-identifiable source information may also be used for reporting required by the state licensee board, need verification to county boards, and medical education. The Healthcare Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) establishes Privacy Rules that govern the uses and disclosures of this information. We will not use or disclose your health information without your consent or authorization, except as described in this notice or otherwise required by law.

This notice describes how your information may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review carefully.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION

Routine Types of Disclosures

• Treatment of client: for use by a physician, nurse or other member of your healthcare team to determine the best course of treatment for you.
• Third party payers (insurance companies and governmental funding agencies): for use in payment collection and may include the diagnosis, treatment received, and date of treatment.
• Health professionals or subsequent healthcare provider: to assist in your care after you are no longer being treated by this facility or in addition to this facility.
• Officers of the court: When treatment is a requirement of the court, health information will be disclosed to the appropriate agencies as required by law.

Non-Routine Types of Disclosures

• Business associates: We provide some services through collaboration with other human service agencies, including Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, foster care and adoption programs, special education cooperative agency, and the Social Security Administration. Disclosures would be relevant to the agency's involvement in providing social services. Contracted providers perform some services, such as diagnostic tests or lab work.
• Communications with family/significant others: Using our best judgment, we may disclose to a family member, other relative, or to a close personal friend, health information relevant to that person's involvement in your care or payment related to your care.
• Schools: In a collaborative effort to provide treatment to a minor, testing results and information gathered in therapeutic assessments may be disclosed.
• Public health agency: As required by law, we may disclose to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
• Law enforcement: Health information may be disclosed in response to a valid subpoena.
• Employee Assistance Program/Employer: Limited health information may be disclosed to the extent necessary to comply with applicable laws when treatment is at the request or referral of an employer.
• Workers compensation: We may disclose health information to the extent authorized and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation.
• Department of Health and Human Services: Under the privacy standards, we must disclose your health information to DHHS as necessary for them to determine our compliance with those standards.
• Funeral directors: Limited health information may be disclosed to a funeral director consistent with applicable law to enable them to carry out their duties.

This is an example of Uses and Disclosures and not a complete list. If you have a question concerning disclosure, please contact our Privacy Officer.

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE FEDERAL PRIVACY STANDARD

Although your health records are the physical property of The Center, you have certain rights with regard to the information contained therein. 

• You have the right to obtain a copy of this Notice of Information Practices. The Notice is available to you in paper form and is posted on our website at www.mhceck.org.
• You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your health information upon written request. This right is not absolute and in certain situations, we can deny access, such as if access might cause harm. You do not have a right of access to psychotherapy notes separated from the medical record or to information that was obtained from someone other than a healthcare provider under a promise of confidentiality.

In other situations, when access to mental health information is denied, The Center will inform you of the reason for denying access and how to seek review. These reviewable grounds for denial include:

1. The access is reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of the individual or another person, as determined by a qualified mental health professional.
2. The health information makes reference to another person and such information is likely to cause substantial harm to the other person, as determined by a qualified mental health professional.
3. The request is made by the individual's designee and providing the information to the designee is likely to cause substantial harm to the individual or another person, as determined by a qualified mental health professional.

For these reviewable grounds, another qualified mental health professional must review the decision of the provider denying access within 60 days. 

• You have the right to request a correction or amendment to your health information. We do not have to grant the request if the record was not created by our agency. In such instances, you must seek correction or amendment from the agency creating the record. If they correct or amend the information, we will file the change in our record. We do not have to grant the request if the record is accurate and complete or if the record is not available to you as described immediately above. If your request for correction or amendment is denied, The Center will inform you of the reason for denying access.

If the request for correction or amendment to the record is granted, the change will be made to your medical record and the correction/amendment distributed to those you identify to us as needing the information. When appropriate, the correction or amendment may be distributed to other entities, as defined in the Uses and Disclosures section of this Notice.

• You have the right to request restriction on uses and disclosures of your health information for treatment, payment, and health care operations. "Health care operations" consist of activities that are necessary to carry out the operations of The Center, such as quality assurance and peer review. The right to request restriction does not extend to uses or disclosures permitted or required under 164.502(a)(2)(i) (disclosures to you), 164.510(a) (for facility directories, but note that you have the right to object to such uses), or 164.512 (uses and disclosures not requiring a consent or an authorization). The latter uses and disclosures include, for example, those required by law like mandatory reporting of communicable disease, and in those cases, you do not have a right to request restriction. The Consent to use and disclose your individually identifiable health information provides the ability to request restriction. We do not, however, have to agree to the restriction. If the restriction is granted, we will adhere to it unless you request otherwise or we give you advance notice. You may also ask us to communicate with you by alternate means and, if the method of communication is reasonable, we must grant the alternate communication request. Refer to the consent form.
  
• You have the right to obtain an accounting of "non-routine" uses and disclosures, other than those for treatment, payment, and health care operations. We do not need to provide an accounting of uses and disclosures for:

1. The facility directory or to persons involved in the individual's care as provided in 164.510 (uses and disclosures requiring an opportunity for the individual to agree or object, including notification to family members, personal representatives, or others responsible for the care of the individual).
2. National security or intelligence purposes under 164.512(k)(2) (disclosures not requiring consent, authorization, or an opportunity to object, see chapter 16).
3. Those made to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials under 164.512(k)(5) (disclosures not requiring consent, authorization, or an opportunity to object).
4. Those made prior to April 14, 2003.

After receipt of a valid, written request for non-routine accounting, we will provide the accounting within 60 days. The accounting will include the date of each disclosure, the name and address of the entity who received the health information, a brief description of the information disclosed, and a brief statement of the purpose of the disclosure that informs you of the basis for the disclosure or, in lieu of such statement, a copy of your written authorization, or a copy of a written request for disclosure.

• You have the right to revoke your consent or authorization to use or disclose health information, except to the extent that we have already taken action in reliance on the consent or authorization.

Notice adopted April 14, 2003.