In general, any information that concerns your treatment, payment for treatment or related operations is considered confidential and is protected as confidential by Voithos (“Voithos”). This Privacy Notice describes Voithos’s Privacy Practices, specifically- the uses and disclosures Voithos may make of your treatment information and what rights you have with respect to your treatment information. Treatment information includes, but is not limited to, your name; address; other personal identifying data; health status; and record of treatment services that have been, are being, and will be provided to you in the future. Voithos requires that all programs, employees, staff, and any party in a working or business relationship with Voithos comply with Voithos’s Privacy Practices.
1. Use and Disclosure of Medical Information for Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations
Laws governing treatment programs and procedures conducted by Voithos allow Voithos to use and disclose your personal information for the purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations.
Treatment means the provision, coordination, or management of health care related and therapeutic services provided completely or in part by Voithos. Voithos can share your treatment information and records with another provider involved in your health care for the benefit of your coordinated care. Also, Voithos may contact you by phone or other means to remind you about an appointment or address a specific aspect of your care.
Please note that relevant laws prohibit certain treatment information, such as Psychotherapy Notes, from being shared without your knowledge. Voithos must obtain a written Authorization from you before all or part of the treatment information can be used or released. At the time the treatment information is being requested, you will be provided with a written Authorization explaining the specific treatment information requested and the purpose of the request for the specific treatment information. Your signature on the Authorization will provide the consent necessary for the use or release of this information.
Payment refers to reimbursement to Voithos by your healthcare insurer for services that have been provided to you. In order to process payment, your healthcare insurer may require that Voithos provide treatment information to confirm your eligibility for services provided, to coordinate benefits with other payers who may be responsible for reimbursement for the services, and as part of the payers claims management procedures which covers billings, collections, appeals, medical necessity review activities, utilization review activities, or for disclosure to consumer reporting agencies. For instance, Voithos can disclose the healthcare information required by your insurer’s plan to determine whether the services provided to you by Voithos were medically necessary.
Health Care Operations cover a range of internal operations performed by Voithos or its Business Associates to manage information, data, and services on behalf of Voithos and the individuals Voithos serves. These operations include, but are not limited to, quality assessment and improvement activities including research; peer review; credentialing and licensing; training programs; legal and financial services; business planning and development; implementing and monitoring Voithos’s compliance and privacy practices; customer services; internal grievances; creating de- identified or re-identified information for data aggregation and other purposes including research; fundraising, marketing and due diligence activities. Examples of such operations are evaluation of the performance of therapists to ensure that they meet Voithos’s quality standards and engaging legal counsel or accountants to represent Voithos’s interests when required.
2. Consent and Authorization
Voithos must obtain your written Consent prior to initiating treatment, payment, or health care operations on your behalf. You will be required to read and give your Consent in writing before any treatment services are begun. This Consent will remain in effect until completion of your treatment services with Voithos. However, you have the right to revoke your Consent, in writing, at any time during the course of your treatment services except to the extent that Voithos has taken action in reliance on the Consent.
A written Authorization is required for the use and disclosure of all or part of your treatment information requested by a third party for purposes other than general treatment, payment, and health care operations. For example, Psychotherapy Notes shall not be released without your specific Authorization, except when required by law. Only that information that is minimum and necessary to accomplish the purpose for which the Psychotherapy Notes are being requested will be released. The Authorization will identify the specific information being requested, the purpose for which the requested information is to be used, and the party to whom the information will be released. The Authorization will be time restricted and contain a prohibition against the use of the information for any purpose other than the purpose stated on the Authorization and against a re-release of the information for any purpose.
3. The Use and Disclosure of Treatment Information when your Consent or Authorization are Not Required
Under the following circumstances, Voithos is permitted by law to use or disclose your treatment information without further Consent or Authorization:
- to those caregivers actively engaged in your treatment at Voithos or to providers who are actively coordinating with Voithos in your care or treatment plan;
- to insurers and those third-party payers or co-payers whom you have identified to Voithos as being responsible for payment for your treatment services and who require information to verify that services were actually provided (information to be released hereunder is limited to the staff names, the dates, types and costs of therapies or services, and a short description of the general purpose of each treatment session or service);
- to reviewers and inspectors, including the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals or similar accrediting agencies and Commonwealth licensure or certification, when necessary to obtain certification as an eligible provider of services;
- to those participating in PSRO or Utilization Reviews;
- to the administrator under required duties pursuant to applicable statutes and regulations;
- to a court or Mental Health Review Officer in the course of legal proceedings authorized by statute or regulations;
- in response to a Court Order when Production of Documents is properly ordered by law;
- to appropriate regulatory agencies responsible for addressing patient or child abuse;
- in response to an emergency medical situation when release of information is necessary to prevent serious risk of bodily harm or death (only that specific information minimum and necessary to the relief of the emergency may be released on a non-consensual basis);
- to parents, guardians or other verified personal representatives when necessary to obtain consent to medical treatment; and
- to attorneys assigned to represent the subject of a commitment hearing.
Treatment information made available shall be limited to that information which is minimum and necessary to the purpose for which the information is sought.
Treatment information may not be released to additional parties or entities or used for additional purposes without your consent.
4. Authorization for Other Uses and Disclosures of Treatment Information
Voithos is prohibited, by law, from using or disclosing your treatment information without a written Authorization for any purpose other than those purposes listed above. For purposes other than those listed above, Voithos must obtain a signed Authorization and disclose only that treatment information which is minimum and necessary to the specific purpose requested.
An Authorization serves as a written permission that specifically identifies the information being sought for use or disclosure and clearly states the purpose for which the use or disclosure is being requested. Further, you may revoke your Authorization at any time except:
(1) to the extent that the treatment information has been used or disclosed in reliance on your Authorization or
(2) your Authorization was obtained as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage.
Please note that Voithos cannot absolutely guarantee that once your treatment information has been released to the third party named in an Authorization, that the third party will abide by the rules stated in Voithos’s Privacy Notice.
Individual Rights with respect to Treatment Information:
An individual of appropriate age and legal capacity, who understands the nature of the treatment information and the purpose for which treatment information may be used or disclosed, shall control access to his or her personal treatment information.
a. Access refers to physical examination of treatment information, but does not include physical possession of the information. A person who has received or is receiving treatment may request access to treatment information including records, but shall be denied such access to all or part of the treatment information if:
- upon documentation by the treatment team leader it is determined that granting such access will constitute a substantial detriment to the treatment process; and/or
- when disclosure of specific treatment information will reveal the identity of persons, or breach the trust or confidentiality of persons who have provided information upon an agreement to maintain their confidentiality.
- The limitations on access to treatment information are applicable to parents, guardians, and others who may otherwise have the right to control access over treatment records, except that the possibility of substantial detriment to the parent, guardian, or other person may also be considered.
- The treatment team leader retains absolute discretion in receiving and reviewing the treatment information requested in writing in advance of granting access to the treatment information, and may be present or designate an appropriate party to be present when the treatment information is being reviewed.
b. Restrictions on the use and disclosure of your treatment information for treatment, payment, and operational purposes may be requested by you. Voithos shall be bound by all reasonable and appropriate requests for such restrictions which it agrees in writing, except in emergency circumstances. Voithos reserves the right to request the withdrawal of certain restrictions at any time during treatment. However, Voithos is not bound to accept your requested restrictions if the treatment team does not believe that it reasonably can or should comply with the requested restrictions. Voithos reserves the right to its treatment teams to exercise such discretion and give a written refusal in response to your request for restrictions.
Please address any written requests for restriction to the Director or Medical Records Department at your treatment site.
c. Confidential Communications may be requested by you about how Voithos communicates information regarding your treatment, health care services, and payment for services. For example, you may request that all communication be directed to your home and not to you at work. Also, as a part of Voithos quality improvement practices, Voithos may call to remind you about an appointment or follow up by phone after services have been provided to confirm the service and the quality of the service provided. On such phone calls, Voithos may appear on your “Caller ID” service. You may request that Voithos call you on a phone which will not identify Voithos on your “Caller ID”.
Such request for confidential communication must be made in writing. Voithos will do its best to reasonably accommodate such requests. Please address any requests for confidential communications to the Director or the Medical Records Department at your treatment site.
d. Amendments to your documented treatment information may be requested in writing. Amendments agreed to by Voithos shall be documented within sixty (60) days of your written request. However, Voithos reserves the right to deny requests for amendments when the treatment team finds that:
(1)the existing documented treatment information is accurate;
(2) Voithos is not the author of the treatment information requested to be amended; or
(3) the request to amend changes or alters the accuracy of the treatment information. You may appeal any denial of your request for amendments within thirty (30) days of receipt of Voithos’s denial of your requested amendment. All appeals must be made in writing.
Please direct any requests for amendments and appeals to the Director or Medical Records Department at your treatment site.
e. Accounting of any and all disclosures made of your treatment information for the six (6) years prior to the date of your request shall be available to you within sixty (60) days of the date of your written request. These disclosures do not include those made for certain treatment payment, or operational purposes. The right to an accounting is subject to the effective date of regulatory laws and statutes.
Please direct requests for accountings to the Director or Medical Records Department at your treatment site.
f. Complaints alleging inappropriate use or disclosure of your treatment information by Voithos employees or agents may be directed to the Voithos Privacy Officer or to the Secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Under no circumstances shall Voithos retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
If you wish to file a complaint, please contact the Director or Medical Records Department at your treatment site. Voithos has the non-delegable duty to maintain the privacy of your documented treatment information and to provide you with Notice of its legal obligations and Privacy Practices with respect to your treatment information. Voithos must date and comply with the Privacy Notice currently in effect. Voithos reserves the right to amend and/or update its Privacy Notice from time to time upon change of practices or revision of laws. If its Privacy Notice is revised, copies of the revised and dated Privacy Notice shall be posted in the Voithos service areas. Voithos hereby reserves the right to implement the changes prior to issuing the revised Privacy Notice.
