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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

This document, Privacy Policy, explains the ways in which your medical information might be utilized and shared, as well as how you can access this information. It’s important that you read this document with due care.

The privacy guidelines outlined in this document are binding for I am. I am. Inc., also referred to as I Am Inc., including its affiliates and staff members. We will share patients’ protected health information (PHI) as needed for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations in accordance with legal allowances.

We are bound by law to protect the privacy of our patients’ health information. We must also ensure that patients are aware of our responsibilities and privacy practices regarding their information. This document’s guidelines will be followed as long as it is in effect. We reserve the right to modify these guidelines as needed and to apply any new privacy practices to all health information held by I am. I am. Inc. Should there be any breach involving your unprotected health information, we will notify you. Additionally, we must make you aware that state laws regarding the privacy of your health information may impose stricter requirements than those under the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). For any updates to our Privacy Practices or information about laws in Ohio, you can request a copy by contacting the Privacy Officer at the address provided at the end of this document.

USES & DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION (PHI)

Permissions

Unless specified in this section, we will not share your PHI for reasons other than treatment, payment, or healthcare operations without your explicit written consent. You reserve the right to withdraw your consent by writing to us. Your withdrawal will become effective once we receive your letter stating your request. However, if we have already acted based on your consent, or if the consent was given as part of an insurance agreement where the law allows the insurer to challenge a claim or the policy itself, the withdrawal will not affect these instances.

Disclosures for Treatments

Your PHI will be shared as necessary for your medical care. Healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses involved in your treatment, will use your medical records and the details you provide about your symptoms and treatment reactions. This could involve procedures, medications, tests, and medical history, among others.

Disclosures for Payment

We share your PHI to handle payments. As part of our regular business practices, we might send details about your medical treatments to your insurance provider to secure payment for our services. Additionally, we may use your information to generate and send bills directly to you or the person responsible for your payments.

Disclosures for Healthcare Operations

We share your PHI, which is legally allowed for our healthcare operations. This includes activities such as clinical improvement, professional reviews, business management, and compliance with accreditation and licensing standards. For example, we might share your information to enhance clinical treatments and patient care.

Individuals Involved in Your Care

Occasionally, we may share your PHI with selected family members, friends, and others responsible for your healthcare or the payment for your healthcare. This helps them participate in your care or handle your care payments. If you are not able to give consent due to unavailability, incapacitation, or an emergency, we may decide to share limited information if we believe it’s in your best interest. In disaster relief situations, we might also share your information with authorized entities to help locate your family members or others concerning your care.

Business Associates

Some services we offer are carried out through contracts with external individuals or organizations, such as for auditing, legal services, accreditation, or data collection on outcomes. There may be times when it’s necessary to share your PHI with these external parties to assist in our healthcare operations. We always require these business associates to maintain the privacy of your information.

Appointments and Services

We might reach out to you with updates on your appointments, information about your care, or to notify you about health-related benefits. You can ask us, and we are willing to meet reasonable requests to communicate your PHI through different means or at different locations. For example, if you prefer not to receive appointment reminders via voicemail or to a specific address, let us know. You need to provide an alternate contact method or address for this purpose. You also have the right to ask us to stop sending you marketing materials in the future. We will make every effort to respect such requests. These requests should be made in writing, include your name and address, and be sent to us at our official address.

Other Uses and Disclosures

Without needing your consent, the law allows or requires us to share your PHI for the following specific purposes:

  • Any reason mandated by law
  • Public health reasons, such as mandatory reporting of diseases, injuries, births, and deaths, or during public health investigations
  • If we have reasons to suspect child abuse or neglect.
  • If we believe you have, in any way, suffered abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
  • To the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for reporting negative effects, product flaws, or to participate in product recalls;
  • To your employer if we offered our services to you at your employer’s request
  • To government agencies overseeing audits, investigations, or legal actions
  • In response to court or administrative orders, subpoenas, or discovery requests
  • To coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors
  • To facilitate organ or tissue donation or transplants involving you
  • If you are in the military, we may release your information for national security or intelligence activities
  • To workers’ compensation agencies for determining benefits under workers’ compensation laws.

DISCLOSURES REQUIRING AUTHORIZATION:

Psychotherapy Notes

Before we can share any psychotherapy notes about you, we need your explicit written permission unless the law allows us to do otherwise. Nonetheless, we are allowed to disclose psychotherapy notes without your written consent in specific situations, such as (1) for certain treatment, payment, or healthcare operations (like using the notes for your treatment, for training purposes, or to defend ourselves in legal or other proceedings initiated by you), (2) to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for compliance checks, (3) when legally required, (4) for legally authorized health oversight activities, (5) to coroners or medical examiners as state law allows, or (6) to prevent or mitigate a serious and immediate threat to someone’s health or safety or the public’s.

Genetic Information

We are required to get your explicit written consent before we use or disclose your genetic information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. Your genetic information, or that of your child, may only be used or shared without your written consent in cases allowed by law. Marketing: For any use or disclosure of your PHI for marketing purposes, we need your permission, except when the marketing materials are provided directly to you in person or are of nominal value.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION:

Access to Your PHI

You have the right to access and/or request copies of a significant portion of the PHI that we maintain about you. If any of this information is stored electronically, you may ask for it to be provided in an electronic format if it is feasible to do so. To access your PHI, you must submit your request in written form, signed either by yourself or your authorized representative. To make this request, a “Patient Access to Health Information Form” is available from our reception staff. We will impose a nominal fee to cover the costs of copying, postage, and materials needed to fulfill your request for your PHI. Should you ask for additional copies, charges for copying and postage will be applied.

Amendments to Your Protected Health Information

You have the right to request changes or corrections to your PHI that is in our possession. Although we are not obligated to make every requested amendment, we will thoroughly review each submission. All amendment requests need to be submitted in writing and signed by either you or your designated legal representative, including a detailed explanation of the need for the amendment or correction. In the event that we approve an amendment or correction, we may notify other parties involved in your care as we see fit. An “Amendment Request Form” is available through our office personnel or the individual responsible for managing medical records.

Accounting for Disclosures of Your Protected Health Information

You possess the right to seek a listing of certain disclosures of your PHI. Such requests must be documented in writing and bear the signature of either yourself or your authorized legal representative. An “Accounting Request Form” can be acquired from our administrative personnel or the individual responsible for managing medical records. The initial listing provided within any 12-month span is complimentary, but we will levy a charge for any subsequent listings requested during the same 12-month timeframe. The cost will be communicated to you at the time of your request.

Limits on the Use and Disclosure of Your PHI

You can ask us to limit how we use and disclose your PHI for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. Although we are not obligated to agree to all such restrictions, we will try to accommodate reasonable requests when feasible. Specifically, you have the right to request that we do not disclose information about treatment for which you have paid out of pocket in full to your health plan. If we agree to a restriction, we retain the right to remove this restriction if we consider it necessary. Should we lift a restriction, we will notify you. You also have the right to revoke any restriction, either in writing or orally, by contacting the person responsible for medical records.

Right to Notice of Breach

The confidentiality of our patients’ data is of utmost importance to us, and we are legally required to protect your PHI using adequate safeguards. Should there be a breach concerning your unprotected health information, we will swiftly notify you and provide guidance on measures you can take for your protection.

If you wish to obtain a hard copy of this notice, regardless of whether you have earlier consented to accept it electronically, you have the right to do so. You may obtain this by contacting the Privacy Officer at the provided address.

Complaints

If you have any doubts regarding the quality of our services, suspect a violation of your privacy rights, or object to a decision made about your health information, we urge you to express your concerns to our Privacy Official through our main office contact. Moreover, you are entitled to submit a written grievance to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you choose. Our commitment is towards the safeguarding of your health information and the excellence of your care. Should you see fit to consult with an external professional body, you are fully within your rights to do so.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We hold the authority to modify our privacy protocols and apply the updated provisions to all PHI in our possession. In the event of changes to our privacy procedures, we will send you a notice with the updates in question.

For any inquiries, further assistance, or to make a request in accordance with this notice, please feel free to contact us. You can reach us by phone at 877-426-0426 or by email at [email protected].