HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

Attune Therapy LCSW PLLC
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Effective 12/01/2025

I. OUR PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION: We understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive from Attune Therapy. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by Attune Therapy LCSW PLLC. This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose health information about you. We also describe your rights to the health information we keep about you, and describe certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your health information. We are required by law to:

  • Maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

  • Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.

  • Notify you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your protected health information.

  • Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice at any time. Any changes will apply to all health information we already have about you, as well as information we receive in the future. If the terms change, the updated Notice will be available upon request, at our office, and on our website.

II. HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU: The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose health information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

For Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations: Federal privacy rules allow health care providers who have a direct treatment relationship with a patient/client to use or disclose the patient/client’s protected health information without written authorization for treatment, payment, or health care operations. For example, if your clinician consults with another licensed health care provider about your condition, we may use or disclose your protected health information as necessary to assist in the diagnosis or treatment of your mental health condition.

As part of our commitment to providing high-quality, coordinated care, clinicians at this practice may participate in clinical case consultation with other practice clinicians. During these consultations, relevant information about your care may be discussed for treatment, supervision, and quality-of-care purposes. If your clinician is a pre-licensed clinician working toward full licensure, they receive clinical supervision from a licensed supervisor at this practice. Your care may be discussed during supervision to support the quality and safety of your treatment.

III. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:

  1. Psychotherapy Notes. Psychotherapy notes receive special privacy protections under HIPAA and are different from the progress notes and other information maintained in your medical record. Psychotherapy notes are notes recorded by a mental health professional that document or analyze the contents of conversations during a counseling or therapy session and are maintained separately from your medical record. They do not include information such as diagnoses, treatment plans, symptoms, progress, medication information, test results, or other information maintained as part of your medical record.

Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes require your written authorization. Authorization is generally not required when psychotherapy notes are:

a. Used by the therapist who created the notes to provide treatment to you;

b. Used or disclosed by us for purposes of training or supervising mental health practitioners, students, or trainees in mental health care;

c. Used by us to defend ourselves in a legal action or other proceeding brought by you;

d. Disclosed to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services when necessary to investigate our compliance with HIPAA;

e. Required by law, provided that the use or disclosure is limited to the requirements of such law;

f. Required by law for certain health oversight activities concerning the originator of the psychotherapy notes;

g. Required by a coroner or medical examiner in the course of performing duties authorized by law; or

h. Necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public, consistent with applicable law.

  1.  Marketing Purposes. We will not use or disclose your protected health information (PHI) for marketing purposes without your written authorization, except as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

  2.  Sale of PHI. We will not sell your Protected Health Information (PHI) without your written Authorization, except as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

IV. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION. Subject to certain limitations in the law, we can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:

  1. When disclosure is required by state or federal law, and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law.

  2. For public health activities, as permitted or required by law, including reporting suspected child abuse or neglect and preventing or reducing a serious threat to health or safety.

  3. For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.

  4. For judicial and administrative proceedings, we may use or disclose your PHI in the course of a judicial or administrative proceeding when authorized or required by applicable law, including in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process.

  5. For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on our premises.

  6. To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.

  7. For research purposes. We may use or disclose your PHI for research purposes when permitted or required by applicable federal and state law.

  8. Specialized government functions, including ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counter-intelligence operations; or helping to ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.

  9. For workers' compensation purposes, we may use or disclose your PHI as authorized or required by applicable workers' compensation laws and other laws governing workplace-related injuries or illnesses.

  10. Appointment reminders and health related benefits or services. We may use and disclose your PHI to contact you with appointment reminders. We may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives or other health-related services and benefits that we offer.

V. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT.

  1. Disclosures to family, friends, or others. We may provide your PHI to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. In emergency situations, we may discuss your PHI with a family member, friend, or other person involved in your care when, in our professional judgment, doing so is in your best interest.

VI. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

Email and other electronic communications may not be secure or encrypted and may present risks to the privacy of your health information. We encourage you to use our secure patient portal for communications containing sensitive or clinical information. If you choose to communicate with us by unencrypted email, you acknowledge that there may be privacy and security risks associated with that method of communication.

VII. YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PHI:

  1. The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI. You have the right to ask us not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say "no" if we believe it would affect your health care.

  2. The Right to Request Restrictions for Out-of-Pocket Expenses Paid In Full. If you pay for a health care service out-of-pocket in full, you may ask us not to disclose information about that service to your health plan for payment or health care operations purposes. We will honor your request unless a law requires us to disclose the information.

  3. The Right to Choose How We Send PHI to You. You have the right to ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address, and we will agree to all reasonable requests.

  4. The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI. With certain exceptions, including psychotherapy notes, you have the right to see and obtain an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information that we maintain about you. We will provide you with a copy of your record, or a summary of it, if you agree to receive a summary, within 30 days of receiving your written request, and we may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for doing so.

  5. The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures We Have Made. You have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures of your PHI, subject to limitations under applicable law. We will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The accounting generally will include disclosures made during the six years prior to your request, unless you request a shorter period. We will provide the accounting at no charge, but if you make more than one request in the same year, we may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for each additional request.

  6. The Right to Correct or Update Your PHI. If you believe that there is a mistake in your PHI, or that a piece of important information is missing from your PHI, you have the right to request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. We may say "no" to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days of receiving your request.

  7. The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice. You will receive an electronic copy of this Notice through our electronic health record system. You may also request a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you have received or agreed to receive the Notice electronically. We will provide a paper copy upon request.

  8. The Right to Choose Someone to Act for You. If you have given someone legal authority to act on your behalf, such as through a health care power of attorney or legal guardianship, that person may exercise your rights and make choices about your health information as permitted by law. We will verify the person's authority before taking action.

  9. The Right to File a Complaint. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to file a complaint with us and with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with us, please contact Miranda Galligan in writing at Attune Therapy LCSW PLLC, 2122 Eggert Road, Amherst, NY 14226. To file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services, you may submit a written complaint to the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20201, call 1-877-696-6775, or visit www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint. You will not be penalized or retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint, and doing so will not affect your care.

VIII. QUESTIONS AND PRIVACY CONTACT

If you have questions about this Notice or our privacy practices, please contact:

Miranda Galligan
Attune Therapy LCSW PLLC
2122 Eggert Road
Amherst, NY 14226
Phone: (716) 204-5311
Email: support@attunetherapyny.com