Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU, THE CLIENT, MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED, AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

Your health record ("the client") contains personal information about you and your health. This information, which may identify you and relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition(s) and related health care service(s), is referred to as "Protected Health Information " (PHI). This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we. the Hygeia Wellness Center, may use and disclose your PHI in accordance with applicable law. It also describes your rights regarding how you may gain access to and control your PHI.

The Hygeia Wellness Center is required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and Privacy Practices with respect to PHI. The Hygeia Wellness Center is required to abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices. The Hygeia Wellness Center reserves the right to change the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices at any time. Any new Notice of Privacy Practices will be effective for all PHI that The Hygeia Wellness Center maintains at that time. The Hygeia Wellness Center will provide you with a copy of the revised Notice of Privacy Practices by posting a copy on our website, sending a copy to you in the mail upon request, or providing one to you at your next appointment.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:

The Hygeia Wellness Center may utilize your Protected Health Information in any of the following ways:

For Treatment. Your PHI may be used and disclosed by those who are involved in your care for the purpose of providing, coordinating, or managing your health care treatment and related services. This includes consultation with clinical supervisors or other treatment team members. We may disclose PH Ito any other consultant only with your authorization.

For Payment. We may use or disclose PHI so that we can receive payment for the treatment services provided to you. This will only be done with your authorization. Examples of payment-related activities are making a determination of eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits, processing claims with your insurance company, reviewing services provided to you to determine medical necessity, or undertaking utilization review activities. !f it becomes necessary to use collection processes due to lack of payment for services, we will only disclose the minimum amount of PHI necessary for purposes of collection.

For Health Care Operations. We may use or disclose, as needed, your PHI in order to supp01t our business activities including, but not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, reminding you of appointments, to provide information about treatment alternatives or other health related benefits and services, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities. For example, we may share your PHI with third parties that perform various business activities ( e.g. billing or typing services) provided we have a written contract with the business that requires it to safeguard the privacy of your PHI. For training or teaching purposes PHI will be disclosed only with your authorization.

Required by Law. Under the law, we must make disclosures of your PHI to you upon your request. In addition, we must make disclosures to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose of investigating or determining our compliance with the requirements of the Privacy Rule.

The following is a list of the categories of uses and disclosures permitted by HIPPA without an authorization

• Abuse & Neglect                

• Judicial and Administrative proceedings

• Emergencies

• Law Enforcement

• National Security

• Public Safety

Without Authorization. Applicable law and ethical standards pe1111it us to disclose information about you without your authorization only in a limited number of other situations. The types of uses and disclosures that may be made without your authorization are those that are:

• Required by law, such as the mandatory reporting of child abuse or neglect or mandatory government agency audits or investigations (such as state licensing boards or health departments).

Required by Court Order.

•  Necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public. If information is disclosed to prevent or lessen a serious threat, it will be disclosed to a person or persons reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat, including the target of the threat.

Verbal Pe1111ission. We may use or disclose your information to family members that are directly involved in your treatment with your verbal permission.

With Authorization. Uses and disclosures not specifically permitted by applicable law will be made only with your written authorization, which may be revoked.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PHI:

You have the following rights regarding your personal PHI maintained by our organization. To exercise any of these rights, please submit your request in writing to our Privacy Officer at 702

Right of Access to Inspect and Copy. You have the right, which may be restricted only in exceptional circumstances, to inspect and copy PHI that may be used to make decisions about your care. Your right to inspect and copy PHI will be restricted only in those situations where there is compelling evidence that access would cause serious harm to you. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.

Right to Amend. If you feel that the PHI we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information, although we are not required to agree to the amendment.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request an accounting of certain types of disclosures that we make of your PHI. We may charge you a reasonable fee if you request more than one accounting in any 12-month period.

Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the use or disclosure of your PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required to agree to your request.

Right to Request Confidential Communication. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a ce11ain location.

Right to a Copy of this Notice. You have the right to a copy of this Notice.

Electronic Transactions Standards.

COMPLAINTS:

If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you have the right to file a complaint in writing our Privacy Officer at 702-445-6323 or with the Secretary of Health and Human Services at 200 Independence Avenue, S. W., Washington, D.C. 2020 I, or by calling (202) 619-0257.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.