PRIVACY PRACTICES

During your treatment at Birch Counseling, counselors may gather information about your past experiences, health, as well as past and current emotional and behavioral disturbances. This notice explains how that information may be used and shared with others. It also explains your privacy rights regarding this kind of information. The terms of this notice apply to health information created or received by Birch Counseling. We are required by law to: make sure that information that identifies you is kept private; give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information about you; follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect; and notify you in the event there is a breach of any unsecured protected health information about you.

In addition to these general obligations, federal law and regulations protect the confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records. If you are receiving services (including diagnosis, treatment, or referral) for a substance abuse disorder, we may not acknowledge to a person outside our organization that you are receiving such services from us or disclose any information identifying you as suffering from a substance abuse disorder, except under certain circumstances outlined on page 4 of this notice.

Your medical information may be used and disclosed for the following purposes:

Treatment: We may use your information to provide, coordinate, and manage your care and treatment. For example, a Birch counselor may share your protected health information with another counselor for a consultation or a referral. We will get your written consent prior to making disclosures outside of Birch Counseling for treatment purposes, except in emergency circumstances when it is not possible to get your consent.
Payment: We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive may be billed to, and payment may be collected from, you, an insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about treatment you received at Birch Counseling so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the treatment. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval, to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment or for purposes of an independent review of a denial of a claim based on lack of medical necessity. We will get your written consent prior to making disclosures for payment purposes.
Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose protected health information about you for Birch Counseling’s health care operations. Health care operations are the uses and disclosures of information that are necessary to run Birch Counseling and to make sure that all of our clients receive quality care. For example, we may use protected health information to review our treatment and services, and to evaluate the performance of our staff and counselors in caring for you. We will get your written consent before making disclosures to others outside of Birch Counseling for health care operations purposes.
Appointment Reminders and Other Health Information: We may use your contact information to send you reminders about future appointments. We may contact you with information about new or alternative treatments or other health care services or for purposes of care coordination, unless we receive financial remuneration in exchange for making the communication; in that case, we will obtain your written authorization to make such communications. However, we are not required to obtain your written authorization for face-to-face communications.
To People Assisting in Your Care: Birch Counseling will only disclose protected health information to those taking care of you, helping you to pay your bills, or other close family members of friends if these people need to know this information to help you, and then only to the extent permitted by law. Generally, we will get your written consent prior to making disclosures about you to family or friends. If you are able to make your own health care decisions, Birch Counseling will ask your permission before using your health information for these purposes. If you are unable to make health care decisions, Birch Counseling will disclose relevant health information to family members or other responsible people if we feel it is in your best interest to do so, including in an emergency situation.
Research: Federal law permits Birch Counseling to use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes, either with your specific, written authorization or when the study has been reviewed for privacy protection by an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board before the research begins. In some cases, researchers may be permitted to use information in a limited way to determine whether the study or the potential participants are appropriate. Minnesota law generally requires that we get your consent before we disclose your health information to an outside researcher. We will make a good faith effort to obtain your consent or refusal to participate in any research study, as required by law, prior to releasing any identifiable information about you to outside researchers.
As Required by Law: We will disclose health information about you when we are required to do so by federal, state or local law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose health information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure must be only to someone able to help prevent the threat. In addition, Minnesota law generally does not permit these disclosures unless we have your written consent, or when the disclosure is specifically required by law, including the limited circumstances in which Birch Counseling health care professionals have a “duty to warn.”

• To Business Associates: Some services are provided by or to Birch Counseling through contracts with business associates. Examples include Birch Counseling’s, attorneys, consultants, collection agencies, and accreditation organizations. We may disclose information about you to our business associate so that they can perform the job we have contracted with them to do. To protect the information that is disclosed, each business associate is required to sign an agreement to appropriately safeguard the information and not to redisclose the information unless specifically permitted by law.

Your medical information may be released in the following special situations:

Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we will release health information about you as requested by military command authorities if we are required to do so by law, or when we have your written consent. We may also release health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority as required by law or with written consent.
Workers’ Compensation: We may release medical information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness. We are permitted to disclose information regarding your work related injury to your employer or your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer without your specific consent, so long as the information is related to a workers’ compensation claim.
Public Health: We may disclose medical information to public health authorities about you for public health activities. These disclosures generally include the following:
- Preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability;
- Reporting births and deaths;
- Reporting child abuse or neglect, or abuse of a vulnerable adult;
- Reporting reactions to medications or problems with products;
- Notifying people of recalls of products they may be using;
- Notifying a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for
  contracting or spreading a disease or condition; or
- Reporting to the FDA as permitted or required by law.
Health Oversight Activities: Birch Counseling may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for health oversight activities that are authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, government audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure activities. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws. Minnesota law requires that patient identifying information (for example, your name, social security number, etc.) be removed from most disclosures for health oversight purposes, unless you have provided us with written consent for the disclosure.
Lawsuits and Disputes: We may disclose health information about you in response to a valid court order or statutory authorization, or with your written consent.
Law Enforcement: We may release health information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in response to a valid court order, grand jury subpoena, or warrant, or with your written consent.
We may also release information to law enforcement that is not a part of the health record (in other words, non-health related information) for the following reasons:
- To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person;
- If you are the victim of a crime, if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable
  to obtain your agreement;
- About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;
- About criminal conduct at our facility; and
- In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or
  the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors: We will release health information to a coroner or medical examiner in the case of certain types of death, and we must disclose health records upon the request of the coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to determine the cause of death. Other disclosures from your health record will require the consent of a surviving spouse, parent, person appointed by you writing or your legally authorized representative.
National Security and Intelligence Activities: We will release medical information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counter-intelligence, and other national security activities only as required by law or with your written consent.
Protective Services for the President and Others: We will disclose health information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons, or foreign heads of state, or conduct special investigations only as required by law or with your written consent.
Inmates: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we will release health information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official only as permitted by law or with your written consent.

Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records:

The confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records maintained by Birch Counseling is protected by Federal law and regulations.
Generally, we may not acknowledge that an individual is receiving treatment for substance use disorder or disclose information identifying a patient as having or having had a substance use disorder, unless:

The patient consents in writing;
The disclosure is allowed by a court order; or
The disclosure is made to medical personnel in a medical emergency or to qualified personnel for research, audit, or program evaluation.

Federal law and regulations do not protect any information about a crime committed by a patient either at Birch Counseling or against any person who works for Birch Counseling or about any threat to commit such a crime.
Federal laws and regulations do not protect any information about suspected child abuse or neglect from being reported under State law to appropriate State or local authorities.
Violation of the Federal law and regulations by Birch Counseling or any other program subject to 42 C.F.R part 2 is a crime. Suspected violations may be reported to the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota:
U.S. Attorney, District of Minnesota U.S. Courthouse
300 S 4th Street, Suite 600 Minneapolis, MN 55415
(612) 664-5600
(See 42 U.S.C. 290dd-3 and 42 U.S.C. 290ee-3 for Federal laws and 42 CFR part 2 for Federal regulations.)
You have the following rights regarding medical information we maintain about you:

Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and receive a copy of your medical information that is used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records maintained by Birch Counseling.

If you wish to inspect and copy medical information, you must submit your request in writing to Birch Counseling, LLC, attention: Christa Surerus, 32 10th Ave S, #212, Hopkins, MN 55343. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a reasonable fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies associated with your request, to the extent permitted by state and federal law. If we maintain your health information electronically as part of a designated record set, you have the right to receive a copy of your health information in electronic format upon your request. You may also direct us to transmit your health information (whether in hard copy or electronic form) directly to an entity or person clearly and specifically designated by you in writing.

We may deny your request to inspect and copy your information in certain very limited circumstances. For example, we may deny access if your treatment provider believes it will be harmful to your health, or could cause a threat to others. In these cases, we may supply the information to a third party who may release the information to you. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by Birch Counseling will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.

Right to Request Amendment: If you believe that health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to change the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for Birch Counseling.

To request a change to your information, your request must be made in writing and submitted to Birch Counseling, LLC, 32 10th Ave S, #212, Hopkins, MN 55343. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request.

Birch Counseling may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:

Was not created by Birch Counseling unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment; To request this list of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to Birch Counseling, LLC, 32 10th Ave S, #212, Hopkins, MN 55343.Your request must state a time period for which you would like the accounting. The accounting period may not go back further than six years from the date of the request, and it may not include dates before April 14, 2003. You may receive one free accounting in any 12-month period. We will charge you for additional requests.
Is not part of the health information kept by or for Birch Counseling;
Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
Is accurate and complete.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an “accounting of disclosures.” This is a list of the disclosures we made of medical information about you. This list will not include disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations; disclosures that you have authorized or that have been made to you; disclosures for national security or intelligence purposes; disclosures to correctional institutions or law enforcement with custody of you; disclosures that took place before April 14, 2003; and certain other disclosures.

To request this list of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to Birch Counseling, LLC, 32 10th Ave S, #212, Hopkins, MN 55343.Your request must state a time period for which you would like the accounting. The accounting period may not go back further than six years from the date of the request, and it may not include dates before April 14, 2003. You may receive one free accounting in any 12-month period. We will charge you for additional requests.

Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you. If you pay out-of-pocket in full for an item or service, then you may request that we not disclose information pertaining solely to such item or service to your health plan for purposes of payment or health care operations. We are required to agree with such a request, unless you request a restriction on the information we disclose to a health maintenance organization (“HMO”) and the law prohibits us from accepting payment from you above the cost-sharing amount for the item or service that is the subject of the requested restriction. However, we are not required to agree to any other request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment or you request that we remove the restriction.

To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to Birch Counseling, LLC, 32 10th Ave S, #212, Hopkins, MN 55343. In your request, you must tell us (1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure, or both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply.

Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you only at work or only by mail.

To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to Birch Counseling, LLC, 32 10th Ave S, #212, Hopkins, MN 55343. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted, and we may require you to provide information about how payment will be handled.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You have the right to receive a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice any time.

Changes to This Notice

The effective date of this notice is April 14, 2003, and it has been updated effective September 23, 2013. We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you, as well as any information we receive in the future. If the terms of this notice are changed, Birch Counseling will provide you with a revised notice upon request, and we will post the revised notice in designated locations at Birch Counseling.

Complaints or Questions

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Birch Counseling, or to ask a question about this Notice, contact the business principal, Christa Surerus, 612-296-0152. All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

Other Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information

We are required to obtain a written authorization from you for most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, uses and disclosures of protected health information for marketing purposes and disclosures that constitute a sale of protected health information. Except as described in this Notice, Birch Counseling will not use or disclose your protected health information without a specific written authorization from you. If you provide us with this written authorization to use or disclose medical information about you, you may revoke that authorization, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or

disclose medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization, except to the extent we have already relied on your authorization. We are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.