Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective: August 26, 2024
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
This notice will tell you how we may use and disclose protected health information about you. Protected health information means any health information about you that identifies you or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe the information can be used to identify you. In this notice, we call all of that protected health information, “medical information.”
This notice also will tell you about your rights and our duties with respect to medical information about you. In addition, it will tell you how to complain to us if you believe we have violated your privacy rights.
How We May Use and Disclose Medical Information About You
FOR TREATMENT: When you receive healthcare services from hospitals or providers, we will use and disclose your protected health information to take care of you, and to coordinate or manage your healthcare and related services in our programs or with a third party. For example, we may share your protected health information with a laboratory or imaging center, with a specialist who needs information to properly treat you, or with a home health agency that provides care to you. We may share information with persons involved in your care unless you object.
For Payment: We may use and share your health information to bill and receive payment for services provided to you. We may share information with your insurance company to obtain pre-approval for equipment (such as a wheelchair), hospital stays, surgical procedure or other healthcare need.
For Our Healthcare or Business Operations: We may use or disclose your protected health information to review the care we provided you, for education and training, or for legal, accounting or payment matters. We may share information with others who help us do our work and who promise to follow the law and keep your information confidential, including those who help us process MaineCare claims or provide us with business reports we need.
HealthInfoNet: Maine has a statewide health information exchange called HealthInfoNet that is able to receive certain limited health information from MaineCare and our facilities. If your information is included, you have the right to “opt out” if you choose. Mental health and HIV treatment data will never be included unless you ask to “opt in.” More information is available from your provider or program.
Using Protected Health Information for other Purposes
Psychotherapy Notes: If you are a patient of our Outpatient Counseling services, your authorization is required before we may use or disclose psychotherapy notes unless the use or disclosure is: (a) by the originator of the psychotherapy notes for treatment; (b) for our own training programs for students, trainees, or practitioners in mental health; (c) to define ourselves in a legal action or other proceeding brought by you; (d) when required by law; or, (e) permitted by law for oversight of the originator of the psychotherapy notes.
Marketing: Waypoint will obtain your written authorization prior to using your photos for media related content such a Facebook posts, videos about Waypoint’s programs and services and/or fundraising events. Additionally, we will not share your phone number with third parties for any reason, including text message communications.
Health Information Potentially Related to Reproductive Health Care:
When Waypoint receives a request for PHI potentially related to reproductive health care, it must obtain a signed attestation that clearly states the requested use or disclosure is not for the prohibited purposes described below, where the request is for PHI for any of the following purposes:
- Health oversight activities
- Judicial or administrative proceedings
- Law enforcement
- Regarding decedents, disclosures to coroners and medical examiners
Prohibited Purposes: Waypoint and its business associates may not use or disclose PHI for the following purposes:
(1) To conduct a criminal, civil, or administrative investigation into any person for the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating lawful reproductive health care.
(2) To impose criminal, civil, or administrative liability on any person for the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating lawful reproductive health care.
(3) To identify any person for any purpose described in (1) or (2)
The prohibition applies when the reproductive health care at issue (1) is lawful under the law of the state in which such health care is provided under the circumstances in which it is provided, (2) is protected, required, or authorized by Federal law, including the United States Constitution, under the circumstances in which such health care is provided, regardless of the state in which it is provided, or (3) is provided by another person and presumed lawful. Any requests for the above must be made to the HIPAA Privacy Officer, Cynthia Caron via email at ccaron@waypointmaine.org.
Other Uses and Disclosures
Other uses and disclosures will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke such an authorization at any time by notifying the Privacy Officer, Cynthia Caron at 5 Dunaway Drive, Sanford Maine 04073 in writing of your desire to revoke it. However, if you revoke such an authorization, it will not have any effect on actions taken by us in reliance on it.
Your Rights With Respect to Medical Information About You
You have the right to access your information. You must ask us in writing and agree to be responsible for a reasonable fee before we provide you with your copy. You may request your that your record be provided in an electronic format or paper. You may also ask us to transmit your record to a specific person or entity via email if a) you provide the email address in writing and b) sign a statement that you fully understand that email comes with inherent risks that we cannot prevent and for which our agency is not responsible. Under certain circumstances, we may not allow you to see certain parts of your record. You may ask that this decision be reviewed by another licensed professional.
You have the right to ask us to contact you in a way and in a place that you believe will keep your information private, for example, to contact you at a different address, telephone number, or email address.
You have the right to request a restriction of your protected health information. This means you may ask us not to use or disclose all or part of your protected health information for the purpose of treatment, payment or healthcare operations. We will consider your request carefully, and may honor reasonable requests where possible. We are not required to honor all requests.
You may also ask that any part of your protected health information not be disclosed to family members or friends who may be involved in your care or for notification purposes as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices. Your request must tell us the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply.
You have the right to receive notifications. This essentially means you may receive a listing of certain uses or disclosures made for other than treatment, payment or business operations, and which you have not received or authorized, such as where we have shared information for public health purposes.
You may ask us to amend your record. While we cannot erase your record, we will add your written statement to your protected health information to correct or clarify the record. We may provide a response to the new correction, which will also be provided to you.
Breach Notification. We are required to have safeguards in place that protect your health information. In the event there is a breach of those protections, we will notify you, government officials, and others, as the law requires.
Complaints. If you feel your privacy rights have been violated, you may make a complaint to the Privacy Officer at Waypoint Maine, Inc. at (207) 324-7955 or by emailing: ccaron@waypointmaine.org. You may also contact the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services (800) 262-2232 or online at: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/index.html
You have a right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices, even if you have received this Notice electronically.
We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice but will comply with the Notice that is in effect. We will post the current notice on our website and in our programs and provide you with the newest notice as the law requires. This updated notice is effective as of August 26, 2024.
