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

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Mind, by Mike Mental Health PLLC (”we”, “us”, or “our”) provides a broad range of psychiatric and mental health services.

When you receive care with us, we will create a patient record, which can be paper, electronic, or both. The patient record has information about your medical and/or mental health history and status, your treatments, and your progress. It may also contain sensitive information.

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A. PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE. We are committed to preserving the privacy of your health information. As a provider of mental health services, we comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and all applicable federal and state privacy laws. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information and Protected Health Information (PHI). By accessing our services, you acknowledge and agree to this Privacy Policy.

B. INFORMATION WE COLLECT. Information we collect may be as follows:

1. Personal Information: This includes your name, contact details (such as phone number, email address, and mailing address), date of birth, and emergency contact information.

2. Protected Health Information (PHI): This encompasses your medical and mental health history, treatment notes, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, and other sensitive health-related information essential for delivering effective care.

3. Payment Information: We may collect credit card or other financial details strictly for billing and payment processing purposes.

4. Website Usage Data: To enhance user experience and website functionality, we may collect information about your interactions with our website, including your IP address, browser type, and pages visited. We also use Google Ads to understand how users interact with our site, this data is collected in an aggregated, anonymous manner and does not contain Protected Health Information (PHI). We do not track individual user health data, nor do we use retargeting or remarketing tools that could compromise privacy.

C. HOW WE MAY USE YOUR INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT. We disclose your PHI only in accordance with HIPAA regulations and with the utmost respect for your privacy. For each of those categories, we explain what we mean. Not every use or disclosure will be noted and there may be incidental disclosures that are a byproduct of the listed uses and disclosures. We may use your information without your consent for the following:

1. Treat you. We can use your health information to provide you with medical treatment and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example: A doctor treating you may ask your primary care physician about your overall health condition.

2. Run our organization. We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary. We can use health information to monitor the quality of our care to and to make improvements. Example: We may use health information about you to monitor the success of your treatment and services.

3.  Communicate with You. We use your contact information to send appointment reminders, health-related updates, and important information about our services.

4. Bill for your services. We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from you or other entities. Example: If we begin accepting insurance reimbursements and/or charging your debit and/or credit card on file, we may give information about you to the insurance company.

D. OTHER PERMITTED USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEATLH CARE INFORMATION. We may use or disclose your health information without your permission in the following circumstances, subject to all applicable legal requirements and limitations:

1. Comply with the law. We will share information about you if local, state, or federal laws require it, including but not limited to with the Department of Health and Human Services.

2. Respond to Lawsuits and Legal Actions. We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

3. Legal and Safety Reasons: We may disclose PHI if required by law or if it is necessary to prevent a serious threat to health or safety. Public Health Activities. For public health reasons in order to prevent or control disease, injury or disability; or to report births, deaths, suspected abuse or neglect, nonaccidental physical injuries, reactions to medications, school immunizations under certain circumstances or problems with products.

4. Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence. To a government authority authorized by law to receive reports of abuse, neglect or domestic violence when we reasonably believe you are the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence and other criteria are met.

5. Health Oversight Activities. To a health oversight agency for audits, investigations, inspections, licensing purposes, or as necessary for certain government agencies to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.

6. Law Enforcement. To a law enforcement official for law enforcement purposes as required by law; in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process; for identification and location purposes if requested; to respond to a request for information on an actual or suspected crime victim; to report a crime in an emergency; to report a crime with our staff; or to report a death if the death is suspected to be the result of criminal conduct.

7. Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. To a coroner or medical examiner, (as necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death) or to a funeral director, as necessary to allow him/her to carry out his/her activities.

8. Organ and Tissue Donation. To organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation, or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate a donation and transplantation.

9. Research. For research purposes under certain limited circumstances. Research projects are subject to a special approval process. Therefore, we will not use or disclose your health information for research purposes until the particular research project, for which your health information may be used or disclosed, has been approved through this special approval process.

10. Serious Threat to Health or Safety; Disaster Relief. To appropriate individual(s)/organization(s) when necessary (i) to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or that of the public or another person, or (ii) to notify your family members or persons responsible for you in a disaster relief effort.

11. Military. To appropriate domestic or foreign military authority to assure proper execution of a military mission, if required criteria are met.

12. National Security; Intelligence Activities; Protective Service. To federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law, including activities related to the protection of the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state, or related to the conduct of special investigations.

13. Inmates. To a correctional institution (if you are an inmate) or a law enforcement official (if you are in that person’s custody) as necessary (a) to provide you with health care; (b) to protect your or others’ health and safety; or (c) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.

14. Workers’ Compensation. As necessary to comply with laws relating to workers’ compensation or similar work-related injury program.

D. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES.

1. We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

2. We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

3. We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it upon request.

4. We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. You will need to let us know in writing if you change your mind.

E. YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION. You have certain rights regarding your health information which we list below. In each of these cases, if you want to exercise your rights, you must do so in writing by submitting a request to us.

1. Right to Inspect and receive a copy of your medical record. With some exceptions, you have the right to inspect and get a copy of the health information that we use to make decisions about your care. For the portion of your health record maintained in our electronic health record, you may request that we provide that information to or for you in an electronic format.

2.  Right to Amend your medical record. You have the right to amend your health information maintained by or for or used by us to make decisions about you. We will require that you provide a reason for the request, and we may deny your request for an amendment if the request is not properly submitted, or if it asks us to amend information that (a) we did not create (unless the source of the information is no longer available to make the amendment); (b) is not part of the health information that we keep; (c) is of a type that you would not be permitted to inspect and copy; or (d) is already accurate and complete. If we deny your request, we will tell you why in writing within sixty (60) days.

3. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why. We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

4. Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you (a) for treatment, payment, or health care operations, (b) to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for it, such as a family member or friend, (c) If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

5. Right to Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about health matters in a certain way or at a certain place. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

6. Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice, whether or not you may have previously agreed to receive the Notice electronically.

7. Right to file a complaint. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or directly with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. or by filing a complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights located at 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington D.C. 20201, calling HHS at (877) 696-6775, or by visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

F. BREACH NOTIFICATION. You have the right to be notified if there is a breach – a compromise to the security or privacy of your health information – due to your health information being unsecured. We are required to notify you within sixty (60) days of discovery of a breach.

G. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY. We reserve the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time to ensure compliance with applicable laws and best practices. Updates will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. We will notify you of significant changes that affect your rights or privacy.