HIPAA Privacy Rule

Balanced Living Occupational Therapy, PLLC is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your health information in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This notice explains how we use, disclose, and safeguard your protected health information (PHI) and informs you of your rights regarding your medical records.

Protected health information (PHI) includes any individually identifiable health information such as your name, address, birth date, contact details, medical history, diagnoses, treatment plans, therapy notes, insurance and billing information, or any other information that identifies you and relates to your health.

We may use or share your PHI for specific purposes. For treatment, we use your PHI to provide, coordinate, and manage your care, including sharing necessary information with other healthcare providers involved in your treatment. For payment, your PHI may be used to process payments for services provided, including billing you directly or providing a superbill for reimbursement from your insurance. For healthcare operations, we may use PHI for administrative purposes, such as quality improvement, staff training, accreditation, and ensuring compliance with regulations.

There are legal and compliance requirements that may necessitate disclosure of your PHI. We may disclose PHI if required by law, such as in cases of public health concerns, abuse, neglect, or domestic violence reporting, law enforcement requests, or court orders and subpoenas. For any other purpose outside of treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, we will obtain your written authorization before using or sharing your PHI. You may revoke this authorization at any time in writing.

You have several rights regarding your PHI. You have the right to access and obtain copies of your medical records upon written request, though fees may apply for copies. You have the right to amend your records if you believe any of your health information is incorrect or incomplete. You have the right to request confidential communications and specify how you wish to be contacted, and we will accommodate reasonable requests. You also have the right to restrict disclosures of your PHI, though we are not always required to agree to such requests. Additionally, you have the right to request an accounting of disclosures, which provides a list of instances where your PHI has been disclosed for non-routine purposes.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to file a complaint with us or directly with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. To file a complaint with HHS, you can visit www.hhs.gov/hipaa, call 1-800-368-1019, or send a written complaint to the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201.

We take security seriously and implement strict measures to protect your PHI. We use SimplePractice, a HIPAA-compliant electronic medical records system, to securely store client data. Any electronic communications involving PHI are encrypted when necessary. Only authorized personnel have access to your PHI, and we follow strict security protocols to safeguard your information.

We may update this policy from time to time. The most current version will always be available on our website or upon request.

If you have any questions, concerns, or wish to exercise your HIPAA rights, you may contact Balanced Living Occupational Therapy, PLLC at jaycee@balancedlivingot.com. 

Last Updated: 3/13/25.