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HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

This notice describes how medical and mental health information about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully. The privacy of your protected health information is an essential component of professional clinical practice, and this document outlines your legal rights under federal and state law.

Who This Notice Covers

This notice governs all health data practices conducted within Rebecca S. de Vries, Ph.D., LLC. As an independent solo private practice, all administrative, technical, and clinical data operations are managed exclusively by me. This notice applies to all protected health information generated, received, transmitted, or maintained during the course of your individual outpatient telehealth psychotherapy care within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

What Protected Health Information Means

Protected Health Information (PHI) encompasses any individually identifiable information created or received by this practice that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition. This includes documentation of your clinical symptoms, diagnoses, treatment plans, progress logs, telehealth session metadata, and any associated financial billing records, insurance claim files, or identity verification data stored within our secure platforms.

Psychotherapy Notes

Psychotherapy notes are a specific category of clinical documentation that are recorded separately from the rest of your medical record. These notes capture the specific contents of our conversational interactions during a session and receive an elevated layer of protection under federal law. Except for limited exceptions required by law, this practice cannot disclose or release your psychotherapy notes to any third party, including your insurance provider, without your explicit, written authorization.

Your Rights Regarding Protected Health Information

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), you possess specific, actionable rights regarding the management of your personal health data:
  • Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to review and obtain an electronic copy of your clinical and billing records contained within your active client file.
  • Right to Amend: If you believe that the demographic or historical information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may submit a formal request to append a clarifying statement.
  • Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request a listed accounting of any instances where this practice has disclosed your PHI for purposes other than standard treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.
  • Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request that the practice limit how your PHI is used or shared. If you choose to pay for a service entirely out-of-pocket, the practice must honor your request to withhold that data from your health insurer.
  • Right to Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that I communicate with you using specific methods, such as calling a specific phone number or routing messages through a designated secure portal interface.

Your Choices About Certain Disclosures

For certain health data practices, you have the right to direct, control, or restrict how your information is shared. This practice does not engage in marketing activities, sell your personal information, or compile fundraising data. Your explicit, written authorization is mandatory before any clinical records can be shared with external third parties, family members, legal representatives, or professional colleagues outside of coordinated emergency scenarios.

How Protected Health Information May Be Used or Disclosed

This practice utilizes and shares your standard Protected Health Information without your explicit written consent only for three core operational requirements:
  • For Treatment: I use your clinical records to direct and document your ongoing psychotherapy care, monitoring your therapeutic progress and evaluating your clinical safety.
  • For Payment: I transmit your PHI electronically to your designated health insurance provider to file itemized claims, verify network coverage rules, and process payments for services delivered.
  • For Healthcare Operations: I utilize your administrative information to manage essential solo business logistics, conduct required technological security audits, and maintain regulatory compliance.

Uses and Disclosures Required or Permitted by Law

Under specific, narrow statutory circumstances defined by federal and state law, this practice is legally mandated or permitted to disclose your PHI without your prior consent:
  • Public Safety and Duty to Protect: If a client communicates an imminent, serious threat of violence against themselves or an identifiable third party, disclosure is required to ensure immediate safety.
  • Abuse and Neglect Reporting: If there is reasonable cause to suspect that a minor child, elderly individual, or vulnerable dependent adult is experiencing active abuse, abandonment, or neglect, a formal protective report must be filed.
  • Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: If a court of competent jurisdiction issues a lawful judicial order or subpoena signed by a judge, the practice must comply with the specified disclosure rules.

Our Responsibilities

This practice is legally required by federal law to maintain the strict privacy and security of your protected health information. I am required to provide you with this detailed notice outlining my legal duties, and I must strictly adhere to the terms currently in effect. In the highly unlikely event that a technical security failure occurs and your unencrypted health data is compromised, this practice is mandated to issue a formal breach notification to you within statutory timelines.

Changes to This Notice

The terms of this privacy notice may be updated to reflect changing federal healthcare regulations or shifting practice operations. This practice reserves the right to modify these privacy terms, and any structural revisions will automatically apply to all protected health information currently maintained. If a material policy update is implemented, the revised text will be published promptly on this page and made available through your secure portal dashboard.

Questions or Privacy Requests

If you wish to exercise any of your legal data rights, submit a formal record request, or clarify any of the privacy protocols detailed in this document, please contact me directly by calling (724) 816-7771 or sending a secure message through your dashboard. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to file a formal complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.