Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can gain access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Lakeland Mental Health Center is required by applicable federal and state law to protect the privacy of your information and to notify you of our privacy practices. We are required to abide by the terms of the Privacy Notice currently in effect. Lakeland Mental Health Center reserves the right to change the terms of the notice, to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information maintained, and to provide individuals with a revised notice.

LMHC is permitted to make uses and disclosures of protected health information in the following examples:

Treatment
• To evaluate your need for care
• To plan the types of care that will most help you

Healthcare Operations
• To fulfill state, federal, and local requirements for reports, statistics and internal reviews
• To provide you with appointment reminders

All personal information about you or the services provided to you, is confidential unless you, or your legally authorized representative, give us written permission for release of your records.

There are certain exceptions to this which are mandated by State and Federal laws. One exception would be the admission of child or vulnerable adult abuse, which therapists are required by law to report even if the information was received in confidence.

Additional exceptions would include threats of suicide and/or self harm, or threats of bodily harm to another person.

Your records will be available to the court if you are evaluated by County or District Court Order. If you are involved in any other court action, your records may be subpoenaed. By law, if your records are involved in any investigative action, information about you may be exchanged with the Commissioner of Human Services.

You may see all data about you unless it was developed under a Court Order, or for Social Security, or if a therapist believes that the data may be harmful to you or others. You may have the information explained to you and have corrected any information you believe is incorrect and the Center finds to be incorrect. If you consider incorrect any information that the Center finds to be correct, you may still attach your own explanation.

If you are a minor (under 18 years of age), you have the right to request that data about you be kept from your parents. This request must be in writing and both explain the reasons for withholding data from your parents and show that you understand the consequences of doing so. In a few cases, the law permits us to withhold data from your parents without a request from you if the data concerns the treatment of drug abuse or venereal disease, or if you are married.

At the age of 18, the record becomes the property of the person on whom the data was gathered.

You have the right to request an accounting of the disclosures we have made of your protected health information after April 14, 2003 for purposes other than treatment, payment, health care operations, or as authorized by you or your legally authorized representative. The right to receive an accounting is subject to certain other exceptions, restrictions and limitations.

If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with our designated Privacy Officer. You may also submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the information to file a complaint with either entity upon request.

We support your right to the privacy of your health information. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint.