HIPAA & Data Privacy Policy

At ABC Psychiatric Consultant, we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal and health information. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

1. Our Obligations Under HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires us to:

• Maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information (PHI).
• Provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI.
• Abide by the terms of this notice.
• Notify you if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

2. How We May Use and Disclose Your PHI

We may use and disclose your PHI for the following purposes without your written authorization:

• Treatment: We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.
• Payment: We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.
• Health Care Operations: We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary (e.g., appointment reminders).
• As Required by Law: We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it.

3. Data Security on Our Patient Portal

We employ strict security measures to protect the data you submit through our website:

• Encryption: All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using industry-standard TLS. Your data is also encrypted at rest.
• Secure File Uploads: Access to our patient upload portal requires secure verification, including a unique, one-time token and your Date of Birth.
• Access Controls: Only authorized administrative personnel can access the electronic health information collected through our website. Our systems require multi-factor authentication (MFA).
• Monitoring & Auditing: We continually monitor our systems for unauthorized access or suspicious activity.

4. Your Rights Regarding Your PHI

You have the following rights regarding the health information we maintain about you:

• Right to Inspect and Copy: You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you.
• Right to Amend: You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete.
• Right to Request Confidential Communications: You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
• Right to Request Restrictions: You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request.
• Right to a Copy of This Notice: You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time.

5. Changes to This Notice

We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site.

6. Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact us: