Notice of Privacy Practices at MHA - HIPAA

The mission of MHA is to promote mental health recovery and wellness in Westchester County through advocacy, community education and direct services. We are committed to ensuring  that all individuals who receive services at MHA are treated with respect and that we comply with regulations regarding confidentiality and privacy of protected health information. If you have any questions or issues regarding our privacy practices, please contact MHA’s Privacy Officer, Courtney Beach, at 914-847-6178.

Protected Health Information (PHI) 

The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) has several provisions, including protection of individuals’ health care information.  The HIPAA Privacy rule protects individuals’ health information from inappropriate use or disclosure.  It does so by prohibiting health care providers and others from sharing protected health information with other businesses or organizations, except with signed authorization or if needed for the purpose of treatment, payment or health care operations.

Protected Health Information (PHI) refers to individually identifiable information relating to the past, present or future physical or mental health condition of an individual, the provision of health care to an individual, or the past, present or future payment for health care provided to an individual.

Under HIPAA, MHA, like other provider organizations, is required to maintain the privacy of medical information of people to whom it provides services.  Individuals who receive services at MHA receive a written notice of our privacy practices and legal responsibilities.  HIPAA addresses, among other topics, the protection of medical records, health care claims and payments, benefit enrollments and dis-enrollments, and other individually identifiable health information held or disclosed by health plans, health care clearing houses and health care providers that transmit PHI electronically.

Your Rights

HIPAA’s Privacy Rule establishes basic rights for consumers, including:

• the right to receive a Notice of Privacy Practice from providers and health plans

• the right to examine and obtain a copy of their own health record and request amendment or correction of protected health information that is inaccurate or incomplete

• the right to receive an accounting of the instances where their protected health information was disclosed for purposes other than treatment, payment or health care operations, or if signed patient consent was required in order to make the disclosure

Complaints

If you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your protected health information or in response to a request you made to amend or restrict the use or disclosure of your protected health information or to have us communicate with you in confidence by alternative means or at an alternative location, you may contact us. If you would like to file a complaint, please contact MHA's Privacy Officer, Courtney Beach, at 914-847-6178.

If you feel that your complaint has not been sufficiently resolved, you may also contact:

Office of Civil Rights, US Department of Health and Human Services
e-mail at: OCRPrivacy@hhs.gov
obtain answers to frequently asked questions at:http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/faq/index.html

If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy rights at MHA, please contact:

Courtney Beach
Chief Innovation Officer
The Mental Health Association of Westchester
580 White Plains Rd, Suite 510
Tarrytown NY, 10591
914-847-6178
beachc@mhawestchester.org

For further information please visit the New York State Office of Mental Health web site, from which information on this page has been adapted. Relevant pages include:

http://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/hipaa/

http://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/hipaa/consumers/requirements/needtoknow.htm

http://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/hipaa/consumers/privacy/needtoknow.htm

Your Privacy On This Site

The Mental Health Association of Westchester County, Inc. (MHA of Westchester) understands and respects your desire for confidentiality regarding information about personal health and wellness.

The purpose of this website is to provide you with access to information and services related to mental health and mental illnesses. MHA of Westchester is committed to protecting the rights of all visitors to our site.

MHA of Westchester does not utilize “cookies” and does not collect any personal information on individual visitors.

MHA only gathers certain usage information like the number or frequency of visitors, the “search term” used to locate information in our site, the Internet Protocol for the Internet Service Provider you used to access the Internet and the URL of the page you were visiting when you were referred to our site. This data is used only in an aggregate form and solely by MHA to improve our site for you and future users. This information is never disclosed to any outside organization.

If you decide to contact us by e-mail, we will maintain the highest professional standards of confidentiality permitted by law. Any information you decide to provide to us, including your e-mail address, will be used solely by MHA to respond to you. No information will be provided to any other organizations or vendor unless required by law.

Throughout our site you may be given addresses and links to other sites we believe can provide additional information and assistance. Please be aware that each site has its own standards for privacy and we encourage you to review THEM to learn how they may affect you.

More information about using the Internet as a resource for mental health information may be found in the guide "Mental Health Resources on the Web for Families." If your computer has Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may link to the guide directly at http://www.rfmh.org/nki/mhguide.pdf.

If you have comments, questions or concerns about our privacy policy, please call us at (914) 345-0700 or e-mail us at help@mhawestchester.org.