Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY. CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY.

Lifescape Recovery strives to protect the privacy, security, integrity, and availability of all protected health information created, received, maintained, or transmitted on the premises. It is the policy of Lifescape Recovery that all clients, visitors, staff, consultants, independent contractors, or any other person visiting or participating in the program, strictly abide by and adhere to the rules and regulations pertaining to the safeguarding of the confidentiality of clients and any information related to such. Confidentiality of both verbal and written communications must be maintained at all times.

The following information is provided to assist you in your experience at Lifescape Recovery.

Treatment is a privileged and private relationship between a clinician and an individual, group, or family.

We work as a team at Lifescape Recovery. There may be times when it is necessary for us to consult with other staff either at our clinical team meetings or individually in an effort to provide you with the highest level of care and quality.

Information will never be released from Lifescape Recovery regarding your treatment experience without your expressed written consent. If you wish for information to be released to anyone, you will need to complete a Release of Information form, identifying the individual or organization receiving this information.

Some laws stipulate that in the event of imminent danger to yourself or others, we must breach confidentiality. We must also act in accordance with state laws regarding mandatory disclosure of child, elder, or other abuse.

All disclosures must be reviewed to ensure authorization has been completely filled out and signed by the client. The authorization must permit relevant information to be released for a specified purpose and must not be expired. Staff must check the client’s file before the information is sent to ensure no written revocation of authorization has been signed.

Any letter or other document leaving the facility which contains client PHI must carry the following “written notice of prohibition on re-disclosure” required by federal law if the information is being released pursuant to an authorization:

This information has been disclosed to you from records protected by Federal Confidentiality Rules (42 CFR Part 2). The Federal rules prohibit you from making any further disclosure of this information unless further disclosure is expressly permitted by the written consent of the person to whom it pertains or as otherwise permitted by 42 CFR Part 2. A general authorization for the release of medical or other information is NOT sufficient for this purpose. The Federal rules restrict any use of the information to criminally investigate or prosecute any alcohol or drug abuse client.

The staff of Lifescape Recovery may disclose information within the organization for the purposes of:

• Treatment
• Operations
• Billing

The staff of Lifescape Recovery may disclose information outside of the organization for the purposes of:

• Medical emergency
• Consent (specific consent in writing from the client)
• Funding/licensing and/or monitoring agency for audit or evaluation purposes at the facility; provided the auditor signs a statement of release or assurance of confidentiality
• To report a crime that occurred on program premises or against program personnel
• When reporting information pertaining to an alleged child abuser or neglect or, when fulfilling mandated child abuse reporting requirements
• To a business contact who has signed a Qualified Service Organization/Business Associate Agreement as permitted by the procedure
• Disclosure is authorized by appropriate court order as defined in the federal regulations (not a subpoena or warrant)
• For research purposes, through the use of a Limited Data Set as defined in HIPAA

Any third-party request for PHI must be in writing and on official letterhead from an agency, organization, or business and must be signed by the person making the request or an authorized representative of that agency. Lifescape Recovery staff must ensure any disclosure in response to the request would not violate this policy. If the validity of disclosure is in question it should be directed to the Clinical Director.

Notice of Privacy Practices

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

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our organizational responsibilities.

Receiving Medical Records

Lifescape Recovery will provide you with copies of any of the medical records you request. You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you.

We will provide a copy of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Corrections to Your Medical Record

You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete.

We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

All changes will be approved by the Clinical Director.

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.

All changes will be approved by the Clinical Director.

Limit What is Shared

If you pay for a service out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer.

Unless a law requires us to share that information we will oblige.

Get a List of Those with Whom We Have Shared Information

You can ask for an accounting of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.

We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically.

Choose Someone to Act for You

If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.

We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

File a Complaint

You may file a complaint if you feel the organization has violated your privacy rights at any time via phone call or this website.

You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, please let us know.

Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions as best we can.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care

Share information in a disaster relief situation

We may share your information when needed to lessen a serious or imminent threat to your health or safety. If you are unable to tell us your preference we may proceed by sharing your information if we believe it is in your best interest.

In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information

Our Uses and Disclosures

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.

For Treatment

We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.

For Operations

We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.

For Billing

We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways. We are required to meet strict conditions legally before we can share your information for these purposes.

Public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

Preventing disease

Helping with product recalls

Reporting adverse reactions to medications

Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence

Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Research

We can use or share your information for health research.

Comply with the law

We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

Respond to organ and tissue donation requests

We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.

Work with a medical examiner or funeral director

We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests

We can use or share health information about you:

• For workers’ compensation claims
• For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
• With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
• For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

Organizational Responsibilities

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.

We will not use or share your information other than as described unless you tell us so in writing.

For more information see:

www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the Terms of This Notice

We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice. Changes will apply to all information we have about you. A new notice will be available upon request and on our website.

Lifescape Recovery obtains most Protected Health Information (PHI) directly from clients; through care applications, assessments, and direct questions. We may collect additional personal information depending upon the nature of your needs and consent to make additional referrals and inquiries. We may also obtain PHI from community health care agencies, other governmental agencies, or health care providers as we set up your service arrangements.

Lifescape Recovery is required by law to provide you with this notice and to abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect. Lifescape Recovery reserves the right to amend this Notice at any time to reflect changes in our privacy practices. Any such changes will be applicable to and effective for all PHI that we maintain including PHI we created or received prior to the effective date of the revised notice. Any revised notice will be provided upon request.

Lifescape Recovery is required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI. Lifescape Recovery will comply with federal law and will comply with any state law that further limits or restricts the uses and disclosures discussed below. In order to comply with these state and federal laws, Lifescape Recovery has adopted policies and procedures that require its employees to obtain, maintain, use and disclose PHI in a manner that protects patient privacy.

Lifescape Recovery will not use or disclose your PHI without your written authorization with the exception of emergency situations. The authorization form is available from Lifescape Recovery. You have the right to revoke your authorization at any time, except to the extent that Lifescape Recovery has taken action in reliance on the authorization.

ANTI-KICKBACK POLICY

The purpose of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute is to prevent companies such as Lifescape Recovery from encouraging customers, directly or indirectly, to recommend, prescribe, or purchase Lifescape Recovery services based on a financial incentive or “kickback” rather than sound medical and business judgment.

The Anti-Kickback Statute generally makes it illegal to directly or indirectly offer or pay any “remuneration” to any entity (including vendors, customers, and potential customers) to induce that entity to recommend, prescribe, or purchase Lifescape Recovery services when those services are being paid for by the federal government. “Remuneration” can be anything of value, such as discounts, rebates, grants, vouchers, cash, gifts, services, coupons, lottery tickets, trips, or free products. The government may view remuneration as a kickback even if one among many other appropriate reasons you provided it was to encourage your customer to utilize Lifescape Recovery services. Similarly, the Anti-Kickback Statute generally makes it illegal for Lifescape Recovery customers and vendors to accept any improper remuneration in exchange for prescribing or influencing Lifescape Recovery services. Thus, there is a common interest between Lifescape Recovery and those individuals and entities with whom we do business to avoid an arrangement that might appear to be a “kickback.”

“Safe Harbors”

Not all discounts, grants, and gifts are illegal. The government has established “safe harbors” to protect certain conduct. If a company fully complies with a safe harbor, it will not be liable under the Anti-Kickback Statute. For example, the Personal Services Safe Harbor allows Lifescape Recovery to enter into contracts with healthcare professionals for services such as speaking engagements, consultancies, and advisory boards. It is important to note that this safe harbor requires that the services be bona fide, that any fees paid for such services represent the fair market value for such services, and that an agreement is set out in writing signed by both parties. Further, a safe harbor also exists for bona fide employees. The specifics of these safe harbors are extremely complex. For this reason, all arrangements with possible anti-kickback risk must be approved by the Director of Compliance.

Penalties

It is a felony to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Violators may be fined substantial penalties for violations, and may also face probation (for organizations) or prison (for individuals). Additionally, violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute may result in exclusion from the federal healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Likewise, there are state-based anti-kickback statues under which Lifescape Recovery could face penalties for activities deemed to be kickbacks.

Gifts, Meals, and Entertainment

It is never appropriate to provide a gift, meal, or entertainment in order to encourage a customer or prospective customer to purchase or obtain Lifescape Recovery services or to be a source of referrals for Lifescape Recovery. Lifescape Recovery employees or sales representatives may not give gifts, provide meals, or entertainment to a prospective customer, current customer, relative, or close associate of the customer unless they have been approved by the Director of Compliance and are:

• Offered only occasionally

• Are nominal in value

• Are not price terms or in place of a price concession

Non-Lifescape Recovery funds may never be used to provide gifts, meals, or entertainment to a prospective customer, relative, or close associate of the customer.

Charitable Contributions

It is Lifescape Recovery’s policy that employees decline opportunities to make monetary charitable donations when participation is solicited by a customer or potential customer, as such an arrangement could be viewed as a kickback. If a customer, such as a physician or related staff member, asks you to make a donation to his or her favorite charity, you should decline the request. If you believe the request is of merit for consideration by Lifescape Recovery, then you should consult our Director of Compliance. Lifescape Recovery may support certain charitable organizations through the appropriate donations of products, services, and funds. All charitable contributions must be approved in advance by the Director of Compliance. Charitable donations of products, services, funds, or participation in a mission trip, may never be made:

• To encourage anyone to purchase or recommend Lifescape Recovery services

• In exchange for an agreement to purchase or order Lifescape Recovery products

• In lieu of a discount or price concession or as part of a contract negotiation

Speakers, Consultants, and Advisory Committees

Lifescape Recovery may pay reasonable fees for the performance of bona fide services by healthcare professionals and customers, provided certain criteria are met. These arrangements may include speakers, consultants, or participation on advisory boards. Such arrangements are permitted only if:

• Lifescape Recovery needs the services, and that need has been appropriately documented

• Participants are chosen based on their qualifications and expertise

• Participation is limited to the number of people needed to do the work

• Payment is based on the fair market value of the work or services

• Lifescape Recovery and the healthcare provider sign a written contract in a form approved by the Director of Compliance that includes:

the legitimate business need for the services

a minimum one-year term (with some exceptions) – the participant’s qualifications

a description of the services, and – fair market value compensation

These arrangements may not be made:

• To encourage healthcare professionals to purchase, or recommend Lifescape Recovery services
• To reward high volume customers

All suspected violations of the Antikickback Statute must be reported to the Director of Compliance who will investigate the incident and take appropriate remedial steps to address the issue. The Director of Compliance will also determine if the incident meets the definition of a reportable event per Lifescape Recovery’s policies.