Bluebird Behavioral Health Privacy Policy

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES, HIPAA STATEMENT

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED, DISCLOSED, AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.

Bluebird Behavioral Health is committed to protecting the privacy of all patients and visitors to our website. Please review this Notice carefully. Bluebird Behavioral Health fully complies with HIPAA privacy regulations. We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information.

We are required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This Notice takes effect November 15, 2022, and will remain in effect until we replace it.

INFORMATION COLLECTION

Bluebird Behavioral Health does not automatically collect personal information from our website nor do we use cookies to store personal information. We do not link personal information about specific individuals with any other information we collect, either on our website or in our facilities.

We do not collect personal information from other sources such as public records or private databases nor do we release or sell personal information about those who access our website.

We do collect personal information that is voluntarily provided while using our services. All privacy practices and regulations apply to this information as well.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY

Bluebird Behavioral Health does not disclose personal information to other organizations. We do not release any information to outside parties without the express permission of our Web site users. We ensure that personal information will not be disclosed to federal or state institutions and authorities except if required by law or other regulation.

We have instituted technical measures to protect personal information in our files from unauthorized access; improper use or disclosure; unauthorized modification, or unlawful destruction or accidental loss.

All Bluebird Behavioral Health employees who have access to and who process personal information are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of the information.

Our website does provide access to additional information with links to other sites. It is our hope that these sites offer privacy protection, but Bluebird Behavioral Health is not responsible for their content or privacy practices.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION

The following are general descriptions of the types of uses and disclosures we may make of your health information without your permission. Where state or federal law restricts one of the described uses or disclosures, we follow the requirements of such law.

TREATMENT

We will use and disclose your health information for treatment. For example, nurses and other care providers who are involved in your care at Bluebird Behavioral Health can view your health information in our electronic medical record system. We will also disclose your health information to your health care provider and other practitioners, providers and health care facilities that provide care for you at their sites, for their use in treating you. For example, if you are transferred from the clinic to an urgent care or hospital, we may send health information about you to that facility.

PAYMENT

We will use and disclose your health information for payment purposes. For example, we will use your health information to prepare your bill and we will send health information to your insurance company with your bill. We may also disclose health information about you to other health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses for their payment purposes.

HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS

We may use and disclose your health information in connection with our healthcare operations. Healthcare operations include quality assessment and improvement activities, reviewing the competence or qualifications of healthcare professionals, evaluating practitioner and provider performance, conducting training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities. If state law requires, we will obtain your permission prior to disclosing your health information to other providers or health insurance companies for their health care operations.

CONTACTING YOU

We may contact you for a variety of reasons, such as to remind you of an appointment for treatment or to provide you with information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. If you provide us with your mobile telephone number, we may contact you by call or text message at that number for treatment-related purposes such as appointment reminders, wellness checks, registration instructions, etc.

FAMILY, FRIENDS OR OTHERS

We may disclose certain information about you to a family member, your personal representative or another person identified by you if you do not object or we think it’s in your best interest to do so. If any of these individuals are involved in your care or payment for care, we may also disclose such health information as is directly relevant to their involvement.

We may also disclose your information to an entity assisting in disaster relief efforts so that your family or individual responsible for your care may be notified of your location and condition. In the event of your incapacity or emergency circumstances, we will disclose health information based on a determination using our professional judgment disclosing only health information that is directly relevant to the person’s involvement in your healthcare. We will also use our professional judgment and our experience with common practice to make reasonable inferences of your best interest.

REQUIRED BY LAW

We will use and disclose your information as required by federal, state or local law, including disclosures to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate our compliance with privacy laws.

PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIVITIES

We may disclose health information about you for public health activities, including:

  • to a public health authority authorized by law to collect or receive such information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability
  • to appropriate authorities authorized to receive reports of child abuse and neglect
  • to FDA-regulated entities for purposes of monitoring or reporting the quality, safety or effectiveness of FDA-regulated products
  • to notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition

ABUSE, NEGLECT OR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

To the extent required or permitted by law, we may notify the appropriate government authority if we believe an individual has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We may disclose your health information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may disclose your health information to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others.

HEALTH OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES

We may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information about you in response to an executed release by you, court or administrative order or in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute; but only if reasonable efforts have been made to notify you of the request or to obtain an order from the court protecting the information requested. 

LAW ENFORCEMENT

We may disclose certain health information to law enforcement authorities for law enforcement purposes, such as:

  • required by law, including reporting certain wounds and physical injuries
  • in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process
  • to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person
  • about the victim of a crime if we obtain the individual’s agreement or, under certain limited circumstances, if we are unable to obtain the individual’s agreement
  • to alert authorities of a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct
  • information we believe is evidence of criminal conduct occurring on our premises
  • in emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime

DECEASED INDIVIDUALS/ORGAN, EYE OR TISSUE DONATION

In the event of or following your death, we may disclose health information to a coroner or to a medical examiner and to funeral directors as authorized by law. We may disclose health information to organ, eye or tissue procurement, transplantation or banking organizations or entities. We are required to apply safeguards to protect your health information for 50 years following your death.

RESEARCH

Under certain circumstances, we may use or disclose your health information for research, subject to certain safeguards. We may disclose health information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, but the information will stay on site.

THREATS TO HEALTH OR SAFETY

Under certain circumstances, we may use or disclose your health information to prevent a serious and imminent threat to health and safety.

SPECIALIZED GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS

We may use and disclose your health information for national security and intelligence activities authorized by law or for protective services of the President. If you are a military member, we may disclose to military authorities under certain circumstances. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may disclose to the institution, its agents or the law enforcement official your health information.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

We may disclose health information about you as authorized by law for workers’ compensation or similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness in response to an executed release by you, court or administrative order or in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute; but only if reasonable efforts have been made to notify you of the request or to obtain an order from the court protecting the information requested.  

INCIDENTAL USES AND DISCLOSURES

There are certain incidental uses or disclosures of your information that occur while we are providing service to you or conducting our business. For example, using your name to call you from a waiting room where another person or persons and may hear. We will make reasonable efforts to limit these incidental uses and disclosures.

BUSINESS ASSOCIATES

We will disclose your health information to our business associates and allow them to create, use and disclose your health information to perform their services for us. For example, we may disclose your health information to an outside billing company who assists us in billing insurance companies.

USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRING YOUR AUTHORIZATION

There are many uses and disclosures we will make only with your written authorization. These include:

  • Uses and Disclosures Not Described Above. We will obtain your authorization for uses and disclosures of your health information that are not described in the Notice above.
  • Psychotherapy Note. Many uses or disclosures of psychotherapy notes require your authorization.
  • Marketing. We will not use or disclose your protected health information for marketing health-related services or purposes without your authorization.
  • Sale. Unless otherwise permitted by law, we will not sell your protected health information to third parties without your authorization.

If you provide authorization for the disclosure of your health information, you may revoke it at any time by giving us notice in accordance with our authorization policy and the instructions in our authorization form. Your revocation will not be effective for uses and disclosures made in reliance on your prior authorization.

YOUR RIGHTS

ACCESS TO HEALTH INFORMATION

You have the right to request paper or electronic access to inspect and obtain a copy of the health information we maintain about you, with some exceptions. We will provide the information to you in the form and format you requested, assuming it is readily producible. If not, we will produce it another readable electronic form we agree to. We will charge a cost-based fee for producing and sending copies or, if you request one, a summary. If you direct us to transmit your health information to another person, we will do so, provided your signed, written direction clearly designates the recipient and location for delivery. You must make a request in writing to obtain access to your health information.

REQUEST RESTRICTION

You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations or to persons involved in your care or payment for your care. We are not always required to agree to your request, except if you request that we not disclose certain health information to your health plan for payment or health care operations purposes if: (1) you pay out-of-pocket in full for all expenses related to that service either at the time of service or within timeframes specified by our written policies, and (2) the disclosure is not otherwise required by law. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to the Contact Officer at the bottom of this Notice and you must tell us: what information you want to limit, whether you want to limit use/disclosure/or both, and to whom you want the limits to apply.

AMENDMENT

You may request that we amend certain health information that we keep in your records if you believe that it is incorrect or incomplete. Your request must be made in writing and must explain why the information should be amended. We are not required to make all requested amendments. If we deny your request, we will provide you with a written explanation of the reasons and your rights.

ACCOUNTING OF DISCLOSURES

You have the right to receive a list of instances in which we disclosed your health information for purposes, other than treatment, payment, healthcare operations and certain other activities. Your request must be made in writing and indicate in what form you want this list (paper or electronically) and must state a time period which may not be longer than six years. If you request this accounting more than once in a 12-month period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to these additional requests.

CONFIDENTIAL/ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATIONS

You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information in a different way and/or at a different place. You must make your request in writing. We will agree to your request if it is reasonable and specifies the alternate means or location to contact you.

NOTICE IN THE CASE OF BREACH

You have the right to receive notice of an access, acquisition, use or disclosure of your health information that is not permitted by HIPAA, if such access, acquisition, use or disclosure compromises the security or privacy of your PHI (we refer to this as a breach).

HOW TO EXERCISE THESE RIGHTS

All requests to exercise these rights must be in writing. We respond to you within the stated timeframes as required by law, and notify you of our decision or actions and your rights. For more information or to obtain request forms, contact us using the contact information at the end of this Notice.

COMPLAINTS

If you have concerns about any of our privacy practices or believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint in writing to us using the contact information at the end of this Notice. You may also submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and this address can be provide to you upon written request. You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

RIGHT TO A PAPER COPY OF THIS NOTICE

You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this Privacy Notice at any time by requesting a copy from the Contact Officer below.

You may obtain a copy of the current Notice of Privacy Practices by accessing our web site at www.bluebirdbehavioralhealth.com or by calling 515-344-7755 and requesting a copy.

BREACH NOTIFICATION

You have the right to receive notice in the event there is a breach of any unsecured protected health information.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

Bluebird Behavioral Health reserves the right to change our privacy practices, the terms of this Notice, and to make new provisions effective for past, present and future health information we maintain, including information we created or received, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and make the new Notice available upon request.

This Notice does not form a contract with you.

CONTACT - OFFICER INFORMATION

Mail:

Megan Stukenholtz, ARNP, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC

5550 Wild Rose Lane, Suite 400

West Des Moines, IA 50266

Phone: 515-344-7755 

EFFECTIVE DATE OF NOTICE: November 15, 2022