INFORMED CONSENT

Anxiety
&
Addiction Counseling in Spokane

RBCounseling

Notice of Privacy Practices & Informed Consent for Psychotherapy OUR PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION: We understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive from us. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by this mental health care practice. We are required by law to:

• Make sure that protected health information (“PHI”) that identifies you is kept private.

• Give you this notice of my legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.

• Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

• We can change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new Notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website.

The therapeutic relationship is unique in that it is a highly personal and at the same time, a contractual agreement. Given this, it is important for us to reach a clear understanding about how our relationship will work, and what each of us can expect. This consent will provide a clear framework for our work together. Feel free to discuss any of this with us. Please read and indicate that you have reviewed this information and agree to it by filling in the checkbox at the end of this document.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose health information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

For Treatment Payment, or Health Care Operations: Federal privacy rules (regulations) allow health care providers who have direct treatment relationship with the patient/client to use or disclose the patient/client’s personal health information without the patient’s written authorization, to carry out the health care provider’s own treatment, payment or health care operations. We may also disclose your protected health information for the treatment activities of any health care provider. This too can be done without your written authorization. For example, if a clinician were to consult with another licensed health care provider about your condition, we would be permitted to use and disclose your person health information, which is otherwise confidential, in order to assist the clinician in diagnosis and treatment of your mental health condition.

Disclosures for treatment purposes are not limited to the minimum necessary standard. Because therapists and other health care providers need access to the full record and/or full and complete information in order to provide quality care. The word “treatment” includes, among other things, the coordination and management of health care providers with a third party, consultations between health care providers and referrals of a patient for health care from one health care provider to another.

Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit, we may disclose health information in response to a court or administrative order. we may also disclose health information about your child in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:

  1. Psychotherapy Notes. We may keep “psychotherapy notes” as that term is defined in 45 CFR § 164.501, and any use or disclosure of such notes requires your Authorization unless the use or disclosure is: a. For our use in treating you. b. For our use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills in group, joint, family, or individual counseling or therapy. c. For our use in defending ourselves in legal proceedings instituted by you. d. For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate my compliance with HIPAA. e. Required by law and the use or disclosure is limited to the requirements of such law. f. Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes. g. Required by a coroner who is performing duties authorized by law. h. Required to help avert a serious threat to the health and safety of others.

  2. Marketing Purposes. As a psychotherapy practice, we will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes.

  3. Sale of PHI. As a psychotherapy practice, we will not sell your PHI in the regular course of my business.

CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION. Subject to certain limitations in the law, we can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:

  1. When disclosure is required by state or federal law, and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law.

  2. For public health activities, including reporting suspected child, elder, or dependent adult abuse, or preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.

  3. For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.

  4. For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order, although my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.

  5. For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on my premises.

  6. To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.

  7. For research purposes, including studying and comparing the mental health of patients who received one form of therapy versus those who received another form of therapy for the same condition.

  8. Specialized government functions, including, ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counter-intelligence operations; or, helping to ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.

  9. For workers' compensation purposes. Although my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you, we may provide your PHI in order to comply with workers' compensation laws.

  10. Appointment reminders and health related benefits or services. We may use and disclose your PHI to contact you to remind you that you have an appointment. We may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that we offer.

CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT.

  1. Disclosures to family, friends, or others. We may provide your PHI to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.

YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PHI:

  1. The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI. You have the right to ask us not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if we believe it would affect your health care.

  2. The Right to Request Restrictions for Out-of-Pocket Expenses Paid for In Full. You have the right to request restrictions on disclosures of your PHI to health plans for payment or health care operations purposes if the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or a health care service that you have paid for out-of-pocket in full.

  3. The Right to Choose How We Send PHI to You. You have the right to ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address, and we will agree to all reasonable requests.

  4. The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI. Other than “psychotherapy notes,” you have the right to get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other information that we have about you. We will provide you with a copy of your record, or a summary of it, if you agree to receive a summary, within 30 days of receiving your written request, and we may charge a reasonable, cost based fee for doing so.

  5. The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures We Have Made.You have the right to request a list of instances in which we have disclosed your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, or for which you provided us with an Authorization. We will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list we will give you will include disclosures made in the last six years unless you request a shorter time. We will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you make more than one request in the same year, we will charge you a reasonable cost based fee for each additional request.

  6. The Right to Correct or Update Your PHI. If you believe that there is a mistake in your PHI, or that a piece of important information is missing from your PHI, you have the right to request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days of receiving your request.

  7. The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice. You have the right get a paper copy of this Notice, and you have the right to get a copy of this notice by e-mail. And, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via e-mail, you also have the right to request a paper copy of it.

Financial Responsibility and Assignment of Insurance Benefits

You are responsible for all charges for services provided, including those not covered by insurance. You are authorizing payment of medical benefits, which would otherwise be payable to you, to Rachel Baker Counseling PLLC for services rendered. If covered by Medicare or Medicaid, you certify that the information provided by you in applying for payment on Titles V, VXIII and/or XIX of the Social Security Act is correct.

The Therapeutic Process You have taken a very positive step by deciding to seek therapy. You should know that counseling is not always easy and the outcome of your treatment depends largely on your willingness to engage in this process, which may at times, result in considerable discomfort. Remembering unpleasant events and becoming aware of feelings attached to those events can bring on strong feelings of anger, depression, anxiety, etc. We may ask you to do some things that might, at first, make you feel awkward or uncomfortable. Sometimes therapy requires trying new ways of doing things. You will always be free to move at your own pace; however, we will challenge you and your old ways of thinking and doing things. We cannot offer any promise about the results you will experience. Your outcome will depend upon many things. You have the right to discontinue treatment at any time and to choose a practitioner and treatment methods that best suit your needs.

About the Therapists

Therapists at Rachel Baker Counseling PLLC (DBA RBCounseling and Rachel Baker LICSW, SUDP) utilize a leased office location at 222 W. Mission - Ste 105, Spokane, WA 99201, and have a mailing address of PO Box 10360, Spokane, 99209 and telephone number of (509) 402-1569. If your therapist believes that your problems require knowledge that he/she does not have, we may refer you for a consultation with someone with specific training or experience. We will discuss any such referral with you before we act. At the very beginning, we will create a treatment plan together. That is, we will look at what you would like to change, what you will do to change it, how we will know you are succeeding and how long it will take. Every now and again, we will review that plan to see if it needs to be updated. Please see “Practice Policies” for additional information regarding billing practices and cost of treatment.

Rachel Baker has a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from Eastern Washington University. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW LW60031227) and a Substance Use Disorders Professional (SUDP CP00005878) with the State of Washington, as well as a nationally recognized Master Addiction Counselor (MAC 508329). She provides counseling for individuals in a confidential office setting using Motivational Interviewing, Client-Centered, Cognitive-Behavioral and Mindfulness counseling approaches.

Complaints: There are certain professional standards we must uphold; for a list of the acts of unprofessional conduct please visit: http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=18.130.180.  You may file a complaint with RBCounseling and with the Secretary of Washington Department of Health at Health Systems Quality Assurance (HSQA), Complaint Intake, PO Box 47857, Olympia, WA 98504 or 360-236-04700 or HSQAComplaintIntake@doh.wa.gov if you believe that your rights have been violated. You may submit your complaint in writing by mail or electronically to Rachel Baker Counseling PLLC, PO Box 10360, Spokane, WA 99209 or rachel@rbcounseling.com. You will not be retaliated against for filing any complaint.

Amendments to this Privacy Policy We reserve the right to revise or amend this Privacy Policy at any time.  These revisions or amendments may be made effective for all personal health information we maintain even if created or received prior to the effective date of the revision or amendment.  We will provide you with notice of any revisions or amendments to this Privacy Policy, or changes in the law affecting this Privacy Notice, by mail or electronically within 60 days of the effective date of such revision, amendment, or change.

On-going Access to Privacy Policy We will provide you with a copy of the most recent version of this Privacy Policy at any time upon your written request sent to RBCounseling PLLC, PO Box 10360, Spokane, WA 99209.

For any other requests or for further information regarding the privacy of your personal health information, and for information regarding the filing of a complaint with us, please contact Rachel Baker at the address, telephone number, or e-mail address listed above.

**EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS NOTICE **This notice went into effect on September 20, 2013.