Notice of Privacy Practices

Empowered Journeys ABA LLC (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information (“PHI”), to provide individuals with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices regarding PHI, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect. This Notice applies to the health information we create and receive in connection with providing applied behavior analysis (ABA) services.

How We May Use and Disclose Health Information

Treatment

We may use and disclose PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your child’s ABA treatment, including sharing relevant information with other healthcare providers, educators, or professionals involved in your child’s care, consistent with applicable consent.

Payment

We may use and disclose PHI to obtain payment for services, including verifying insurance eligibility and benefits, obtaining prior authorization, and billing insurance plans or responsible parties.

Healthcare Operations

We may use and disclose PHI for our own healthcare operations, such as quality assessment, staff training and supervision, clinical recordkeeping, and administrative and business planning activities necessary to run our practice.

Other Permitted or Required Uses and Disclosures

In certain circumstances, we may use or disclose PHI without your written authorization, as permitted or required by law, including:

• As required by federal, state, or local law
• For public health activities, such as reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence as required by law
• For health oversight activities, such as audits or investigations by government agencies
• In response to a court order, subpoena, or other lawful legal process
• To avert a serious and imminent threat to health or safety
• For workers’ compensation purposes, to the extent authorized by law
• To coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors as necessary and permitted by law

Any use or disclosure not described in this Notice will be made only with your written authorization, which you may revoke at any time, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance on it.

Your Individual Privacy Rights

Regarding PHI we maintain, you (or, for a minor client, the parent or legal guardian acting on the client’s behalf) generally have the right to:

• Request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of PHI, although we are not required to agree to every requested restriction
• Request confidential communications by an alternative means or at an alternative location
• Inspect and obtain a copy of PHI contained in a designated record set, with limited exceptions
• Request an amendment to PHI you believe is incorrect or incomplete
• Receive an accounting of certain disclosures of PHI made by us, other than disclosures for treatment, payment, healthcare operations, and certain other excepted disclosures
• Obtain a paper copy of this Notice upon request, even if you agreed to receive it electronically
• Choose someone to act on your behalf, such as a personal representative, consistent with applicable law
• File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, as described below

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information at the end of this Notice. Certain requests may need to be made in writing.

Our Responsibilities

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of PHI, provide you with this Notice describing our legal duties and privacy practices, and follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect. We will not use or share PHI other than as described here unless you give us written authorization to do so, and you may revoke that authorization at any time in writing.

Breach Notification

In the event of a breach of unsecured PHI, we will notify affected individuals as required by applicable law, and will take appropriate steps to investigate, mitigate, and address the breach consistent with our legal obligations.

Questions or Complaints

If you have questions about this Notice, or believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us using the contact information below, or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you in any way for filing a complaint.

Changes to This Notice

We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and to make the revised Notice effective for PHI we already maintain, as well as PHI we receive in the future. A current copy of this Notice will always be available on our website and available upon request at our practice.

Contact Information

Empowered Journeys ABA LLC
Email: info@empoweredjourneysaba.com
Phone: (352) 852-2942