Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Recent federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), has created new client protections surrounding the use of protected health information. Commonly referred to as the “medical records privacy law,” HIPAA provides client protections related to electronic transmission of data, the keeping and use of client records, and the storage and access to health care records. HIPAA applies to all health care providers, including mental health care, and providers and health care agencies throughout the country are now required to provide clients a notification of their privacy rights as it relates to their health care records. You may have already received similar notices such as this one from your other health care providers.

As you might expect, the HIPAA law and regulations are extremely detailed and difficult to grasp if you do not have formal legal training. This Client Notification of Privacy Rights is designed to inform you of your rights in a simple yet comprehensive fashion. Please read this document, as it is important you know what client protections HIPAA affords all of us. In mental health care, confidentiality and privacy are central to the success of the therapeutic relationship and as such, you will find we will do all we can do to protect the privacy of your mental health records.

HIPAA requires that we secure your signature indicating you have received or been offered the Client Notification of Privacy Rights document.

(I understand I have the right to review the document before signing this acknowledgement form.)