Privacy Policy

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

Bright Star Behavioral LLC, RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS AND TEXAS

EFFECTIVE DATE: DECEMBER 29, 2020

EFFECTIVE DATE: MAY 1, 2021 FOR MASSACHUSETTS

EFFECTIVE DATE: AUGUST 26, 2021 FOR TEXAS

Bright Star Behavioral is trained in HIPAA compliance and security, the AMHCA, ACA Codes of Ethics and Massachusetts and Texas statutes and regulations, and we aim to ensure the confidentiality of all communications with clients, both in-person and electronically.

RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS AND TEXAS NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Protected Health Information (HIPAA) is a federal law that provides privacy protections and patient rights with regard to the use and disclosure of your (PHI) for the purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations. Bright Star Behavioral LLC is dedicated to maintaining the privacy of all information that you disclose. However, there are sometimes when the law requires the release of certain information. These regulations are complex and this notice is a shorter version of the full legal text. This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.

I. USES AND DISCLOSURES FOR TREATMENT, PAYMENT, & HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS

Bight Star Behavioral LLC, may use or disclose your Protected Health Information (PHI) for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes with your consent.

To help clarify these terms, here are some definitions

  • PHI
    “PHI” refers to information in your health record that could identify you.

  • Treatment
    “Treatment” is when Bright Star Behavioral LLC provides, coordinates or manages your health care and other services related to your health care. An example of treatment would be when your clinician consults with another health care provider, such as your family physician or another therapist.

  • Payment
    “Payment” is when Bright Star Behavioral LLC obtains reimbursement for your healthcare. Examples of payment are when we disclose your PHI to your health insurer to obtain reimbursement for your health care or to determine eligibility or coverage.

  • Health Care Operations
    “Health Care Operations” are activities that relate to the performance and operation of Bright Star Behavioral LLC. Examples of health care operations are quality assessment and improvement activities, business-related matters, such as audits and administrative services, and case management and care coordination.

  • ‍Use
    “Use” applies only to activities within the practice suite, such as sharing, employing, applying, utilizing, examining, and analyzing information that identifies you.

  • ‍Disclosure
    “Disclosure” applies to activities outside of the practice suite, such as releasing, transferring, or providing access to information about you to other parties.

  • ‍Authorization
    “Authorization” is your written permission to disclose confidential mental health information. All authorizations to disclose must be on a specific legally required form.

II. OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRING AUTHORIZATION

Bright Star Behavioral LLC, may use or disclose PHI for purposes outside of treatment, payment, and health care operations when your appropriate authorization is obtained. An “authorization,” as noted above, is written permission above and beyond the general consent that permits specific disclosures.  In those instances when Bright Star Behavioral LLC is asked to provide information for purposes outside of treatment, payment, and health care operations, we will obtain authorization from you before releasing this information.  We will also need to obtain authorization before releasing your psychotherapy notes. “Psychotherapy notes” are notes that your clinician has made about your conversations during a private, group, joint, or family counseling session, which are kept separate from the rest of your medical record.  These notes are given a greater degree of protection than PHI.

  1. Psychotherapy Notes, any use or disclosure of such notes requires your authorization unless the use or disclosure is:
    a. For my use in treating you.
    b. For my 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 my use in defending myself 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 psychotherapist, I will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes.

  3. Sale of PHI. As a psychotherapist, I will not sell your PHI in the regular course of my business.

You may revoke all such authorizations (of PHI or psychotherapy notes) at any time, provided each revocation is in writing. You may not revoke an authorization to the extent that

  1. Bright Star Behavioral LLC has relied on that authorization; or

  2. the authorization was obtained as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage, and if the law provides the insurer the right to contest the claim under the policy.

Bright Star Behavioral LLC will also obtain an authorization form from you before using or disclosing PHI in a way that is not described in this Notice.

III. USES AND DISCLOSURES WITH NEITHER CONSENT NOR AUTHORIZATION

Bright Star Behavioral LLC may use or disclose PHI without your consent or authorization in the following circumstances:

  • Child Abuse
    ‍    If your clinician, in their professional capacity, has reasonable cause to believe that a minor child is suffering physical or emotional injury resulting from abuse inflicted upon him or her and causes harm or substantial risk of harm to the child’s health or welfare (including sexual abuse), or from neglect (including malnutrition), they must immediately report such knowledge or suspicions to the Massachusetts Department of Social Services or other appropriate authority.

  • Adult and Domestic Abuse
    If your clinician has reasonable cause to believe that an elderly person (age 60 or older) is suffering from or has died as a result of abuse, they must immediately make a report to the Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs. They must also make a report to the Disabled Persons Protection Commission and/or other appropriate agencies if they have reasonable cause to believe that a mentally or physically disabled person is suffering from or has died as a result of a reportable condition, which includes non-consensual sexual activity. They need not report abuse if you are a disabled person and you invoke the therapist-patient privilege to maintain confidential communications.

  • Health Oversight
    The Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professionals has the power, when necessary, to subpoena relevant records should your clinician be the focus of an inquiry or investigation.

  • Judicial or Administrative Proceedings
    If you are involved in a court proceeding and a request is made for information about your diagnosis and treatment and the records thereof, such information is privileged under state law and Bright Star Behavioral LLC will not release information without written authorization from you or your legally-appointed representative, or a court order. The privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third party or where the evaluation is court-ordered. You will be informed in advance if this is the case.

  • Serious Threat to Health or Safety
    If you communicate to your clinician an explicit threat to kill or inflict serious bodily injury upon an identified person and you have the apparent intent and ability to carry out the threat, your clinician must take reasonable precautions. Reasonable precautions may include warning the potential victim, notifying law enforcement, or arranging for your hospitalization. Your clinician must also do so if they know you have a history of physical violence and believe there is a clear and present danger that you will attempt to kill or inflict bodily injury upon an identified person. Furthermore, if you present a clear and present danger to yourself and refuse to accept further appropriate treatment, and they have a reasonable basis to believe that you can be committed to a hospital, they must seek said commitment and may contact members of your family or other individuals if it would assist in protecting you.

  • Worker’s Compensation
    If you file a worker’s compensation claim, your records relevant to that claim will not be confidential to entities such as your employer, the insurer, and the Division of Worker’s Compensation.

  • Appointment Reminders
    Bright Star Behavioral LLC may use PHI to remind you of an appointment.

  • Business Associates
    Bright Star Behavioral LLC may use/disclose PHI to contractors, agents and other business associates who need the information to assist Bright Star Behavioral LLC with obtaining payment or carrying out its business operations. If Bright Star Behavioral LLC discloses your PHI to a business associate, Bright Star Behavioral LLC will have a written contract with that business associate to ensure that it also agrees to protect your PHI.

There may be additional disclosures of PHI that Bright Star Behavioral LLC is required or permitted by law to make without your consent or authorization; however, the disclosures listed above are the most common.

IV. BREACH NOTIFICATION PROVISIONS

  • When Bright Star Behavioral LLC becomes aware of or suspect a breach of PHI, we will conduct a risk assessment. We will keep a written record of that risk assessment.

  • Unless Bright Star Behavioral LLC determines that there is a low probability that PHI has been compromised, you will be given notice of the breach.

  • The risk assessment can be done by a business associate if involved in the breach. While the business associate will conduct a risk assessment of a breach in its control, Bright Star Behavioral LLC will provide any required notice to patients and Health and Human Services.

V. PATIENT’S RIGHTS AND THERAPIST’S DUTIES

PATIENT’S RIGHTS

  • Right to Request Restrictions
    You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information about you. However, Bright Star Behavioral LLC is not required to agree to a restriction that you request.

  • Right to Receive Confidential Communications by Alternative Means and at Alternative Locations
    You have the right to request and receive confidential communications of PHI by alternative means and at alternative locations. (For example, you may not want a family member to know that you are in therapy. Upon your request, we will send your bills to another address.)

  • Right to Inspect and Copy
    You have a right to access PHI. Bright Star Behavioral LLC may deny your access to PHI under certain circumstances. However, in some cases you may have this decision reviewed. On your request, Bright Star Behavioral LLC will discuss with you the details of the request and denial process.

  • Right to Amend
    You have the right to request an amendment of PHI for as long as the PHI is maintained in the record. Bright Star Behavioral LLC may deny your request. On your request, we will discuss with you the details of the amendment process.

  • Right to an Accounting
    You generally have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of PHI. On your request, Bright Star Behavioral LLC will discuss with you the details of the accounting process.

  • Right to a Paper Copy
    You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice upon request, even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically.

  • Right to Restrict Disclosures When You Have Paid for Your Care Out-of-Pocket
    You have the right to restrict certain disclosures of PHI to a health plan when you pay out-of-pocket in full for services with Bright Star Behavioral LLC.

  • Right to Be Notified if There is a Breach of Your Unsecured PHI
    You have a right to be notified if: (a) there is a breach (a use or disclosure of your PHI in violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule) involving your PHI; (b) that PHI has not been encrypted to government standards; and (c) our risk assessment fails to determine that there is a low probability that your PHI has been compromised.

OUR OBLIGATIONS

  • Bright Star Behavioral LLC is required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with a notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI.

  • Bright Star Behavioral LLC reserves the right to change the privacy policies and practices described in this Notice. Unless you are notified of such changes, Bright Star Behavioral LLC is required to abide by the terms currently in effect.

  • If Bright Star Behavioral LLC revises its policies and procedures, you will be notified in writing.

  • Keeping Treatment Records, Massachusetts 262 CMR 8.02: Standards of Conduct Applicable to all Allied Mental Health Practitioners Licensed by the Board of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions – Treatment Records are to be kept for the minimum of 7 years from the date of the client’s last professional contact.

  • Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council and Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors Rules -Subchapter B. Rule of Practice

    (r) In the absence of applicable state and federal laws, rules or regulations, records held by a licensee must be kept for a minimum of seven (7) years from the date of termination of services with the client, or five (5) years after the client reaches the age of majority, whichever is greater.

    (s) Records created by licensees during the scope of their employment by agencies or institutions that maintain client records are not required to comply with (q) and (r) of this section.

V. QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS

If you are concerned that your privacy rights have been violated, if you disagree with a decision made about access to your records, or any other complaints,

MASSACHUSETTS

Please send a written complaint to the Board of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions 1000 Washington Street, Suite 710 Boston, MA 02118 or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at 200 Independence Avenue S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201.

TEXAS

Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council and Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors - 333 Guadalupe St, Tower 3, Room 900 | Austin, Texas 78701 - Investigations/Complaints 24-hour, toll-free system (800) 821-3205

NOTICE TO CLIENTS

The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council investigates and prosecutes professional misconduct committed by marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, psychologists, psychological associates, social workers, and licensed specialists in school psychology. Although not every complaint against or dispute with a licensee involves professional misconduct, the Executive Council will provide you with information about how to file a complaint. Please call 1-800-821-3205 for more information.

Bright Star Behavioral LLC and its staff will not retaliate against you for exercising your right to file a complaint.

VI. EFFECTIVE DATE, RESTRICTIONS AND CHANGES TO PRIVACY POLICY

This notice goes into effect on May 1, 2021 for Massachusetts, Texas notice goes into effect on August 26,2021 for Texas. Bright Star Behavioral LLC reserves the right to change the terms of this notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all PHI that we maintain. Bright Star Behavioral LLC will provide you with a revised written notice at your next scheduled appointment following any changes that are made to this notice.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

Bright Star Behavioral LLC RHODE ISLAND, MASSACHUSETTS AND TEXAS

EFFECTIVE DATE: MAY 1, 2021

This document outlines Bright Star Behavioral LLC policies related to use of Social Media. Please read it to understand how I conduct myself on the Internet as a mental health professional and how you can expect me to respond to interactions that may occur between us on the Internet. Please discuss any questions or concerns you may have with Rebecca Antwi, PMHNP-BC.

Separate Accounts

Rebecca Antwi, PMHNP-BC holds separate and isolated accounts to be used for the sole purpose of professional matters regarding Bright Star Behavioral LLC. These accounts are separate from any personal accounts held by Rebecca Antwi, PMHNP-BC as an individual. 

Email

Please reframe from using email to contact me. Please do not email content related to our counseling sessions. Email communication is not completely secure or confidential. Any emails I receive from you becomes part of your legal record. Please make every effort to contact me by calling.

Text Messages

Please do not send text messages. Text communication is not completely secure or confidential. I will only respond to you by a phone call. Any text message I receive from you becomes part of your legal record. Please make every effort to contact me by calling.

Friending

I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Adding clients as friends on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our therapeutic relationship.

Following

Bright Star Behavioral will not follow any client on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, blogs, or other apps/websites. If there is content you wish to share from your online life, please bring it into our sessions where we can explore it together.

Search Engines

It is not a regular part of my practice to search for clients on Google, Facebook, or other searchable sites. An exception could be during a crisis. If I have reason to suspect you are a danger to yourself or others and I have exhausted all other reasonable means to contact you and/or your emergency contact, then I may use a search engine for information to ensure your welfare. If this ever occurs, I will fully document the search and discuss it with you at your next session.

Location-Based Services

Please be aware if you use location-based services on your mobile phone you may compromise your privacy while attending session at my office. My office is not a check-in location on various sites such as Foursquare, however it can be found as a Google location. Enabled GPS tracking makes it possible for others to surmise you are a counseling client due to regular check-ins at my office location.