Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Privacy is a very important concern for all those served by Northern Arizona Neuropsychology P.C. It is also complicated because of federal and state laws and professional standards of practice. Because the rules are so complicated, some parts of this Notice are quite detailed and most people will have read them several times to understand them. We have also simplified some parts for ease of reading. If you have questions, our Privacy Officer will be happy to help you. His name and address are listed at the end of this notice.

A. Introduction
This notice will tell you about how we handle information about you. It tells how information is used in our office, how we share it with other professionals and organizations, and how you can see it. We want you to know all of this so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family. We are also required to tell you about this because of the privacy regulations of a federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

B. What we mean by "Medical Information"

When you visit a hospital, clinic, doctor's office or other health care providers, information is collected about you and your physical and mental health. It may be information about your past, present or future health or conditions, the examination or consultation services you received from us or others, or about payment for health care services. The information collected about you is known as Protected Health Information (PHI). This information goes into your medical or health care record, also known as the designated record set (DRS). In this office, PHI is likely to include these kind of information:

• Your history. As a child, in school and at work, and marital and personal-family history.

• The reason for your examination or consultation. Your problems, complaints, symptoms, needs, and goals.

• Diagnoses. These are medical terms for your problems or symptoms.

• Clinical Notes: Examiners often write down information about you, what you say, your behavior and your mental and physical status.

• Records we possess from others who treated or evaluated you.

• Neuropsychological test scores, school records, results of group or individual achievement tests or personality/psychological tests.

• Information about medications your are taking or have taken in the past.

• Legal matters.

• Billing and insurance information.

This list is to give you a general idea of the content of your DSR but other types of information may also be included. We use this information for a number of purposes such as:

• Assisting others in planning your care.

• Deciding how well treatments are working for you.

• To show that you actually received services from us which we billed to you or another party.

• For teaching and training of other healthcare professionals.

• For medical or psychological research.

• When we write reports or talk to referring doctors, attorneys or others, we are functioning in a consultant role to these individuals to help them understand you and your functioning and needs and to answer their referral questions.