Notice of Privacy Practices

Vibe Therapy

Effective Date: May 6, 2025

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.  

At Vibe Therapy, we are committed to protecting your private health information (PHI). This notice explains how we may use and disclose your PHI for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, as well as for other purposes permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights regarding your PHI.

I. Our Responsibilities

Vibe Therapy is required by law to:

  • Maintain the privacy of your PHI.

  • Provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI.  

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

  • Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction.

  • Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.  

  • Notify you following a breach of unsecured PHI.  

II. How We May Use and Disclose Your Protected Health Information

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose PHI. For each category, 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 these categories.  

  • For Treatment: We may use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your mental health care and any related services. This includes consultation with other healthcare providers, such as your primary care physician, psychiatrist, or other therapists, but only with your consent or as permitted by law.

    • Example: Your therapist may consult with another mental health professional if they believe it would benefit your treatment plan.

  • For Payment: We may use and disclose your PHI so that the treatment and services you receive at Vibe Therapy may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company, or a third party.

    • Example: We may need to give your health plan information about therapy sessions you received so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the session.

  • For Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose your PHI for our healthcare operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run Vibe Therapy and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care.

    • Example: We may use PHI to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine PHI about many patients to decide what additional services we should offer, what services are not needed, or whether certain new treatments are effective.  

  • Appointment Reminders, Treatment Alternatives, and Health-Related Benefits and Services: We may use and disclose PHI to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care at Vibe Therapy. We may also use and disclose PHI to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives or health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.  

  • Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care: We may release PHI about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your mental health care or payment for your care, but only if you agree, or if you are not present or able to agree, if we determine it is in your best interest.  

  • As Required By Law: We will disclose PHI about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law. This includes, but is not limited to:

    • Public Health Risks: To public health authorities for purposes such as preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability; reporting child abuse or neglect; reporting reactions to medications or problems with products.  

    • Health Oversight Activities: To a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure.  

    • Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose PHI about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose PHI about you 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.  

    • Law Enforcement: We may release PHI if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons, or similar process; to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person (but information will be limited); about the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person's agreement; about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct; about criminal conduct at our facility; and in emergency circumstances to report a crime, the location of the crime or victims, or the identity, description, or location of the person who committed the crime.  

    • Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors: We may release PHI to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release PHI about patients to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.  

    • National Security and Intelligence Activities: We may release PHI about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.  

    • Protective Services for the President and Others: We may disclose PHI about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons, or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.  

    • Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose PHI about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat. This includes situations of suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.  

  • Workers' Compensation: We may release PHI about you for workers' compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.  

III. Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Written Authorization

Other uses and disclosures of PHI not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization. Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, uses and disclosures of PHI for marketing purposes, and disclosures that constitute a sale of PHI require your authorization. If you provide us permission to use or disclose PHI about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose PHI about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.  

IV. Your Rights Regarding Your Protected Health Information

You have the following rights regarding PHI we maintain about you:  

  • Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and copy PHI that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes. To inspect and copy PHI, you must submit your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies associated with your request. We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to PHI, you may request that the denial be reviewed.  

  • Right to Amend: If you feel that PHI we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for Vibe Therapy. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to our Privacy Officer. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:

    • Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment;

    • Is not part of the PHI kept by or for Vibe Therapy;  

    • Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or

    • Is accurate and complete.  

  • Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." This is a list of the disclosures we made of PHI about you for purposes other than treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, and for which you have not provided an authorization. To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. Your request must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper, electronically). The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred.  

  • Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the PHI we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the PHI we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not use or disclose information about a therapy session you had. We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. In your request, you must tell us (1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure, or both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example, disclosures to your spouse.  

  • Right to Restrict Disclosures for Services Paid Out-of-Pocket: If you paid out-of-pocket in full for a specific item or service, you have the right to ask that PHI with respect to that item or service not be disclosed to a health plan for purposes of payment or healthcare operations, and we are required to honor that request.  

  • Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.  

  • Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice. You may obtain a copy of this notice at our website [Insert Website Address if applicable] or by requesting a copy from our Privacy Officer.  

V. Changes to This Notice

We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for PHI we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in our office and on our website [Insert Website Address if applicable]. The notice will contain the effective date.  

VI. Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Vibe Therapy or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Vibe Therapy, please contact our Privacy Officer at the address and phone number below. All complaints must be submitted in writing.

You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.  

VII. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this notice or wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer Vibe Therapy [1850 Amsterdam Ave, 347-508-2344 wxt 101 if desired for contact but not for formal complaints unless specified]

This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective as of May 6, 2025.