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.

This notice applies to Able Stars ABA, LLC and its affiliated entities in MD, CO, MO, UT, and VA.

Your Rights

• Get a copy of your record. Ask to see or get a paper or electronic copy of the record we keep about your care and billing. We usually respond within 30 days and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
• Correct your record. Ask us to correct information you think is wrong or incomplete. We may say no, and will tell you why in writing within 60 days.
• Request confidential communications. Ask us to contact you a specific way or at a specific address. We say yes to reasonable requests.
• Limit what we share. Ask us not to use or share information for treatment, payment, or our operations; we are not required to agree if it would affect care. If you pay for a service in full out of pocket, you can tell us not to share it with your health plan, and we will agree unless a law requires otherwise.
• Get a list of who we shared with. Ask for a list of certain times we shared your information in the six years before your request. The list does not include sharing for treatment, payment, our operations, or sharing you asked us to do. One list per year is free.
• Get a copy of this notice. Ask for a paper copy at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
• Choose someone to act for you. A parent, legal guardian, or person with medical power of attorney can exercise these rights for the person receiving services. We confirm authority first, and may decline if we reasonably believe it could endanger the client.
• File a complaint. Complain to us using the contact information below, or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, at 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201, 1-877-696-6775, or hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

You can tell us to share information with family, friends, or others involved in care, or in a disaster relief situation, and we will follow your instructions. If you are not able to tell us your preference, we may share information when we believe it is in the best interest of the person receiving services, or to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety. We never share your information for marketing, sell it, or share most psychotherapy notes without your written permission. Any other use not described in this notice also requires your written permission, which you can withdraw in writing at any time.

How We Use and Share Information

• Treat you. We provide services and share information with other professionals involved in care. Example: we share a treatment plan with your child’s pediatrician or school team.
• Run our organization. We manage services, supervise and train staff, and contact you when necessary. Example: a supervisor reviews session notes to check program quality.
• Bill for services. We bill and receive payment from health plans and other payers. Example: we send an authorization request to your health plan so it will pay for services.

We are also allowed or required by law to share information, after meeting conditions the law sets, for: public health and safety, including mandated reporting of suspected abuse or neglect and preventing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety; health research; compliance with state or federal law, including oversight by the Department of Health and Human Services; workers’ compensation claims; law enforcement and health oversight agencies, including state licensing boards and Medicaid agencies; special government functions such as military and national security; court or administrative orders and subpoenas; and coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors.

Information With Extra Protection

Some information has stronger protection under state or federal law, including mental health records, and we follow the law that protects it most. Substance use disorder records covered by 42 CFR Part 2 generally require your written consent before we use or share them for treatment, payment, or our operations, and cannot be used against you in most legal proceedings without your consent or a court order. Once we share information as this notice describes, the recipient may share it again, and at that point it may no longer be protected by federal privacy law.

Our Responsibilities

We are required by law to protect the privacy and security of your health information, to follow the practices in this notice and give you a copy, and to tell you promptly if a breach may have compromised your information. We will not use or share your information other than as described here without your written permission. We can change this notice, and changes apply to all information we have about you; the current notice is available on request, in our offices, and on our website.

For additional information about our privacy practices and website terms, please review our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

Questions and Complaints

Able Stars ABA, LLC — Attn: Privacy Officer

729 East Pratt Street, Suite 560, Baltimore, Maryland 21202

info@ablestarsaba.com  |  (410) 525-5005