Privacy Policy

What Information Do We Collect?

We collect information from you when you subscribe to our newsletter or fill out a form.

When ordering or registering on our site, you may be asked to enter your name, e-mail address, phone number, or social security number, as appropriate. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.

What Do We Use Your Information For?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:
To personalize your experience (your information helps us to better respond to your individual needs)
To improve our website (we continually strive to improve our website offerings based on the information and feedback we receive from you)
To improve customer service (your information helps us to respond to your customer service requests and support needs more effectively)
To process transactions
Your public or private information will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever without your consent other than for the express purpose of delivering the purchased product or service requested.

Personal Data

We may ask for personal data while you’re engaging with us. This includes but is not limited to email address, first and last name, phone number, personal address, cookies, usage data, and insurance information.

We may use your data to contact you regarding admission, promotional materials, or other information of interest. You may opt out of receiving any or all of these communications from us by following the unsubscribe link provided in any email we send or by contacting us.

Mental Health Center Of San Diego
960 Grand Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109

How do we protect your information?

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information.

We offer the use of a secure server. All supplied sensitive/credit information is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our Database to be only accessed by those authorized with special access rights to our systems and are required to keep the information confidential.

After a transaction, your private information (credit cards, social security numbers, financials, etc.) will not be stored on our servers.

Do we use cookies?

Yes (Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enable the sites or service provider systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information.

We use cookies to understand and save your preferences for future visits and compile aggregate data about site traffic and interaction to offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential.

We may also release your information when we believe it is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect our or others’ rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties /affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes.

Third-party links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We, therefore, have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

Because we value your privacy, we have taken the necessary precautions to comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. We will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent.

Online Privacy Policy Only

This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.

Your Consent

By using our site, you consent to our privacy policy.

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page.

Notice of Health Information Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. EFFECTIVE DATE: APRIL 14, 2003 (REVISED: SEPTEMBER 23, 2013)

Understanding Your Health Record / Information

Your client/patient medical record contains information about your health history, symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and plans for future care or treatment. This information serves as a:

The basis for planning your care and treatment.
Means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care.
Legal document describing the care you received.
This means that you or a third-party payer can verify that the services billed were provided.
A tool for educating health professionals.
A source of data for medical research.
A source of information for public health officials charged with improving the nation’s health.
A source of data for facility planning and marketing and a tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:

Ensure its accuracy.
Better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health information.
Make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.

Your Health Information Rights:

Although your health record is the physical property of the healthcare practitioner or facility that compiled it, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

Request a restriction on specific uses and disclosures of your information as provided by 45 CFR 164.522 and 42 CFR, Chapter 1, Part 2
Obtain a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request
Inspect and obtain a paper or electronic copy of your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 524
Amend your health record as provided in 45 CFR 528
Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as provided in 45 CFR 528
Request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
Revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken

Our Responsibilities: This organization is required to:

Maintain the privacy of your health information
We will provide you with a notice regarding our legal duties and privacy practices regarding the information we collect and maintain about you.
Abide by the terms of this notice
Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate personal health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
Notify you and the Dept. of Health and Human Services if it is determined through a risk analysis that a breach of your health information occurred

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we must distribute the modified version to new clients/patients on or after the modification date.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

For More Information or to Report a Problem

If you have questions and would like additional information, you may contact the Mental Health Center Of San Diego: info@mhcsandiego.com

Suppose you believe your privacy rights have been violated. In that case, you can file a complaint with the Dept. of Health and Human Services / Office for Civil Rights by email at ocrcomplaint@hhs.gov or by calling the National Office at 202-205-8725 and asking for the OCR Health Information Privacy Complaint Form and/or for the appropriate Regional OCR Office. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

Examples of Disclosures for Treatment, Payment, and Health Operations

We will use your health information for treatment. For example, Information obtained by a counselor, physician, nurse, or another member of your treatment care team will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you.

With your consent, we also provide an individual such as a physician or an entity such as a subsequent healthcare provider with copies of your diagnosis, various reports, assessments, and summaries, including psychotherapy notes where appropriate, that should assist him/her or the entity treating you once you are discharged from this program. Without your consent, we will not use or disclose your health information for marketing purposes, and we will not sell your health information. Other uses and disclosures not described in this Notice of Health Information Practices will only be made with your consent.

With your consent, we will use your health information to pay. For example, A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include identifying you, your diagnosis, and descriptions of treatment methods and procedures used. You have the right to restrict certain disclosures of health information to a health plan when you pay out of pocket for the healthcare item or services.

We will use your health information for regular internal health operations. For example, treatment staff members, the utilization review coordinator, the quality improvement manager, or members of the quality improvement team may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information will then be used to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of our treatment and service.

Other Uses or Disclosures

Business Associates: Some services are provided in our organization through contracts with business associates. Examples include care by external physicians (if urgent or emergency care is needed), pharmacy services (filling prescriptions), and laboratory tests. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associates so they can perform the job we’ve asked them to do and bill for services rendered.

To protect your health information, we and the Department of Health and Human Services require business associates and their subcontractors to safeguard it appropriately.

Notification: With your prior consent, in the event of an emergency or crisis, we may use or disclose your personal information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person that you designate as responsible for your continued care, your location, and general condition.

Communication with Family: With your consent, this program’s treatment personnel, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member, other relatives, close personal friend, or another significant person that you identify your personal health information that is relevant to that person’s involvement in your care – or for payment needs related to your care. Un-emancipated Minor: if, and to the extent permitted or required by an applicable provision of State or other law, including applicable case law, this organization’s treatment representative may disclose and provide access to protected health information about the un-emancipated minor to the parent or legal guardian, or other person acting in loco parentis.

Research: With your consent, we may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an Institutional Review Board. The board has reviewed the research proposal and established specific protocols to ensure the confidentiality of your health information.

Continuing Care and/or Marketing: With your consent, we may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about continuing care or other related benefits and services that may interest you.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse events in food, supplements, products, and product defects or other information to enable the FDA to notify patients and physicians about emerging dangers.

Disability Insurance and Workers Compensation: With your consent, we may disclose the minimum health information needed to the extent authorized and necessary to comply with laws relating to disability and workers’ compensation or similar programs established by law.

Public Health: With your consent and if the law requires, we may disclose the minimum necessary health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.

Law Enforcement: We may disclose health information for law enforcement per 42 CFR: Chapter 1, Part 2 (see Notice of “Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records”)

Federal law allows your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority, or attorney if a workforce member or business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering you, patients, workers, or the public. In this case, a court order is required per 42 CFR, Chapter 1, Part 2.

This organization reserves the right to change its notice’s terms and make the new notice provisions effective for all protected health information it maintains. Revisions of this notice will be posted at this location and on the organization’s website.

Reference: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (45 CFR Part 160-164) HIPAA Privacy Rule – Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information Adapted from the American Health Information Management Association Practice Brief, “Notice of Information Practices” (Updated November 2002); and 42