Therapeutic Early Intervention Services (TEIS) is a company that provides therapeutic services to young children in Southwestern PA. TEIS employs Speech Therapists, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Special Instruction Therapists. We provide these services under the federal Early Intervention program. When we provide these services, we collect personal and health information about your child and your family, such as your child’s age, your family’s street and email addresses. The information we collect about your child and family, whether verbal or recorded in some form, is private. This information is known as “protected health information,” or PHI.
TEIS does not use or disclose protected health information unless permitted or required by law. TEIS must follow laws protecting the privacy of your PHI. These laws are known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules. TEIS also complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
This notice describes your rights on behalf of your child, how TEIS may use or disclose your child’s PHI, with whom this information may be shared, and the safeguards we have in place to protect it.
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
TEIS is required to:
- Maintain the privacy of your child’s health information
- Provide you with this notice of our responsibilities and privacy practices related to the use and disclosure of your child’s information
- Abide by the terms of this notice
- Communicate any changes to this notice to you
- Appropriately sanction TEIS personnel for breach of your child’s privacy
YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS
You have the right to know how your child’s therapy service records will be used, and with whom the information will be shared.
You have the right to give informed consent before providers can use or share your child’s therapy information, even for routine purposes such as treatment. Therapists may require that treatment and participation in services be based upon obtaining your consent.
You have the right to refuse consent to share your child’s therapy information. If you do give consent, you have the right to restrict information if it is to be used for non-routine purposes, such as marketing.
You have the right to ask for restrictions or limits on release of your child’s information (such as requesting that information not be shared with a particular individual). This request should be documented in writing. We may not be able to agree to your request. In fact, in some situations, we are not permitted to restrict the use or disclosure of the information. If we cannot comply with your request, we will tell you why.
You have the right to ask that communications from those requesting information be made in a certain way. For example, you may ask us to contact you only by mail. Your request will be honored unless it is unreasonable and creates too great a burden for TEIS.
You have the right to see and copy your child’s therapy information and to be provided documentation on who has been able to see this information. You may not be able to see their records if it would endanger the life or physical safety of your child.
You have the right to ask for a change to your child’s record if you believe it contains incorrect or unnecessary information. Your request must be in writing. TEIS will decide whether your request can be honored, and will notify you in writing if your request is denied.
The information in your child’s record will be kept until his/her eighth birthday, after this date it will be destroyed.
USE AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
Your child’s information may be disclosed to your therapist(s), TEIS office staff and others outside our office who are involved in your child’s care and treatment and for whom we have received a signed consent to do so by you.
When we do use or disclose your child’s PHI, we will make every reasonable effort to limit its use or disclosure to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purpose.
TEIS has established business practices to protect the privacy of your child’s therapy records. These include employee training, naming a “privacy officer” to assist with complaints, and establishing business guidelines for privacy with others who have contracts with TEIS. TEIS will share your child’s health information in response to a subpoena, court order, or warrant, without your additional consent. You will be notified in writing should such a request be received.
Other uses and disclosures of your child’s therapy information will only be made with your explicit written authorization.