Notice of Privacy Practices

HIPAA Disclosure Regarding Confidential Information

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), you have certain rights regarding the use and disclosure of your protected health information. This notice contains information concerning how confidential mental health treatment information concerning you may be used and disclosed and how you can obtain access to this information. Please review it carefully and let us know any questions that you may have concerning this notice. During the process of providing services to you, Live Your Life Counseling (LYLC) will obtain and use mental health and medical information concerning you that is both confidential and privileged. Ordinarily this confidential information will be used in the manner that is described in this statement, and will not be disclosed without your consent, except for the circumstances described in this Notice.

Uses and Disclosures of Protected Information

A. General Uses and Disclosures Not Requiring the Client’s Consent. Live Your Life Counseling, 1635 Foxtrail Dr., #382, Loveland, CO 80538 will use and disclose protected health information in the following ways.

1. Treatment. Treatment refers to the provision, coordination, or management of mental health care and related services by one or more health care providers. For example, LYLC therapists and staff involved with your care may use your information to plan your course of treatment and consult with other health care professionals or their staff concerning services needed or provided to you.

2. Payment. Payment refers to the activities undertaken by a healthcare provider to obtain or provide reimbursement for the provision of health care. For example, LYLC and other health care professionals will use information that identifies you, including information concerning your diagnosis, services provided to you, dates of services, and services needed by you, and may disclose such information to insurance companies and to businesses that review bills for health care services and handle claims for payment of health care benefits in order to obtain payment for services. If you are covered by Medicaid, information may be provided to the State of Colorado’s Medicaid program, including but not limited to your treatment, condition, diagnosis, and services received.

3. Health Care Operations. Health Care Operations means activities undertaken by health insurance companies, businesses that administer health plans, and companies that review bills for health care services in order to process claims for health care benefits. These functions include management and administrative activities. For example, such companies may use your health information in monitoring of service quality, staff training and evaluation, medical reviews, legal services, auditing functions, compliance programs, business planning and accreditation, certification, and licensing and credentialing activities.

4. Contacting the Client. LYLC may contact you to remind you of appointments and to tell you about treatments or other services that might be of benefit to you.

5. Required by Law. LYLC will disclose protected health information when required by law. This includes, but is not limited to: (a) reporting child abuse or neglect to the Department of Human Services or to law enforcement; (b) when court ordered to release information; (c) when there is a legal duty to warn of a threat that a client has made of imminent physical violence, health care professionals are required to notify the potential victim of such a threat, and report it to law enforcement; (d) when a client is imminently dangerous to herself/himself or to others, or is gravely disabled, health care professionals may have a duty to hospitalize the client in order to obtain a 72-hour evaluation of the client; and (e) when required to report a threat to the national security of the United States.

6. Health Oversight Activities. Your confidential, protected health information may be disclosed to health oversight agencies for oversight activities authorized by law and necessary for the oversight of the health care system, government health care benefit programs, regulatory programs or determining compliance with program standards.

7. Crimes on the premises or observed by LYLC personnel. Crimes that are observed by LYLC staff, that are directed toward staff, or occur on LYLC premises will be reported to law enforcement.

8. Business Associates. Confidential healthcare information concerning you provided to insurers or to plans for purposes of payment for services that you receive may be disclosed to business associates. For example, some administrative, clinical, quality assurance, billing, legal, auditing and practice management services may be provided by contracting with outside entities to perform those services. In those situations, protected health information will be provided to those contractors as is needed to perform their contracted tasks. Business associates are required to enter into an agreement maintaining the privacy of the protected health information released to them.

9. Research. Protected health information concerning you may be used with your permission for research purposes if the relevant provisions of the Federal HIPAA Privacy Regulations are followed.

10. Involuntary Clients. Information regarding clients who are being treated involuntarily, pursuant to law, will be shared with other treatment providers, legal entities, third party payers and others, as necessary to provide the care and management coordination needed in compliance with Colorado law.

11. Family Members. Except for certain minors, incompetent clients, or involuntary clients, protected health information cannot be provided to family members without the client’s consent. In situations where family members are present during a discussion with the client, and it can be reasonably inferred from the circumstances that the client does not object, information may be disclosed in the course of that discussion. However, if the client objects, protected health information will not be disclosed.

12. Emergencies. In life threatening emergencies LYLC staff will disclose information necessary to avoid serious harm or death.

B. Client Release of Information or Authorization. LYLC and other health care professionals may not use or disclose protected health information in any way without a signed release of information or authorization. When you sign a release of information, or an authorization, it may later be revoked, provided that the revocation is in writing. The revocation will apply, except to the extent LYLC has already taken action in reliance thereon.

Your Rights as a Client

A. Access to Protected Health Information. You have the right to receive a summary of confidential health information concerning you concerning mental health services needed or provided to you. There are some limitations to this right, which will be provided to you at the time of your request, if any such limitation applies. To make a request, ask LYLC staff for the appropriate request form.

B. Amendment of Your Record. You have the right to request that LYLC or your health care professionals amend your protected health information. LYLC is not required to amend the record if it is determined that the record is accurate and complete. There are other exceptions, which will be provided to you at the time of your request, if relevant, along with the appeal process available to you. To make a request, ask LYLC staff for the appropriate request form.

C. Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures LYLC has made regarding your protected health information. However, that accounting does not include disclosures that were made for the purpose of treatment, payment, or health care operations. In addition, the accounting does not include disclosures made to you, disclosures made pursuant to a signed Authorization, or disclosures made prior to April 14, 2003. There are other exceptions that will be provided to you, should you request an accounting. To make a request, ask LYLC staff for the appropriate request form.

D. Additional Restrictions. You have the right to request additional restrictions on the use or disclosure of your health information. LYLC does not have to agree to that request, and there are certain limits to any restriction, which will be provided to you at the time of your request. To make a request, ask LYLC staff for the appropriate request form.

Additionally, if you have paid for a health care service in full and out of pocket, and you request that LYLC not disclose information about that service to your health plan for the purposes of payment or health care operations, LYLC is required by law to honor that request.

E. Alternative Means of Receiving Confidential Communications. You have the right to request that you receive communications of protected health information from LYLC by alternative means or at alternative locations. For example, if you do not want LYLC to mail bills or other materials to your home, you can request that this information be sent to another address. There are limitations to the granting of such requests, which will be provided to you at the time of the request process. To make a request, ask LYLC staff for the appropriate request form.

F. Copy of this Notice. You have a right to obtain a copy of this Notice upon request. This document can be accessed via LYLC’s secure client portal at any time or you may ask your therapist for a copy.

G. Notification of a Breach. You have the right to receive notification in the event that LYLC discovers a breach of your unsecured protected health information. LYLC will notify you of any such breach without unreasonable delay and in no case later than 60 days following discovery of the breach. Notification will be provided to you at the last known address on file.

Notice Regarding Use of Technology

LYLC uses HIPAA-compliant software or platforms for phone, texting, fax, and therapeutic documentation. All methods of communication also become part of your permanent file. With your Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Protected Health Information (PHI), all information is stored on an encrypted cloud. All PHI and EHR information maintains HIPAA compliance using industry-standard security controls. Despite these precautions, LYLC cannot guarantee that electronic communications will be kept confidential; there are limitations that exist.

A. E-mail Communications. Unencrypted e-mail may not be confidential, and any information regarding protected health information sent by e-mail may not be confidential.

B. Video Conferencing Technology. Communication through consumer video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, FaceTime, or other non-HIPAA-compliant video services may not be confidential. LYLC conducts telehealth sessions through a HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing platform and cannot receive clinical communication through other video services.

C. Internet Communications. Counseling or communication through the Internet may not be confidential.

D. Storage of Healthcare Information. Health care records and information maintained on a cloud may not be confidential, depending on the number of servers involved.

E. Voicemail. Telephone messages left through voicemail may not be confidential, if they may be accessed by individuals other than the client. Please let LYLC staff know if you do not want us to use voicemail in contacting you.

F. Facsimile Communication. The submission of health care information or records by fax may not be confidential and may lead to a disclosure of confidential information to third parties if the wrong fax number is used to send the information.

G. Communication by U.S. Mail. Communication of information by U.S. mail may lead to disclosure of private information to third parties, depending on who may open the mail. Please let LYLC staff know if you do not want us to send you correspondence, billing invoices, or other information through the U.S. mail.

Additional Information

A. Privacy Laws. LYLC is required by State and Federal law to maintain the privacy of protected health information. In addition, LYLC is required by law to provide clients with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information. That is the purpose of this Notice. Where Colorado state law provides greater privacy protections than HIPAA, LYLC will follow the more stringent standard.

B. Terms of the Notice and Changes to the Notice. LYLC is required to abide by the terms of this Notice, or any amended Notice that may follow. LYLC reserves the right to change the terms of its Notice and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all protected health information that it maintains. When the Notice is revised, the revised Notice will be posted on LYLC’s website at liveyourlifecounseling.com and will be available upon request through the secure client portal.

C. Complaints Regarding Privacy Rights. If you believe that LYLC has violated your privacy rights, you have the right to complain to LYLC’s Privacy Officer without fear of retaliation. Please submit a statement in writing addressed to:

Carol McCormick, Privacy Officer

Live Your Life Counseling

1635 Foxtrail Dr., #382

Loveland, Colorado 80538

You also have the right to file a complaint with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. Complaints may be submitted online at hhs.gov/ocr/complaints or by mail to the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 515F, HHH Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20201. It is the policy of LYLC that there will be no retaliation for filing such complaints.

D. Additional Information. If you desire additional information about your privacy rights at LYLC, please ask us any questions that you may have.

Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Records

Federal law provides special protections for records related to alcohol and substance use disorder treatment. The confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records maintained by LYLC is protected by federal law and regulations, including 42 CFR Part 2 and the HIPAA Privacy Rule, as amended effective February 16, 2026.

A. These records may be disclosed for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes consistent with HIPAA, where the individual has provided a one-time written consent to such disclosures. Outside of that consent, LYLC may not disclose to a person outside the practice that a patient attends treatment, or disclose any information identifying a patient as having a substance use disorder, unless one of the following applies:

1. The patient provides written consent;
2. The disclosure is allowed by a court order issued after proper notice and an opportunity to be heard has been provided to the patient; or
3. The disclosure is made to medical personnel in a bona fide medical emergency.

B. Records protected under 42 CFR Part 2 may not be used to initiate or substantiate any criminal, civil, or administrative charges against a patient without the patient’s written consent or a qualifying court order.

C. Federal law and regulations do not protect information about a crime committed by a patient on LYLC premises or against LYLC personnel, or information about a threat to commit imminent physical violence against another person. Disclosure may be made to the potential victim and to law enforcement concerning such a threat.

D. Federal law and regulations do not protect information about suspected child abuse or neglect from being reported under state law to appropriate state or local authorities.