How we use and protect your health information.

Our obligations

Ellie Mental Health of NJ ("Ellie NJ," "we," "us") is required by law to:

• Keep your protected health information ("PHI") private.
• Give you this Notice describing our legal duties and privacy practices.
• Follow the terms of the version of this Notice currently in effect.
• Notify you if there is a breach of unsecured PHI that affects you.

How we may use and disclose your information without your authorization

1. For treatment

We use your information to provide therapy and coordinate your care. Example: your therapist may consult with our clinical director about your treatment plan, or share information with another provider you've asked us to coordinate with.

2. For payment

We use your information to bill and collect for services. Example: we share diagnostic codes, dates of service, and session types with your insurance carrier so they can process claims.

3. For health care operations

We use your information to run our practice — quality reviews, clinician supervision and training, audits, licensing reviews, and similar internal operations.

4. As required by law

We will disclose your PHI when federal, state, or local law requires us to. This includes:

• Public health activities — reporting communicable diseases, certain births and deaths, or product recalls.
• Victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence — required mandated reports for child or vulnerable-adult abuse under New Jersey law.
• Judicial and administrative proceedings — valid subpoenas or court orders.
• Law enforcement — narrow circumstances permitted by HIPAA.
• Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors — to perform their duties.
• Serious threats to health or safety — to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.
• Workers' compensation — as authorized by NJ workers' comp law.
• Health oversight activities — audits, investigations, and licensure proceedings by oversight agencies.
• Specialized government functions — military, national security, or correctional institutions, as legally required.

5. Appointment reminders and care-related communications

We may contact you to remind you of appointments, share information about treatment alternatives, or follow up on care. You can ask us to use only certain channels (e.g., "email only, not phone") and we'll honor reasonable requests.

Uses and disclosures that require your written authorization

The following always require your written authorization, which you can revoke at any time in writing:

• Psychotherapy notes (the private notes your therapist keeps separate from your main chart) — disclosed only with your authorization, except in narrow legal exceptions.
• Marketing communications beyond what's permitted by HIPAA.
• Sale of PHI — we will never sell your information.
• Any other use or disclosure not described in this Notice.

Your rights

Right to access your records

You can request to see and get a copy of your PHI. Submit your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies. We'll respond within 30 days.

Right to request an amendment

If you believe information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us to amend it. Submit your request in writing with a reason for the change. We may deny the request in limited circumstances; if we do, we'll explain why and you can submit a statement of disagreement that will become part of your record.

Right to an accounting of disclosures

You can request a list of certain disclosures we've made of your PHI in the prior six years. The list excludes disclosures made for treatment, payment, operations, or under a valid authorization. The first list each year is free.

Right to request restrictions

You can ask us to restrict certain uses or disclosures of your PHI. We are not required to agree to all requests, but we will honor reasonable ones. If you pay for a service entirely out of pocket and ask us not to share that information with your health plan, we will honor that request.

Right to request confidential communications

You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (e.g., at a particular phone number, or via mail to a specific address). We'll accommodate reasonable requests.

Right to a paper copy of this notice

You may request a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically.

Right to be notified of a breach

You have the right to be notified following a breach of unsecured PHI affecting you.

Right to complain

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our Privacy Officer or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
1-877-696-6775 · hhs.gov/ocr

Changes to this notice

We reserve the right to change this Notice and to make the revised Notice effective for PHI we already have, as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post the current Notice in our offices, on this page, and provide a copy upon request.

How to contact us

Questions, complaints, or to exercise any of the rights above:

Privacy Officer, Ellie Mental Health of NJ
340 North Ave East, Suite 1A
Cranford, NJ 07016
privacy@emhnj.com · 908-913-7704

This Notice is provided in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and applicable New Jersey law. It is not legal advice. For specific questions about your rights, please contact our Privacy Officer.