HIPAA Privacy Policy and Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective Date: 07/24/2026
Last Updated: 07/24/2026

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED, HOW YOU CAN ACCESS THIS INFORMATION, AND THE RIGHTS YOU HAVE REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

VICC Psychiatry, PLLC is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of your health information.

For purposes of this Notice, “VICC Psychiatry,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to VICC Psychiatry, PLLC, its workforce members, employed or contracted healthcare professionals, and other persons or entities permitted to participate in its healthcare activities.

This Notice applies to protected health information created, received, maintained, or transmitted by VICC Psychiatry in connection with psychiatric care, mental-health services, substance-use-disorder services, primary or acute medical care, psychotherapy, medication management, telepsychiatry, billing, care coordination, and related healthcare operations.

This Notice governs protected health information used in connection with healthcare services. Information collected solely through the public portions of our website may also be governed by our Website Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

1. Our Responsibilities

VICC Psychiatry is required by law to:

  • Maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
  • Provide you with this Notice explaining our legal duties and privacy practices.
  • Follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect.
  • Use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information.
  • Limit uses, disclosures, and requests for protected health information to the minimum information reasonably necessary when the minimum-necessary standard applies.
  • Notify you following a breach of unsecured protected health information when notification is required by law.
  • Provide additional protections for specially protected information when required by federal or state law.

We reserve the right to change this Notice and our privacy practices. A revised Notice may apply to information we already maintain and information we receive in the future. The current Notice will be posted on our website and made available at our offices and upon request.

2. What Is Protected Health Information?

Protected health information, commonly called “PHI,” is individually identifiable information about:

  • Your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition.
  • Healthcare services provided to you.
  • Payment for healthcare services.
  • Information that identifies you or could reasonably be used to identify you.

PHI may be maintained or communicated electronically, on paper, verbally, through photographs, through telehealth systems, or in another form.

Examples may include your name, contact information, date of birth, diagnoses, symptoms, medications, treatment plans, laboratory results, appointment information, insurance information, payment information, clinical notes, and communications with your providers.

3. How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information

HIPAA permits or requires us to use and disclose your health information in certain circumstances without obtaining a separate written authorization from you.

Treatment

We may use or disclose your information to provide, coordinate, or manage your healthcare.

For example, we may share relevant information with:

  • Psychiatrists, psychiatric mental-health nurse practitioners, physicians, therapists, counselors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratories, or other treating professionals.
  • Hospitals, emergency departments, specialists, primary-care providers, or other healthcare facilities involved in your care.
  • Pharmacies for prescription and medication-management purposes.
  • Healthcare professionals providing consultation, referrals, follow-up care, or care coordination.

Payment

We may use or disclose your information to bill for and receive payment for services provided to you.

This may include:

  • Confirming eligibility or insurance coverage.
  • Submitting claims to an insurance company or health plan.
  • Obtaining prior authorization.
  • Conducting utilization review.
  • Collecting copayments, deductibles, coinsurance, or other amounts owed.
  • Responding to inquiries or audits from insurers and payment processors.

Information disclosed for payment may include identifying information, diagnoses, procedures, dates of service, and other information required to process payment.

Healthcare Operations

We may use or disclose your information for activities necessary to operate our practice and improve the quality of care.

Healthcare operations may include:

  • Quality assessment and improvement.
  • Evaluating provider or staff performance.
  • Reviewing treatment outcomes.
  • Credentialing and licensing activities.
  • Training healthcare professionals and students.
  • Compliance, auditing, accounting, and legal services.
  • Business planning and management.
  • Patient-safety activities.
  • Customer service and resolving complaints.
  • Information-technology support and security monitoring.
  • Reviewing the effectiveness of our services.

Business Associates

We may provide PHI to contractors and service providers known as business associates when they need the information to perform services for us.

Business associates may include electronic health-record providers, telehealth platforms, billing companies, cloud-service providers, document-storage companies, information-technology vendors, legal professionals, accountants, consultants, and other administrative service providers.

When required, business associates must sign agreements requiring them to safeguard PHI and use it only for permitted purposes.

Appointment Reminders and Care Communications

We may contact you regarding:

  • Appointment confirmations and reminders.
  • Scheduling or rescheduling.
  • Prescription or medication information.
  • Follow-up care.
  • Test or laboratory results.
  • Treatment alternatives.
  • Health-related services that may be useful to you.
  • Payment or insurance matters.

Communications may be made by telephone, voicemail, text message, email, patient portal, postal mail, or another method you have authorized or that is permitted by law.

Please notify us if you require communications through a particular method or at a specific location.

Individuals Involved in Your Care

Unless you object, or unless professional judgment indicates otherwise, we may share information relevant to your care or payment with a family member, caregiver, personal representative, close friend, or another person involved in your care.

When you are not present or are unable to agree or object, we may use professional judgment to determine whether sharing limited information is in your best interests.

Disaster Relief and Notification

We may disclose limited information to an authorized disaster-relief organization to help notify family members or other responsible persons about your location, general condition, or death.

Public Health Activities

We may disclose health information to authorized public-health agencies for activities such as:

  • Preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
  • Reporting certain communicable diseases.
  • Reporting adverse events or product problems.
  • Supporting medication or product recalls.
  • Reporting births or deaths when required.
  • Conducting authorized public-health investigations.

Reporting Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence

We may disclose information to an authorized government agency when we reasonably believe a person has experienced abuse, neglect, exploitation, or domestic violence and the disclosure is required or permitted by law.

This may include mandatory reports involving children, older adults, or vulnerable persons.

Health Oversight Activities

We may disclose information to health-oversight agencies for legally authorized activities, including audits, investigations, inspections, credentialing, disciplinary proceedings, and monitoring of government healthcare programs.

Judicial and Administrative Proceedings

We may disclose information in response to a valid court order, administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, but only after applicable legal requirements have been satisfied.

Additional protections may apply to psychotherapy notes, mental-health records, substance-use-disorder records, and other specially protected information.

Law Enforcement

We may disclose information to law-enforcement officials when the disclosure is required or permitted by law, including in limited circumstances involving:

  • A court order, warrant, subpoena, summons, or similar legal process.
  • Identifying or locating certain individuals.
  • A suspected victim of a crime.
  • A death that may have resulted from criminal conduct.
  • Criminal activity occurring on our premises.
  • A medical emergency involving suspected criminal activity.

Serious Threat to Health or Safety

Consistent with applicable law and professional ethical standards, we may disclose information when we believe it is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.

A disclosure will be made only to a person or organization reasonably able to prevent or reduce the threat.

Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors

We may disclose information to coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors as necessary for them to perform their lawful duties.

Organ and Tissue Donation

When applicable, we may disclose information to organizations involved in organ, eye, or tissue donation and transplantation.

Workers’ Compensation

We may disclose information as authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with workers’ compensation laws and similar programs.

Specialized Government Activities

We may disclose information for specialized government functions permitted by law, including military and veterans’ activities, national-security activities, intelligence activities, protective services, and correctional-institution activities.

Research

We may use or disclose information for research when you provide written authorization or when the research has been approved through a process permitted by law, such as an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board waiver.

Required by Law

We will use or disclose information when federal, state, or local law requires us to do so. The disclosure will be limited to the information required by the applicable law.

4. Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Written Authorization

Uses and disclosures not otherwise permitted or required by law will generally be made only with your written authorization.

Your written authorization is generally required for:

Psychotherapy Notes

Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes require your written authorization.

Psychotherapy notes are notes recorded by a mental-health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of a counseling conversation and maintained separately from the remainder of the medical record.

Psychotherapy notes do not generally include medication-management records, session times, treatment modalities, clinical test results, diagnoses, symptoms, functional status, treatment plans, prognosis, or progress summaries.

Certain limited uses of psychotherapy notes may be permitted without authorization, including use by the professional who created the notes, certain supervised training activities, and use or disclosure necessary for VICC Psychiatry to defend itself in a legal action brought by you.

Marketing

We will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing your PHI for marketing when authorization is required by law.

Authorization is generally not required for face-to-face communications, promotional gifts of nominal value, or communications concerning your treatment, care coordination, or health-related services when otherwise permitted by law.

Sale of Protected Health Information

We will not sell your PHI without your written authorization when authorization is required by law.

Other Uses and Disclosures

Any use or disclosure not described in this Notice will be made only with your written authorization unless otherwise permitted or required by law.

You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time. Revocation will not affect actions already taken in reliance on your authorization.

5. Specially Protected Health Information

Certain categories of information may receive additional protection under federal or state law.

These categories may include information related to:

  • Mental-health treatment.
  • Psychotherapy notes.
  • Substance-use-disorder diagnosis, referral, or treatment.
  • HIV/AIDS testing or treatment.
  • Sexually transmitted infections.
  • Genetic testing.
  • Sexual assault.
  • Child abuse or neglect.
  • Domestic violence.
  • Developmental disabilities.
  • Reproductive healthcare.
  • Other information protected by applicable state law.

When a federal or state law provides greater privacy protection than HIPAA, we will follow the more protective requirement when applicable.

6. Substance-Use-Disorder Records and 42 CFR Part 2

VICC Psychiatry provides services that may involve the evaluation or treatment of substance-use disorders.

To the extent that VICC Psychiatry creates, receives, or maintains records protected by the federal substance-use-disorder confidentiality regulations known as **42 CFR Part 2**, those records will be used and disclosed only as permitted by Part 2 and other applicable laws.

Part 2 records generally may not be used or disclosed in a civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceeding against a patient unless:

  • The patient provides specific written consent; or
  • A court issues an order, accompanied by a subpoena or other lawful mandate, that satisfies the requirements of Part 2.

A general authorization for the release of medical information may not always be sufficient to authorize the disclosure or use of Part 2 records in a legal proceeding against a patient.

When permitted, a patient may provide consent allowing certain uses and disclosures of Part 2 records for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. Patients may revoke such consent as permitted by law.

Individuals whose Part 2 rights may have been violated may file a complaint with VICC Psychiatry or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. VICC Psychiatry will not retaliate against anyone for filing a complaint or exercising a legal privacy right.

7. Your Health Information Rights

You have the following rights regarding your PHI, subject to certain limitations and exceptions.

Obtain an Electronic or Paper Copy of Your Records

You may ask to inspect or receive an electronic or paper copy of health and billing information contained in our designated record set.

Your right of access generally does not include:

  • Psychotherapy notes maintained separately from the medical record.
  • Information prepared for or reasonably anticipated to be used in a legal proceeding.
  • Information excluded from access by applicable law.

We will ordinarily act on an access request within 30 calendar days after receiving it. When permitted by law, we may take one additional 30-day extension after providing you with written notice explaining the reason for the delay and the expected completion date.

When information is maintained electronically, we will provide it in the electronic form and format you request if it is readily producible. If it is not readily producible, we will work with you to identify an agreed-upon readable format.

You may also direct us in a signed written request to send a copy of your information to another person or organization.

We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copying, supplies, postage, and preparation of an agreed-upon summary or explanation.

Request an Amendment

You may ask us to correct information that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.

We may deny the request in certain circumstances, including when:

  • We did not create the information and the person or organization that created it remains available to act on the request.
  • The information is not part of the designated record set.
  • The information is not available for inspection under applicable law.
  • We determine that the information is accurate and complete.

If we deny your request, we will provide a written explanation and tell you how to submit a written statement of disagreement.

Request Confidential Communications

You may request that we contact you through a particular method or at an alternative address or location.

For example, you may ask us to contact you only through a specified telephone number, email address, mailing address, or patient portal. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Request Restrictions

You may ask us not to use or disclose certain information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. You may also ask us to limit information shared with family members, friends, caregivers, or others involved in your care.

We are not required to agree to every requested restriction.

However, when you pay for a healthcare item or service entirely out of pocket and ask us not to disclose information about that item or service to your health plan for payment or healthcare operations, we will comply with your request unless disclosure is required by law.

Obtain an Accounting of Disclosures

You may request a list of certain disclosures of your PHI made during the six years before your request.

The accounting generally will not include disclosures:

  • Made for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.
  • Made directly to you.
  • Authorized by you.
  • Made to persons involved in your care when permitted.
  • Made for certain national-security or intelligence purposes.
  • Made as part of a limited data set.
  • Otherwise excluded from an accounting by law.

The first accounting provided within a 12-month period will be free. We may charge a reasonable cost-based fee for additional accountings requested during the same period after informing you of the cost and giving you an opportunity to modify or withdraw the request.

Obtain a Copy of This Notice

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

Choose Someone to Act for You

If you have given another person medical power of attorney or that person is your legally authorized personal representative, the representative may exercise your rights and make decisions regarding your health information to the extent authorized by law.

We may require documentation establishing the person’s authority before acting on a request.

Receive Notification of a Breach

You have the right to receive notification when a breach of your unsecured PHI has occurred and notification is required by law.

File a Complaint

You may file a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.

You will not be denied care, discriminated against, intimidated, or retaliated against for filing a complaint, participating in an investigation, or exercising a privacy right.

8. Minors and Personal Representatives

Parents, guardians, and other legally authorized representatives may generally exercise privacy rights on behalf of minors or individuals who are unable to act for themselves.

However, federal and state laws may allow a minor to consent independently to certain healthcare services. In those situations, the minor may control the related health information to the extent provided by law.

We may decline to recognize a person as a personal representative when permitted by law, including when we reasonably believe recognition could place the patient at risk of abuse, neglect, or endangerment.

9. Telehealth, Email, Text Messages, and Electronic Communications

VICC Psychiatry may communicate with you electronically when permitted by law and consistent with your communication preferences.

Although we use reasonable safeguards, ordinary email and text messages may carry privacy and security risks. Please do not include detailed medical, psychiatric, or medication information in a public website contact form or unsecured message.

For patient-care questions or confidential clinical communication, use the secure patient portal or contact our office for instructions.

You may ask us to use an alternative communication method by submitting a confidential-communications request.

10. Fundraising

If VICC Psychiatry contacts you for fundraising using information permitted by law, the communication will explain how you may opt out of receiving future fundraising communications. Your decision will not affect your treatment or payment for services.

11. Questions, Privacy Requests, and Complaints

To ask a question, exercise a privacy right, request a form, or submit a complaint, contact:

VICC Psychiatry, PLLC
Attention: Privacy Officer

9207 Country Creek Drive, Suite 105
Houston, Texas 77036

Telephone: (281) 747-9669
Alternate Telephone: (469) 518-8488
Fax: (888) 240-4433
Email: [support@viccpsychiatry.com](mailto:support@viccpsychiatry.com)

Arizona Office

2501 West Happy Valley Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85085

Telephone: (623) 888-3904
Fax: (602) 946-0115

Written privacy requests should clearly identify the right you wish to exercise and provide sufficient information for us to verify your identity and respond to your request.

12. Complaints to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

You may also submit a HIPAA or Part 2 complaint to:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201

Telephone: 1-877-696-6775

Complaints may also be filed electronically through the HHS Office for Civil Rights complaint portal.

A complaint to the Office for Civil Rights generally must be filed within 180 days after you knew or should have known about the alleged violation. The Office for Civil Rights may extend that period when good cause is shown.

VICC Psychiatry will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint with our practice or with a government agency.

13. Changes to This Notice

We may revise this Notice when our privacy practices, applicable laws, or regulatory requirements change.

Any revised Notice may apply to all PHI maintained by VICC Psychiatry, including information created or received before the revision. The current version will be posted on our website and made available upon request.

By signing an acknowledgment of receipt, you are acknowledging only that you received or were offered this Notice. Your signature does not waive any privacy right or authorize any use or disclosure not otherwise permitted by law.