Privacy Policy

This notice describes the privacy policy and practices of Advocates to End Domestic Violence. This notice describes how your personal and mental health information may be used and disclosed by Advocates to End Domestic Violence and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Advocates to End Domestic Violence, Inc. is committed to protecting your privacy and understands the importance of safeguarding your personal health information. We are required by federal law to maintain the privacy of personal health and mental health information that identifies you or that could be used to identify you (known as “Protected Health Information”). We also are required to provide you with this notice, which explains our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information that we collect and maintain. This notice describes your rights under federal and state law, where applicable, relating to your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information. Advocates to End Domestic Violence, Inc is required by federal law to abide by this notice. However, we reserve the right to change the privacy practices outlined in the notice and make new practices effective for all Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information that we maintain. Should we make such a change we will display the revised notice at our agency and make it available to you upon request. We provide a written copy of this privacy notice to any individual who asks. 

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED PERSONAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH INFORMATION

Routine Uses and Disclosures of Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information for treatment, payment or Personal Health and Mental Health Care Operations. Advocates to End Domestic Violence, Inc is permitted under federal law to use and disclose Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information without your specific permission for three types of routine purposes: Treatment, payment and personal health and mental health care operations.  

Treatment. We will use and exchange information obtained by your Caseworker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Social Worker, Clinical Social Work Intern, Licensed Alcohol Drug Counselor, other Advocates to End Domestic Violence professionals, staff, trainees and volunteers in our office to determine your best course of treatment. The information obtained from you or from other providers will become part of your record.

Payment. Your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information can be used and disclosed for payment purposes. For example, we may communicate your Protected Health/Mental Information to your insurance company to receive reimbursement for services provided.

Personal Health and Mental Health Care Operations. Your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information can be used and disclosed to allow us to conduct personal health and mental health care operations which generally are the administrative activities that we undertake in order to operate our agency. For example, we may use your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to evaluate the performance of our employees and to engage in other quality assurance activities.

Other Uses and Disclosures of Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information Advocates to End Domestic Violence, Inc. is Permitted or Required to Make Without your Authorization. In general, we are required to obtain your specific written authorization to use or disclose your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information for purposes unrelated to treatment, payment or health care operations. However, there are exceptions to this general rule under which we are permitted or required to make certain uses and disclosures of your protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information without authorization. These situations include:

Required by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. We may be required to disclose your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our compliance with federal privacy law.

Required by Law. We may use or disclose your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to the extent that the use or disclosure is otherwise required by or federal law.

Public Health. We may disclose your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information for public health activities, such as disclosure to a public health authority or other government agency that is permitted by law to collect or receive the information (e.g. the Food and Drug Administration).

Abuse or Neglect. If you have been a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, we may disclose your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to the government agency authorized to receive such information.

Health Oversight. We may disclose Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as civil or criminal investigations, inspections, licensure or disciplinary actions, or other activities necessary for appropriate oversight of agencies such as Advocates to End Domestic Violence, governmental personal health and mental health benefit programs or compliance with laws.

Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may disclose Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information in response to a court or agency order, and in some cases, in response to a subpoena or other lawful process not accompanied by a court order.

Law Enforcement. We may disclose Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information for law enforcement purposes, such as providing information to the police about the victim of a crime. 

Coroner. Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. We may disclose Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to a coroner, medical examiner or funeral director if it is needed to carry out their duties.

Research. We may disclose your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to researchers when the research is being conducted under established protocols to ensure the privacy of your information. 

Serious Threat to Personal Health and Mental Health or Safety. Your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information may be disclosed if we believe it is necessary to prevent a serious imminent threat to the public health or safety (as well as yours) and it is to someone we reasonably believe is able to prevent or lessen the threat.

Specialized Government Functions. We may disclose your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information for purposes related to military or national security concerns, such as for the purpose of a determination by the Department of Veteran Affairs of your eligibility for benefits.

Inmates. Under certain circumstances, we may disclose the Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information of inmates of a correctional institution.

Other Restrictions on Uses and Disclosures of Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information. The use and disclosures of your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information described above are permitted or required by federal law. Some states have laws that require additional privacy safeguards above and beyond the federal requirements. Thus, if a state law is more restrictive regarding uses and disclosures of your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information or provides you with greater rights with respect to your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information, Advocates to End Domestic Violence will comply with the state law. If your state has enacted a more stringent law, we have attached as an addendum to this notice our privacy practices regarding your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information.

Disclosure to Other Parties for Conducting Permitted Activities. Advocates to End Domestic Violence may conduct the above-described activities ourselves, or we may use non-Advocates to End Domestic Violence entities to perform those operations. In those instances where we disclose your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to a third party acting on our behalf, we will protect your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information through an appropriate privacy policy.

Other Uses and Disclosures of Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information Based Upon Your Written Authorization. Other uses and disclosures of your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information not described above, will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke this authorization at any time in writing, except to the extent that we have taken action in the reliance on the authorization.

YOUR RIGHTS

 As a consumer of Advocates to End Domestic Violence, you have certain rights regarding your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information for treatment, payment, or personal health and mental health care operations. You may also request that any part of your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information not be disclosed to family members or friends who may be involved in your care. Your request must state the specific restriction requested and state to whom you want the restriction to apply. Advocates to End Domestic Violence is not required to agree to such a restriction. If we do agree, we will abide by your restriction unless we need to use your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information to provide emergency treatment. In addition, we may elect to terminate the restriction at any time.

You have the right to request to receive information from us by an alternative means or at an alternative location if you believe it would enhance your privacy. For example, you may request that we send written communications to an alternative address. We will attempt to accommodate all reasonable requests and will not request an explanation from you as to the basis for your request.

You have the right to inspect and copy your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information. If you would like to see or copy your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information, we are required to provide you access to your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information for inspection and copying within 30 days after receipt of your request (60 days if the information is stored offsite). We may charge you a reasonable fee to cover the duplicating costs. In addition, there may be situations where we may decide to deny your request for access. For example, we may deny your request if we believe the disclosure will endanger your life or health or that of another person. Depending on the circumstances of the denial, you may have the right to have the decision reviewed.

You have the right to amend your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information. This means you may request an amendment of your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information in our records for as long as we maintain this information. We will respond to your request within 60 days (with up to a 30-day extension if needed). We may deny your request if, for example, we determine your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information is accurate and complete. If we deny your request we will send you a written explanation and allow you to submit a written statement of disagreement.

You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have made of your Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information. An 'accounting' is a record of the disclosures that have been made of Protected Personal Health and Mental Health Information. This right generally applies to non-routine disclosures, i.e. for purposes other than treatment, payment or personal health and mental health care operations as described in this notice, made in the six-year period prior to your request (although you are free to request an accounting for a shorter period). We are required to provide the accounting within 60 days (with one 30-day extension, if needed) and to provide one accounting free of charge within a 12-month period. For more frequent requests a reasonable fee may be charged.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBTAIN A COPY OF THIS NOTICE FROM ADVOCATES TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

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COMPLAINTS

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to report such alleged violations to Advocates to End Domestic Violence. You may file a complaint to Advocates to End Domestic Violence by describing the incident or nature of the complaint in a letter addressed to the Program Director. The Program Director has ten days to respond to your complaint in writing. If you feel that this has not resolved your problem, you may request in writing an appeal with the Program Director who will meet with you within ten business days. At this point, if you feel that your grievance has not been resolved, please describe the incident or nature of the complaint in a letter addressed to the Executive Director who will then respond to you in writing within ten days. Again, if you feel that this has not resolved your problem you may send the Executive Director a letter requesting an appeal meeting which will be scheduled within ten business days. If you feel that neither of these meetings has resolved your problem, you may send a letter describing the nature of your complaint addressed to Advocates to End Domestic Violence’s Board of Directors who will respond to you in writing within 30 days. Mail or drop off all letters to:

Advocates to End Domestic Violence
PO Box 2529 
Carson City, NV 89702