Notice of Privacy Practices

Your rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

• Get a copy of your health and claims records. You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your health record and other health information we have about you. We will provide a copy or a summary, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
• Ask us to correct your record. You can ask us to correct health information that you think is incorrect or incomplete. We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.
• Request confidential communications. You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address. We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.
• Ask us to limit what we use or share. You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment or our operations. We are not required to agree, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service or health care item out of pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information with your health insurer for payment or operations. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share it.
• Get a list of those we’ve shared information with. You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why. It will include all disclosures except those about treatment, payment and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
• Get a copy of this notice. You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically. We will provide it promptly.
• Choose someone to act for you. If you have given someone medical power of attorney, or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
• File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated. You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting our Privacy Officer using the information below. You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and the choice to tell us to:

• Share information with your family, close friends or others involved in your care
• Share information in a disaster relief situation

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

If we ever contact you for fundraising, you can tell us not to contact you again.

Our uses and disclosures

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.

• To treat you. We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example: With your knowledge, your therapist may coordinate with your physician or psychiatrist about your overall care.
• To run our practice. We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care and contact you when necessary. Example: We use health information to schedule appointments, send reminders, and review the quality of the care we provide.
• To bill for your services. We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan or Employee Assistance Program so it will pay for your services.

We work with vendors, called business associates, that help us operate, such as our electronic health record, scheduling and billing systems. They may only use your information to perform services for us, and they are required by law and by contract to protect it.

How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways, usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information, see the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ guidance for consumers.

• Help with public health and safety issues. We can share health information about you for certain situations, such as preventing disease, reporting suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence, and preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.
• Do research. We can use or share your information for health research, only as permitted by law.
• Comply with the law. We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
• Respond to organ and tissue donation requests. We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
• Work with a medical examiner or funeral director. We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner or funeral director when an individual dies.
• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement and other government requests. We can use or share health information about you for workers’ compensation claims; for law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official; with health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law; and for special government functions such as military, national security and presidential protective services.
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions. We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena, as permitted by law.

Special protections for mental health information

• Psychotherapy notes. Some therapists keep psychotherapy notes, which are separate from your main record and document or analyze the contents of a counseling session. Federal law gives these notes extra protection. In most cases, we will not use or share psychotherapy notes without your written authorization, except as required or permitted by law.
• State law. Missouri and other applicable laws may give more protection to mental health information than federal law does. When a state law is more protective of your privacy, we follow it.
• Substance use treatment records. If we hold records that are protected by federal confidentiality rules for substance use disorder treatment (42 CFR Part 2), those records receive the additional protections those rules require.

Our responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

Changes to the terms of this notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our offices and on this website.

Contact our Privacy Officer

If you have questions about this notice, want to exercise any of your rights, or want to file a complaint with us, contact:

Privacy Officer, Beyond the Storm Behavioral Health
801 NW St. Mary’s Drive, Ste 102, Blue Springs, MO 64014
Phone: 816-427-1337
Email: admin@beyondthestormkc.com

Please avoid including sensitive health details in ordinary email. Ask us for a secure way to share private information.

Effective date

This notice is effective as of November 8, 2026.