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HIPAA

Will Psychology LLC

Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective date of this notice:  09/02/2023

This notice describes how health information may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

I. Our Pledge Regarding Health Information:

Will Psychology, LLC, is a small practice, which includes Joanna Will as the owner and licensed therapist, a contract licensed therapist, and other personnel who provide services on behalf of the practice. We understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive from us. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements.  

This notice applies to your Protected Health Information (“PHI”), which is any health information we have about you that identifies you or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe the information can be used to identify you. This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose PHI about you. We also describe your rights and our duties regarding your PHI. For example, we are required by law to:

II. How We May Use and Disclose Health Information About You:

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose health information. For each category of uses or disclosures, we explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

For Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations: We may use or disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your mental health care and related services by us and other health care providers. For example, if we were to consult with another licensed health care provider who becomes involved in your care, we would be permitted to use and disclose your personal health information for diagnosis and/or treatment of your mental health condition. Such consultations are limited to providers who are involved in planning, providing, or monitoring your services or who are employed by a health care or mental health care provider and your records are needed to provide health care or mental health services to you as a patient. We may also use and disclose PHI for payment purposes. This can include issuing invoices or receipts, submitting information to your health plan for payment or reimbursement, or responding to lawful requests related to payment. Finally, we may use or disclose PHI for the practice’s health care operations, such as for quality assessment, licensing, and compliance activities. We will not need to obtain your written authorization for uses and disclosures related to treatment, payment, or health care operations.

State Law: Your mental health records are subject to additional protections under applicable state laws. In situations where state law provides greater privacy protection than federal law, we will comply with state law.  

III. Certain Uses and Disclosures Require Your Written Authorization:

  1. Psychotherapy Notes. We do keep “psychotherapy notes” as that term is defined in 45 CFR § 164.501, and any use or disclosure of such notes requires your written Authorization, unless the use or disclosure is:
    a. For use in treating you.
    b. For use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills in individual counseling or therapy.
    c. For use in defending ourselves in legal proceedings instituted by you.
    d. For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate our compliance with HIPAA.
    e. Required by law and the use or disclosure is limited to the requirements of such law.
    f. Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes.
    g. Required by a coroner or medical examiner who is performing duties authorized by law.
    h. Upon our good faith belief, necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public, and the use or disclosure is to a person or persons reasonably able to prevent or lessen that threat, including the target of the threat.
  2. Marketing Purposes. As a psychotherapist, we will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes.
  3. Sale of PHI. As a psychotherapist, we will not sell your PHI in the regular course of our business.
  4. Other Uses and Disclosures. There may be other uses and disclosures to third parties who are not involved in your care that will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke such authorizations at any time by notifying the practice in writing of your desire to revoke it. However, if you revoke such an authorization, it will not have any effect on actions taken by us in reliance on it.

IV. Certain Uses and Disclosures Do Not Require Your Authorization:

Subject to certain limitations in the law, we can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:

  1. When disclosure is required by state or federal law, and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law.
  2. For public health activities, including reporting suspected child, elder, or dependent adult abuse, or preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety. a. Emergency: If you are involved in a life-threatening emergency and we cannot ask your permission, we will share information if we believe you would have wanted us to do so, or if we believe it will be helpful to you. b. Child Abuse Reporting: If we have reason to suspect that a child is abused or neglected, we are required by Indiana law to report the matter immediately to the Indiana Department of Child Services. c. Adult Abuse Reporting: If we have reason to suspect that an elderly or incapacitated adult is abused, neglected, or exploited, we are required by Indiana law to report the matter immediately to the Indiana Adult Protective Services.
  3. For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.
  4. For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order, although our preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so. We may also disclose your PHI in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other legal process, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information to be disclosed.
  5. For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on our premises.
  6. To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.
  7. Specialized government functions, but only what is necessary to: support lawful military or national security activities; assist with protective services for the President or other authorized officials; support intelligence, counter-intelligence, or other national security activities authorized by law; or help ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions or under lawful custody. Any such disclosures will be made only to authorized government officials and only to the minimum extent required by applicable federal law.
  8. For workers’ compensation purposes. If you file a worker’s compensation claim, we are required by law, upon request, to submit your mental health information necessary for workers’ compensation purposes to you, your employer, the insurer, or a certified rehabilitation provider.
  9. Appointment reminders and health related benefits or services. We may use and disclose your PHI to contact you to remind you that you have an appointment with us. We may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that we offer. If you want to request that we communicate with you in a certain way, see Section V, Item 3. The Right to Choose How We Send PHI to You.

V. Certain Uses and Disclosures Require You to Tell us Your Choices:

With certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. With your consent, we may provide your PHI to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. If you are not able to tell us your preferences, 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.

You Have the Following Rights with Respect to Your PHI:

  1. The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI. You have the right to ask us not to use or disclose or limit certain PHI to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if we believe it would affect your health care.  
  2. The Right to Request Restrictions for Out-of-Pocket Expenses Paid for In Full. You have the right to request restrictions on disclosures of your PHI to health plans for payment or health care operations purposes if the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or a health care service that you have paid for out-of-pocket in full. 
  3. The Right to Choose How We Send PHI to You. You have the right to ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address, and we will agree to all reasonable requests. 
  4. The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI. Other than “psychotherapy notes,” you have the right to get an electronic or paper copy of your designated record set that we have about you. We will provide you with a copy of your record, or a summary of it, if you agree to receive a summary, within 30 days of receiving your written request (or sooner if required by law), and we may charge a reasonable, cost based fee for doing so. 
  5. The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures We Have Made. You have the right to request a list of instances in which we have disclosed your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, or for which you provided me with an Authorization or for which are excluded by law. We will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list we will give you will include disclosures made in the last six years unless you request a shorter time. We will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you make more than one request in the same year, we will charge you a reasonable cost based fee for each additional request. 
  6. The Right to Correct or Update Your PHI. If you believe that there is a mistake in your PHI, or that a piece of important information is missing from your PHI, you have the right to request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days of receiving your request. 
  7. The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice. You have the right get a paper copy of this Notice, and you have the right to get a copy of this notice by e-mail. And, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via e-mail, you also have the right to request a paper copy of it. 

Effective Date of this Notice.  The effective date of this notice is stated on the first page of the notice. We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice, and changes will apply to all information we have about you. 

Revisions. This notice was last revised on 01/08/2026. 

Availability of Notice. Copies of this notice is in our office and posted on the practice’s website. You may request to receive the current copy of this notice at any time.  

Questions and Complaints. You can ask questions or complain if you feel we have violated your rights by using the contact information, below.  You may also file a written complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, or calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/ complaints/.  We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. 

Contact Information:

Will Psychology, LLC  

Joanna Will, PhD HSPP, Practice Owner 

921 E. 86th Street, Suite 206 

Indianapolis, IN 46240  

317-720-1151  

joanna@willpsych.com