Healing Harbor Counseling, PLLC

PO Box 2598

Surf City, NC 28445

BY USING OUR WEBSITE, YOU CONSENT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND TO HEALING HARBOR COUNSELING PROCESSING YOUR DATA FOR THE PURPOSES STATED BELOW.

Healing Harbor Counseling, PLLC ("we,” “I,” “me,” “us” or “our”) operates the https://www.healingharborcounselingnc.com/ website (the “Site” or “Practice” or “Service”). This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data when you use our Service and the choices you have associated with that data. By using the Healing Harbor Counseling, PLLC website, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.

Collection of Personal Information
While using our Site, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you (“Personal Data”). Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to: (1) Email address, (2) First name and last name, (3) Counseling needs you include in your inquiry, (4) Questions you list in your inquiry, (5) How you heard about us, and (6) Cookies and Usage Data

Use of Personal Information
Healing Harbor Counseling, PLLC collects and uses your personal information to operate its website(s) and deliver the services you have requested. We may also use your personally identifiable information to inform you of other referrals and services available from Healing Harbor Counseling and its affiliates.

Collection of Other Data
We may also collect information regarding how the Site is accessed and used (“Usage Data”). This Usage Data may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Site that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.
We only collect personal data that you provide directly to us. We will not collect or use Personal Data except as stated in this Privacy Policy. Personal Data may include, among other things, name, postal address, telephone number, email address, payment and billing information, or a combination of these.

WE USE YOUR DATA TO FIND SERVICES FOR YOU, MAKE INQUIRIES REGARDING HEALTH INSURANCE ELIGIBILITY ON YOUR BEHALF, AND TO CONTACT YOU IN RESPONSE TO INQUIRIES.

Except to the extent necessary to fulfill our business obligations as described in this Privacy Policy, we do not sell, transfer, or otherwise disclose to third parties any of the Personal Data that we collect directly from or about you.

We use Personal Data that is collected on Healing Harbor Counseling Digital Assets in the following ways:

• To refer you to a therapist within Healing Harbor Counseling.

• To refer you to a therapist or other professional outside Healing Harbor Counseling. We will only do this with your permission.

• To look up your in-network status with health insurance companies.

• To contact you to schedule an intake appointment.

Use of Cookies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Site and hold certain information. Cookies are files with small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Tracking technologies also used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze our Site.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of Healing Harbor Counseling, PLLC website.

Links & Third-Party Websites
Our website may contain links to external sites that are not operated by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other third-party websites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable information.

Children Under 16
Our Site is not intended for individuals under the age of 16 (“Children”)..We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child has provided personal data without parental consent, we will take steps to remove the information from our systems. Parents or guardians who suspect unauthorized data collection should contact us immediately. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

Email Communications
From time to time, we may contact you via email for the purpose of providing announcements, promotional offers, alerts, confirmations, surveys, and/or other general communication. In order to improve our Services, we may receive a notification when you open an email from Healing Harbor Counseling or click on a link therein. If you would like to stop receiving marketing or promotional communications via email from Healing Harbor Counseling you may opt out of such communications by emailing us.

Changes to This Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the “effective date” at the top of this Privacy Policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:
By email: info@healingharborcounselingnc.com

Protected Health Information

AS REQUIRED BY THE HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996, AS AMENDED BY THE HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR ECONOMIC AND CLINICAL HEALTH ACT (“HITECH”), ENACTED AS PART OF THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS “HIPAA”), THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Purpose:

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how Healing Harbor Counseling, PLLC (“Practice”) may use and disclose your “protected health information” (PHI) to provide or carry out Treatment, Payment or Health Care Operations (TPO) and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your PHI. “Protected health information” or “PHI” is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services. We understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. Your privacy is important to us, and 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 all of the records of your care generated by this mental health care practice. This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose health information about you. We also describe your rights to the health information we keep about you, and describe certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your health information.

We are required by law to:

• Make sure that protected health information (“PHI”) that identifies you is kept private.

• Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information.

• Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

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

Contact

If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact Megan Kovach, LCMHC, Privacy Officer

Your Rights

Your rights regarding PHI are explained below. To exercise these rights, please submit a written request to the Practice at the address noted below.

To inspect and copy PHI:

You can ask for an electronic or paper copy of PHI. The Practice may charge you a reasonable fee. The Practice may deny your request if it believes the disclosure will endanger your life or another person's life. You may have a right to have this decision reviewed.

To amend PHI:
You can ask to correct PHI you believe is incorrect or incomplete. This practice requires you to make your request in writing and provide a reason for the request. The Practice may deny your request. The Practice will send a written explanation for the denial and allow you to submit a written statement of disagreement.

To request confidential communications:
You can ask the Practice to contact you in a specific way. The Practice will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

To limit what is used or shared:
You can ask the Practice not to use or share PHI for treatment, payment, or business operations. The Practice is not required to agree if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask the Practice not to share PHI with your health insurer. You can ask for the Practice not to share your PHI with family members or friends by stating the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply.

To obtain a list of those with whom your PHI has been shared:
You can ask for a list, called an accounting, of the times your health information has been shared. You can receive one accounting every 12 months at no charge, but you may be charged a reasonable fee if you ask for one more frequently.

To receive a copy of this Notice:
You can ask for a paper copy of this Notice.

To 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.

To opt out of receiving communications - the Practice may contact you for important communication efforts, but you can ask not to be contacted again.

Routine Uses and Disclosures of PHI
The Practice is permitted under federal law to use and disclose PHI, without your written authorization, for certain routine uses and disclosures, such as those made for treatment, payment, and the operation of our business. Business operation may include interns and admission coordinators having access to our EDI program for scheduling purposes, information needed for audits and sending medical records, directors of clinical care and owner assuring clinical best practice while utilizing mandated internal company confidentiality for our profession. We may use or disclose PHI for the purposes outside of treatment, payment, and health care operations when your appropriate authorization is attained. An authorization is written permission above and beyond general consent that permits only specific disclosures. I will also need to obtain an authorization before releasing your psychotherapy notes. Psychotherapy notes are notes that I have made about the conversation during a private, group, joint, or family counseling session, which I have kept separate from your medical records. The Practice typically uses or shares your health information in the following ways:

To treat you:
The Practice can use and share PHI with other professionals who are treating you.
Example: Your primary care doctor asks about your mental health treatment.

To run the health care operations:
The Practice can use and share PHI to run the business, improve your care, and contact you.
Example: The Practice uses PHI to send you appointment reminders if you choose.

To bill for your services:
The Practice can use and share PHI to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.
Example: The Practice gives PHI to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services. Also, the practice uses an EDI program, Therapynotes. We have a BAA agreement with our EDI program assuring you that it is HIPAA compliant, and our practice has a professional medical billing company, Medical Billing Professionals.


I may use or disclose PHI without your consent or authorization in the following circumstances:

• Child, elder, disabled adult and domestic abuse: If information you give us leads us to a reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect, then we must turn report such information to the Department of Social Services.

• Health Oversight: The NC Board of LMFT, The LCSW Board, LCAS board, and LCMHC board has the power, when necessary, to subpoena relevant records should I be the focus of a board inquiry.

• Judicial or Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a court proceeding, and a request is made for information about the professional serves that we provided you and/or records thereof, such as information is privileged under state law, and we must not release this information without your written authorization, or a court order from a judge. The privilege does not apply when you are being evaluated for a third party or where the evaluation is court ordered. You will be informed in advanced if this is the case.

• Serious threat to health and safety: We may disclose your confidential information to protect you and others from a serious threat of harm by you.

• Worker’s compensation: If you file a worker’s compensation claim, we are required by law to provide your mental health information relevant to the claim to your employer and the NC industrial commission.

• Counselor’s Duties: We required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you will a notice of my legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI.
  We reserve the right to change the privacy policies and practices described in this notice. Unless we notify you of such changes, we are required to abide by the terms currently in effect.
  If we revise our policies and procedures, we will provide you with a copy of the revisions at your next session.
  
  

Uses and Disclosures of PHI That May Be Made Without Your Authorization or Opportunity to Object

The Practice may use or disclose PHI without your authorization or an opportunity for you to object, including:

To help with public health and safety issues

• Public health: To prevent the spread of disease, assist in product recalls, and report adverse reactions to medication.

• Required by the Secretary of Health and Human Services: We may be required to disclose your PHI to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our compliance with the requirements of the final rule on Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information.

• Health oversight: For audits, investigations, and inspections by government agencies that oversee the health care system, government benefit programs, other government regulatory programs, and civil rights laws.

• Serious threat to health or safety: To prevent a serious and imminent threat.

• Abuse or Neglect: To report abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

To comply with law, law enforcement, or other government requests

• Required by law: If required by federal, state or local law.

• Judicial and administrative proceedings: To respond to a court order, subpoena by judge, or discovery request.

• Law enforcement: For law locate and identify you or disclose information about a victim of a crime.

• Specialized Government Functions: For military or national security concerns, including intelligence, protective services for heads of state, or your security clearance.

• National security and intelligence activities: For intelligence, counterintelligence, protection of the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state, for purpose of determining your own security clearance and other national security activities authorized by law.

• Workers' Compensation: To comply with workers' compensation laws or support claims.
  

To comply with other requests

• Coroners and Funeral Directors: To perform their legally authorized duties.

• Organ Donation: For organ donation or transplantation.

• Research: For research that has been approved by an institutional review board.

• Inmates: The Practice created or received your PHI in the course of providing care.

Business Associates: To organizations that perform functions, activities or services on our behalf.

Uses and Disclosures of PHI That May Be Made With Your Authorization (release of information) or Opportunity to Object

Unless you object, the Practice may disclose PHI if we have release of information:

• To your family, friends, or others if PHI directly relates to that person's involvement in your care (with release of information).
  If it is in your best interest because you are unable to state your preference.

• Uses and Disclosures of PHI Based Upon Your Written Authorization

• The Practice must obtain your written authorization to use and/or disclose PHI for the following purposes:
  Marketing, sale of PHI, and psychotherapy notes.
  
  You may revoke your authorization, at any time, by contacting the Practice in writing, using the information above. The Practice will not use or share PHI other than as described in Notice unless you give your permission in writing.
  

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
The Practice is required by law to maintain the privacy and security of PHI.
The Practice is required to abide by the terms of this Notice currently in effect. Where more stringent state or federal law governs PHI, the Practice will abide by the more stringent law.
The Practice reserves the right to amend Notice. All changes are applicable to PHI collected and maintained by the Practice. Should the Practice make changes, you may obtain a revised Notice by requesting a copy from the Practice, using the information above, or by viewing a copy on the website .
The Practice will inform you if PHI is compromised in a breach.


This facility participates in the North Carolina Health Information Exchange Network, called NC HealthConnex, which is operated by the North Carolina Health Information Exchange Authority (NC HIEA). We will share your protected health information, or PHI, with the NC HIEA and may use NC HealthConnex to access your PHI to assist us in providing health care to you. We are required by law to submit clinical and demographic data pertaining to services paid for with funds from North Carolina programs like Medicaid and State Health Plan. We may also share other patient data with NC HealthConnex not paid for with State funds. If you do not want NC HealthConnex to share your PHI with other health care providers who are participating in NC HealthConnex, you must opt out by submitting a form directly to the NC HIEA. Forms and brochures about NC HealthConnex are available in our offices and online at NCHealthConnex.gov. Again, even if you opt out of NC HealthConnex, we still will submit your PHI if your health care services are funded by State programs. Your patient data may also be exchanged or used by the NC HIEA for public health or research purposes as permitted or required by law. For more information on NC HealthConnex, please visit NCHealthConnex.gov/patients.



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 will 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.

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For Treatment Payment, or Health Care Operations: Federal privacy rules and regulations allow health care providers who have direct treatment relationship with the client to use or disclose the client’s personal health information without the client’s written authorization, to carry out the health care provider’s own treatment, payment or health care operations. I may also disclose your protected health information for the treatment activities of any health care provider. This too can be done without your written authorization. For example, if a clinician were to consult with another licensed health care provider about your condition, we would be permitted to use and disclose your person health information, which is otherwise confidential, in order to assist the clinician in diagnosis and treatment of your mental health condition.

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Disclosures for treatment purposes are not limited to the minimum necessary standard. Because therapists and other health care providers need access to the full record and/or full and complete information in order to provide quality care. The word “treatment” includes, among other things, the coordination and management of health care providers with a third party, consultations between health care providers and referrals of a patient for health care from one health care provider to another.

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Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit, we may disclose health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about your child in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

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CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOUR 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 Authorization unless the use or disclosure is:

a. For our use in treating you.

b. For our use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills in group, joint, family, or individual counseling or therapy.

c. For our use in defending ourselves in legal proceedings instituted by you.

d. For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate my 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 who is performing duties authorized by law.

h. Required to help avert a serious threat to the health and safety of others.

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 my business.

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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.

3. For health oversight activities, including audits and investigations.

4. For judicial and administrative proceedings, including responding to a court or administrative order, although my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.

5. For law enforcement purposes, including reporting crimes occurring on my premises.

6. To coroners or medical examiners, when such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.

7. For research purposes, including studying and comparing the mental health of patients who received one form of therapy versus those who received another form of therapy for the same condition.

8. Specialized government functions, including, ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counter-intelligence operations; or, helping to ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.

9. For workers' compensation purposes. Although my preference is to obtain an Authorization from you, we may provide your PHI in order to comply with workers' compensation laws.

10. 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 me. We may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that we offer.

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CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT.

1. Disclosures to family, friends, or others. 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. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.

Any person to whom you have given a valid health care power of attorney in accordance with the terms of such health care power of attorney.

To any person or entity you have authorized us to disclose your PHI. If you desire to authorize someone to receive your PHI, please ask us for an authorization form which you must complete, execute and return to us.

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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 me not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. 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 I Send PHI to You. You have the right to ask me to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone), designated email address or to send mail to a different address, and we will agree to all reasonable requests. No mobile opt-in message consent will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes.

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 medical record and other information 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, 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. 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 to 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.

Revised: October 20, 2026

Effective: April 14, 2023