THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
Introduction
At Maryland Family Resource, we are committed to treating and using protected health information about you responsibly. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes the protected health information we collect, and how and when we use or disclose that information. It also describes your rights as they relate to your protected health information. This Notice is effective March, 10th 2026, and applies to all protected health information, as defined by federal regulations.
Understanding Your Health Record/Information
Each time you visit Maryland Family Resource, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, diagnosis, psychosocial history, service/treatment plan, response to service/treatment, and recommendations for future services or treatment. This information, often referred to as your medical record, serves as a:
- Basis for planning your care and treatment
- Means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care, Legal document describing the care you received,
- Means by which you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided, A tool in educating our health professionals,
- A source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of this state and the nation,
- A source of data for our planning and business operations,
- A tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve.
- Choose in advance whether to re Choose in advance whether to receive fundraising communications
- Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your electronic records
Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to: ensure its accuracy, better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health information, and make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosures to others.
Your Health Information Rights
Although your health record is the physical property of Maryland Family Resource, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:
- Obtain a paper copy of this notice of information practices on request,
- Inspect and receive a copy of your health record (excluding psychotherapy notes) as provided for in 45 CFR 164.524 at a cost of .12/page within 30 days of your written request,
- Request amendment of your health record as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
- Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as provided in 45 CFR 164.528,
- Request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations,
- Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information as provided by 45 CFR 164.522: however, Maryland Family Resource is not required to agree to your request, and
- Revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken.
You can choose someone to act for you.
- If someone has authority to act as your personal representative, such as if someone has your 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.
- With your consent, we may also use and share your information in the following ways:
- To whomever you name in a consent to share your information
- To prevent multiple enrollments in withdrawal management or maintenance treatment programs
- To report participation in treatment required by the criminal justice system
- To report prescribed substance use disorder treatment medications to a state prescription drug monitoring program when required by law
You may exercise these rights by sending a written request to the Maryland Family Resource Privacy Officer at 903 Brightseat Road, Landover, Maryland 20785
Our Responsibilities:
- If someone has authority to act as your personal representative, such as if someone has your 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.
- With your consent, we may also use and share your information in the following ways:
- To whomever you name in a consent to share your information
- To prevent multiple enrollments in withdrawal management or maintenance treatment programs
- To report participation in treatment required by the criminal justice system
- To report prescribed substance use disorder treatment medications to a state prescription drug monitoring program when required by law
Maryland Family Resource is required to:
- Maintain the privacy of your health information
- Provide you with this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you,
- Abide by the terms of this notice,
- Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction, and
- Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.
We reserve the right to change our practices and this notice and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, you may obtain a revised notice from either of our facilities or by contacting the Maryland Family Resource Privacy Officer at 301-333-2980.
We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice. You may revoke your authorization in writing at any time. We will discontinue our use or disclosure of your health information after we receive a written revocation of the authorization, except to the extent that we have already taken action in reliance on the authorization.
Examples of Disclosures for Treatment, Payment and Health Operations (TPO)
I. We will use your health information for treatment.
For example: Information obtained by a nurse, mental health professional, or other member of your health care team will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. Your mental health professional will document in your record his or her expectations of the members of your health care team and will then record the actions they took and their observations.
In that way, the mental health professional will know how you are responding to treatment.
We will also provide your mental health professional or subsequent health care provider with copies of various reports that should assist him or her in your treatment. This is to include all health care providers in our practice and those assisting in coverage of our practice. In addition, we may use and disclose your information to provide refill and/or appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
II. We will use your health information for payment.
For example: A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer.
The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis and procedures/services rendered.
III. We will use your health information for regular health care operations.
For example: Members of the medical staff, the risk or quality improvement manager, or members of the quality improvement team may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the treatment and services we provide.
Other Disclosures of Health Information
We have chosen to participate in the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP), a regional health information exchange serving Maryland and D.C. As permitted by law, your health information will be shared with this exchange in order to provide faster access, better coordination of care and assist providers and public health officials in making more informed decisions. You may “opt-out” and disable access to your health information available through CRISP by calling 1-877-952-7477 or completing and submitting an Opt-Out form to CRISP by mail, fax or through their website at www.crisphealth.org. Public health reporting and Controlled Dangerous Substances information, as part of the Maryland Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), will still be available to providers.
We participate in the CRISP health information exchange (HIE) to share your medical records with your other health care providers and for other limited reasons. You have rights to limit how your medical information is shared. We encourage you to read our Notice of Privacy Practices and find more information about CRISP medical record sharing policies at www.crisphealth.org.
Support associates: There are some services provided in our organization through contacts with support associates. Examples include health professional services in the emergency department, and a copy service we use when making copies of your health record. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our support associate so that they can perform the job we’ve asked them to do and bill you or your third-party payer for services rendered. To protect your health information, however, we require the associates to appropriately safeguard your information.
Other Covered Entities with a Direct Treatment Relationship: We may use and disclose information to other entities directly involved in your payment such as social services, juvenile/criminal justice system, hospitals, residential facilities, or other community programs. These covered entities are also obligated to protect your personal health information
Third Party Authorization: We may disclose information required by third parties in order to obtain authorization to provide necessary services. Typically, managed care organizations review services requested on behalf of health insurance companies to determine if the services are medically necessary. If they determine that services are medically necessary, they authorize that we provide those services to you and bill the insurance/managed care organization instead of you.
Notification: We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person legally responsible for your care, of your location and general condition. We may leave a message on your answering machine or on voicemail as a means of communication. We may mail you a letter or written notice as a means of communication. We may email you as a means of communication. We may ask you to sign in upon your arrival and we may call out your name in the waiting area when it is time for you to been seen.
Communication with family: Health professionals, using their best judgment, may disclose your health information to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person you identify as being involved in your care or payment for your care.
Research: We may disclose non-identifying information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.
As Required by Law: We will disclose your PHI when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
Public health: As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or treating behavioral and or mental health disorders.
For medical emergencies: We can share your information during a bona fide medical emergency with the personnel and health care providers responding to your emergency, even when you are unable to consent because of the emergency. We can also share your identifying information to assist the federal Food and Drug Administration in notifying you or your doctor about unsafe products you may be using.
Mandatory Reporting: We will disclose information to child or adult protective services if there is suspicion of neglect or abuse of a child or a dependent adult, as required or permitted by law. Information will be released if we believe you are in clear and imminent danger of doing bodily harm to yourself or another person or if you agree to the disclosure. We may disclose information to the designated entity involved in obtaining court ordered services, such as the justice and social service system. We may disclose health information to the court if ordered by a judge.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We may disclose to the FDA, or persons under the jurisdiction of the FDA, health information relative to adverse events with respect to drugs, foods, supplements, products and product defects, or post marketing surveillance information to enable product reca11s, repairs, or replacement.
Worker’s Compensation: We may disclose your health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to worker’s compensation or other similar programs established by law.
Law Enforcement: We may disclose your health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a valid subpoena or court order.
Legal Proceedings and Court Orders: We must follow certain procedures before using or sharing your information for investigations and legal proceedings. .
- We will not use or share your information or provide testimony about your information in any civil, administrative, criminal, or legislative proceedings against you without your written consent or a court order.
- We will only respond to a court order to use or share your health information if it is accompanied by a subpoena or other similar legal mandate requiring us to comply.
- We will only use or share your information in proceedings against you based on a court order after we have received notice and an opportunity to be heard or you tell us that you have received notice.
- We may use or share your information to respond to legal proceedings against our program based on a court order and you may not be notified in advance. You have the right to seek to overturn or change the court order after you learn about it.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your health information to an oversight agency for activities authorized by law, including audits, accreditation surveys, investigations, and inspections, as necessary for licensure and for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose your health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about you 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, either by us or the requesting party, to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors: We may release your health information to a coroner or medical examiner, as necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also disclose health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to enable them to carry out their duties.
Organ or Tissue Procurement Organizations: Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose your Pill to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.
Correctional Institution: If you are or become an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution or its agent’s health information necessary for your health and the health and safety of other individuals.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose your health information when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person.
Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release your health information as required by military command authorities. We may also release health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.
National Security, Intelligence Activities, and Protective Services for the President and Others: We may release your health information to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, protection to the President, and other national security activities authorized bylaw.
Victims of Abuse or Neglect: We may disclose your health information to a government authority if we reasonably believe you are a victim of abuse or neglect. We will only disclose this type of information to the extent required by law, if you agree to the disclosure, or if the disclosure is allowed by law and we believe it is necessary to prevent serious harm to you or someone else
Federal law makes provisions for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a staff member, contractor or other business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering one or more patients, workers or the public.
Prevent or reduce crime in our program: We may report to law enforcement when a consumer commits or threatens to commit a crime within our program or against our staff.
For More Information or to Report a Problem
If you have questions or would like additional information you may contact:
Maryland Family Resource’s Privacy Officer: @ (301) 333 – 2980
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with Maryland/DC Family Resource’s Privacy Officer or with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint with either the Privacy Officer or the Office for Civil Rights. The address for the OCR is listed below:
Region III, Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
150 S. Independence Mall West Suite 372
Public Ledger Building
Philadelphia, PA 19106-9111
Main Line (215) 861-4441, Hotline (800) 368-1019
FAX (215) 861-4431, TDD (215) 861-4440