HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective: January 1, 2025

This notice is intended for clients/patients of Cascade Nutrition, PLLC. It describes how protected health information about you or the client for which you are legally responsible may be used and disclosed, and how you can access such information.

Cascade Nutrition, PLLC keeps a record of the health care services that are provided to you. You may ask to see and copy that record. You may also ask to correct that record. Cascade Nutrition, PLLC will not disclose your record to others unless directed by you to do so or unless authorized or compelled by the law.

Please review this notice carefully. Questions about this notice can be directed to Anna Estes, owner of Cascade Nutrition, PLLC (email: anna@cascade-nutrition.com; phone: 360-230-8054).

Our Pledge Regarding Protected Health Information

Cascade Nutrition, PLLC (Cascade Nutrition), understands that protected health information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. This notice applies to all records of your care generated by Cascade Nutrition, whether made by our personnel, your physician, or another health care provider.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal program. It requires that all medical records and other individually identifiable health information used or disclosed by Cascade Nutrition in any form (whether electronically, on paper, or orally) are kept confidential. This Act provides you rights to understand and control how your health information is used.

HIPAA provides penalties for covered entities that misuse personal health information. As required by HIPAA, Cascade Nutrition has prepared this explanation of how the practice is required to maintain the privacy of your health information and how the practice may use and disclose your health information. Federal law requires us to:

  • Make sure that protected health information that identifies you is kept private;

  • Notify you about how we protect protected health information about you;

  • Explain how, when, and why we use and disclose protected health information; and

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

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 an electronic or paper copy of your medical record 

  • You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.

  • We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your medical record

  • You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to Cascade Nutrition. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. We will act on your request for an amendment no later than 60 days after receiving the request.

  • 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 to your request, 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 for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

  • 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.

  • We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, health care operations, disclosures that you authorized us to make, disclosures that occurred as a byproduct of permitted use and disclosures, disclosures that were a part of a limited data set of information that does not contain information identifying you, and certain other disclosures (such as those used for national security or intelligence purposes). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

Get a copy of this privacy notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy 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 us directly at:

  • Cascade Nutrition, PLLC (email: anna@cascade-nutrition.com; phone: 360-230-8054)

  • You can 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, or by calling 1-877-696-6775.

  • 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 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 

  • Include your information in a hospital directory

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.

We will never share your information for marketing purposes or sell personal health information about you unless you give us written permission. Any other use or disclosure not described in this notice will be made only with your authorization.

Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your health information?

We typically use or share your health information for the following purposes listed below: 

Treat you

We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Federal privacy rules (regulations) allow health care providers who have direct treatment relationships with a patient/client to use or disclose the patient/client’s personal health information without the patient/client’s written authorization to carry out the health care provider’s own treatment, payment or health care operations. 

Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition and nutrition status.

 Run our organization

We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary, including via automated emails and SMS text messages reminding you of appointments. 

Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services. 

Bill for your services

We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. “Payment” means such activities as obtaining reimbursement for services, confirming insurance coverage, billing or collection activities, and utilization review. We may use and disclose protected health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at Cascade Nutrition may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company, or a third party. 

Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services. We may also tell your health insurance plan about the nutrition services you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.

Support health care operations

We may disclose information to other dietitians, doctors, nurses, medical students, dietetic interns, and other Cascade Nutrition personnel or relevant health care professionals for teaching and learning purposes. In this case, we will de-identify your protected health information so that others may use it to learn about health care and clinical practice without being able to use it to identify you or an individual client. 

How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways without first obtaining authorization from you – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as for public health, research, and other purposes listed below: 

 Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

  • Preventing disease

  • Helping with product recalls

  • Reporting adverse reactions to medications

  • Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence

  • Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Do research

We can use or share your information for health research when the research has been approved by an institutional review board or privacy board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your information.

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

  • 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.

Incidental Disclosures

An incidental use or disclosure is a secondary use or disclosure that cannot reasonably be prevented, is limited in nature, and that occurs as a result of another use or disclosure that is permitted by The Privacy Rule. Incidental disclosures of your protected health information may occur as a by-product of another permissible or required use or disclosure, as long as Cascade Nutrition has applied reasonable safeguards and implemented the minimum necessary standard, where applicable, with respect to the primary use or disclosure of your health care information.

 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 office, and on our website, and will have the effective date clearly marked at the top of the first page.