INSTRUCTIONS FOR PAST OR PRESENT CLIENTS AND/OR LEGAL GUARDIANS OF PAST/PRESENT MINOR CLIENTS

Texas law requires that requests for mental health records be in writing.  In order to obtain your records, or your child’s records from our practice, please do the following:

• Send a secure portal message to the Office Manager indicating the type of records being requested and the time frame of records being requested.  The office manager will send a Release of Information form for you to complete and sign in your secure client portal, in which you will indicate the person/entity and contact information to whom you want the records released.  If you want the records released to you, please put your name and contact information in those text boxes.  Once completed and signed, you will receive directions for accessing electronic files once available.

• Or, you can e-mail your request for records to Admin@GrapevinePsych.com to initiate this process.  In the subject line, please write “REQUEST FOR RECORDS” and include the type of records being requested and the time frame of records being requested in the body of the email.  The Office Manager will follow-up to obtain necessary Release of Information forms.

• If the records are to be used in litigation, please include case information, such as the cause number, title, and court where the case is pending.

• If you need a Business Records Affidavit, please let us know in your request for records.  There is a $15 charge for providing a Business Records Affidavit.  No Affidavit will be provided unless the fee is paid.

• There is a standard fee of $30 for providing records in this practice.  We accept credit cards and debit cards, and invoices for records requests can be paid online via a secure invoice.  Note: Texas law does not require us to provide records until the fee is paid.

• If you are requesting a copy of couples counseling records, family counseling records, or records for a person who is not yourself or your child, state and federal law require that you provide either a Court Order or an Authorization signed by the person (or parent of the person) whose records you are requesting.  45 C.F.R. §164.512(e); Texas Health & Safety Code §611.004, §611.0045, §611.008.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ATTORNEYS AND DOCUMENT COMPANIES:

A subpoena alone is not sufficient to compel the disclosure of confidential counseling and billing records or “Protected Health Information” (PHI) under the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act Privacy Rule (HIPAA), 45 C.F.R. Chapter 164.    

For medical/hospital/mental health records or information that are requested or subpoenaed in litigation (including court testimony), HIPAA allows a covered entity (such as Grapevine Psychology) to disclose PHI in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding as follows:

1. In response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal; or

2. Where the individual (or parent) is a party to the proceeding, he/she knows that the request for his/her PHI has been made, and does not object.

45 C.F.R. §164.512(e).  An Authorization from the individual or parent is the kind of document that will satisfy the second option.

NOTE:  If the client or parent has indicated that they do not want their records released, a “Statement of Assurance” will not be accepted, and an Authorization or Court Order will be required.