Notice of Privacy Practices
Notice of Privacy Practices for Caring Conversations Center
Effective Date: October 20, 2026
Last Updated: October 20, 2026
Caring Conversations Center, LLC | Version 1
27475 Ferry Road, Warrenville, IL 60555
630-717-2752 | info@caringcc.com
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.
1. Scope and Responsibilities
This notice explains how Caring Conversations Center, LLC uses and discloses protected health information, your privacy rights, and our responsibilities. It applies to information maintained by our group practice, including information created or received by clinicians, supervised clinicians, interns, and staff.
We are required by law to protect your health information, provide this notice, follow the notice currently in effect, and notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information as required by law.
Stricter federal or state laws may protect mental health, substance use disorder, HIV or other communicable disease, genetic, and minor-related information. We follow those laws when they limit a use or disclosure or provide additional rights.
To ask a privacy question, exercise a right described below, or file a complaint, contact our Privacy Contact using the phone, email or mailing address listed above.
2. How We Use and Disclose Health Information
We use and disclose health information for the purposes below only as applicable law allows. We obtain your written consent or authorization when required, including when state law limits disclosures otherwise allowed by HIPAA.
2.1 Treatment
We use health information to provide therapy and coordinate care. For example, your clinician may consult an authorized clinical supervisor or another member of your care team.
Before sharing information with another treating provider, we obtain any consent or authorization required by the law protecting that information.
2.2 Payment
We use and disclose health information to bill and collect payment for services. For example, we may provide your health plan with your diagnosis and service information to process a claim. Disclosures to insurers or billing providers are limited by applicable consent, confidentiality, and safeguard requirements.
2.3 Health Care Operations
We use health information to manage records and technology, evaluate quality, supervise and train clinicians, address complaints, and meet legal requirements. For example, an authorized supervisor may review a case to support a clinician.
Service providers handling protected health information on our behalf must maintain required privacy agreements and safeguards. Staff and clinicians receive access according to their roles and legitimate responsibilities.
2.4 Other Legally Permitted or Required Disclosures
When applicable legal conditions are met, we may disclose information for public health activities, including disease prevention, product recalls, and adverse-event reporting; reports of suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence; health oversight; prevention of a serious threat to health or safety; workers’ compensation; qualifying research; organ or tissue donation; or the work of coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors.
Disclosures for law enforcement, legal proceedings, or authorized government functions, such as military or national security activities, must meet the requirements of the laws protecting your information. Mental health records and confidential therapy communications may receive additional protection from disclosure in legal proceedings. We review court orders, subpoenas, and other requests before releasing information and obtain your written consent or authorization when required. A subpoena alone does not automatically authorize release of protected therapy records.
When California law applies, we follow its restrictions on out-of-state court orders. We disclose medical information for immigration enforcement only with your express authorization or when California law otherwise permits or requires disclosure.
We may disclose protected health information to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to determine our compliance with applicable federal privacy law.
2.5 People Involved in Your Care
You may tell us whether we may share information relevant to your care or payment with a family member, friend, or another person you identify, or for disaster relief. We obtain any consent or authorization required by applicable law.
If you cannot express a preference, we may make a limited disclosure in your best interest using professional judgment, but only when the laws protecting the information allow it.
3. Authorization and Special Protections
3.1 Written Authorization
We will not use or disclose your health information for purposes not described in this notice without your written authorization.
We do not sell your protected health information. Marketing uses or disclosures requiring authorization, and any sale of protected health information, require your written authorization.
You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent that we have already acted in reliance on the authorization.
3.2 Psychotherapy Notes
Separately maintained psychotherapy notes are a clinician’s notes analyzing or documenting counseling conversations, kept apart from the clinical record. They differ from ordinary progress notes, diagnoses, and treatment plans.
Most uses or disclosures of psychotherapy notes require your written authorization. Limited exceptions include use by the clinician who created them for treatment, certain training activities, defense in a proceeding you bring, and specified disclosures permitted or required by law. Stricter state requirements also may apply.
3.3 Records Protected by 42 CFR Part 2
If we receive or maintain substance use disorder records protected by 42 CFR Part 2, additional federal confidentiality requirements apply.
Those records, and testimony describing their contents, may not be used or disclosed in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigations or proceedings against you without your specific written consent or a court order satisfying Part 2 after notice and an opportunity to be heard are provided to you or the record holder. A court order authorizing disclosure must also be accompanied by a subpoena or other legal requirement compelling disclosure.
When Part 2 records are disclosed under consent for treatment, payment, or health care operations to a HIPAA covered entity or business associate, that recipient may redisclose them as HIPAA permits, subject to Part 2’s continuing restrictions on proceedings against you and other applicable law.
3.4 Additional Protections for Therapy Information
Certain disclosures of outpatient psychotherapy information require a signed request identifying the specific information sought and its intended use, along with notice to you. We follow these requirements when applicable, including under California law, unless a statutory exception applies.
For couples, family, or group therapy records that identify more than one participant, we obtain authorization from each participant or their legally authorized representative when required, unless another lawful basis permits disclosure. We protect other participants’ confidential information when responding to a request for records.
4. Your Rights
4.1 Access and Copies
ou may request to inspect or receive an electronic or paper copy of your treatment, billing, and other information in the designated record set. HIPAA’s access right excludes separately maintained psychotherapy notes; state law may provide additional access rights.
Under HIPAA, we generally act on access requests within 30 days, with one permitted extension when its requirements are met. We follow shorter state deadlines when applicable. When California’s patient-record access law applies, eligible clients generally may inspect records within five working days and receive requested copies within 15 days after receipt of a written request, subject to lawful limitations.
We may deny access only on grounds permitted by law. We explain the denial and any available rights to review or to have records provided to another qualified health professional. You may also request information about additions, deletions, or revisions to your records when applicable law provides that right.
Copying fees are limited to charges allowed by federal and state law. We explain the expected charge in advance and provide records without charge when required, including qualifying requests to review current care under Minnesota law.
Contact our Privacy Contact using the phone number, email or mailing address listed above to request access, specify a preferred format, or ask us to send records to another person as permitted by law. The client portal may provide access to some information.
4.2 Amendment
You may ask our Privacy Contact in writing to amend information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. Include the reason for your request. We may deny it only on grounds permitted by law.
We generally respond within 60 days, subject to a permitted extension or a shorter applicable state deadline. If we deny your request, we explain why in writing and describe your right to submit a statement of disagreement.
4.3 Confidential Communications and Restrictions
You may ask our Privacy Contact to communicate with you in a particular way or at a different location. We accommodate reasonable requests.
You may ask our Privacy Contact to limit uses or disclosures for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We generally do not have to agree unless applicable law requires us to do so.
If you pay for a service in full out of pocket and ask us not to disclose information about that service to your health plan for payment or health care operations, we honor the request unless disclosure is required by law. Tell us before we submit a claim.
4.4 Accounting of Disclosures and a Copy of this Notice
You may ask our Privacy Contact for an accounting of certain disclosures made during the six years before your request. It generally excludes disclosures for treatment, payment, or health care operations and other disclosures excluded by law.
One accounting in a 12-month period is free. Before charging a reasonable, cost-based fee for an additional accounting, we tell you the cost so you can withdraw or modify your request.
You may request a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
4.5 Personal representatives and minors
A person with legal authority to act on your behalf may exercise your privacy rights after we verify that person's authority.
A parent’s or guardian’s access to a minor’s information depends on who consented to care, the services provided, and applicable law. We respect legally protected minor confidentiality and any lawful limits on representative access.
5. Complaints
You may file a privacy complaint with our Privacy Contact using the phone number, email, or mailing address listed above.
You may also file a HIPAA or Part 2 privacy complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights at https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html, by calling 1-800-368-1019, by emailing OCRComplaint@hhs.gov or by writing to:
Centralized Case Management Operations
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue SW
Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, DC 20201
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint or exercising your privacy rights.
6. Changes to this Notice
We may revise this notice and make revised terms apply to information we already maintain and information we receive later, as permitted by law.
We revise the notice when our privacy practices materially change or the law requires it. The current notice is available on our website, at our practice address, and upon request.