HIPAA Notice

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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.

Your Rights

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You have the right to:

• Get a copy of your medical record

• Correct your medical record

• Request confidential communication

• Ask us to limit the information we share

• Get a list of those with whom we have shared your information

• Get a copy of this privacy notice

• Choose someone to act for you

• File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated

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Our Uses and Disclosures

We may use and share your information as we:

•  Treat you

• Run our organization

• Help with public health and safety issues

• Comply with the law

• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests

• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

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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 a paper copy of your medical record

• You can ask to see or get a 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.

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Ask us to correct your medical record

• You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete.

• We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

• You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us at our facility.

• 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, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.

• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

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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.

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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

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We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes

• Our Uses and Disclosures

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How do we typically use or share your health information?

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.

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Treat you

We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.
Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.

Run our organization

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We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.

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How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We must meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

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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 adverse reactions to medications

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

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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 are complying with federal privacy law.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests

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We can use or share health information about you:

• 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

• We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

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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.

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For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html

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 web site.

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