Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.
Please review it carefully.
The privacy of your health information is important to us.

OUR LEGAL DUTY
We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in the Notice while it is in effect. This Notice takes effect on April 01, 2004, and will remain in effect until we replace it.

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made the changes. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and make the new Notice available upon request.

You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us for the information listed at the end of the Notice.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION
We use and disclose health information about you for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. For example:

Treatment: We may use or disclose your health information to a physician or other healthcare provider providing treatment to you.

Payment: We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for services we provide to your insurance company.

Healthcare Operations: We may use and disclose your health information to in connection with our healthcare operations. Healthcare operations include quality assessment and improvement activities, reviewing the competence or qualifications of healthcare professionals, evaluating practitioner and provider performance, conducting training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities.

Your Authorization: In addition to our use of your health information for treatment, payment or healthcare operations, you may give us written authorization to use your health information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose. If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time. Your revocation will not affect any use of disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect. Unless you give us a written authorization, we cannot use or disclose your health information for any reason except those described in this Notice.

To Your Family And Friends: We must disclose your health information to you, as described in the Patient Rights section of this Notice. We may disclose your health information to a family member, friend or other person to the extent necessary to help with your healthcare or with payment for your healthcare, but only if you agree that we may do so.

Persons Involved In Care: We may use or disclose health information to notify, or assist in the notification of a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care, of your location, your general condition, or death. If you are present, then prior to use or disclosure of your health information, we will provide you with an opportunity to object to such uses of disclosures. In the event of your incapacity or emergency circumstances, we will disclose health information based on a determination using our professional judgment disclosing only health information that is directly relevant to the person’s involvement in your healthcare.

Marketing: We will not use your health information for marketing communications without your written authorization.

Required By Law: We will use or disclose your health information when we are required to do so by law.

Abuse or Neglect: We may disclose your health information to appropriate authorities if we reasonable believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may disclose your information to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safely or the health or safely of others.

National Security: We may disclose to military authorities the health information of the Armed Forces personal under certain circumstances.

Appointment Reminders: We may use or disclose your health information to provide you with appointment reminders such as voicemail messages, postcards or e-mails.

PATIENT RIGHTS
Access: You have the right to look at or get copies of your health information, with limited exceptions. You may request that we provide copies in a format other then photocopies. We will use the format that you request unless we cannot practicably do so. You must make a request in writing to obtain access to your health information.

QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS:
If you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your health information or in response to a request you made to amend or restrict the use or disclosure of your health information or to have us communicate with you y alternative means or at alternative locations, you may complain to us using the contact information listed at the end of this Notice. You also may submit a written complain to the U.S. Department or Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the address to file your complaint upon request.

We support your right to privacy or your health information. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Contact Officer: Karen Johnston
Telephone: (817) 370-0065
E-Mail: [email protected]