This office is required to notify you in writing, that by law, we must maintain the privacy and confidentiality of your Personal Health Information. In addition, we must provide you with written notice concerning your rights to gain access to your health information, and the potential circumstances under which, by law, or as dictated by our office policy, we are permitted to disclose information about you to a third party without your authorization. Below is a brief summary of these circumstances.
- Treatment purposes - discussion with other health care providers involved in your care.
- Inadvertent disclosures - open treating area mean open discussion. If you need to speak privately to the doctor, please let our staff know so we can place you in a private consultation room.
- For payment purposes - to obtain payment from your insurance company or any other collateral source.
- For workers compensation purposes - to process a claim or aid in investigation.
- Emergency - in the event of a medical emergency we may notify a family member.
- For Public Health and Safety - to prevent or lessen a serious or eminent threat to the health or safety of a person or general public.
- To Government Agencies or Law Enforcement - to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.
- For military, national security, prisoner, and government benefits purposes.
- Deceased persons - discussion with coroners and medical examiners in the event of a patient’s death.
- Telephone calls or emails and appointment reminders - we may call your home and leave messages regarding a missed appointment or apprize you of changes in practice hours or upcoming events.
- Change of ownership- in the event this practice is sold, the new owners would have access to your PHI.
YOUR RIGHTS:
- To receive an accounting of disclosures.
- To receive a paper copy of the comprehensive “Detail” Privacy Notice.
- To request mailings to an address different than residence.
- To request Restrictions on certain uses and disclosures and with whom we release information to, although we are not required to comply. If, however, we agree, the restriction will be in place until written notice of your intent to remove the restriction.
- To inspect your records and receive one copy of your records at no charge, with notice in advance.
- To request amendments to information. However, like restrictions, we are not required to agree to them.
- To obtain one copy of your records at no charge, when timely notice is provided (72 hours). X-rays are original records, and you are therefore not entitled to them. If you would like us to outsource them to an imaging center, to have copies made, we will be happy to accommodate you. However, you will be responsible for this cost.
NOTICE REGARDING YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY continued…
I have received a copy of the Patient Privacy Notice. I understand my rights as well as the practice’s duty to protect my health information and have conveyed my understanding of these rights and duties to the doctor. I further understand that this office reserves the right to amend this “Notice of Privacy Practice” at a time in the future and will make the new provisions effective for all information that it maintains past and present. I am aware that a more comprehensive version of this “Notice” is available to me. At this time, I do not have any questions regarding my rights or any of the information I have received.