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 an electronic or paper copy of your medical record:

You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.

Ask us to correct your medical record :

You can ask us to correct health information that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.

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

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 comply with all reasonable requests.

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 the request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.

If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in-full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer.

We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information:

You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we have shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.

We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other disclosures, (such as any you asked us to make).

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.

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.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated:

You can file a complaint if you feel we have violated your rights, by contacting us using our compliance hotline at 888-452-0090 or www.hotline-services.com or by calling the agency directly and asking for the privacy officer.

You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by:

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

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.

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
• Include your information in a hospital directory
• Contact you for fundraising efforts

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

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

In the case of fundraising :

We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

OUR USES AND DISCLOSURES :

How do we typically use or share your health information? We typically use or share your health information in the following ways :

• 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 : 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.
• Bill for your services : We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.
  Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

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 have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: hhs.gov

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 suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Research :

We can use or share your information for health research.

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.

Response to organ and tissue donation requests :

We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.

Work with a medical examiner or funeral director :

We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.

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

We can use or share health information about you:

• For workers’ compensation claims
• 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

Response to lawsuits and legal actions :

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

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.

For more information see: hhs.gov.

Nondiscrimination :

We comply with applicable federal civil rights laws, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), section 1557 and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

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 website.