HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective as of 11.28.2020
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.
This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations (TPO) and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. “Protected health information” is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services.
1. Uses and Disclosures of Protected Healthy Information
Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information.
Your protected health information may be used and disclosed by your physician, our office staff and others outside of our office that are involved in your care and treatment for the purpose of providing health care services to you to pay your health care bills, to support the operation of the physician’s practice, and any other use required by law.
Treatment: We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your health care with a third party. For example, we would disclose your protected health information, as necessary, to a home health agency that provides care to you. For example, your protected health information may be provided to a physician to whom you have been referred to ensure that the physician has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you.
Payment: Your protected health information will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for your health care services. We will not bill insurance in this practice.
Healthcare Operations: We may use or disclose, as needed, your protected health information in order to support the business activities of your physician’s practice. These activities include, but are not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, training of medical students, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities. For example, we may disclose your protected health information to employees who schedule and arrange for telemedicine encounters.
We may use or disclose your protected health information in the following situation without your authorization . These situations include: as Required By Law, Public Health issues as required by law, Communicable Diseases: Health Oversight: Abuse or Neglects: Food and Drug Administration requirement: Legal Proceedings: Law Enforcement: Coroners, Funeral Directors, and Organ Donation: research: Criminal Activity: Military Activity and National Security: Workers’ Compensation: Inmates: Required Uses and Disclosures: Under the law, we must make disclosures to you and when required by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our compliance with the requirement of Sections 164.500.
We will share your protected health information with third party “business associates” that perform various activities (e.g., billing, transcription services) for the practice. Whenever an arrangement between our office and a business associated involves the use or disclosure of your protected health information we will have a written contract that contains terms that will protect the privacy of your protected health information.
We may use or disclose your protected health information as necessary to provide you with information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. We may also use and disclose your protected health information for other marketing activities. For example, your name and address may be used to send you information about products or services that we believe may be beneficial to you. You may contact our Privacy Contact to request that these materials not be sent to you.
Other Permitted and Required Uses and Disclosures Will Be Made Only With Your Consent, Authorization Or Opportunity To Object Unless Required By Law.
You may revoke this authorization, at any time, in writing, except to the extent that your physician or the physician’s practice has taken an action in reliance on the use or disclosure indicated in the authorization.
Your Rights
Following is a statement of your rights with respect to your protected health information.
You have the right to inspect and copy your protected health information. This means you may inspect and obtain a copy of protected health information about you that is contained in a designated record set for as long as we maintain the protected health information. A “designated record set” contains medical and billing records and any other records that your physician and the practice use for making decisions about you. Under federal law, however, you may not inspect or copy the following records; psychotherapy notes; information complied in reasonable anticipation of, or use in, a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding, and protected health information that is subject to law that prohibits access to protected health information.
You have the right to request a restriction or your protected health information. This means you may ask us not to use or disclose any part of your protected health information for the purposes of treatment, payment or healthcare operations. You may also request that any part of your protected health information not be disclosed to family members or friends who may be involved in your care or for notification purposes as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices. Your request must state the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply.
Your physician is not required to agree to a restriction that you may request. If physician believes it is in your best interest to permit use and disclosure of your protected health information, your protected health information will not be restricted. You then have the right to use another Healthcare Professional.
You have the right to request to receive confidential communications from us by alternative means. We will accommodate reasonable requests. We may also condition this accommodation by asking you for information as to how payment will be handled or specification of an alternative address or other method of contact. We will not request an explanation for you as to the basis for the request. Please make this request in writing to our Privacy Contact.
You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have made, if any, of your protected health information. This right applies to disclosures for purposes other than treatment, payment or healthcare operations as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices.
We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices. We may change the terms of our notice at any time. The new notice will be effective for all protected health information that we maintain at this time. Upon your request, we will provide you with any revised Notice of Privacy Practices by calling the office and requesting that a revised copy be sent to you in the mail or asking for one at the time of your next appointment.
Complaints
You may complain to us or to the Office of Civil Rights if you believe your privacy rights have been violated by us. You may file a complaint with us by notifying our privacy contact of your complaint. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Email: contact@physicianpromise.com
This notice was published and becomes effective on November 28, 2020.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of, and provide individuals with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information. If you have any objections to this form, please ask to speak with our HIPAA Compliance Officer by email: Anand Narayan.
OTHER:
DEFINITIONS:
Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health preparedness, public health and health education.
Telemedicine is a subset of Telehealth. It means the use of electronic communication and information technologies to provide or support clinical care at a distance. This would include teleconsultations, telemonitoring, teleradiology, and electronic messaging etc.
Telemedicine consultation means any contact between a patient and a health care provider relating to the health care diagnosis or treatment of such patient through telemedicine but does not include a telephone conversation, electronic mail message or facsimile transmission between a health care provider and a patient.
Information technology resources (system) include but are not limited to voice, video, data and network facilities and services.
Privacy is defined as the right of individuals to keep information about themselves from being disclosed.
Confidential information means protected health information and proprietary information.
Proprietary information refers to information regarding business practices, including but not limited to, financial statements, contracts, business plans, research data, employee records and students records.
Protected Health Information (PHI) is individually identifiable health information. Health information means any information whether oral or recorded in any medium.
Information security is defined as the ability to control access and protect information from accidental or intentional disclose to unauthorized persons and from alteration, destruction or loss.
Workforce refers to staff, volunteers, physicians, independent contractors b) Patient Confidentiality during
Telemedicine:
- Prior to an initial telemedicine encounter the healthcare provider will have the patient review and sign the Consent to Treatment Form. The completed form will be filed in the legal Medical Record.
- The healthcare provider who is rendering care will review the answers to the patient’s adaptive medical questionnaire and converse with the patient via electronic messaging. If deemed necessary, a video or phone call encounter will be established between the physician and patient. All FDA approved electronic communication technology will be used.
- All medical data presented will remain confidential.