Digestive Health Consultants of Northern California
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 to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations 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.
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 use medical information about you to provide your medical care. We disclose medical information to our employees and others who are involved in providing the care you need. For example, we may share your information with a pharmacist who needs it to dispense a prescription to you. Also 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: We use and disclose medical information about you to obtain payment for the services we provide. For example, we give your health plan the information it demands before it will pay us. Obtaining approval for a procedure or hospital admission may also require that your relevant health information be disclosed to the health plan.
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, reviewing and improving the quality of care we provide, or the competence and qualifications of our professional staff, and performing medical reviews, business planning or legal audits. We may also share your medical information with our business associates that perform administrative services for us, such as our billing clearing house or transcriptionists. We have written contracts with these associates that requires them to protect the confidentiality of your medical information. In addition, we may call you by name in the waiting room when your physician is ready to see you. We may also use or disclose your protected health information, as necessary, to contact you to remind you of your appointment.
As required by law, we may use or disclose your protected health information in the following situations without your authorization. These include: Public Health Issues , Communicable Diseases, Health Oversight, Suspected Abuse or Neglect, Food and Drug Administration Requirements, Legal Proceedings, Law Enforcement, Notification of Coroners, Funeral Directors, and Organ Donation Organizations, Research (where governing law determines authorization is not required), Criminal Activity, Military Activity, National Security, and Worker’s Compensation.
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 already taken action per your authorization.
Your Rights
The 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. To access your medical information, you must submit a written request detailing what information you want and whether you wish to inspect it or obtain a copy of it. We may charge a reasonable fee, as allowed by California and federal law for such access. Under federal law, however, we may deny access to your psychotherapy notes or to the records of an incapacitated adult you are representing if we believe such access would be likely to harm the adult. If we deny your request for access, you have the right to have the records transferred to another health professional.
You have the right to request a restriction of 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 must be in writing.
We are not required to agree to a restriction that you may request. If your 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 that we amend your health information that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. You must make the request in writing, and include the reasons you believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us and we may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy of any such rebuttal.
You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have made, if any, of your protected health information. This medical practice does not have to account for the disclosures provided to you per your written authorization or as described under the treatment, payment and healthcare operations sections of this notice.
You have the right to request that you receive your health information in a specific way or at a specific location. For example, you may ask that we send information to a particular email account or to your work address. We will comply with all reasonable requests submitted in writing.
You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices. We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and will post such changes on this web site. You then have the right to object or withdraw as provided in this notice.
Complaints
You may complain to us or to the Secretary of Health and Human Services 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 in writing. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
This notice was published and becomes effective on or before April 14, 2003.
Introduction