EFFECTIVE AUGUST 30, 2022
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.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR HEALTH RECORD/INFORMATION
Each time you visit a healthcare provider, a record of your visit is
made. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and
test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or
treatment. This information is often referred to as your health or
medical record and serves as a basis for planning your care, treatment,
and a means of communication among the many health professionals who
contribute to your care. Understanding what is in your record and how
your health information is used helps you to ensure its accuracy, better
understand when others may access your health information and for what
purpose, and helps you make more informed decisions when authorizing
disclosure to others.
YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS
Unless otherwise
required by law, your health record is the physical property of the
healthcare practitioner or facility that compiled it. However, you have
certain rights with respect to the information. You have the right to:
Receive a copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices from us upon enrollment or upon request.
Request restrictions on our uses and disclosures of your protected health information for treatment, payment, and health care operations. We reserve the right not to agree to a given requested restriction, unless it pertains to a request that we not disclose your health information to a health plan for payment or health care operations and you have paid in full and out of pocket for the services provided.
Request to receive communications of protected health information in confidence.
Inspect and obtain a copy of the protected health information contained in your medical and billing records and in any other Practice records used by us to make decisions about you. If we maintain or use electronic health records, you will also have the right to obtain a copy or forward a copy of your electronic health record to a third party. A reasonable copying/labor charge may apply.
Request an amendment to your protected health information. However, we may deny your request for an amendment, if we determine that the protected health information or record that is the subject of the request: (i) was not created by us, unless you provide a reasonable basis to believe that the originator of the protected health information is no longer available to act on the requested amendment; (ii) is not part of your medical or billing records; (iii) is not available for inspection as set forth above; or (iv) is accurate and complete. In any event, any agreed-upon amendment will be included as an addition to, and not a replacement of, already existing records.
Ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve 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).
Revoke an authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that we have already taken action in reliance on your authorization, or if the authorization was obtained as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage and other applicable law provides the insurer that obtained the authorization with the right to contest a claim under the policy.
Receive notification if affected by a breach of unsecured PHI.
HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED
This organization may use and/or disclose your medical information for the following purposes:
Treatment:
We may use and disclose protected health information in the provision,
coordination, or management of your health care, including consultations
between health care providers regarding your care and referrals for
health care from one health care provider to another.
Payment: We may use and disclose protected health
information to obtain reimbursement for the health care provided to you,
including determinations of eligibility and coverage and other
utilization review activities.
Regular Healthcare Operations: We may use and
disclose protected health information to support functions of our
practice related to treatment and payment, such as quality assurance
activities, case management, receiving and responding to patient
complaints, physician reviews, compliance programs, audits, business
planning, development, management, and administrative activities.
Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose protected health information to contact you to provide appointment reminders.
Treatment Alternatives: We may use and disclose
protected health information to tell you about or recommend possible
treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services
that may be of interest to you.
Health-Related Benefits and Services: We may use and
disclose protected health information to tell you about health-related
benefits, services, or medical education classes that may be of interest
to you.
Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care:
Unless you object, we may disclose your protected health information to
your family or friends, or any other individual identified by you when
they are involved in your care or the payment for your care. We will
only disclose the protected health information directly relevant to
their involvement in your care or payment. We may also disclose your
protected health information to notify a person responsible for your
care (or to identify such person) of your location, general condition,
or death.
Business Associates: There may be some services
provided in our organization through contracts with our service
providers, called Business Associates. Examples may include billing
services, or cloud storage vendors. When these services are contracted,
we may disclose some or all of your health information to our Business
Associate so that they can perform the job we have asked them to do. To
protect your health information, we require all Business Associates to
appropriately safeguard your information and comply with HIPAA.
Organ and Tissue Donation: If you are an organ donor, we may disclose medical information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye, or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.
Notice of Privacy Practices
Worker’s Compensation:
We may disclose protected health information about you for programs
that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
Communicable Diseases: We may disclose protected
health information to notify a person who may have been exposed to a
disease or may be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or
condition.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose protected health information to federal or state agencies that oversee our activities.
Law Enforcement: We may disclose protected health
information as required by law or in response to a valid judge-ordered
subpoena. For example, in cases of victims of abuse or domestic
violence; to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness,
or missing person; related to judicial or administrative proceedings; or
related to other law enforcement purposes.
Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the
armed forces, we may disclose protected health information about you as
required by military command authorities.
Lawsuits and Disputes: We may disclose protected
health information about you in response to a court or administrative
order. We may also disclose medical information about you in response to
a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful processes.
Inmates: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may disclose protected health information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official. An inmate does not have the right to the Notice of Privacy Practices. Abuse or
Neglect: We may disclose protected health
information to notify the appropriate government authority if we believe
a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
We will only make this disclosure if you agree or when required or
authorized by law.
Fundraising: Unless you notify us you object, we may
contact you as part of a fundraising effort for our practice. You may
opt-out of receiving fundraising materials by notifying the practice’s
compliance department at any time at the telephone number or the address
at the end of this document. This will also be documented and described
in any fundraising material you receive.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors:
We may disclose protected health information to a coroner or medical
examiner. This may be necessary to identify a deceased person or
determine the cause of death. We may also disclose protected health
information about patients to funeral directors as necessary to carry
out their duties.
Public Health Risks: We may disclose your protected health information for public health activities and purposes to a public health authority that is permitted by law to collect or receive the information. The disclosure will be made for the purpose such as controlling disease, injury, or disability.
Serious Threats: As permitted by applicable law and
standards of ethical conduct, we may use and disclose protected health
information if we, in good faith, believe that the use or disclosure is
necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the
health or safety of a person or the public.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA): As required by law, we may disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects, or post-marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, and repairs or replacement.
Research (inpatient): We may disclose information to
researchers when an institutional review board that has reviewed the
research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of
your health information has approved their research.
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
We are required to maintain
the privacy of your health information. In addition, we are required to
provide you with a notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with
respect to information we collect and maintain about you. We must abide
by the terms of this notice. We reserve the right to change our
practices and to make the new provisions effective for all the protected
health information we maintain. If we make material changes to our
information practices, we will send a revised notice to the address you
have supplied. Your health information will not be used or disclosed
without your written authorization, except as described in this notice
and in accordance with law. The following uses and disclosures will be
made only with explicit authorization from you: (i) uses and disclosures
of your health information for marketing purposes, including subsidized
treatment communications; (ii) disclosures that constitute a sale of
your health information; and (iii) other uses and disclosures not
described in the notice. Except as noted above, you may revoke your
authorization in writing at any time.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REPORT A PROBLEM
If
you have questions about this notice or would like additional
information, you may contact our Compliance Department at the telephone
or email address below. If you believe that your privacy rights have
been violated, you have the right to file a complaint with the
Compliance Department at Flagship Specialty Partners or with the
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The complaint
must be in writing, describe the acts or omissions that you believe
violate your privacy rights, and be filed within 180 days of when you
knew or should have known that the act or omission occurred. We will
take no retaliatory action against you if you make such complaints. The
contact information for both is included below.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201
(202) 619-0257 / Toll Free: 1-877-696-6775
https://www.hhs.gov/about/index.html
Flagship Specialty Partners Compliance Dept.
5550 Seventy-Seven Center Dr. Ste 320, Charlotte, NC 28217
855-433-8372
compliance@flagshipsp.com
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES AVAILABILITY
This notice will be prominently posted in the office where registration occurs. You will be offered a hard copy at the time we first deliver services to you. Thereafter, you may obtain a copy upon request.