THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND
DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT
CAREFULLY.
Reed Dermatology Clinic, P.A., is here to serve your health
care needs. We appreciate the trust you have placed in us, and we are committed
to using protected health information about you responsibly.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
Each time you visit Reed Dermatology Clinic, P.A., 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, often referred to as your health or medical
record, serves as:
§A basis for
planning your care and treatment
§A means of
communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care
§A legal document
describing the care you received
§A means by which
you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually
provided
§A tool in
educating health professionals
§A source of data
for medical research
§A source of
information for public health officials charged with improving the health of the
nation
§A source of data
for our practice planning and marketing
§A tool with which
we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the
outcomes we achieve
An understanding of what is in your record and how your
health information is used will help you to (1) ensure its accuracy, (2) better
understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health
information, and (3) make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to
others.
YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS
Although your health record is the physical property of Reed
Dermatology Clinic, P.A., the information belongs to you. As provided for in
the HIPAA Privacy Regulation, 45 CFR Part 160, you have the right to:
§Request a
restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information
§Obtain a paper
copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices upon request
§Inspect and copy
your health record
§Request an
amendment to your health record
§Obtain an
accounting of disclosures of your health information
§Request
communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative
locations
§Revoke your
authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that
action has already been taken
RESPONSIBILITIES OF Reed Dermatology Clinic, P.A.
Our practice is required to:
§Maintain the
privacy of your health information
§Provide you with
this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to
information we collect and maintain about you
§Abide by the terms
of this notice
§Notify you if we
are unable to agree to a requested restriction
§Accommodate
reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by
alternative means or at alternative locations
We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the
new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain.
Should our information practices change, we will post a copy in our office in a
prominent location. We will provide a copy of the revised Notice upon your
request made to our Privacy Officer.
We will not use or disclose your health information without
your authorization, except as described in this notice.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO
REPORT A PROBLEM
If you have questions and would like additional information,
you may contact the Privacy Officer of Reed Dermatology Clinic, P.A., at (828)
322-7546.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you
can file a complaint with the Privacy Officer of Reed Dermatology, P.A. or with
the Secretary of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for
filing a complaint.
EXAMPLES OF DISCLOSURES FOR TREATMENT, PAYMENT, AND HEALTH
OPERATIONS
We will use your health information for treatment.
For example: information obtained by the physician or
another member of our staff will be recorded in your record and used to
determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. Your provider
will document in your record any expectations he or she has for the members of
our staff. Our staff will then record the actions they took and their
observations. In that way, the provider will know how you are responding to
treatment.
We will also provide your physician or a subsequent health
care provider with copies of various reports that should assist him or her in
treating you.
We will use your health information for payment.
For example: A bill may be sent to you or a third-party
payer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that
identifies you, as well as your diagnosis, procedures, and supplies used.
We will use your health information for regular health
operations.
For example: Members of our staff may use information in
your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like
it. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the
quality and effectiveness of the health care and service we provide.
Business Associates: There are some services provided in our practice through
contacts with Business Associates. Examples include diagnostic services,
certain laboratory tests, and a transcription service we use for documenting
your record. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health
information to our Business Associates so that it can perform the job we’ve
asked it to do. To protect your health information, however, we require the
business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.
Notification: We may use or disclose
information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal
representative, or another person responsible for your care, your location, and
general condition.
Communication with family: Our staff, using their best judgment, may disclose to
a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person you
identify, health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care
or payment related to your care.
Research: We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been
approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research
proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health
information.
Funeral Directors: We may disclose health
information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to carry out
their duties.
Organ procurement organizations:
Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose health information to organ
procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking,
or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.
Marketing: We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or
information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and
services that may be of interest to you.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA): 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, repairs,
or replacement.
Workers Compensation: We may disclose health
information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply
with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs established
by law.
Public Health: As required by law, we may disclose your health information
to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling
disease, injury, or disability.
Correctional Institution: Should you be an inmate of a
correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution or agents thereof
health information necessary for your health and the health and safety of other
individuals.
Law Enforcement: We may disclose health
information for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a
valid subpoena.
Federal law makes provision for your health information to be
released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority, or
attorney, provided that a work force member or business associate believes in
good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated
professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering one or more
patients, workers, or the public.
