How to Become a Patient
How We Treat
What to Expect
Forms
Financial Policies
HIPAA
Symptom Survey
go
Fat Calculator
go
Weightloss Quiz
go

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) provides safeguards to protect your privacy. These safeguards include restrictions on who may see or be notified of your Protected Health Information (PHI). These restrictions do not include the normal interchange of information necessary to provide you or your family with treatment. HIPAA provides certain rights and protections to you as the patient. We must balance these needs with our goal of providing you with quality service and care. Additional information is available by calling the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or on the web at www.hhs.gov.


For this reason, our practice has adopted the following policies:
1. Patient information will be kept confidential except as is necessary to provide treatment or to ensure that all administrative matters related to your care are handled appropriately. This specifically includes the sharing
of information with other healthcare providers, and laboratories, as is necessary and appropriate for your care. Patient files may be stored in open file racks but will not contain any coding which identifies a patient's condition or information which is not already a matter of public record. The normal course of providing care means that such records may be left in administrative areas such as the front office, Doctor's office, etc. The patient agrees to the normal procedures utilized within the facility for the handling of charts, patient records, PHI and other documents or information.
2. The practice utilizes a number of vendors in the process of conducting of business. These vendors may have access to PHI but agree to abide by the confidentiality rules of HIPAA.
3. The patient understands and agrees to inspections of the office and the review of documents, which may include PHI, by government agencies or insurance companies in the normal performance of their duties.
4. The patient agrees to bring any concerns or complaints regarding privacy to the attention of the Doctor or office manager.
5. Your confidential information will not be used for purposes of advertising or marketing of products, goods, or services. Such prohibition does not include treatment/product samples or goods of nominal value.
6. The practice agrees to provide you with access to your records in accordance with state law.
7. The practice may change, add, delete, or modify any of these provisions tobetter serve the needs of both the practice and the patient.
8. You have the right to request restrictions in the use of protected health information and to request changes in certain policies used within the office concerning your PHI. However, the practice is under no obligation to
alter internal policies to conform to your request.
9. There is no right to litigation under HIPAA.