THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED PURSUANT TO THE HEALTH INSURANCE PROBABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA)
Our practice is dedicated to maintaining the privacy of your Individually Identifiable Health Information (IIHI In conducting our business, we utilize paper and electronic medical records regarding you and the treatment and services we provide to you. We are required by law to maintain the confidentiality of health information that identifies you. We also are required by law to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and the privacy practices that we maintain in our practice concerning your IIHI. By federal and state law, we must follow the terms of the notice of privacy practices that we have in effect at the time. We realize that these laws are complicated, and we want to provide you with the following important information.
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 that time. Upon your request, we will provide you with any revised Notice of Privacy Practices. Additionally, this policy is available on our website alphamedicalonline.com under patient resources.
Your protected health information may be used and disclosed by your physician, our office staff and others outside of our office who are involved in your care and treatment for the purpose of providing health care services to you. Your protected health information may also be used and disclosed to pay your health care bills and to support the operation of your physician’s practice. We may use or disclose your protected health information in the following situations without your authorization or providing you the opportunity to agree or object: required by law, public health reasons, communicable diseases, required by the FDA, abuse or neglect of a patient, workers’ compensation, national security, inmates under treatment.
You have the right to inspect and copy your protected health information. You must submit your request in writing to your physician in order to inspect or obtain a copy of your IIHI. As permitted by federal or state law, we charge you a reasonable copy fee for a copy of your records. You have the right to request a restriction of your protected health information and ask us not to disclose your information to certain individuals. You have the right to request to receive confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternative location. We will accommodate reasonable requests. You may have the right to have your physician amend your protected health information if you believe it is incomplete or inaccurate. You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have made, if any, of your protected health information. All requests must be made in writing.