NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES AND POLICIES
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
1. INTRODUCTION
CENTRAL FLORIDA TOTAL HEALTHCARE is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide individuals with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information. CENTRAL FLORIDA TOTAL HEALTHCARE is required to abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect. CENTRAL FLORIDA TOTAL HEALTHCARE reserves the right to change the terms of its notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all PHI that it maintains.
This Notice of Privacy Practices and Policies outlines our practices, policies and legal duties to maintain confidentiality and protect against prohibited disclosure of protected health information (“PHI”) under the privacy regulations mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and further expanded by the Health Information Technology for Economic Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”).
PHI includes your demographic information such as name, address, telephone number, and family; past, present, or future information about your physical or mental health or condition; and information about the medical services provided to you, including payment information, if any of that information may be used to identify you. Your PHI may be maintained by us electronically and/or on paper.
This Notice describes uses and disclosures of PHI to which you have consented, that you may be asked to authorize in the future, and that are permitted or required by state or federal law. Also, it advises you of your rights to access and control your PHI.
We may amend this Notice of Privacy Practices and Policies periodically. The new notice will be effective for all PHI that we maintain at that time. Upon your request, we will provide you with any revised Notice of Privacy Practices or you may obtain a copy by accessing our website at www.centralfloridaheartcare.com, by calling the office, 407-790-7860 and requesting that a revised copy be sent to you in the mail, or asking for one at the time of your next appointment.
We regard the safeguarding of your PHI as an important duty. The elements of this Notice and any authorizations you may sign are required by state and federal law for your protection and to ensure your informed consent to the use and disclosure of PHI necessary to support your relationship with CENTRAL FLORIDA TOTAL HEALTHCARE.
If you have any questions about CENTRAL FLORIDA TOTAL HEALTHCARE Notice of Privacy Practices and Policies, please contact the Jessica Agostini at 407-392-1919.
2. SAFEGUARDING PHI WITHIN OUR PRACTICE
We have in place appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect and to secure the privacy and security of your PHI. We orient our staff to the regulations and policies developed to protect the privacy of your PHI, and review their obligation to maintain privacy and security annually. We hold medical records in a secure area within our practice, and our electronic medical record system is monitored and updated to address security risks in compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule. Only staff members who have a legitimate "need to know" are permitted access to your medical records and other PHI. Our staff understands the legal and ethical obligation to protect your PHI and that a violation of this Notice of Privacy Practices and Policies may result in disciplinary action in accordance with our Human Resource policies.
3. USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PHI
As part of our registration materials, we will request your written consent for our practice to use and disclose your PHI for the following types of activities:
- TREATMENT. Treatment means the provision, coordination, or management of your health care and related services by CENTRAL FLORIDA TOTAL HEALTHCARE and health care providers involved in your care. Students may be a member of the health care team. It includes the coordination or management of health care by a provider with a third party insurance carrier, communication with lab or imaging providers for test results, consultation between our clinical staff and other health care providers relating to your care, or our referral of you to a specialist physician or facility.
- PAYMENT. Payment means our activities to obtain reimbursement for the medical services provided to you, including billing, claims management, and collection activities. Payment also may include your insurance carrier's efforts in determining eligibility, claims processing, assessing medical necessity, and utilization review. Payment may also include activities carried out on our behalf by one or more of our collection agencies or agents in order to secure payment on delinquent bills.
- HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS. Health care operations mean the legitimate business activities of our practice. These activities may include quality assessment and improvement activities; fraud & abuse compliance; business planning & development; and business management & general administrative activities. These can also include our telephoning you to remind you of appointments, or using a translation service if we need to communicate with you in person, or on the telephone, in a language other than English. When we involve third parties in our business activities, we will have them sign a Business Associate Agreement obligating them to safeguard your PHI according to the same legal standards we follow.
4. ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF PHI
We may transfer your PHI to other treating health care providers electronically. We may also transmit your information to your insurance carrier electronically.