The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is designed to safeguard and protect your privacy. HIPAA compliance officially began on April 14, 2003, and since then, many of the policies have been ingrained in our practice. This document provides a simplified overview of our HIPAA policy. For a more comprehensive and detailed text, please refer to the official document available at our office.

Purpose: HIPAA imposes rules and restrictions on who may access or be notified about your Protected Health Information (PHI). These restrictions do not hinder the necessary exchange of information required to provide you with our healthcare services. HIPAA grants certain rights and protections to you as a patient, and we are committed to balancing these needs with our goal of delivering high-quality professional service and care. For additional information, you can visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website at www.hhs.gov.

Our HIPAA Policies:

• Confidentiality: Patient information will be kept confidential, and access will be limited to individuals who require it to provide healthcare services and manage administrative matters related to your care. This may include sharing information with healthcare providers, laboratories, and health insurance payers as necessary for your care. Patient files may be stored in open file racks, but they will not contain any coding that identifies a patient's condition or information that is not already publicly available. These records may be temporarily placed in administrative areas such as the front office and examination rooms, but they will only be accessible to office staff. By receiving care at our office, you agree to the standard procedures employed for managing charts, patient records, PHI, and other related information.
  
  
• Appointment Reminders and Communications: Our practice will send appointment reminders via telephone, text messages, email, U.S. mail, or any means convenient for the practice and as requested by you. We may also send you other communications regarding changes to office policy and new technologies that you might find valuable or informative.
  
  
• Third-party Vendors: Our practice collaborates with various vendors to conduct business operations. These vendors may have access to PHI, but they are required to adhere to HIPAA's confidentiality rules.
  
  
• Government Inspections: You acknowledge and agree that government agencies or insurance payers may conduct inspections of our office and review documents, including PHI, as part of their normal duties.
  
  
• Privacy Concerns: If you have any concerns or complaints related to privacy, please bring them to the attention of the office manager or the doctor.
  
  
• Marketing and Advertising: Your confidential information will not be used for marketing or advertising purposes.
  
  
• Access to Patient Records: We commit to providing patients with access to their records in accordance with state and federal laws.
  
  
• Policy Amendments: We reserve the right to change, add, delete, or modify any of these provisions to better serve the needs of both the practice and the patient.
  
  
• Requesting Restrictions: You have the right to request restrictions on the use of your protected health information and request changes in certain office policies regarding your PHI. However, we are not obligated to alter internal policies to accommodate your request.