NOTICE OF PRIVACY POLICY/PRACTICE

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.

PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. 

 

THIS PRACTICE’S LEGAL DUTY

This practice is required by law to protect the privacy of your health information and to provide you with a Notice of Privacy Practices (the “Notice”) describing our privacy practices, legal responsibilities, and your rights regarding your protected health information. This information includes your individually identifiable information, insurance and payment information, and medical information such as diagnosis, medications, medical billing history, address and social security number that is related to past, present, or future health care services provided by us. This Notice will be provided to our patients no later than the date of the first service delivery, including service delivered electronically. We will post this Notice in a clear and prominent location where it will be accessible for you to read.

BACKGROUND

Timely, accurate, and complete health information must be collected, maintained, and made available to members of an individual’s healthcare team so that members of the team can accurately diagnose and care for that individual. Most consumers understand and have no objections to this use of their information.

On the other hand, consumers may not be aware of the fact that their health information may be also used as

< >A legal document describing the care renderedVerification of service for which the individual or third-party payers is billedA tool in evaluating the adequacy and appropriateness of careA tool in educating professionalsA source of data for researchA source of information for tracking disease so that public health officials can manage and improve the health of the nationA source of data for facility planning and/or marketingINFORMATION THAT IS COVERED BY THIS NOTICE IS:  < >Health care information about your treatment Billing and payment information  Certain personal information needed to identify you, contact you and provide for payment  Oral, paper, and electronic information Information that is created, received, accessed, transmitted, and stored by us PERSONS WHO MUST FOLLOW THIS NOTICE ARE:  < >All health care professional authorized to enter information into your chartAll employees, staff, and other office personnel Any volunteers or health care students, interns, residents, or fellows Any person or company providing services under Provider's direction and control will follow the terms of this notice.  Basis for planning your care and treatment;Mean of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care;Legal document describing the care you received;Means by which you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided;A tool in education 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 facility planning and/or marketing;A tool with which this Practice can assesses and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve.Ensure its accuracy;Better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health information;Make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information as provided by 45 CF 164.522;Request and keep a copy of this notice of information practices upon your request, and inspect and obtain a copy of your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 164.524;Amend your health record as provided in 45 CFR 164.528;Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as provided in 45 CFR 164.528;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 takenMaintain the privacy of your health information;Provide you with a 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 alterative locations.  https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/complaint- process/index.html. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

 

HOW WE WILL USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

We will use your health information for treatment

We may use health information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. Information obtained by members of your healthcare team will be recorded in your record and used by personnel to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. Your physician will document in your record his or her expectations of the members of your healthcare team. Members of your healthcare team will then record the actions they took and their observations. In that way, the physician will know how you are responding to treatment.

 

We will also provide your subsequent healthcare provider with copies of various reports that should assist him or her in treating you once you're treatment with our Practice is completed.

 

Additionally, different departments of this Practice may also share health information about you in order to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and x-rays. We also may disclose health information about you to individuals outside the Practice who may be involved in your medical care, such as family members, clergy or others we use to provide services that are part of your care.

For example: A doctor treating you for a gastro-related problem may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes complicates the medical treatment process. In addition, if the proposed treatment involves hospitalization the doctor may need to tell the dietitian in the hospital if you have diabetes so that they can arrange for appropriate meals.

 

We will use your health information for payment

We will use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive from the Practice may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.

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

We may use and disclose health information about you for this Practice's operations. Members of the medical staff or members of the quality improvement team may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your care and others like it. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the healthcare services we provide.

For example: We may use health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine health information about many Practice patients to decide what additional services this Practice should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to our personnel for review and education purposes. We may also combine the health information we have with health information from other practices to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of health information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are.

 

Appointment reminders

We may use and disclose health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care at the Practice.

 

Treatment alternatives

We may use and disclose health information to tell you about health-related benefits or alternate treatment services that may be of interest to you.

 

Business Associates

There are some services provided by our Practice through contracts with business associates, Examples could include certain laboratory tests, transcription services or billing company services. The types of services for which this Practice contracts with business associates may change from time to time. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we've asked them to do and bill you or your third-party payer for services rendered, 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, of your location and general condition.

 

Communications with family or individuals involved in your care or payment for your care

Health professionals, 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. We may also give information to someone who just helps pay for your care. Additionally, we may disclose health information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief.

 

Research

if physicians in this Practice participate in a clinical study or other research with you, we may disclose information to researchers if such research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and has established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.

 

Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors

We may disclose health information to a funeral director consistent with applicable law to carry out their duties. We may also release health information to a coroner or medical examiner in order to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death.

 

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 new 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, reporting births and deaths, reporting child abuse or neglect, reporting reactions to medications or problems with products, notifying people of recalls of products they may be using or notifying the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.

 

Correctional institution

Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution 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, court order, warrant, summons or similar process, We may also release health information, if asked to do so by a law enforcement official, to identify the victim of a crime (if we are unable to obtain the person's agreement), to find out about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct, to find out about criminal conduct at this Practice, and in emergency circumstances to report a crime.

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.

 

Military and veterans

If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release health information about you as required by military command authorities. We may also release health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.

 

Lawsuits and disputes

If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

 

National security and intelligence activities

We may release health information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.

 

Protective services for the President and others

We may disclose health information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.

 

Your Rights Regarding Health information About You

You have the following rights regarding health information we maintain about you:

 

Right to inspect and copy

You have the right to inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes.

To inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to this Practice. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies associated with your request.

We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to health information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed healthcare professional chosen by this Practice will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request.

We will comply with the outcome of the review.

 

Right to amend

If you feel that health information, we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information.

You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for the Practice.

 

To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to this Practice. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request.

We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:

< >Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available toIs not part of the health information kept by or for the Practice;Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or Is accurate and complete.www.gastroandmotilitycenter.com

 

Changes to this notice

We reserve the right to change this notice at any time. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in the waiting room of the Practice. The notice will contain on the first page, in the top right-hand comer, the "Effective Date". In addition, each time you register at or are admitted to this Practice for treatment or health care services, we will make available to you a copy of the current notice in effect. We will post all new notices in the waiting room of the Practice. You can request a copy of our notice at any time.

 

Should we revise this notice because of a material change to the uses or disclosures of protected health information,

to individual's rights, to our legal duties, or to other privacy practices stated in the notice, we will promptly revise and make available the new notice. Except when required by law, a material change in any term of the notice may not be implemented prior to the Effective Date of the notice in which such material change is reflected. Pursuant to the HIPAA privacy regulations, we will document compliance with the notice requirements by retaining copies of all notices issued.

 

Other uses of health information

Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization You may request in writing that we not use or disclose your information for treatment, payment and administrative purposes except when specifically authorized by you, when required by law, or in emergency circumstances. We will consider your request but are not legally required to accept it. If you provide us authorization to use or disclose health information about you, you may revoke that authorization, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose health information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your authorization, and that we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.

 

Providing care to our workforce

This provision only applies to health care provided to our work force

As a HIPAA covered healthcare provider that occasionally provides care to our work force for medical surveillance, work-related illness, or injury, we must provide written notice to individuals seeking such care at the time healthcare is provided or we must post this notice in a prominent place at the location where the healthcare is provided.

 

Federal law and regulations do not protect any information about a crime committed by a patient either at the Practice or against any person who works for the Practice, or about any threat to commit such a crime.

Federal laws and regulations do not protect any information about suspected child abuse or neglect from being reported under state law to appropriate state or local authorities.

 

USES OR DISCLOSURES TO WHICH YOU MAY OBJECT OR OPT OUT:

Directory: we may include certain limited information in a directory (including name, location, condition described in general terms and/or religious affiliation) and this may be made available to others who request you by name.  

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Immunization: we may provide proof of immunization to a school that is required by state or other law to have such proof. Persons involved in your care or responsible for payment: we may disclose information to a family member, relative, friend, or other identified person, prior to, or after your death, who is involved in your care or payment for care unless you object in writing.   

 

Email or text: we may communicate with you by encrypted email or text unless you object.By signing this document, you consent to your mobile phone number to be used to communicate with you by text or voice through an automated or pre-recorded message to

provide you with information related to your healthcare, account or bills for healthcare services, and information related to additional healthcare services that may be of interest to you. I understand that message/data rates may apply to messages sent through Gastroenterology & Motility Center to my mobile phone. I understand that I am under no obligation to authorize

Gastroenterology & Motility Center to send you text messages as part of this program. By signing, I certify that I am the owner of this cellular device and its user contract.

 

Gastroenterology & Motility Center is committed to protecting your privacy. When you sign up for our SMS services, we may collect the following information:
Phone Number: Your mobile phone number is required to send you SMS messages.
Message Data: This includes the content of the SMS messages, the date and time they were sent, and the status (e.g., delivered, read).

We use the information collected to:
- Send you SMS messages, including alerts, notifications, promotions, and updates related to our services.
- Respond to your inquiries or requests sent via SMS.
- Improve our services and develop new features.

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to outside parties, except as described below:
- **Legal Requirements:** We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or a government agency).

We implement various security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

You can opt out of receiving SMS messages from us at any time by replying "STOP" to any SMS message you receive. You will no longer receive SMS messages from us unless you opt back in.

We retain your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. After the retention period, your data will be securely deleted or anonymized.

We may update this SMS Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes by posting the new policy on our website or by sending you an SMS notification.

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The phone number collected on the SMS consent will not be shared with third parties or affiliate marketing purposes under any circumstances.

 

 

The use of email is very popular and convenient way to communicate for a lot of people.

Unfortunately, email services such as Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo do not utilize encrypted email,

meaning it’s possible that a third-party may be able to assess the information and read it since it

is transmitted over the internet. HIPPA guidelines state that if a patient has been made aware of

the risk of unencrypted email and that patient provides consent to receive health information

via email, we may. Use it as an alternative communication. This authorization may be used to

send emails.

  

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE: 

This notice is effective (date): Aug 27, 2024. We are required to abide by the terms of the notice currently in effect, but we reserve the right to change these terms as necessary. If we change the terms of this notice (while you are receiving service), we will promptly revise and distribute a revised notice to you as soon as practicable by mail, email (if you have agreed to electronic notice), or hand delivery