Our practice is dedicated to maintaining the privacy of your protected health information (PHI).  In conducting our business, we will create 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 PHI.  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, but we must provide you with the following important 

information: 

• How we may use and disclose your PHI 

• Your privacy rights in your PHI 

• Our obligations concerning the use and disclosure of your PHI 

 

The terms of this notices apply to all records containing your PHI that are created or retained by our practice.  We reserve the right to revise or amend this Notice of Privacy Practices.  Any revision or amendment to this notice will be effective for all of your records that our practice has created or maintained in the past, and for any of your records that we may create or maintain in the future. Our practice will post a copy of our current Notice in our offices in a visible location at all times, and you may request a copy of our most current Notice at any time.  

 

Examples of Allowable Uses or Disclosures of Your Personal Health Information 

The HIPAA Privacy Standards allow healthcare entities to receive and disclose your information without obtaining your authorization, for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations purposes. Each of these purposes is explained below. 

1. Treatment: 

Our practice may use your PHI to treat you.  For example, we may ask you to have laboratory tests 

(such as blood or urine tests), and we may use the results to help us reach a diagnosis.  We might use your PHI in order to write a prescription for you, or we might disclose that information to a pharmacy when we order a prescription for you.  Many of the people who work for our practice, including, but not limited to, our doctors and nurses, may use or disclose your PHI in order to treat you or to assist others in your treatment.   

2.  Payment: 

Our practice may use and disclose your PHI in order to bill and collect payment for the services and 

items you may receive from us.  For example, we may contact your health insurer to certify that you are eligible for benefits (and for what range of benefits), and we may provide your insurer with detail regarding your treatment to determine if your insurer will cover or pay for your treatment.  We may use and disclose your PHI to obtain payment from third parties that may be responsible for such costs.  Also, we may use your PHI to bill you directly for services and items. 

3. Healthcare Operations:

Our practice may use and disclose your PHI to operate our business.  For example, our 

practice may use your PHI to evaluate the quality of care you received from us, or to conduct cost management and business planning activities for our practice. 

4. Appointment Reminders: 

Our practice may use and disclose your PHI to contact you and remind you of an 

appointment. 

5. Treatment Options: 

Our practice may use and disclose your PHI to inform you of potential treatment options or 

alternatives. 

6. Health‐Related Benefits and Services: 

Our practice may use and disclose your PHI to inform you of health

related benefits or services that may be in interest to you.  

7. Release of Information to Family/Friends: 

Our practice may release your PHI to a friend or family member that 

is involved in your care, or who assists in taking care of you.  For example, a parent or guardian may ask that a babysitter take his or her child to the pediatrician’s office for a treatment of a cold.  In this example, the babysitter may have access to this child’s medical information. You have the right to object to the sharing of this information. You must provide the request in writing. Use and Disclosure of Your PHI in Certain Special Circumstances:  The HIPAA Privacy Standards specify certain other circumstances where we may legally use or disclose protected health information without your authorization; these situations generally are for public health and safety, legal, and judicial purposes. The following categories describe unique scenarios in which we may use or disclose your identifiable health information: 

1.  Public health: Our practice may disclose your health information to public health authorities that are authorized by law to collect information for the purpose of: 

· maintaining vital records, such as births and deaths 

· reporting child abuse or neglect 

· preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability 

· notifying a person regarding potential exposure to a communicable disease 

· notifying a person regarding a potential risk for spreading or contracting a disease or condition 

· reporting reactions to drugs or problems with products or devices 

· notifying individuals if a product or device they may be using has been recalled 

· notifying appropriate government agencies and authorities regarding the potential abuse or neglect of an adult patient (including domestic violence); however, we will only disclose this information if the patient agrees or we are required or authorized by law to disclose this information 

· notifying your employer under limited circumstances related primarily to workplace injury or illness or medical surveillance 

2. Health Oversight Activities: Our practice may disclose your PHI to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law.  Oversight activities can include, for example, investigations, inspection, audits, surveys, licensure, and disciplinary actions; civil, administrative, and criminal procedures or actions; or other activities necessary for the government to monitor government programs, compliance with civil rights laws and the health care system in general. 

3. Lawsuits and Similar Proceedings: Our practice may use and disclose your PHI in response to a court or administrative order, if you are involved in a lawsuit or similar proceeding.  We may also disclose your PHI in response to a discovery, subpoena, or other lawful process by another party involved in the dispute, but only if we have made an effort to inform you of the request or to obtain an order protecting the information the party as requested.  

4. Law Enforcement: We may release PHI if asked to do so by a law enforcement official: 

· Regarding a crime victim in certain situations, if we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement 

· Concerning a death we believe has resulted from criminal conduct 

· Regarding criminal conduct at our office 

· In response to a warrant, summons, court order, subpoena, or similar legal process 

· To identify/locate a suspect, material witness, fugitive or missing person 

· In an emergency, to report a crime (including the location or victim(s) of the crime, or the description, identify or location of the perpetrator) 

5. Deceased Patients: Our practice may release PHI to a medical examiner or coroner to identify a deceased individual or to identify the cause of death.  If necessary, we also may release information in order for funeral directors to perform their jobs.  

6. Organ and Tissue Donation: Our practice may release your PHI to organizations that handle organ, eye, or tissue procurement, including organ donation banks, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation if you are an organ donor. 

7. Research: Our practice may use and disclose you PHI for research purposes in certain limited circumstances.  We will obtain your written authorization to use your PHI for research purposes except when:     

(a) our use or disclosure was approved by and Institutional Review Board or a Privacy Board; 

(b) we obtain the oral or written agreement of a researcher that     

(i)the information being sought is necessary for the research study; 

(ii) the use or disclosure of your PHI is being used only for the research and

(iii) the researcher will not remove any of your PHI from our practice; or

(c) the PHI sought by the researcher only relates to the decedents and the researcher agrees either orally or in writing that the use or disclosure is necessary for the research and , if we request it, to provide us with proof of death prior to access to the PHI of the decedents.  

8. Serious Threats to Health or Safety: Our practice may use and disclose your PHI when necessary to reduce or prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of another individual or the public. Under these circumstances, we will only make disclosures to a person or organization able to help prevent the threat.  

9. Military: Our practice may disclose your PHI if you are a member of U.S. or foreign military forces (including veterans) and if required by the appropriate authorities.  

10. National Security: Our practice may disclose your PHI to federal officials for intelligence and national security activities authorized by law.  We also may disclose your PHI to federal officials in order to protect the President, other officials or foreign heads of state, or to conduct investigations. 

11. Inmates: Our practice may disclose your PHI to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials if you are an inmate or under the custody of a law enforcement official.  Disclosure for these purposes would be necessary: 

(a) for the institution to provide healthcare services to you, 

(b) for the safety and security of the institution, and/or 

(c) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of other individuals. 

12. Workers’ Compensation: Our practice may release your PHI for workers’ compensation and similar programs.  

 

In All Other Situations We Use and Disclose Your Personal Information only with Your Authorization: Except as otherwise permitted or required, we do not use or disclose your personal health information without your written authorization and then we use or disclose it only in a manner consistent with the terms of that authorization. You may revoke the authorization to use or disclose any personal health information at any time, by writing to the contact person listed in this Notice, unless we have already acted under that authorization. 

 

You have the following rights regarding the PHI that we maintain about you: 

 

1. Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that our practice communicate with you about your health and related issues in a particular manner or at a certain location.  For instance, you may ask that we contact you at home, rather than at work.  In order to request a type of confidential communication, you must make a written request to our office specifying the requested method of contact, or the location where you wish to be contacted.  Our practice will accommodate reasonable requests.  You do not need to give a reason for your request.  

2. Requesting Restrictions: You have the right to request that we may not disclose information about care you have paid for out‐of‐pocket to health plans, unless for treatment purposes or in the rare event the disclosure is required by law.  Additionally, you have the right to request that we restrict our disclosure of your PHI to only certain individuals involved in your care or the payment for your care, such as family members and friends.  We are bound by our agreement except when otherwise required by law, in emergencies, or when the information is necessary to treat you.  In order to request a restriction in our use or disclosure of you PHI, you must make your request in writing to our office.  Your request must describe in a clear and concise fashion: 

(a) the information you wish restricted; 

(b) whether you are requesting to limit our practice’s use, disclosure or both; and 

(c) to whom you want the limits to apply. 

3. Inspection and Copies: You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of the PHI that may be use to make decisions about you, including patient medical records and billing records, but not including psychotherapy notes.  You must submit your request in writing to our office in order to inspect and/or obtain a copy of your PHI.  Our practice may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, labor and supplies associated with your request.  Our practice may deny your request to inspect and/or copy in certain limited circumstances; however, you may request a review of our denial.  Another licensed health care professional chosen by us will conduct reviews.  

4. Amendment: You may ask us to amend your health information if you believe it is incorrect or incomplete, and you may request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for our practice.  To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to our office.  You must provide us with a reason that supports your request for amendment. Our practice will deny your request if you fail to submit your request (and the reason supporting your request) in writing.  Also, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that is in our opinion: 

(a) accurate and complete;

(b) not part of the PHI kept by or for the practice; 

(c) not in part of the PHI which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or (d) not created by our practice, unless the individual or entity that created the information is not available to amend the information. 

5. Accounting of Disclosures: All of our patients have the right to request an “accounting of disclosures.”  An “accounting of disclosures” is a list of certain non‐routine disclosures our practice has made of your PHI for nontreatment or operations purposes.  Use of your PHI as part of the routine patient care in our practice is not required to be documented.  For example, the doctor shares information with the nurse; or the billing department using your information to file your insurance claim.  In order to obtain an accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to our office.  All requests for and “accounting of disclosures” must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years from the date of disclosure and may not include dates before January 1, 2000.  Our practice will notify you of the costs involved with the request, and you may withdraw your request before you incur any costs. 

6. Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You are entitled to receive a paper copy of our notice of privacy practices.  You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time.  To obtain a paper copy of this notice, contact our office. 

7. Right to File a Complaint: If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our practice. All complaints must be submitted in writing to our front office.  You will not be penalized for filing a complaint. 

8. Right to Provide an Authorization for Other Uses and Disclosures: Our practice will obtain your written authorization for uses and disclosures that are not identified by this notice or permitted by applicable law. Any authorization you provide to us regarding the use and disclosure of your PHI may be revoked at any time in writing. After you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your PHI for the reasons described in the authorization.  Please note, we are required to retain records of your case.  

 

If you have any questions about our privacy practices or your personal health information, please contact us. Send questions, requests, or complaints to: 

Teton Laser Center, LLC

PO Box 1844      

555 E. Broadway, Suite 108    

Jackson, WY 83001     

Phone: 307-734-0711