We understand your healthcare information is important and private. This notice explains how we use it and how you can access it. Please take the time to review it.
 
Your Rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you. You have the right to:

1.    Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical records – You have the right to see or receive a copy of your medical records, including your health history and other information we have about you. Just ask us how. We will usually provide you with a copy or summary within 30 days of your request, either electronically or on paper. We may charge a small fee to cover the cost.

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2.    Ask us to correct your medical record – If you believe some information in your medical records is wrong or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to fix it. We'll consider your request and explain our decision if we disagree within 60 days.

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3.    Request confidential communications – You have a choice in how we contact you and where we send information about your health. Just tell us if you prefer to be reached at home, work, or another address or if you prefer to receive information electronically or by mail. We will do our best to accommodate your preferences.

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4.    Ask us to limit what we use or share – You can ask us to not share certain information about your health for certain purposes, like treatment, billing, or for our own operations. We won't always be able to agree to this request, especially if it affects your care. However, if you pay for a service out of pocket, you can request us not to share that information with your insurance company. However, we are required to share information if mandated by law.

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5.    Get a list of those with whom we have shared information – You can request a list (accounting) of the times we have shared your health information in the past 6 years. This list will tell you who we shared it with and why, except for certain situations like treatment, billing, or operations .We will provide you with one free list per year, but a small fee may apply for additional requests within the same year.

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6.    Get a copy of this privacy notice – If you prefer a paper copy of any information, even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically, just let us know, and we'll provide it promptly.

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7.    Choose someone to act for you – If you have appointed someone to make decisions on your behalf (e.g., healthcare power of attorney or legal guardian), they can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will verify their authority before acting on their requests.

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8.    File a complaint if you feel your rights have been violated – If you believe we have violated your rights regarding your health information, you can file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Your Choices

There are situations where you decide who we share your information with. In these cases, simply tell us your preference, and we'll follow your instructions:

1.    Share your information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care;

2.    Share information in a disaster relief situation;

3.    Include your data in a hospital directory; and

4.    If you're unable to express your choices, we might share information only if we believe it’s in your best interest or to prevent serious harm to yourself or others.

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In these circumstances, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

1.    Marketing purposes;

2.    Sale of your information; and

3.    Sharing of psychotherapy notes.

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Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your health information?

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways:

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1.    Help manage the health care treatment you receive – We can use your health information and share it with other professionals treating you.

2.    Run our organization – We can use and disclose your information to run our organization, improve your care, and contact you when necessary. We are not allowed to use genetic information to decide whether we will give you coverage and the price of that coverage. This does not apply to long-term care plans.

3.    Pay for your health services – We can use and disclose your health information as we pay for your health services.

4.    Administer your plan – We may disclose your health information to your health plan sponsor for plan administration.

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How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We must meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes.

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1.    Help with public health and safety issues – We can share health information about you for certain situations, such as preventing disease, helping with product recalls, reporting adverse reactions to medications, reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, and preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.

2.    Do research – We can use or share your information for health research.

3.    Comply with the law – We will share information about you if state or federal laws require, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we comply with federal privacy law.

4.    Respond to organ and tissue donation requests and work with a medical examiner or funeral director. - We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations and can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.

5.    Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests – We can use or share health information about you: for workers’ compensation claims, for law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official, with health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law and for special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.

6.    Respond to lawsuits and legal actions – We can share your health information in response to a court, administrative order, or subpoena.

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Our Responsibilities

We take your privacy seriously. We are required by law to keep your health information confidential and secure. This means we will:

 

• Protect your information: We will use strong measures to keep your health information safe and private.

• Tell you if there's a problem: If anything happens that might put your information at risk, we will let you know right away.

• Follow the rules: We will only use and share your information as allowed by law and as explained in this document. We will also provide you with a copy of this document.

• Respect your choices: You have the right to say "no" to sharing your information unless it's absolutely necessary for your care. You can also change your mind later on, just let us know in writing.

 

For more information about your health information rights, you can visit: https://www.hhs.gov/programs/hipaa/index.html

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Changes to the Terms of this Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, which will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request in our office and on our website: www.woodsidemd.com

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Contact Information

If you have any questions about this notice, please get in touch with us at:

info@woodsidemd.com

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