HIPAA INFORMATION
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES (SHORT VERSION)
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.
Our commitment to your privacy.
Our practice is dedicated to maintaining the privacy of your personal health information. We are also required to do this by law. These laws are complicated, but we must provide you with important information. This explanation is a shorter version of the full, legally required Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) which is available from our Administrative staff in the Timonium office. However, we can't cover all possible situations, so please contact our Privacy Officer (see the end of this document) about any questions or problems.
We will use the information about your health which we get from you or from others mainly to provide you with treatment, to arrange payment for your services or for some other business activities which are called, in the law, health care operations. After you have read this NPP we will ask you to sign a Consent Form to let us use and share your information. If you do not consent and sign this form, we cannot treat you.
If we or you want to use or disclose (send, share, release) your information for any other purposes we will discuss this with you and ask you to sign and Authorization to allow this.
Of course, we will keep your health information private, but there are some times when the laws require us to use or share it such as:
1. When there is a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of another individual or the public. We will only share information with a person or organization who is able to help prevent or reduce the threat.
2. Some lawsuits and legal or court proceedings.
3. If a law enforcement official requires to do so.
4. For Workers Compensation and similar benefit programs.
There are some other situations like these which may occur less frequently. They are described in the longer version of the NPP.
Your rights regarding your health information
1. You can ask us to communicate with you about your health and related issues in a particular way or at a certain place. For example, you can ask us to call you at home, and not at work to schedule or cancel and appointment. We will try our best to respond according to your request.
2. You have the right to ask us to limit what we tell certain individuals involved in your care or the payment for your care, such as family members and friends. While we don't have to agree to your request, if we do agree, we will keep our agreement except if it is against the law, or in an emergency, or when the information is necessary to treat you.
3. You have the right to look at the health information we have about you such as your medical and billing records. You can even get a copy of these records, but we may charge you. Contact our Privacy Officer to arrange how to see your records. See below.
4. If you believe the information in your records is incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us to make some kinds of changes (called amending) to your health information. You have to make this request in writing and send it to our Privacy Officer. You must tell us the reasons you want to make the changes.
5. You have the right to a copy of this notice. If we change this NPP we will post it in our waiting room and you can always get a copy of the NPP from the Privacy Officer or from our administrative staff.
6. You have the right to file a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. You can file a complaint with our Privacy Officer and with the Secretary of the Department of Heath and Human Services. All complaints must be in writing. Filing a complaint will not change the health care we provide to you in any way.
Privacy Officer
If you have any questions regarding this notice or our health information privacy policies, please contact our Privacy Officer who is Dr. Doris Morgan and can be reached by phone at 410-561-9584.
The effective date of this notice is April 14, 2003.
