Notice
of Privacy Practices
At The Discover Chiropractic Center
of North Hollywood
THIS
NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW CHIROPRACTIC AND MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT
YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS
INFORMATION.
PLEASE
REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
The
Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996
(HIPPA) is a federal program that requires that all
medical records and other individually identifiable health information
used or disclosed by us in any form, whether electronically, on
paper, or orally, are kept properly confidential.
In
the course of your care as a patient at Discover Chiropractic
Center, we may need to use or disclose personal and health related
information about you in the following ways:
Your personal health information, including your clinical records,
may be disclosed to another health care provider or hospital if
it is necessary to refer you for further diagnosis, assessment
or treatment.
Your
health care records as well as your billing records may be disclosed
to another party, such as an insurance carrier, an HMO, a PPO
or your employer (if they are, or may be, responsible for the
payment of your services).
Your name, address, email, phone number, and your health care
records may be used to contact you regarding appointment reminders
or other appointment related issues, to provide information about
alternatives to your present care or other health related information
that may be of interest to you. Periodically, thank you letters,
referral cards, newsletters, birthday cards, postcards, paper
clippings or email messages may be sent.
If
you are not at home to receive an appointment reminder, a message
may be left on your answering machine or with another member of
the household. Further, you have the right to inspect or obtain
a copy of the information we will use for these purposes. You
also have the right to refuse to provide authorization for this
office to contact you regarding these matters. If you do not provide
us with this authorization it will not affect the care provided
to you or the reimbursement avenues associated with your care.
Under
federal law, we are also permitted or required to use or disclose
your health insurance without your consent or authorization in
the following circumstances:
If we are providing health care services to you based on the orders
of another health care provider.
If we provide health care services to you in an emergency.
·
If we are required by law to provide care to you and we are unable
to obtain your consent after attempting to do so.
If there are substantial barriers to communicating with you, but
in our professional judgment we believe that you intend for us
to provide care.
If we are ordered by the courts or another appropriate agency.
Any
use or disclosure of your protected health information, other
than as described in the examples outlined above, will only be
made upon your written authorization.
We
normally provide information about your health care to you in
person at the time you receive Chiropractic care from us. We may
also mail information to you regarding your health care, insurance
forms or about the status of your account. If you would like to
receive this information at an address other than your home or,
if you would like the information in a different form, please
advise us in writing as to your preferences.
You
have the right to inspect and/or copy your health information
for seven years from the date that the record was created or for
as long as the information remains in our files. In addition,
you have the right to request an amendment to your health information.
Requests to inspect, copy or amend your health related information
should be provided to us in writing.
We
are required by state and federal law to maintain the privacy
of your patient file and to protect the health information therein.
We are also required to provide you with this notice of our privacy
practices with respect to your health information.
We
are further required by law to abide by the terms of this notice
while it is in effect. We reserve the right to alter or amend
the terms of this privacy notice. If changes are made to your
privacy notice, we will notify you in writing as soon as possible
following the changes. Any change in our privacy notice will apply
for all of your health information in our files.
Information
that we use or disclose based on this privacy notice may be subject
to re-disclosure by the person or persons to whom we provide the
information and may no longer be protected be the federal privacy
rules.
If
you have a complaint regarding our privacy notice and/or our privacy
practices, or would like further information about our privacy
policies and practices please contact:
Chris Czajka, D.C.
5953
Laurel Canyon Blvd. Suite A
North
Hollywood, CA 91607
818-506-0111
This
notice is effective as of April 16, 2003. This notice, and any
alterations or amendments made thereto, will expire seven years
after the date upon which the record was created.
Should
you have any questions, or if you want to make an appointment,
please call
Our address is 5953 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Suite A North Hollywood,
CA 91607
Located on the corner of Laurel Canyon Blvd. and Oxnard Blvd.