Notice of Patient Privacy Practices

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides safeguards to protect your privacy. There are rules and restrictions on who may see or be notified of your Protected Health Information (PHI). These restrictions do not include the normal interchange of information necessary to provide you with office services. HIPAA provides certain rights and protections to you as a patient. This Notice of Patient Privacy Practices (NPP) is meant to inform you of those rights.

YOUR RIGHTS:

You have the right to:

·       Request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of PHI

·       To receive confidential communications of PHI

·       To inspect and copy PHI (as stated in 164.524)

·        To amend PHI (as stated in 164.526)

·       To revoke and authorization

·       To receive an accounting of disclosures

·       To opt out of communications and fundraising

·       To file a complaint with us and/or the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

·       To be notified of a breach of PHI

·       To request a paper or electronic copy of this PPN

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:

We are required by law to protect the privacy of your PHI. We must get your authorization for uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, PHI for marketing purposes, the sale of PHI, or the use of PHI in anyway not covered by this NPP.

Patient information will be kept confidential except as is necessary to provide services to ensure that all administrative matters related to your care are handled appropriately. This specifically includes the sharing of information with other healthcare providers, laboratories, health insurance payers as is necessary and appropriate for your care. Patient files are stored electronically through a secure cloud based medical records service, currently WebPT. Your information will not be stored on any computers or devices associated with this healthcare provider but will be uploaded through our devices into the cloud. The normal course of providing care means that such records may be left, at least temporarily, in administrative areas such as the front office, examination room, etc. These records will not be available to other persons other than the physical therapist and office staff. If you see your therapist in a medical office, you agree to the normal procedures utilized within the office for the handling of charts, patient records, PHI and other documents or information.

We will contact you for appointment reminders, information about treatment, or other health related benefits or services. We use phone calls, texts and emails for this service unless request otherwise.

The practice utilizes multiple vendors in the conduct of business. These vendors may have access to PHI but must agree to abide by the confidentiality rules of HIPAA. You understand and agree to inspections of the office and the review of documents which may include PHI by government agencies or insurance payers in normal performance of their duties.

You understand that if the person or entity that receives the information is not a health care provider or health plan covered by federal privacy regulation, the information described previously may be re-disclosed and no longer protected by these regulations.

We agree to provide patients with access to their records in accordance with state and federal laws. We require you to sign a form for this and a small fee may be required to printing.

We may modify this NPP at any time to better serve the needs of both the practice and the patient, and to comply with changes in HIPPA regulations.

Please access the following link to the legal document that guides the NPP:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/164.520