This notice describes how information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

—Introduction—

We are committed to responsibly using protected health information about you. We understand that your health information is personal. This Notice of Health Information Practices describes the personal information we collect, and how and when we use or disclose that information. It also describes your rights as they relate to your protected health information. This Notice is effective February 12, 2023 and applies to all protected health information as defined by federal regulations.

—Understanding Your Health Record/Information—

Each time you visit our office, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains the dates services were provided, health history/symptoms, description of services provided, treatment, a plan for future care or treatment, and/or a practitioner referral if appropriate. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

  • basis for planning your care and treatment,
  • means of communication among the health professionals who contribute to your care,
  • legal document describing the care you received,
  • means by which you or a third party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided,
  • tool in educating health professionals,
  • source of data for educational research,
  • source of data for our planning and marketing, and
  • tool with which we can assess and work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve.

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to ensure its accuracy, better understand who, what, when, where and why others may access your health information, and make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.

—Your Health Information Rights­—

Although your health record is the physical property of the Ayurvedic Health Center, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

  • obtain a paper copy of this notice of information practices upon request,
  • look at or get copies of your medical information. You must make your request in writing. If you request copies, we can charge you $0.25 for each page and postage if you want the copies mailed to you,
  • amend your health record as provided in 45 CFR 164.528,
  • obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, healthcare operations, and other specified exceptions,
  • request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information as provided by 45 CFR 164.522, and
  • revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken.

—Our Responsibilities—

We are required to:

  • maintain the privacy of your health information,
  • provide you with this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you,
  • abide by terms of this notice,
  • notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction, and
  • accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative locations.

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we will mail a revised notice to the address you’ve supplied to us, or if you agree, we will email the revised notice to you.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice. We will also discontinue to use or disclose your health information after we have received a written revocation of the authorization according to the procedures included in the authorization.