Effective: 08/01/2012
Contact Lens & EyeCare Gallery
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
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.
Contact Lens & Eyecare Gallery is required, by law, to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of your protected health information and to provide our patients with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your protected health information.
Disclosure of Your Health Care Information
Treatment
We may disclose your health care information to other healthcare professionals within our practice for the purpose of treatment, payment or healthcare operations. On occasion, it may be necessary to seek consultation regarding your condition from other health care providers associated with Contact Lens & EyeCare Gallery. It is our policy to provide a substitute health care provider, authorized by Contact Lens & EyeCare Gallery to provide assessment and/or treatment to our patients, without advanced notice, in the event of your primary health care provider’s absence due to vacation, sickness, or other emergency situation.
Payment
We may disclose your health information to your insurance provider for the purpose of payment or health care operations.
As a courtesy to our patients, we will submit an itemized billing statement to your insurance carrier for the purpose of payment to Contact Lens & EyeCare Gallery for health care services rendered. Charges not covered by your insurance carrier will be the responsibility of the primary insurance holder. The billing statement contains medical information, including diagnosis, date of injury or condition, and codes which describe the health care services received.
Workers’ Compensation
We may disclose your health information as necessary to comply with State Workers’ Compensation Laws.
Emergencies
We may disclose your health information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, or another person responsible for your care about your medical condition or in the event of an emergency or of your death.
Public Health
As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health authorities for purposes related to: preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability, reporting child abuse or neglect, reporting domestic violence, reporting to the Food and Drug Administration problems with products and reactions to medications, and reporting disease or infection exposure.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings.
We may disclose your health information in the course of any administrative or judicial proceeding.
Law Enforcement.
We may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for purposes such as identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, complying with a court order or subpoena, and other law enforcement purposes.
Deceased Persons.
We may disclose your health information to coroners or medical examiners.
Organ Donation.
We may disclose your health information to organizations involved in procuring, banking, or transplanting organs and tissues.
Research.
We may disclose your health information to researchers conducting research that has been approved by an Institutional Review Board.
Public Safety.
It may be necessary to disclose your health information to appropriate persons in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or to the general public.
Specialized Government Agencies.
We may disclose your health information for military, national security, prisoner and government benefits purposes.
Marketing.
We may contact you for marketing purposes or fundraising purposes. As a courtesy to our patients, it is our policy to call your home on the evening prior to your scheduled appointment to remind you of your appointment time. If you are not at home, we leave a reminder message on your answering machine or with the person answering the phone. No personal health information will be disclosed during this recording or message other than the date and time of your scheduled appointment along with a request to call our office if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment.
It is our practice to participate in charitable events to raise awareness, food donations, gifts, money, etc. During these times, we may send you a letter, post card, invitation or call your home to invite you to participate in the charitable activity. We will provide you with information about the type of activity, the dates and times, and request your participation in such an event. It is not our policy to disclose any personal health information about your condition for the purpose of Contact Lens & EyeCare Gallerly sponsored fund
Privacy Contact Officer: Denise Ramos – Office Manager