THIS
NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND
DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW
IT CAREFULLY. THE PRIVACY OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO US.
OUR LEGAL DUTY:
We
are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the
privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you
this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your
rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy
practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This
Notice takes effect (04/14/03), and will remain in effect until we
replace it.
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and
the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are
permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in
our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all
health information that we maintain, including health information we
created or received before we made the changes. Before we make a
significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice
and make the new Notice available upon request.
You may request a
copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy
practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us
using the information listed at the end of this Notice.
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION
We use and disclose health information about you for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. For example:
Treatment:
We may use or disclose your health information to a physician or other
healthcare provider providing treatment to you.
Payment: We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for services we provide to you.
Healthcare
Operations: We may use and disclose your health information in
connection with our healthcare operations. Healthcare operations include
quality assessment and improvement activities, reviewing the competence
or qualifications of healthcare professionals, evaluating practitioner
and provider performance, conducting training programs, accreditation,
certification, licensing or credentialing activities.
Your
Authorization: In addition to our use of your health information for
treatment, payment or healthcare operations, you may give us written
authorization to use your health information or to disclose it to anyone
for any purpose. If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in
writing at any time. Your revocation will not affect any use or
disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect.
Unless you give us a written authorization, we cannot use or disclose
your health information for any reason except those described in this
Notice.
To Your Family and Friends: We must disclose your health
information to you, as described in the Patient Rights section of this
Notice. We may disclose your health information to a family member,
friend or other person to the extent necessary to help with your
healthcare or with payment for your healthcare, but only if you agree
that we may do so.
Persons Involved In Care: We may use or disclose
health information to notify, or assist in the notification of
(including identifying or locating) a family member, your personal
representative or another person responsible for your care, of your
location, your general condition, or death. If you are present, then
prior to use or disclosure of your health information, we will provide
you with an opportunity to object to such uses or disclosures. In the
event of your incapacity or emergency circumstances, we will disclose
health information based on a determination using our professional
judgment disclosing only health information that is directly relevant to
the person involvement in your healthcare. We will also use our
professional judgment and our experience with common practice to make
reasonable inferences of your best interest in allowing a person to pick
up filled prescriptions, medical supplies, x-rays, or other similar
forms of health information.
Marketing Health-Related Services: We
will not use your health information for marketing communications
without your written authorization.
Required by Law: We may use or disclose your health information when we are required to do so by law.
Abuse
or Neglect: We may disclose your health information to appropriate
authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of
abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other
crimes. We may disclose your health information to the extent necessary
to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or
safety of others.
National Security: We may disclose to military
authorities the health information of Armed Forces personnel under
certain circumstances. We may disclose to authorized federal officials
health information required for lawful intelligence,
counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may
disclose to correctional institution or law enforcement official having
lawful custody of protected health information of inmate or patient
under certain circumstances.
Appointment Reminders: We may use or
disclose your health information to provide you with appointment
reminders (such as voicemail messages, e-mail, postcards, or letters).
PATIENT RIGHTS
Access:
You have the right to look at or get copies of your health information,
with limited exceptions. You may request that we provide copies in a
format other than photocopies. We will use the format you request unless
we cannot practicably do so. You must make a request in writing to
obtain access to your health information.You may obtain a form to
request access by using the contact information listed at the end of
this Notice. We will charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for expenses such as copies and staff time. You may also request access by sending us a letter to the address at the end of this Notice. If
you request X-Rays, there will be a fee for any copies any of films.
You are not entitled to originals, only copies.If you request copies of
your treatment records, we will charge you 25 cents for each page, per
hour for staff time to locate and copy your health information, and
postage if you want the copies mailed to you. If you request an alternative format, we will charge a cost-based fee for providing your health information in that format.
If you prefer, we will prepare a summary or an explanation of your
health information for a fee. Contact us using the information listed at
the end of this Notice for a full explanation of our fee structure.)
Disclosure
Accounting: You have the right to receive a list of instances in which
we or our business associates disclosed your health information for
purposes, other than treatment, payment, healthcare operations and
certain other activities, for the last 6 years, but not before April 14,
2003. If you request this accounting more than once in a 12-month
period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to
these additional requests.
Restriction: You have the right to
request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure
of your health information. We are not required to agree to these
additional restrictions, but if we do, we will abide by our agreement
(except in an emergency).
Alternative Communication: You have the
right to request that we communicate with you about your health
information by alternative means or to alternative locations. {You must
make your request in writing.} Your request must specify the alternative
means or location, and provide satisfactory explanation how payments
will be handled under the alternative means or location you request.
Amendment:
You have the right to request that we amend your health information.
(Your request must be in writing, and it must explain why the
information should be amended.) We may deny your request under certain
circumstances.
Electronic Notice: If you receive this Notice on our
Web site or by electronic mail (e-mail), you are entitled to receive
this Notice in written form.
QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
If you want more information about our privacy practices or have questions or concerns, please contact us.
If
you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you
disagree with a decision we made about access to your health
information or in response to a request you made to amend or restrict
the use or disclosure of your health information or to have us
communicate with you by alternative means or at alternative locations,
you may complain to us using the contact information listed at the end
of this Notice. You also may submit a written complaint to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the
address to file your complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services upon request.
We support your right to the privacy of
your health information. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose
to file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
Contact Officer: Dr. Edward A. Alvarez
Telephone: 212 684-4463
E-mail: NYCLaserDentist@gmail.com
Address: 210 East 36th Street, suite 1H, New York, NY 10016