Notice of Privacy Practices
Our practice follows HIPAA regulations to protect your personal/medical information. According to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), this is to inform you of your privacy rights. Please review the following to understand how our practice uses and discloses your information to carry out payment, healthcare operations, and other relevant purposes permitted by law. HIPAA protects one’s Protected Health Information (“PHI”) or individually identifiable health information.
Uses and Disclosure of Your Protected Health Information (“PHI”)
Your authorization is necessary to disclose your PHI. We may make certain uses and disclosures of your PHI without your authorization when required by law. The following are authorized uses and disclosures of your PHI.
Uses and Disclosure for Payment:
We may make requests, uses, and disclosure of your PHI as necessary for payment purposes. For example, we may use information regarding your medical procedures and treatment to process and pay claims. We may disclose your PHI for the payment process and payment of claims.
Family and Friends Involved in Your Care:
If you are available and do not object, we may disclose your PHI to your family, friends, and others who are involved in your care or payment of a claim. If you are unavailable or incapacitated and we determine that a limited disclosure is in your best interest, we may share limited PHI with such individuals.
Business Associates:
At times we use outside persons or organization to help us provide you with the benefits of your Group Health Plan. Examples of these outside persons approved Medical equipment.
HIPAA allows us to use and disclose your PHI for the purposes of treatment and healthcare operations. We use and disclose your PHI in order to communicate with your physician.
Access to your PHI:
You have the right to access your PHI that we maintain. Requests for access to your phi must be in writing, must state that you want access to your PHI, and must be signed by you or your representative. We may charge you a fee for copying and postage.
Restrictions on Use and Disclosure of your PHI:
You have the right to request restrictions on certain of our uses and disclosures of your PHI for insurance payment or health care operations, disclosures made to persons involved in your care, and disclosure for disaster relief purposes. Your request must describe in detail the restriction you are requesting. We are not required to agree to your request but will attempt to accommodate reasonable requests when appropriate.
Request for Confidential Communications:
You have the right to request communications regarding your PHI be made by alternative means or at alternative locations. For example, you may request that messages not be left on voice mail or sent to a particular address. We are required to accommodate reasonable requests if you inform us that disclosure of all or part of your information could place you in danger. Request for confidential communications must be in writing, signed by you or your representative, and sent to us at the address below.
If you have questions, you may contact the Combined Therapy Specialties’ office:
Phone (828) 277-6957. Address: 1 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Suite 120, Asheville, NC 28803. Attn: Office Administrator.
