Notice of Privacy Practices

---

We are committed to protecting your health information.  Below is a copy of our 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.

I. Our Pledge to You. Your health information – which means any written or oral information that we create or receive that describes your health condition, treatment or payments – is personal. Therefore, the practice pledges to protect your health information as required by law. We give you this Privacy Notice to tell you (1) how we will use and disclose your “protected health information,” or “PHI” and (2) how you can exercise certain individual rights related to your PHI as a patient of our practice. Please note that if any of your PHI qualifies as mental health records, alcohol and drug treatment records, communicable disease records or genetic test records, we will safeguard these records as “Special PHI” which will be disclosed only with your prior express written authorization or a valid court order.

II. HOW WE WILL USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PHI

a. To Provide Treatment. We may use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services. This includes the management or coordination of your health status and care with another health care provider. For example, we may disclose your PHI to a pharmacy to fill a prescription. We may also disclose your PHI to another Dentist who may be treating you or consulting with us regarding your care.

b. To Obtain Payment. We may also use and disclose your PHI, as needed, to obtain payment for services that we provide to you. This may include certain communications to your health insurer or health plan to confirm (1) your eligibility for health benefits, (2) the medical necessity of a particular service or procedure, or (3) any prior authorization or utilization review requirements. We may also disclose your PHI to another provider involved in your care for other provider’s payment activities. For example, this may include disclosure of demographic information to another Dentist practice that is involved in your care, or to a hospital where you were recently hospitalized, for payment purposes.

c. To Perform Health Care Operations. We may also use or disclose your PHI, as necessary, to carry on our day-to-day health care operations and to provide quality care to all of our patients, but only on a “need to know” basis. These health care operations may include such activities as: quality improvement, Dentist and employee reviews, health professional training programs, including those in which students, trainees, or practitioners in a health care learn under supervision; accreditation; certification; licensing or credentialing activities compliance reviews and audits; defending a legal or administrative claim; business management development; and other administrative activities. In certain situations, we may also disclose your PHI to another health care provider or health plan to conduct their own particular health care operation requirements.

d. To Contact You. To support our treatment, payment, and health care operations, we may also contact you at home, either by telephone, mail, or email, from time to time (2) to remind you an upcoming appointment date or (2) to ask you to return a call to the practice unless you ask us, in writing, to use alternative means to communicate with you regarding these matters. We may also contact you by telephone to inform you of specific test results or treatment plans, but only with your prior written authorization.

e. To Be In Contact With Your Family or Friends. Additionally, we may disclose certain details of your PHI to your family member or other relative, a close personal friend, or any other person specified by you from time to time, bot only if the PHI is directly related to (1) to the person’s involvement in your treatment or related payments, or (2) to notify the person of your physical location or sudden change in your condition while receiving treatment at our office. Although you have a right to request reasonable restrictions on these disclosures, we will only be able to grant those restrictions that are reasonable and not too difficult to administer, none of which would apply in case of an emergency.

f. According to Laws that Require or Permit Disclosure: We may disclosure your PHI when we are required or permitted to do so by any federal, state, or local law, as follows:

• When There Are Risks to Public Health. We may disclose your PHI to (1) report disease, injury or disability; (2) report vital events such as births and deaths; (3) conduct public health activities; (4) collect and track FDA-related events and defects; (5) notify appropriate persons regarding communicable disease concerns; or (6) inform employers about particular workforce issues.

• To Report Suspended Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence. We may notify government authorities if we believe that a patient is the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence, but only when specifically required or authorized by law or when the patient agrees to the disclosure.

• To Conduct Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose your PHI to a health oversight agency for activities including audits; civil, administrative, or criminal investigations, proceedings, or actions inspections; licensure or disciplinary actions; or other activities necessary for appropriate oversight; but we will not disclose your PHI if you are the subject of an investigation and your PHI is not directly related to your receipt of health care or public benefits.

• In Connection with Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may disclose your PHI in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal. In certain circumstances, we may disclose your PHI in response to a subpoena if we receive satisfactory assurances that you have been notified of the request or that an effort was made to secure a protective order.

• For Law Enforcement Purposes. We may disclose your PHI to a law enforcement official to, among other things, (1) report certain types of wounds or physical injuries, (2) identify or locate certain individuals, (3) report limited information if you are the victim of a crime or if your health care was the result of criminal activity, but only to the extent required or permitted by law.

• To Coroners, Funeral Directors, and for Organ Donation. We may disclose PHI to a coroner or medical examiner for identification purposes, to determine cause of death or for the coroner or medical examiner to perform other duties. We may also disclose PHI to a funeral director in order to permit the funeral director to carry out their duties. PHI may also be disclosed for organ, eye, or tissue donation purposes.

• In the Event of a Serious Threat to Health or Safety, or For Specific Government Functions. We may, consistent with applicable law and ethical standards of conduct, use or disclose your PHI if we believe, in good faith, that such use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health and safety or to the health and safety of the public, or for certain other specified government functions permitted by law.

• For Worker’s Compensation. We may disclose your PHI to comply with worker’s compensation laws or similar programs.

• With Your Prior Express Written Authorization. Other than as stated above, we will not disclose your PHI, or more importantly, your Special PHI, without first obtaining your express written authorization. Please note that you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time except to the extent that we have taken action in reliance upon the authorization.

III. YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS CONCERNING YOUR PHI.

a. The Right to Inspect and Copy Your PHI. You may inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI that we have created or received as we provide your treatment or obtain payment for your treatment. Under federal law, however, you may not inspect or copy the following records: psychotherapy notes; information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or use in, a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding; and PHI that is subject to a law prohibiting access. Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to request a second review if our Privacy Officer denies your request to access your PHI. Please note that you may not inspect or copy your PHI if your Dentists believes that the access requested is likely to endanger your life or safety of that of another person, or if it is likely to cause substantial harm to another person referenced within the information. As before, you have the right to request a second review of this decision. To inspect and copy your PHI, you must submit a written request to the Privacy Officer. We may charge you a fee for the reasonable cost that we incur in processing your request.

b. The Right to Request Restrictions on How we Use and Disclose Your PHI. You may also ask us, in writing, not to use or disclose certain parts of your PHI for the purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations. We are not required to agree to all requested restrictions. We are required to comply with the request to not disclose information about a health care item or service to a health plan for payment or health care operations purpose, but only if we have been paid in full for the item or service by you or by another on behalf of you. We will notify you if we deny any part of your request, but if we are able to agree to a particular restriction, we will communicate and comply with your request, except in the case of an emergency. Under certain circumstances, we may choose to terminate our agreement to a restriction if it becomes too burdensome to carry out. Finally, please note that it is your obligation to notify us if you wish to change or update these restrictions after your visit by contacting the Privacy Officer directly.

c. The Right to Alternative Methods of Communications. You may ask us to communicate with you regarding upcoming appointments, treatment alternatives and the like by contacting you at a telephone number or address other than at home. Please note that we are only required to agree to those restrictions that are reasonable and which are not too difficult for us to administer.

d. The Right to Request Amendments to your PHI. You may request that your PHI be amended so long as it is a part of our official Patient Record. All such request must be in writing and directed to our Privacy Officer. In certain cases, we may deny your request for an amendment. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us and we may respond to your statement in writing and provide you with a copy.

e. The Right to Receive an Accounting. You have the right to request an accounting of those disclosures of your PHI that we have made for reasons other than those for treatment, payment, and health care operations, which are specified in Section III (A-C) above. The accounting is not required to report PHI disclosures (1) to those family, friends, and other persons involved in your treatment or payment, (2) that you otherwise requested in writing, (3) that you agreed to by signing an authorization form, or 4(4) that we are otherwise required or permitted to make by law. As before, your request must be made in writing to our Privacy Officer. The request should specify the time period, but please note that we are not required to provide an accounting for disclosures that take place prior to April 14, 2003. Accounting requests may not be made for periods of time in excess of six years. We will provide the first accounting you request during any 12-month period without charge. Subsequent accounting requests may be subject to a reasonable cost-based fee.

f. The Right to be Notified of a Breach. You have the right to be notified of any breach of your PHI. We are required by law to notify you, and any other affected individuals, if there is a breach of unsecured patient information, unless we can determine that there is a low probability that your information was compromised (example: your information sent to the wrong specialist). In low probability circumstances, the breach is logged on the breach log.

g. The Right to File a Complaint. You have the right to contact our Privacy Officer at any time if you have questions, comments or complaints about our privacy practices or if you believe we have violated your privacy rights. You also have the right to contact the Department of Health and Human Services in Baltimore, Maryland regarding these privacy matters, particularly if you do not believe that we have been responsive to your concerns. We urge you to contact our Privacy Officer if you have any questions, comments or complaints, either in writing or by telephone.

IV. Other Important Notes about your PHI
a. Sale of PHI. We will not sell or receive financial remuneration for permissible PHI without your express written authorization.

b. Marketing Communications. We will not send you marketing communications unless we've received explicit written authorization from you.

Privacy Officer: Dr. Blake Prather

Please note that we will not take any action, or otherwise retaliate, against you in any way as a result of your communications to the Practice or to the Department of Health and Human Services. As always, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to serving you as a patient of our Practice. Thank you very much.