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Patient Information

Privacy Practices

Home

Conditions We Treat

Our Physicians

Patient Information

Privacy Practices

Notice of Private 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.

This practice uses and discloses Protected Health Information (PHI) about you for treatment, to obtain payment for treatment, for business operations, and to evaluate the quality of care that you receive. Protected Health Information is individually identifiable health information that is used to make decisions about your care and the billing information associated with that care. Protected health information includes such things as the documentation of your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnosis, treatment, and the billing associated with those services. This notice describes our privacy practices. You can request a copy of this notice at any time. For more information about this notice or our privacy practices and policies, please contact the Privacy Officer listed at the end of this document.

Treatment, Payment, Health Care Operations

Treatment
We are permitted to use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) to those involved in your treatment. We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and related services. We may disclose protected health information in order to treat you or to assist others in your treatment. For example, Dr. DuBois is a specialist. When we provide treatment, we may request that your primary care physician share your medical information with us. Also, we may provide your primary care physician information about your particular condition so that he or she can appropriately treat you for other medical conditions, if any. In addition, your care may require the involvement of other specialist(s). When we refer you to a specialist, we will share some or all of your medical information with that physician to facilitate the delivery of care. Additionally, we may disclose your medical information to others who may assist in your medical care, such as family members.

Payment
We are permitted to use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) to bill and collect payment for the services provided to you. For example, we may complete a claim form to obtain payment from an insurance company or third party. The form will contain protected health information, such as a description of the medical service provided to you, that an insurance company or third party needs to approve payment to us. We may contact your health insurer to verify that you are eligible for benefits and for what range of benefits. We may also tell a patient's health plan about a treatment a patient is going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether a patient's plan will cover the treatment. We may send an individual's health plan coverage information to a laboratory or other facility that needs the information to bill for services it provided to the physician with respect to the individual.
 

Health Care Operations
We are permitted to use or disclose your protected health information (PHI) for the purposes of health care operations, which are business activities that support this practice and ensure that quality care is delivered. For example, we may engage the services of a professional to aid this practice in its compliance programs. This person will review billing and medical files to ensure we maintain our compliance with regulations and the law. We are permitted by law to utilize Business Associates to carry out treatment, payment or healthcare operation functions that may involve the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information. For example, we may use a collection agency to handle past due accounts. We may also use health care consultants to assist us in improving or upgrading services we offer to patients. We enter into agreements with Business Associates that require the Business Associate to maintain the confidentiality of any patient information received and does not allow the use or disclosure of PHI beyond what is permitted or required by the contract or by law.

We may also call you by name in the waiting room when your physician / nurse is ready to see you.

Appointment Reminders, Treatment Alternatives and Other Health-Related Benefits
We may contact you by telephone, mail, or both to provide appointment reminders, information about treatment alternatives, or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. We may leave a message on your answering machine, either at home or at work, with our office name and phone number to remind you of a medical appointment, when returning your call regarding a message, or for any other information that our office needs to convey to you regarding or related to your health care.

Disclosures That Can Be Made Without Your Authorization
There are situations in which we are permitted by law to disclose or use your protected health information without your written authorization or an opportunity to object. In other situations we will ask for your written authorization before using or disclosing any identifiable health information about you. If you choose to sign an authorization to disclose information, you can later revoke that authorization, in writing, to stop future uses and disclosures. However, any revocation will not apply to disclosures or uses already made or taken in reliance on that authorization.

Public Health, Abuse or Neglect, and Health Oversight
We may disclose your protected health information for public health activities. Public health activities are mandated by federal, state, or local government for the collection of information to prevent or control disease, injury or disability, vital statistics (like births and death). We may disclose protected health information, if authorized by law, to a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition. We may disclose your protected health information to report reactions to medications, problems with products, or to notify people of recalls of products they may be using.

We may also disclose protected health information to a public agency authorized to receive reports of child abuse or neglect. Texas law requires physicians to report child abuse or neglect. Regulations also permit the disclosure of information to report abuse or neglect of elders or the disabled. We may notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a child, elder, or other patient / person has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

We may disclose your protected health information (PHI) to a health oversight agency for those activities authorized by law. Examples of these activities are audits, investigations, licensure applications and inspections which are all government activities undertaken to monitor the health care.