Privacy Policy / HIPAA Compliance

Our Legal Responsibilities

We are required by law to give you this notice. It provides you with how we may use and disclose protected health information about you and describes your rights and our obligations regarding the use and disclosure of that information. We shall maintain the privacy of protected health information and provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your protected health information.

We have the right to change these policies at any time. If we change our privacy policies, we will notify you of these changes within 60 days of the effective date of the changes. This current policy is in effect unless stated otherwise. If the policy is changed, it will apply to all your current and past health information.

You may request a copy of our notice any time. You may contact the practice at CardioVerseMD email: contact@cardioversemd.com or phone: 425-585-2417 or fax: 888-244-1055 at any time to request a copy of this privacy policy.

How We May Use or Disclose Your Protected Health Information

The following examples describe ways that we may use your protected health information for your treatment, payments, healthcare operations etc. but please be advised that not every use or disclosure in a particular category will be listed.

• Treatment: We may use and disclose your protected health information to provide you with treatment. This includes disclosing your protected health information to other medical providers, trainees, therapists, medical staff, and office staff that are involved in your health care.

For example, your medical provider might need to consult with another provider to coordinate your care. Also, the office staff may need to use and disclose your protected health information to other individuals outside of our office such as the pharmacy when a prescription is called in.

• Payment: Your protected health information may also be used to facilitate payment or reimbursement to you from an insurance company or another third party. This may include providing an insurance company your protected health information for a pre-authorization for a medication we prescribed.
• Health Care Operations: We may use or disclose your protected health information in order to operate this medical practice. These activities include training students, reviewing cases with employees, utilizing your information to improve the quality of care, and contacting you by telephone, email, or text to remind you of your appointments. We collect and use only the necessary amount of personal data required for these stated purposes. If we share your protected health information with third party "business associates" such as a billing service, we will have a written contract that contains terms that will protect the privacy of your protected health information.

We may use and disclose your protected health information for marketing activities only with your specific written authorization. Any such marketing communications will clearly be disclosed if we receive payment from a third party for making the communication. We may also send you information about products or services that might be of interest to you. You can contact us at any point to stop receiving this information.

We will not use or disclose your protected health information for any purpose other than those identified in this policy without your specific, written Authorization. You may give us written authorization to use your protected health information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose. You can revoke this authorization at any time but will not affect the protected health information that was shared while the authorization was in effect.

• Appointment reminders: We may contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for your initial visit, follow up visit, or lab work via text, phone or email.
• Others Involved in Your Health Care: We may disclose protected health information about you to your family members or friends if we obtain your verbal agreement to do so, or if we give you an opportunity to object to such a disclosure and you do not raise an objection. For example, we may assume that if your spouse or friend is present during your evaluation, that we can disclose protected professional information to this person. If you are unable to agree or object to such a disclosure, we may disclose such information as necessary if we determine that it is in your best interest based on our professional judgment if there is an urgent or emergent need.
• Research: We will not use or disclose your health information for research purposes unless you give us authorization to do so.
• Organ Donation: If you are an organ donor, we may release protected health information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation if it is necessary to facilitate this process.
• Public Health Risks: We may disclose your protected health information, if necessary, in order to prevent or control disease, report adverse events from medications or products, prevent injury, disability or death. This information may be disclosed to healthcare systems, government agencies, or public health authorities. We may have to disclose your protected health information to the Food and Drug Administration to report adverse events, defects, problems, enable recalls etc. if required by FDA regulation.
• Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose protected health information to health oversight agencies for audits, investigations, inspections or licensing purposes. These disclosures might be necessary for state and federal agencies to monitor healthcare systems and compliance with civil law.
• Required by Law: We will disclose protected health information about you when required to do so by federal, state and/or local law.
• Workman's compensation: We may disclose your protected health information to workman's comp or similar programs.
• Lawsuits: We may disclose your protected health information in response to a court action, administrative action or a subpoena.
• Law Enforcement: We may release protected health information to a law enforcement official in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, subject to all applicable legal requirements.

Your Rights Regarding Your Protected Health Information

• Access to medical records: You have the right to access and receive copies of your protected health information that we use to make decisions about your care. You must submit a written request to obtain your protected health information to the individual listed at the end of this privacy policy. We reserve the right to charge you a fee for the time it takes to obtain and copy the protected health information and provide it to you.
• Amendment: If you believe the protected health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You will need to submit a written request as to why you feel the health information should be amended. We may deny your request to amend if you did not send a written request or give a reason why it should be amended. If we deny your request, we will provide you with a written explanation. We may deny your request if we believe the protected health information is accurate and complete.
• Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to receive a list of instances in which we disclosed your personal health information unless the disclosure was used for treatment, payment, healthcare operations, was pursuant to a valid authorization and as otherwise provided in applicable federal and state laws and regulations. You must submit a written request to obtain this "accounting of disclosures" from the individual listed at the bottom of this policy. After your request has been approved, we will provide you with the dates of the disclosure, the name of the individual or entity we disclosed the information to, a description of the information that was disclosed, the reason why it was disclosed, and any additional pertinent information. This information may not be longer than six (6) years ago prior to the date the accounting is requested. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for this process.
• Restriction Requests: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the protected health information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. We shall accommodate your request except where the disclosure is required by law. We require this be a written request submitted to the individual at the end of this policy.
• Confidential Communication: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about healthcare matters in a certain way and at a certain location. We must accommodate your reasonable request if it specifies how or where to contact you. The request must not interfere with our ability to collect payment or bill you.
• Paper copy of this notice: You may request a hard copy of this practice policy if you reviewed and signed it via electronic means. To obtain this copy, contact the individual at the end of this privacy policy.
• RESIDENTS OF CERTAIN STATES: Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia have additional consumer rights afforded to them through state law. These rights may include, but are not limited to:
  • The right to request personal information stored by Us to be deleted;
  • The right to correct an inaccurate data about your personal information;
  • The right to know the specific types of personal information Us has collected about you.
  • The right to opt-out of the sharing of personal information.
  • The right to not be retaliated against for making requests related to the handling of your personal information.
  • The right to opt-out of automated decision-making technology (which we currently do not use).
  • Please note that certain laws, such as federal healthcare laws, may conflict with or modify the way in which we respond to requests about your personal information.
  • We encourage you to view your state's applicable privacy laws for more details:
    • California Consumer Privacy Act
    • California Privacy Rights Act (Proposition 24)
    • Colorado Privacy Act
    • Connecticut Data Privacy Act
    • Utah Consumer Privacy Act
    • Virginia Consumer Protection Privacy Act

• We recognize that some of the health information we collect may be considered sensitive personal data, such as information about mental health, sexual health, or genetic data. For such sensitive personal data, we implement additional safeguards, including enhanced access controls, encryption, and strict limitations on who can access this information within our organization.
• Complaints: If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our office. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. We will provide you with the address to file your complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upon request.

Name of Contact Person:

Patient Rights and Responsibilities

We are committed to serving you with compassion, care, and respect. As one of our valued clients, you are entitled to the following:

You Have the Right:

• To be treated with respect and dignity
• To know the name and professional status of the person(s) serving you
• To privacy and confidentiality
• To receive accurate information about your health-related concerns
• To know the effectiveness and potential side-effects of all forms of treatment
• To participate in choosing the form of treatment best suited to your skin
• To receive education and counseling about treatment
• To review your medical record with your clinician
• To request amendments to your medical records in accordance with HIPAA regulations
• To receive information about available services, treatment alternatives, and related healthcare services in terms you can understand

You Have the Responsibility:

• To seek medical attention promptly, and to provide useful feedback
• To be honest about your medical and social history
• To be honest about your lifestyle risks and exposures
• To ask questions about anything you do not understand
• To follow health advice and instructions
• To report any significant changes in your health
• To respect clinic policies
• To attend scheduled appointments or provide at least 48 hours advance notice of cancellation, subject to applicable fees as outlined in the Financial Policy

Acknowledgment

By signing this form, I certify:

• I have read this form or had this form explained/read to me
• I have read or had the Consents for Treatment explained/read to me in a language I understand. I acknowledge its contents, including the risks and benefits of treatment, telemedicine services, electronic communications (including email use), and automated appointment reminders (including voicemail/text). I understand that electronic communications may not be secure and consent to their use despite these risks
• I give my consent for treatment and accept all associated risks
• I have read or had this Financial Policy explained/read to me. I understand its contents and agree with and accept the terms and requirements
• I have read or had this Privacy Policy / HIPAA Compliance Policy explained/read to me. I understand its contents and agree with and accept the terms and requirements
• I have read or had the Patient's Rights and Responsibilities explained/read to me. I understand its contents and agree with and accept the terms and requirements
• I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have had them answered to my satisfaction