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Privacy Statement

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.  IT APPLIES TO YOUR PERSONAL AND MEDICAL INFORMATION SHOULD YOU CHOSE TO BECOME A PATIENT OF EASTERN BODY THERAPY, AS WELL AS ANY CONTACT INFORMATION WE RECEIVE FROM YOU AS A RESULT OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION FROM THE EBTHERAPY.COM WEBSITE. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Introduction
Eastern Body Therapy is committed to treating and using protected health information about you responsibly.  This Notice of Health Information Practices describes the personal information we collect, and how and when we use or disclose that information,  It also describes your rights as they relate to your protected health information  This Notice is effective April 13, 2003 and applies to all protected health information as defined by Federal Regulations.

For the purposes of this website, any information collected about you will be used ONLY for the purpose of providing you with information you requested. This may include sending you newsletters and other announcements by e-mail, responding to e-mails or phone calls from you, and scheduling requested appointments. We will NEVER sell your e-mail address or other contact information, or provide it to any third party, except as required by law. The remainder of this policy applies only if you become a patient of Eastern Body Therapy and a medical record is created relative to your care at our office.

Understanding Your Health Record/Information
Each time you visit Eastern Body Therapy, a record of your visit is made.  Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or treatment.   This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

  • Basis for planning your care and treatment
  • Means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care
  • Legal documentation describing the care you received
  • Means by which you or a third-party can verify that services billed were actually provided
  • A tool in educating health care providers
  • A source of data for medical research
  • A source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of this state and the nation
  • A source of data for our planning and marketing
  • A tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve.

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to: ensure its accuracy, better understand who, what, when, where and why others may access your health information, and make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.

Disclosure of Your Health Information

  • Treatment:  We may disclose your health care information to other health care professionals within or associated with our practice for the purpose of providing  your treatment.  This includes practitioners who may be covering appointments for us during periods of vacation, illness or other emergency situations, the doctor who referred you to our office, and other health practitioners we send you to (for example an x-ray facility, physical therapist, or blood laboratory).

  • Payment:  We may disclose your health information to your insurance provider for the purpose of payment or health care operations.  For example, we may, as a  courtesy,  provide itemized billing to your insurance carrier for the purpose of your reimbursement for payment to us for your care.  This billing statement contains medical information including diagnosis, date of injury or condition, and codes which describe the health care services and supplies received, as well as information identifying you as the patient.

  • Workers’ Compensation:   We may disclose your health information as necessary to comply with State Workers’ Compensation Laws.

  • Emergencies:  We may disclose your health information to notify or assist in notifying a family member or another person responsible for your care about your medical condition or in the event of an emergency or of your death.

  • Public Health:  As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health authorities for purposes related to:  preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability, reporting child abuse or neglect, reporting domestic violence, reporting to the Food and Drug Administration problems with products and reactions to medications, and reporting disease or infection exposure.

  • Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: We may disclose your health information as required by State and Federal law in the course of any administrative or judicial proceeding.

  • Law Enforcement:  We may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for purposes such as identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, complying with a court order or subpoena, and other law enforcement purposes.

  • Deceased Persons:  We may disclose your health information to coroners or medical examiners.

  • Organ Donation:  We may disclose your health information to organizations involved in procuring, banking, or transplanting organs and tissues.

  • Research:  We may disclose your health information to researchers conducting research that has been approved by an Institutional review board.

  • Public Safety:  We may disclose your health information to appropriate persons in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or the general public.

  • Specialized Government Agencies:  We may disclose your health information for military, national security , prisoner and government benefits purposes.

  • Marketing:  We may contact you for marketing purposes including but not limited to reminding you of upcoming appointments, sending birthday and/or holiday cards, and making you aware of new services which may benefit you in your health care.  We may provide you with periodic newsletters or information about changes in our practice.

  • Change of Ownership:  In the event the Eastern Body Therapy is sold or merged with another organization, your health information/record will become the property of the new owner.

Your Health Information Rights
Although your health record is the physical property of Eastern Body Therapy, the information belongs to you.  You have the right to:

  • Obtain a paper copy of this Notice of Information Practices upon request
  • Inspect and copy your health record
  • Amend your health record
  • Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information
  • Request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
  • Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information
  • Revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken.
  • Request that you not receive marketing materials including birthday and holiday cards, appointment reminders and newsletters.

Our Responsibilities
Eastern Body Therapy is required to:

  • Maintain the privacy of your health information.
  • Provide you with this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you
  • Abide by the terms of this notice
  • Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction on the use of your health information
  • Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your written authorization, except as described in this notice.  We will also discontinue to use or disclose your health information after we have received a written revocation of the authorization according to the procedures included in the authorization.

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain.  Should our information practices change, we will mail a revised notice to the address you’ve supplied us.

For More Information or to Report a Problem
If you have questions and would like additional information, you may contact our Privacy officer at (619)239-7745.

We are committed to maintaining the privacy of your health information, and would like the opportunity to address any concerns you may have about the handling or disclosure of your personal information.  There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint with either the Privacy Officer or the Office for Civil Rights

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, we request that you  file a complaint with our Privacy Officer.  If you are not satisfied with the manner in which this office handles your complaint, you may submit a formal complaint to :

Office for Civil Rights
US Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201