Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective Date: January 1, 2025
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.
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
iCare Diagnostics is committed to protecting the privacy of your health information. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information (PHI), to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect. We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and to make new provisions effective for all PHI that we maintain.
How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information
Treatment
We may use or disclose your health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your healthcare and related services. This includes sharing information with other healthcare providers involved in your care, such as referring physicians or laboratories that perform diagnostic testing.
Payment
We may use and disclose your health information to bill and collect payment for the services we provide. For example, we may share information with your health insurance plan to obtain approval for laboratory testing or to determine your eligibility for benefits.
Healthcare Operations
We may use and disclose your health information for our day-to-day healthcare operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, quality assessment, employee training, compliance programs, audits, and other business operations necessary to run our organization.
As Required by Law
We will disclose your health information when required to do so by federal, state, or local law. This includes reporting certain communicable diseases, responding to court orders or subpoenas, and complying with workers' compensation requirements.
Public Health Activities
We may disclose your health information for public health purposes, including reporting disease, injury, vital events, and conducting public health surveillance, investigations, and interventions as required or permitted by law.
Health and Safety
We may use or disclose your health information to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public, consistent with applicable law and ethical standards.
Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Authorization
Other uses and disclosures of your health information not covered by this notice or applicable law will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke your authorization at any time by submitting a written request to our Privacy Officer. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your health information for the purposes covered by the authorization, except where we have already taken action in reliance on the authorization.
Certain uses and disclosures require your specific authorization, including: marketing purposes, sale of your health information, and most uses of psychotherapy notes (if applicable).
Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information
Right to Inspect and Copy
You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your health information maintained by us, including medical and billing records. To request access, submit a written request to our Privacy Officer. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.
Right to Request Amendment
If you believe that health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may request that we amend it. Your request must be in writing and must include a reason for the amendment. We may deny your request under certain circumstances.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
You have the right to request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your health information. The first accounting in any 12-month period is free; we may charge a reasonable fee for additional requests.
Right to Request Restrictions
You have the right to request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your health information. While we are not required to agree to most restrictions, we must agree to restrict disclosures to a health plan if you have paid for services in full out of pocket.
Right to Request Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations. For example, you may request that we contact you only at a particular phone number or address.
Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice
You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically.
Right to Be Notified of a Breach
You have the right to be notified if a breach of your unsecured protected health information occurs.
Our Duties
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- We must provide you with this notice describing our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights regarding your health information.
- We must abide by the terms of this notice currently in effect.
- We must notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction on how we use or disclose your health information.
- We must 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.
Changes to This Notice
We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and to make the revised notice effective for all health information we already have about you, as well as any information we receive in the future. Any revised notice will be made available on our website and at our facility.
Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our Privacy Officer or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.
To file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, visit www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints or call 1-877-696-6775.
Contact Information
iCare Diagnostics Privacy Officer
[Contact Name]
[Address Line 1]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Phone Number]
[Email Address]
This notice is provided in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the HITECH Act.