Privacy Policy

Access Chiropractic and Wellness is dedicated to ensuring the privacy of your protected health information (PHI). This clinic is required by law to provide you with this notice of privacy practices, and to inform you of your rights, and our obligations, concerning your PHI. We are required to follow the privacy practices described below while this notice is in effect. The terms of this notice apply to the following entities owned and operated by Access Chiropractic and Wellness.

Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI

The following sections describe different ways that we may use and disclose your PHI. For each section of uses or disclosures, there will be a description given. Some information, such as certain drug and alcohol information, HIV information and mental health information is entitled to special restrictions related to its use and disclosure. Not every use or disclosure will be listed. All of the ways the clinic is permitted to use and disclose information, however, will fall within one of the following categories.

Treatment

We may disclose your PHI to another healthcare facility and/or healthcare provider, transport company, community agency, family member or other third party to provide and/or coordinate health care services and treatments.

Payment

We may use and/or disclose your PHI to bill and obtain payment for treatment and/or services you receive at the clinic’s healthcare facility.

Health Care Operations

We may use and disclose your PHI in connection with our healthcare operations. Healthcare operations include, but are not limited to; clinical education, quality assessment and improvement activities, reviewing the competence or qualifications of healthcare professionals, evaluating practitioner and provider performance.

Appointment Reminders

We may contact you to remind you that you have an appointment at the clinic

Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment

Unless there is a specific request made to and agreed to by the Privacy Officer at your location/facility, we may disclose PHI to a person who is involved in your health care or helps pay for your care, such as a family member or friend to facilitate that person’s involvement in caring for you or in payment for your care.

Disaster Relief Efforts

We may disclose your PHI to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so your family can be notified about your condition, status and location.

As required by law

We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal or state law.

To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety

We may use and disclose your PHI when necessary to prevent or lessen serious and imminent threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure would be to someone able to help stop or reduce the threat.

Public Health Purposes

We may use or disclose your PHI when we are required to do so by law, for public health reasons, including, but not limited to:

Reporting certain communicable diseases to health officials;
Reporting child abuse or neglect;
Reporting elder abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Lawsuits and Other Legal actions

We may disclose PHI in response to judicial proceedings and law enforcement inquiries as permitted by law. We may also disclose PHI in response to a subpoena, discovery request, warrant, summons or other lawful process.

Worker’s Compensation

We may disclose PHI as necessary for workers’ compensation or similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness, as authorized or required by law.

Health-oversight activities

We may disclose PHI to governmental, licensing, auditing and accrediting agencies as authorized or required by law.

Organ Donation

If you are an organ donor, we may disclose your PHI to organizations involved in procuring, banking, or transplanting organs and tissues.

Military and Veterans

If you are or were a member of the armed forces, we may release PHI about you to military command authorities as authorized or required by law.

Inmates

Under certain circumstances we may disclose PHI relating to inmates or patients to correctional institutions or law enforcement personnel having lawful custody of those individuals.

Other Uses of PHI

Other uses and disclosures of PHI not covered by this notice or that laws what apply to us will be made only with your written authorization

Access to your PHI

You have the right to access, inspect, and/or receive paper and/or electronic copies of the PHI that we maintain about you, with limited exceptions. The clinic provides to an individual, upon written request, access within 30 calendar days of the day the clinic receives a request, to inspect and/or copy their PHI

If you request paper copies, we will charge you our standard copying fee for each page, and postage if you want the copies mailed to you. If you request an alternative format, we will charge a reasonable cost-based fee for providing your PHI in that format. If you prefer, we will prepare a summary or an explanation of your PHI for a fee.

Contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice if you are interested in receiving a summary of your information instead of copies.

Restrictions on Use and Disclosure of Your PHI

You have the right to request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your PHI for treatment, payment and healthcare operations purposes. Depending on the circumstances of your request we may, or may not agree to those restrictions. If we do agree to your requested restrictions we must abide by those restrictions, except in emergency treatment scenarios.

Amendments to your Records

You have the right to request that we amend your PHI. Such requests must be made in writing, and must explain why the information should be amended. We are not obligated to make all requested amendments but will give each request careful consideration. All amendment requests, in order to be considered by us, must be in writing and signed by you or your representative, and must state the reasons for the amendments correction request. If an amendment or correction you request is made by us, we may also notify others who work with us and have copies of the uncorrected record if we believe that such notification is necessary. Please note that even if we accept your request, we may not delete any information already documented in your health records. Contact us using the information listed at the end of this notice if you are interested in receiving a summary of your information instead of copies.

Accounting of Disclosures

Upon written request, you have the right to receive a list of instances in which we or our business associates disclosed your PHI for purposes, other than treatment, payment, healthcare operations and other activities authorized by you, for the last 6 years. If you request this accounting more than once in a 12-month period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to these additional requests.

Confidential Communications

You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your PHI by alternative means or to alternative locations (e.g., at your place of business rather than at your home). Such requests must be made in writing, must specify the alternative means or location, and must provide a satisfactory explanation how communication should be handled under the alternative means or location you request.