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NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES POLICY
Background:
Providers governed by the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) are required to prominently post a “Notice of Privacy Practices”. The Notice must inform the individual patient how confidential information may be used and disclosed by the practice, and inform the individual of his/her rights as well as the practice’s legal duties with respect to confidential information.
This office will comply with all federal and state laws regarding the protection of patient information.
IN REGARDS TO THE NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES, it is the policy of this office to:
- Post our Notice of Privacy Practices in a clear and prominent location where patients seeking services can easily see it
- Make a copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices available to all patients who request one no later than their first appointment after April 14, 2003
- Post our Notice of Privacy Practices on our web site and make copies of the Notice available electronically
- Use and disclose protected health information (PHI) only as stated in our Notice of Privacy Practices
- Promptly revise and post a revised Notice whenever there is a change to the uses and disclosures, the individual’s rights, our legal duties, or other privacy practices stated in the Notice.
- Retain copies of each Notice issued by this practice for at least six years.
IN ADDITION:
This office has compared the federal privacy requirements (HIPAA) with our state health privacy laws in regards to this policy and have determined that
- HIPAA’s privacy standards are more rigorous
- We must also account for the following state regulations which are more rigorous than HIPAA.
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