Privacy Policy

Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective Date of Notice: September 23, 2013

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.

If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact our Administrator at (713) 791-9966.

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 contains provisions that give you greater access to your health information – your medical record, your billing and insurance records, and any other information our practice might collect from you to provide healthcare services to you or to receive payment for the healthcare services rendered. In essence, HIPAA provides you with greater control over how your health information is used and disclosed.

HIPAA also outlines the responsibilities that healthcare providers and insurance plans have to keep your health information confidential. For example, HIPAA requires we provide you with this Notice and that we follow its terms and the commitments we make in it.

DermSurgery Associates, PA is dedicated to maintaining the privacy of your health information. In conducting our business, we will create records regarding you and the treatment and services we provide to you. These records are our property. However, as required by law, we will:

• Maintain the confidentiality of your health information.
• Provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices concerning your health information.
• Follow the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices in effect at the time.

In addition, unless it is specifically provided for by state or federal law, we may not use or disclose your health information without your written authorization. You may revoke your authorization at any time.

Patient Consent for Email Communications

To better serve our patients, this office has established an email address for some forms of communication. For routine matters that do not require immediate response, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Please remember however, that this form of communication is not appropriate for use in an emergency. The turn around time for routine patient communication is 3-5 days with requests for medical records being 10-14 days. The service provider may delay message delivery. Should you require urgent of immediate attention, this medium is not appropriate.

When sending email, please put the subject of your message in the subject line so we can process it efficiently. Also, be sure to put your name, date of birth and return telephone number in the body of the message. We also ask that you acknowledge receipt of emails coming from this office by using the auto reply feature.

Communications relating to diagnosis and treatment will be filed in your medical record.

This office is dedicated to keeping your medical record information confidential. Despite our best efforts, due to the nature of email, third parties may have access to messages. When communication from work, you should be aware that some companies consider email corporate property and your messages maybe monitored. Even when emailing from home, you may feel that access to your email is not well controlled, so you should take that into consideration. In addition, you should be aware that, although addressed to me, my staff and/or colleagues would have access to this information. All articles and forms, checklists, guidelines and materials are for generalized information only, and should not be reviewed or referred to as primary legal sources nor construed as establishing medical standards of care for the purposes of litigation, including expert testimony. They are intended as resources to be selectively used and always adapted- with the advice of the organization’s attorney- to meet state, local, individual organizations and department needs or requirements.