EMERGENCIES.
If
an emergency arises during office hours, call my office and inform
us of the nature of the problem. Many times it is possible to work
you into the office schedule if time is available. If an emergency
occurs after office hours, I can be reached through my office number.
TELEPHONE CALLS.
Please try to
limit your calls to office hours. The nurse, in many cases, will be
able to answer your questions. If necessary, she will give your message
to your doctor and she will return your call when she has a break
in her schedule. If you need to talk to the doctor after office hours,
you should call the office number. When you call the doctor, please
make the call yourself. Do not have a relative or friend make the
call for you. Please give your name and then discuss your problem.
All requests for prescription drugs must be made during office hours.
This is necessary in order to record the type and amount of medication
on your office chart. This policy will be followed in all but the
most extreme circumstances. Please have a pharmacy number ready when
you make your call.
FEES.
The responsibility for payment
of fees is A DIRECT obligation of the patient. You are expected to
make payment at the time of service, even if you are insured, unless
other arrangements have been made with the office manager. If surgery
is needed, the fee for surgery quoted by our office will be an estimate
and it must be understood that the fee could increase if complications
occur. The percentage not covered by your insurance will be due at
your pre-op appointment. Note: You will be billed by the laboratory
for procedures such as: pap smears; blood work; biopsies; and cultures.
INSURANCE.
Professional services are rendered and charged to you and not to the
insurance company. This office will not accept responsibility for
collecting your insurance claims or negotiating a settlement on a
disputed claim. My office should receive payment from your insurance
company within 60 days of submitting the claim. If payment has not
been received by this time, you will be responsible for your account.
You also are responsible for any portion of our fees which your insurance
does not cover.
PRIVACY POLICIES.
It is the policy of our practice that all physicians and staff preserve
the integrity and the confidentiality of protected health information
(PHI) pertaining to our patients. The purpose of this policy is to
ensure that our practice and its physicians and staff have the necessary
medical and PHI to provide the highest quality medical care possible
while protecting the confidentiality of the PHI of our patients to
the highest degree possible. Patients should not be afraid to provide
information to our practice and its physicians and staff for purposes
of treatment, payment and healthcare operations (TPO). To that end,
our practice and its physicians and staff will--
- Adhere to the standards set forth in
the Notice of Privacy Practices.
-Collect, use and disclose PHI only in conformance with state and
federal laws and current patient covenants and/or authorizations,
as appropriate. Our practice and its physicians and staff will not
use or disclose PHI for uses outside of practice's TPO, such as
marketing, employment, life insurance applications, etc. without
an authorization from the patient.
- Use and disclose PHI to remind patients of their appointments
unless they instruct us not to.
- Recognize that PHI collected about patients must be accurate,
timely, complete, and available when needed. Our practice and its
physicians and staff will:
- Implement reasonable measures to protect the integrity of all
PHI maintained about patients.
- Recognize that patients have a right to privacy. Our practice
and its physicians and staff respect the patient's individual dignity
at all times. Our practice and its physicians and staff will respect
patient's privacy to the extent consistent with providing the highest
quality medical care possible and with the efficient administration
of the facility.
- Act as responsible information stewards and treat all PHI as sensitive
and confidential. Consequently, our practice and its physicians
and staff will:
-Treat all PHI data as confidential in accordance with professional
ethics, accreditation standards, and legal requirements.
-Not disclose PHI data unless the patient (or his or her authorized
representative) has properly authorized the release or the release
is otherwise authorized by law.
- Recognize that, although our practice "owns" the medical
record, the patient has a right to inspect and obtain a copy of
his/her PHI. In addition, patients have a right to request an amendment
to his/her medical record if he/she believes his/her information
is inaccurate or incomplete. Our practice and its physicians and
staff will--
-Permit patients access to their medical records when their written
requests are approved by our practice. If we deny their request,
then we must inform the patients that they may request a review
of our denial. In such cases, we will have an on-site healthcare
professional review the patients' appeals.
-Provide patients an opportunity to request the correction of inaccurate
or incomplete PHI in their medical records in accordance with the
law and professional standards.
- All physicians and staff of our practice will maintain a list
of certain disclosures of PHI for purposes other than TPO for each
patient and those made pursuant to an authorization as required
by HIPAA rules. We will provide this list to patients upon request,
so long as their requests are in writing.
- All physicians and staff of our practice will adhere to any restrictions
concerning the use or disclosure of PHI that patients have requested
and have been approved by our practice.
- All physicians and staff of our practice must adhere to this policy.
Our practice will not tolerate violations of this policy. Violation
of this policy is grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including
termination of employment and criminal or professional sanctions
in accordance with our practice's personnel rules and regulations.
Our practice may change this privacy policy in the future. Any changes
will be effective upon the release of a revised privacy policy and
will be made available to patients upon request.
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