Vero Radiology Privacy Policy

Our goal is to take appropriate steps to attempt to safeguard any medical or other personal information that is provided to us. We are required to: (i) maintain the privacy of medical information provided to us; (ii) provide notice of our legal duties and privacy practices; and (iii) abide by the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices currently in effect.

Who Will Follow This Notice

This notice describes the practices of our employees and staff.

Information Collected About You

In the ordinary course of receiving treatment and health care services from us, you will be providing us with personal information such as:

• Your name, address, and phone number.
• Information relating to your medical history.
• Your insurance information and coverage.
• Information concerning your doctor, nurse or other medical providers.

In addition, we will gather certain medical information about you and will create a record of the care provided to you. Some information also may be provided to us by other individuals or organizations that are part of your “circle of care” - such as the referring physician, your other doctors, your health plan, and close friends or family members.

How We May Use and Disclose Information About You

We may use and disclose personal and identifiable health information about you in different ways. All of the ways in which we may use and disclose information will fall within one of the following categories, but not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed.

For Treatment: We will use health information about you to furnish services and supplies to you, in accordance with our policies and procedures. For example, we will use your medical history, such as any presence or absence of heart disease, to assess your health and perform requested ultrasound or other diagnostic services.

For Payment: We will use and disclose health information about you to bill for our services and to collect payment from you or your insurance company. For example, we may need to give a payer information about your current medical condition so that it will pay us for the ultrasound examinations or other services that we have furnished you. We may also need to inform your payer of the tests that you are going to receive in order to obtain prior approval or to determine whether the service is covered.

For Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose information about you for the general operation of our business. For example, we sometimes arrange for accreditation organizations, auditors or other consultants to review our practice, evaluate our operations, and tell us how to improve our services.

Public Policy Uses and Disclosures

There are a number of public policy reasons why we may disclose information about you.

• Required by Law: We may disclose health information about you when we are required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
• Public Health: We may disclose protected health information about you in connection with certain public health reporting activities (e.g., preventing disease, FDA reporting, child abuse/neglect).
• Domestic Abuse: We may disclose your protected health information in situations of domestic abuse or elder abuse.
• Health Oversight: We may disclose protected health information for audits, investigations, licensure, or disciplinary actions.
• Legal Proceedings: We may disclose information in response to a warrant, subpoena, or court order.
• Deceased Persons & Organ Donation: We may release information to coroners, medical examiners, or organ procurement organizations.
• Workers’ Compensation: We may release your personal health information to workers’ compensation or similar programs.
• Threats to Safety: Information will be disclosed when necessary to prevent a serious threat to health and safety.
• Research: We may use information for research if an Institutional Review Board ensures privacy protection.
• Military & National Security: We may release information for military personnel, national security, or protective services for the President.

Our Business Associates: We sometimes work with outside individuals and businesses that help us operate our business successfully. We may disclose your health information to these business associates so that they can perform the tasks that we hire them to do.

Individuals Involved in Your Care: We may disclose information to individuals involved in your care or payment for your care, such as family members.

Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose medical information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment.

Treatment Alternatives: We may tell you about possible treatment options or health-related services.

Other Uses: We are required to obtain written authorization from you for any other uses and disclosures. You may revoke that permission in writing at any time.

Individual Rights

• You have the right to ask in writing for restrictions on uses and disclosures. We will consider your request but are not required to accept it.
• You have the right to request confidential communications (e.g., contact only at home or by mail).
• You have the right to request a restriction on disclosures to your health plan if you pay out of pocket in full.
• You have the right to inspect and copy your medical and billing records (fees may apply).
• You have the right to ask us to amend incorrect or incomplete information.
• You have the right to an accounting of disclosures (list of instances when we shared your info for reasons other than treatment/payment/operations).
• You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice.

The Practice is required to notify affected individuals of breaches of their unsecure protected health information.

Changes to This Notice

We reserve the right to make changes to this notice at any time. The revised notice will be effective for past and future information. Revised notices will be posted.

Complaints/Comments

If you have any complaints concerning our Privacy Policy, you may contact the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, or contact us at the address above.

This Privacy Policy is effective April 14, 2003 and revised as of September 23, 2013 due to recent changes in federal law.