Your Information.
Your Rights.
Our Responsibilities.
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.
Your Rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights.
This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.
Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record
- You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical recordand other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
- We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usuallywithin 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
Ask us to correct your medical record
- You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think isincorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
- We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within60 days.
Request confidential communications
- You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or officephone) or to send mail to a different address.
- We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.
Ask us to limit what we use or share
- You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment,payment, or our operations.
- We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if itwould affect your care.
- If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you canask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or ouroperations with your health insurer.
- We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information
- You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your healthinformation for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with,and why.
- We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment,payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such asany you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free butwill charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within12 months.
Get a copy of this privacy notice
- You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you haveagreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a papercopy promptly.
Choose someone to act for you
- If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is yourlegal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices aboutyour health information.
- We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you beforewe take any action.
File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated
- You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting ususing the information on page 1.
- You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 IndependenceAvenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting: HHS Complaints
- We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Your Choices
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share.
If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.
In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
- Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved inyour care
- Share information in a disaster relief situation
- Include your information in a hospital directory
- Contact you for fundraising efforts
If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
- Marketing purposes
- Sale of your information
- Most sharing of psychotherapy notes
In the case of fundraising:
- We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not tocontact you again.
Our Uses and Disclosures
How do we typically use or share your health information?
We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
Treat you
- We can use your health information andshare it with other professionals who aretreating you.
Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.
Run our organization
- We can use and share your health informationto run our practice, improve your care,and contact you when necessary.
Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.
Bill for your services
- We can use and share your health informationto bill and get payment from health plans orother entities.
Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.
How else can we use or share your health information?
We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: HHS Consumers
Help with public health and safety issues
- We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:
- Preventing disease
- Helping with product recalls
- Reporting adverse reactions to medications
- Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
- Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
Do research
- We can use or share your information for health research.
Comply with the law
- We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it,including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants tosee that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
- We can share health information about you with organ procurementorganizations.
Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
- We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, orfuneral director when an individual dies.
Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
- We can use or share health information about you:
- For workers’ compensation claims
- For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
- With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
- For special government functions such as military, national security,and presidential protective services
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
- We can share health information about you in response to a court oradministrative order, or in response to a subpoena.
Our Responsibilities
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security ofyour information.
- We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
- We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can inwriting. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if youchange your mind.
For more information see: Notice of Privacy Practices
Changes to the Terms of This Notice
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site.
Effective Date: January 1, 2019. If you have any questions about this Notice please contact our Privacy Officer, Joseph Lasker, at 2315 65th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11204, Phone: 718-336-4772.