Privacy Statement

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.

Uses and Disclosures of Health Information:
We use health information about you for treatment, to obtain payment of treatment, for administrative purpose, and to evaluate the quality of care that you receive. Continuity of case is part of treatment and your records may be shared with providers to whom you are referred. Information may be shared by paper mail, e-mail, fax, or other methods.

It may be necessary to communicate with you about your healthcare/billing. We will at times leave brief messages on your answer machines, voice mail or with someone at your contact numbers.

We may use or disclose identifiable health information about you without your authorization for several reasons. Subject to certain requirements, we may give out health information without your authorization for: communication with family/close personal friends or any other person you identify regarding medical treatment or payment related to your care; funeral directors; organ procurement organizations, Food and Drug Administration, Worker’s compensation, correctional institutions, public health purposes and in case of emergencies including drug abuse. We provide information when otherwise required by law, such as for law enforcement in specific circumstances. In any other situation, we will ask for your written authorization before using or disclosing any identifiable health information about you. If you chose to sign an authorization to stop any future uses and disclosures.

Individual Rights:
In most cases, you have the right to look at or get a copy of health information about you that we use to make decisions about you. If you request copies, we will charge you only normal photocopy fees. You also have the right to receive of list of instances where we have disclosed health information about you for reasons other than when you explicitly authorize it. If you believe that information in your record is incorrect or if important information is missing, you have the right to request, in writing, that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. This does not obligate the physician or Tampa Orthopaedic to alter the chart.

Complaints:
If you are concerned that we have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your records, you may contact the person listed below. You also may send a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Our Legal Duty:
We are required by law to protect the privacy of your information, provide this notice about our information practices, and follow the information practices that are described in this notice.