Patient Privacy Policy
With your consent, the practice is permitted by federal privacy laws to make uses and disclosures of your health information for purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations. Protected health information is the information we create and obtain in providing our services to you. Such information may include documenting your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and applying for future care or treatment. It also includes billing documents for those services. A nurse obtains treatment information about you and records it in a health record. During the course of your treatment, the doctor determines a need to consult with another specialist in the area. The doctor will share the information with such specialist and obtain input. We submit a request for payment to your health insurance company. The health insurance company requests information from us regarding medical care given. We will provide information to them about you and the care given. We obtain services from our insurers or other business associates such as quality assessment, quality improvement, outcome evaluation, protocol and clinical guidelines development, training programs, credentialing, medical review, legal services, and insurance. We will share information about you with such insurers or other business associates as necessary to obtain these services.
- Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your health information by delivering the request in writing to our office. We are not required to grant the request but we will comply with any request granted;
- Request that you be allowed to inspect and copy your health record and billing record—you may exercise this right by delivering the request in writing to our office;
- Appeal a denial of access to your protected health information except in certain circumstances;
- Request that your health care record be amended to correct incomplete or incorrect information by delivering a written request to our office;
- File a statement of disagreement if your amendment is denied, and require that the request for amendment and any denial be attached in all future disclosures of your protected health information;
- Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as required to be maintained by law by delivering a written request to our office. An accounting will not include internal uses of information for treatment, payment, or operations, disclosures made to you or made at your request, or disclosures made to family members or friends in the course of providing care;
- Request that communication of your health information be made by alternative means or at an alternative location by delivering the request in writing to our office; and, revoke authorizations that you made previously to use or disclose information except to the extent information or action has already been taken by delivering a written revocation to our office.
If you want to exercise any of the above rights, please contact the Practice Administrator at PO Box 4879, Maryville TN 37802 or by phone at (865) 679-6322, in person or in writing, during normal hours. She will provide you with assistance on the steps to take to exercise your rights.
- Maintain the privacy of your health information as required by law; Provide you with a notice of our duties and privacy practices as to the information we collect and maintain about you; Abide by the terms of this Notice; Notify you if we cannot accommodate a requested restriction or request; and accommodate your reasonable requests regarding methods to communicate health information with you.
- We cannot, and will not, require you to waive the right to file a complaint with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a condition of receiving treatment from the practice. We cannot, and will not, retaliate against you for filing a complaint with the Secretary.