NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

 

This Notice of Privacy Practice is effective January 1, 2025.

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information as required Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Red Letter DPC, LLC (“the Practice” or “We”) is committed to protecting the privacy of your medical information and keeping it confidential.  Your care/treatment is recorded in an electronic medical record that is considered protected health information (“PHI”). To best meet your medical needs, we may share your PHI with the providers and facilities involved in your care.

We may share your information only to the extent necessary to collect payment for services we provide and to conduct our business operations. Any practice staff is/will be trained to be sensitive to the privacy and confidentiality of your PHI and complete annual HIPAA compliance training. Except as outlined below, we will not use or disclose your PHI for any other purpose unless you have signed a Medical Record Release Authorization form.

USES AND DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PHI

We may use and share your PHI in the following ways without requiring your signed authorization. It should be noted that while not every possible use or disclosure will be listed, each of the ways we are permitted to use or disclose information will fall into one of the following areas:

  • Treatment: Providing, coordinating or managing your medical treatment and services. For instance, health care providers involved in your care, will use information in your medical record to plan a course of treatment for you that may include procedure, medications, tests, etc. We may also disclose your PHI to institutions and individuals outside of the Practice that are or will be providing treatment to you. Example: physical therapy.

  • Payment: Billing and receiving payment for the treatment and services you received. For example, we may forward information regarding your medical procedures and treatment to your employer (if involved in employer covered DPC membership) to arrange payment for the services provided to you or we may use your information to prepare a bill to send to you or to the person responsible for your payment.

  • Health Care Operations: Running our practice/clinic, improvement in your care, and contacting you when necessary. For example, we may use your PHI in order to conduct an evaluation of treatment and services we provide. Your health information may be sent for review by supervising physician of non-physician provider.

  • Appointment Reminders: We may use your PHI to communicate with you about upcoming appointment reminders, treatment alternatives/options and other health-related benefits and service that may be of interest to you.

  • Health Entity Requirements: For workers’ compensation and similar structured programs.

  • Public Health and Safety: For public health safety issues such as preventing disease, helping with product recall, reporting adverse reactions to medications, reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

    • Example: Communicable diseases that are mandatory reporting conditions

  • Health Oversight Activities: For a health oversight agency. Example: licensing or audits.

  • Legal and Law Enforcement: In response to a court order, subpoena, or warrant and to law enforcement officials in certain limited circumstances.

RIGHTS THAT YOU HAVE

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

  • You can request to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record, by filling out a Medical Record Authorization form and submitting it to our office. We will provide a copy of your medical record within 30 days of your request.

  • You can request us to correct your medical record if you think it is incorrect or incomplete. You need to submit a written request. There may be an additional amendment form required to be filled as well. We may decline your request for amendment, but you will be informed in writing within 30 days of the reason we would be unable to amend.

  • You can request us not to share certain medical record information for treatment or payment.

  • You can “opt out” of communication by email or standard SMS messaging.

  • You can request us to contact you in a certain way or at a certain location. Example: preferred phone number.

  • You can request for an “accounting of disclosures”. This is a list of non-routine disclosures of our practice has made of your PHI for purposes not related to treatment, payment, or operation. Use of your PHI as part of the routine patient care is not required to be documented.

  • You can request a paper copy of this notice at any time.

  • You can choose someone to whom information may be disclosed or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can make choices about your medical record.

BREACH NOTIFICATION

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of our patients’ PHI. We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practice so long as it remains in effect. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practice as necessary. You may receive a copy of any revised notice at any of our clinic locations.

COMPLAINTS

If you have any questions about this Notice or if you think that we have not respected the privacy of your protected health information, please do not hesitate to contact Practice by email at the following email address: aaron@redletterhealth.com.

Please note, you are never penalized for reporting a complaint or concern.