NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)

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.

About Us

In this Notice, we use terms like "we," "us" or "our" to refer to Bay Pathology Associates,PA.  We share your protected health information among us to provide you with  the health care services, to treat you, to pay for your care and to  conduct our business operations (e.g., quality assurance, compliance,  and utilization review).

What is "Protected Health Information" or "PHI"?

"Protected  health information," or "PHI" for short, is information that identifies  who you are and relates to, your past, present, or future physical or  mental health or condition, the provision of health care to you, or  past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to  you. PHI does not include information about you that is publicly  available, or that is in a summary form that does not identify who you  are.

Purpose of this Notice

In  the course of doing business, we gather and maintain PHI about our  patients. We respect the privacy of your PHI and understand the  importance of keeping this information confidential and secure. This  Notice describes our privacy practices and how we protect the  confidentiality of your PHI. We are obligated to maintain the privacy of  your PHI by implementing reasonable and appropriate safeguards. We are  also obligated to explain to you by this Notice about our legal  obligations to maintain the privacy of your PHI. We must follow our  Notice that is currently in effect.

How We Protect Your PHI

We  restrict access to your PHI to those employees who need access in order  to provide services to our clients. We have established and maintain  appropriate physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect  your PHI against unauthorized use or disclosure. We have established a  training program that our employees must complete and update annually.  We have also established a Privacy Office, which has overall  responsibility for developing, training and overseeing the  implementation and enforcement of policies and procedures to safeguard  your PHI against inappropriate access, use and disclosure.

Types of Use and Disclosure of PHI We May Make Without Your Authorization

Treatment; Payment; Health Care Operations

Federal  and state law allows us to use and disclose your PHI in order to  provide health care services to you, as well as to bill and collect  payments for the health care services provided to you by our group  physicians. For example, we may use your PHI to authorize referrals to  specialists and to review the quality of care provided by your  participating physician. We may disclose your PHI to health plans or  other responsible parties to receive payment for the services provided  to you by our group physicians.

We  may also use or disclose your PHI, for example, to recommend to you  treatment alternatives, to inform you about health-related benefits and  services that we offer, or to contact you to remind you of your  appointments. We conduct these activities to provide health care to you,  and not as marketing.

Federal  and state law also allows us to use and disclose your PHI as necessary  in connection with our health care operations. For example, we may use  your PHI for resolution of any grievance or appeal that you file if you  are unhappy with the care you have received. We may also use your PHI in  connection with population-based disease management programs. We may  use or disclose your PHI to perform certain business functions to our  business associates, who must also agree to safeguard your PHI as  required by law.

We are also allowed by law to use and disclose your PHI without your authorization for the following purposes:

1. When required by law – In some circumstances, we are required by federal or state laws to disclose

certain PHI to others, such as public agencies for various reasons;

2. For public health activities – Such as reports about communicable diseases, defective medical devices to the FDA or work-related health issues;

3. Reports about child and other types of abuse or neglect, or domestic violence;

4. For health oversight activities – Such as reports to governmental agencies that are responsible for

licensing physicians or other health care providers;

5. For lawsuits and other legal disputes – In connection with court proceedings or proceedings before

administrative agencies, or to defend us or our participating physicians in a legal dispute;

6. For law enforcement purposes –Such as responding to a warrant, or reporting a crime;

7. Reports to coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors – To assist them in performance of their legal duties;

8. For tissue or organ donations – To organ procurement or transplant organizations to assist them;

9. For research  – To medical researchers with an approval of an institutional review  board (IRB) or privacy board that oversees studies on human subjects.  Researchers are also required to safeguard your PHI;

10. To avert a serious threat to the health or safety of you or other members of the public;

11. For national security and intelligence/military activities – Such as protection of the President or foreign dignitaries; and

12. In connection with services provided under workers’ compensation laws.

We  may disclose your PHI, without your written authorization, to your  family members or other persons if they are involved in your care or  payment for that care. We may also notify disaster relief organizations  to assist them with their relief efforts. When you are a patient at a  hospital or medical facility with which we are affiliated, we may create  a directory that includes your name, your location at the facility,  your general condition and your religious affiliation. Information in  this directory may be disclosed to visitors and clergy. However, we must  first provide you with an opportunity to agree or object to such  disclosure. If you cannot agree or object because you are incapacitated  or otherwise unavailable, we will use our professional judgment.

You,  as a parent, can generally control your minor child’s PHI. In some  cases, however, we are permitted or even required by law to deny your  access to your child’s PHI, such as when your child can legally consent  to medical services without your permission.

There  are some types of PHI, such as HIV test results or mental health  information, which are protected by stricter laws. However, even such  PHI may be used or disclosed without your written authorization if  required or permitted by law.

Authorizations

All  other uses and disclosures of your PHI must be made with your written  authorization. If you need an authorization form, we will send you one  for you or your personal representative to complete. When you receive  the form, please fill it out and send it to the following address:

Bay Pathology Associates

760 Airport Drive

Panama City ,Florida 32405

You  may revoke or modify your authorization at any time by writing to us at  the same address. Please note that your revocation or modification may  not be effective in some circumstances, such as when we have already  taken action relying on your authorization.

Your Rights Regarding Your PHI

Access to Your PHI

You  have the right to review and copy your PHI we maintain. If you wish to  access to your PHI, please write to us. We will respond to your request  and tell you when and where you can review your PHI in our possession  within our normal business hours. If you would like a copy of the  information we have, please write to us at the same address. If we  provide you with a copy, we may charge a reasonable administrative fee  for copying your PHI to the extent permitted by applicable law. If we  deny your request for review or copy of your PHI, we will explain the  reason in writing. If we don’t have your PHI, but know who does, we will  tell you who to contact.

Right to Amend Your PHI

You  have the right to request amendments to your PHI. If you wish to have  your PHI corrected or updated, please write to us and tell us what you  want changed and why. We will respond to you in writing, either  accepting or denying your request. If we deny your request, we will  explain why. You may also send us an addendum that is no longer than 250  words in length for each item you believe is incorrect. Please clearly  indicate that you want the addendum to be included in your PHI. We will  attach your addendum to the record(s) of your PHI. Your amended PHI will  be available for your review upon request.

Right to Receive an Accounting of Disclosures of Your PHI

You  have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures that we  make of your PHI. You can request an accounting by writing to us. Please  note that certain disclosures, such as those made for treatment,  payment, or health care operations, need not be included in the  accounting we provide to you. We will respond to your request within a  reasonable period of time, but no later than 60 days after we receive  your written request.

Right to Receive a Copy of This Notice

You  have the right to request and receive a paper copy of this Notice. You  may contact our Customer Service for a copy, and one will be provided to  you at no charge. 

Right to Request Restrictions

You  have the right to request restrictions on how we use and disclose your  PHI for our treatment, payment, and health care operations. All requests  must be made in writing. Upon receipt, we will review your request and  notify you whether we have accepted or denied your request. Please note  that we are not required to accept your request for restrictions. Your  PHI is critical for providing you with quality health care. We believe  we have taken appropriate safeguards and internal restrictions to  protect your PHI, and that additional restrictions may be harmful to  your care.

Right to Confidential Communications

You  have the right to request that we provide your PHI to you in a  confidential manner. For example, you may request that we send your PHI  by an alternate means (e.g., sending by a sealed envelope, rather than a  post card) or to an alternate address (e.g., calling you at a different  telephone number, or sending a letter to you at your office address  rather than your home address). We will accommodate any reasonable  requests, unless they are administratively too burdensome, or prohibited  by law.

Right to Complain

We  must follow the privacy practices set forth in this Notice while in  effect. If you have any questions about this Notice, wish to exercise  your rights, or file a complaint, please direct your inquiries to:

Bay Pathology Associates

760 Airport Drive

Panama City ,Florida 32405

You  may contact your Health Plan with your concerns as well. You also have  the right to directly complain to the Secretary of the United States  Department of Health and Human Service. We will not retaliate against  you for filing a complaint against us.

We  will use and disclose your PHI to the fullest extent authorized by law.  We reserve the rights as expressed in this Notice. We reserve the right  to revise our privacy practices consistent with law and make them  applicable to your entire PHI we maintain, regardless of when it was  received or created. If we make material or important changes to our  privacy practices, we will promptly revise our Notice. Unless the  changes are required by law, we will not implement material changes to  our privacy practices before we revise our Notice.

Effective Date

The effective date of this Notice is ____12-10-13____________.