GENERAL RULE
We respect our legal obligations to keep health information, that identifies you, private. The law obligates us to give you notice of our privacy practices.
Generally, we can only use your health information in our office or disclose it out of our office, without your written permission, for purposes of treatment, payment or healthcare operations. In most other situations, we will not use or disclose your health information unless you sign a written authorization form. In some limited situations, the law allows or requires us to disclose your health information without written authorization.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
The following categories describe different ways that we may use and disclose medical information without your specific consent or authorization. Examples are provided for each category of uses or disclosures, not every possible use or disclosure in a category is listed.
For Treatment:
We may use medication information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. Example:
For Payment:
We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive from us may be billed and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. Example:
For Healthcare Operations:
We may use and disclose medical information about you for health care operations to assure that you received quality care. Healthcare operations mean those administrative and managerial functions that we have to do in order to run our office. Example:
Uses & Disclosures without an Authorization:
In some limited situations, the law allows or requires us to use or disclose your health information without your permission. Not all of these situations will apply to us some may never happen at our office at all. Such uses or disclosures are:
Other Disclosures:
We will not make any other uses or disclosures of your health information unless you sign a written authorization form. You do not have to sign such a form. If you do sign one, you may revoke it at any time unless we have already acted in reliance upon it.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
Right To Request Restrictions:
You can ask us to restrict our uses and disclosures for purposes of treatment (except emergency treatment), payment or healthcare operations. We do not have to agree to do this, but if we agree, we must honor the restrictions that you want. To ask for a restriction, send a written request to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
Right to Request Confidential Communication:
You can ask us to communicate with you in a confidential way, such as by phoning you at work rather than at home, by mailing health information to a different address, or by using e-mail to you personal e-mail address. We will accommodate these requests if they are reasonable, and if you pay us for any extra cost. If you want to ask for confidential information, send a written request to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
Right to Inspect and Copy:
You can ask to see or to get photocopies of you health information. By law, there are a few limited situations in which we can refuse to permit access or copying. Primarily, however, you will be able to review or have a copy of your health information within 30 days of asking. You may have to pay for photocopies in advance. If we deny your request, we will send you a written explanation, and instructions about how to get an impartial review of our denial if one is legally required. By law, we can have one 30-day extension of the time for us to give you access or photocopies if we sent you a written notice of extension. If you want to review or get photocopies of your health information, send a written request to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
Right to Amend:
You can ask us to amend your health information if you think that it is incorrect or incomplete. If we agree, we will amend the information within 60 days from when you ask us. We will send the corrected information to persons who we know got the wrong information, and others that you specify. If we do not agree, you can write a statement of your position, and we will include it with your health information along with any rebuttal statement that we may write. Once your statement of position and/or rebuttal is included in your health information, we will send it along whenever we make a permitted disclosure of your health information. By law, we can have one 30-day extension of time to consider a request for amendment if we notify you in writing of the extension. If you want to ask us to amend you health information, send a written request, including your reasons for the amendment, to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
Right to List of Disclosures:
You can get a list of the disclosures that we have made of your health information within the past six years (or a shorter period if you want). The only exception to the above stated are disclosures for purposes of treatment, payment, or health care operations, disclosures made in accordance with an authorization signed by you, and some other limited disclosures. You are entitled to one such list per year without charge. If you want more frequent lists, you will have to pay for them in advance. We will usually respond to your request within 60 days of receiving it, by law we can have one 30-day extension of time if we notify you of the extension in writing. If you want a list, send a written request to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
COMPLAINTS
If you think that we have not properly respected the privacy of your health information, you are free to complain to us or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you if you make a complaint. If you want to complain to us, send a written complaint to Dr. June Chun, OD at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice. If you prefer, you can discuss your complaints in person or by phone.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you want more information about our privacy practices, call or visit the office of Dr. June Chun.
We respect our legal obligations to keep health information, that identifies you, private. The law obligates us to give you notice of our privacy practices.
Generally, we can only use your health information in our office or disclose it out of our office, without your written permission, for purposes of treatment, payment or healthcare operations. In most other situations, we will not use or disclose your health information unless you sign a written authorization form. In some limited situations, the law allows or requires us to disclose your health information without written authorization.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
The following categories describe different ways that we may use and disclose medical information without your specific consent or authorization. Examples are provided for each category of uses or disclosures, not every possible use or disclosure in a category is listed.
For Treatment:
We may use medication information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. Example:
- When we set up an appointment for you.
- When our technician or doctor tests your eyes.
- When the doctor prescribes glasses or contact lenses.
- When the doctor prescribes medication.
- When our staff helps you select and order glasses or contact lenses.
- When we show your low vision aids.
- If we refer you to another doctor or clinic for eye care or low vision aids or services.
- If we send a prescription for glasses or contacts to another professional to be filled.
- When we provide a prescription for medication to a pharmacist.
- When we phone to let you know that your glasses or contact lenses are ready to be picked up.
For Payment:
We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive from us may be billed and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. Example:
- When our staff asks you about health or vision care plans that you may belong to, or about other sources of payment for our services.
- When we prepare bills to send to you or your health or vision-care plan.
- When we process payment by credit card and when we try to collect unpaid amounts due.
- When bills or claims for payment are mailed, faxed, or sent by computer to you or your health/vision plan.
- When we occasionally have to ask a collection agency or attorney to help us with unpaid amounts due.
For Healthcare Operations:
We may use and disclose medical information about you for health care operations to assure that you received quality care. Healthcare operations mean those administrative and managerial functions that we have to do in order to run our office. Example:
- For financial or billing audits.
- For internal quality assurance.
- For personnel decisions.
- To enable our doctors to participate in managed care plans.
- For the defense of legal matters.
- To develop business plans.
- For outside storage of our records.
Uses & Disclosures without an Authorization:
In some limited situations, the law allows or requires us to use or disclose your health information without your permission. Not all of these situations will apply to us some may never happen at our office at all. Such uses or disclosures are:
- A state or federal law that mandates certain health information be reported for a specific purpose.
- Public health purposes, such as contagious disease reporting, investigation or surveillance and notices to and from the Food and Drug Administration regarding drugs or medical devices.
- Disclosures to governmental authorities about victims of suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence.
- Uses and disclosures for health oversight activities, such as for the licensing of doctors, audits by Medicare or Medicaid, or investigation of possible violations of healthcare laws.
- Disclosures for judicial and administrative proceedings, such as in response to subpoenas or orders of courts or administrative agencies.
- Disclosures for law enforcement purposes, such as to provide information about someone who is or suspected to be a victim of a crime to provide information about a crime at our office or to report a crime that happened somewhere else.
- Disclosure to a medical examiner to identify a dead person or to determine the cause of death or to funeral directors to aid in burial or to organizations that handle organ or tissue donations.
- Uses or disclosures for health related research.
- Uses and disclosures to prevent a serious threat to health or safety.
- Uses or disclosures for specialized government functions, such as for the protection of the president or for the evaluation and health of members of the foreign service.
- Disclosures relating to workers? compensation programs.
- Disclosures to business associates who perform healthcare operations for us and who agree to keep your health information private.
Other Disclosures:
We will not make any other uses or disclosures of your health information unless you sign a written authorization form. You do not have to sign such a form. If you do sign one, you may revoke it at any time unless we have already acted in reliance upon it.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
Right To Request Restrictions:
You can ask us to restrict our uses and disclosures for purposes of treatment (except emergency treatment), payment or healthcare operations. We do not have to agree to do this, but if we agree, we must honor the restrictions that you want. To ask for a restriction, send a written request to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
Right to Request Confidential Communication:
You can ask us to communicate with you in a confidential way, such as by phoning you at work rather than at home, by mailing health information to a different address, or by using e-mail to you personal e-mail address. We will accommodate these requests if they are reasonable, and if you pay us for any extra cost. If you want to ask for confidential information, send a written request to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
Right to Inspect and Copy:
You can ask to see or to get photocopies of you health information. By law, there are a few limited situations in which we can refuse to permit access or copying. Primarily, however, you will be able to review or have a copy of your health information within 30 days of asking. You may have to pay for photocopies in advance. If we deny your request, we will send you a written explanation, and instructions about how to get an impartial review of our denial if one is legally required. By law, we can have one 30-day extension of the time for us to give you access or photocopies if we sent you a written notice of extension. If you want to review or get photocopies of your health information, send a written request to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
Right to Amend:
You can ask us to amend your health information if you think that it is incorrect or incomplete. If we agree, we will amend the information within 60 days from when you ask us. We will send the corrected information to persons who we know got the wrong information, and others that you specify. If we do not agree, you can write a statement of your position, and we will include it with your health information along with any rebuttal statement that we may write. Once your statement of position and/or rebuttal is included in your health information, we will send it along whenever we make a permitted disclosure of your health information. By law, we can have one 30-day extension of time to consider a request for amendment if we notify you in writing of the extension. If you want to ask us to amend you health information, send a written request, including your reasons for the amendment, to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
Right to List of Disclosures:
You can get a list of the disclosures that we have made of your health information within the past six years (or a shorter period if you want). The only exception to the above stated are disclosures for purposes of treatment, payment, or health care operations, disclosures made in accordance with an authorization signed by you, and some other limited disclosures. You are entitled to one such list per year without charge. If you want more frequent lists, you will have to pay for them in advance. We will usually respond to your request within 60 days of receiving it, by law we can have one 30-day extension of time if we notify you of the extension in writing. If you want a list, send a written request to Dr. June Chun at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice.
COMPLAINTS
If you think that we have not properly respected the privacy of your health information, you are free to complain to us or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you if you make a complaint. If you want to complain to us, send a written complaint to Dr. June Chun, OD at the address, fax, or e-mail shown at the beginning of this notice. If you prefer, you can discuss your complaints in person or by phone.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you want more information about our privacy practices, call or visit the office of Dr. June Chun.