Privacy Policy

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We will not collect any personal information from you that you do not volunteer, and we are the sole owner of all information collected on this site. We do not sell, share, or rent this information to others in any way that we have not mentioned in this statement.

Notice of Privacy of Practices
HIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.

PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

THE PRIVACY OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO US.

OUR LEGAL DUTY

We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This Notice takes effect immediately and will remain in effect until we replace it.

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made the changes. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice and make new Notice available upon request.

You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION

We use and disclose health information about you for treatment, payment and healthcare operations. For example:

Treatment: We may use or disclose your health information to a physician or other healthcare provider providing treatment to you.

Payment: We may use or disclose your health information to obtain payment for services we provide to you.

Healthcare Operations: We may use or disclose your health information in connection with our healthcare operations. Healthcare operations include quality assessment and improvement activities, reviewing the competence or qualifications of healthcare professionals, evaluating practitioner and provider performance, conducting training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities.

Your Authorization: In addition to our use of your health information for treatment, payment or healthcare operations, you may give us written authorization to use your health information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose. If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time. Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosure permitted by your authorization while it was in effect. Unless you give us a written authorization, we cannot use or disclose your health information for any reason except those described in this Notice.

To Your Family and Friends: We must disclose your health information to you, as described in the Patient Rights section of this Notice. We may disclose your health information to a family member, friend or other people to the extent necessary to help with your healthcare or with payment for your healthcare, but only if you agree that we may do so.

Persons Involved In Care: We may use or disclose health information to notify or assist in the notification of (including identifying or locating) a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care, or your location, your general condition, or death. If you are present, then prior to use or disclosure of your health information, we will provide you with an opportunity to object to such uses or disclosures. In the event of your incapacity or emergency circumstances, we will disclose health information that is directly relevant to the person’s involvement in your healthcare. We will also use our professional judgement and our experience with common practice to make reasonable inferences of your best interest in allowing a person to pick up filled prescriptions, medical supplies, x-rays or other similar forms of health information.

Marketing Health-Related Services: We will not use your health information for marketing communications without your written authorization.

Required by Law: We may use or disclose your health information when we are required to do so by law.

Abuse or Neglect: We may disclose your health information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may disclose your health information to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety of others.

National Security: We may disclose to military authorities the health information of Armed Forces personnel under certain circumstances. We may disclose to authorize federal officials health information required for lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may disclose to correctional institution or law enforcement official having lawful custody of protected health information of inmate or patient under certain circumstances.

Appointment Reminders: We may use or disclose your health information to provide you with appointment reminders (such as voicemail messages, postcards or letters).

PATIENTS RIGHTS

Access: You have the right to look at or get copies of your health information, with limited exceptions. You may request that we provide copies in a format other than photocopies. We will use the format you requested unless we cannot practically do so. (You must make a request in writing to obtain access to your health information. You may obtain a form to request access by using the contact information listed at the end of this Notice. We will charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for expenses such as copies and staff time. You may also request access by sending us a letter to the address at the end of this Notice. If you request copies, we will charge you a $0.95 for each page, $25.00 per hour of staff time to locate and copy your health information, and postage if you want copies.

A.) The following rights are established under the Medical Patients’ Rights Act [410 ILCS 50/0.01 et seq.] formerly [Ill. Reg. Stat., ch. 111 ½ pars. 5400 – 5404].

1.) The right of each patient to care consistent with sound nursing and medical practices, to be informed of the name of the physician responsible for coordinating care, to receive information concerning his/her condition and proposed treatment, to refuse any treatment to the extent permitted by law, and to privacy and confidentiality of records except as otherwise provided by law.

2.) The right of each patient, regardless of source of payment, to examine and receive a reasonable explanation of the total bill for services rendered by the physician or health care provider, including the itemized charges for specific services received. Each physician or provider shall be responsible only for a reasonable explanation of those specific services provided by such physician or provider.

3.) In the event an insurance company or health services corporation cancels or refuses to renew an individual policy or plan, the insured patient shall be entitled to timely, prior notice of the termination of such policy or plan. An insurance company which requires any insured patient or applicant for new or continued insurance or coverage to be tested for infection with HIV or any other identified causative agent of AIDS shall (1) give the patient or applicant prior written notice of such; (2) proceed with the testing only upon the written authorization of the applicant or patient; and (3) keep the results confidential. Notice of an adverse underwriting or coverage decision may be given to any appropriately interested party, but the insurer may only disclose the test result itself to a physician designated by the applicant or patient, and any such disclosure shall be made in a manner that assures confidentiality.

4.) The right of each patient to privacy and confidentiality in health care. Each physician, health care provider, health services corporation and insurance company will refrain from disclosing the nature or details of services provided to patients, except that such information may disclose to:

a. The patient;

b. The party making the treatment decisions if patient is incapable of such;

c. Those parties involved in providing treatment or processing the payment;

d. Those parties responsible for peer review, utilization review, quality assurance; and

e. Those parties required to be notified under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and the Illinois

Sexually Transmissible Disease Act or otherwise authorized or required by law. This right may be waived in writing by the patient or patient’s guardian, but a physician or other health care provider may not condition the provision of services on the patient’s or guardian’s agreement to sign such a waiver.

5.) The right to receive an explanation of the nature and possible consequences of a research program or an experimental procedure before the research or experiment is conducted, and to consent to or reject it. No physician may conduct any research program or experimental procedure on a patient without the prior informed consent of the patient or, if the patient is unable to consent, the patient’s guardian, spouse, parent, or authorized agent.

B.) The following patient’s rights are established under the HIPAA privacy rules (45 CFR 164):

1.) RIGHT TO ADEQUATE NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

Patients must be given a Notice describing the privacy practices of the physician or practice. The Notice must also inform patients how their health care information will be used and disclosed by the practice about the other HIPAA rights listed here, and how to file complaints, either with the physician or practice or DHHS, and identify a contact person who can provide additional information. The Notice should describe how the physician or practice will provide patients with a revised Notice if the notice is changed.

2.) RIGHT TO ACCESS HEALTH INFORMATION

Patients have a right to access, inspect, and copy protected health information or medical and associated billing records that are in a physician’s file. Access is available for as long as the health and financial information is maintained by the physician or practice.

Patients do not, however, have an automatic right of access to psychotherapy notes; information compiled for use in a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding; and certain health information maintained by a physician or practice that is subject to or exempted the federal Clinical Laboratory.

Physicians are granted limited grounds to deny patient’s access to their own health information. Any denial of access must be accompanied by information on how to have the denial reviewed or on how to make a complaint either to the physician or practice or DHHS. Physicians must act on a request for access within 30 days or receiving the request if possible. If not possible then after given a written reason for the delay, the access must be provided within 60 days of the original request. Fees may be charged.

3.) RIGHT TO REQUEST AMENDMENT OF HEALTH INFORMATION

A patient has the right to request amendment of protected health information. A physician may deny this request. If the amendment is denied, the physician or practice must inform patients of their options with respect to future disclosures of the disputed information.