The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal program that requires that all medical records and other individually identifiable health information used or disclosed by us in any form, whether electronically, on paper, or orally, are kept properly confidential This Act gives you, the patient, significant new rights to understand and control how your health information is used. HIPAA provides penalties for covered entities that misuse personal health information. As required by "HIPAA", we have prepared this explanation of how we are required to maintain the privacy of your health information and how we may use and disclose your health information.

We may use and disclose your medical records only for each of the following purposes. treatment, payment and health care operations.

        ·     Treatment means providing, coordinating, or managing health care and related services                by one or more health care providers. An example of this would be sending medical
               information to a specialist as part of a referral.
        ·     Payment means such activities as obtaining reimbursement for services, confirming
               coverage, billing or collection activities, and utilization review. An example of this would be
               sending a bill for your visit to your insurance company or Medicare for payment.
        ·     Health care operations include the business aspects of running our practice, such as
               coordinating quality assessment and improvement activities, auditing functions, cost
               management analysis, and customer service. An example would be comparing patient data
               to improve treatment methods.

We may use or disclose medical information about you without your prior authorization for several other reasons. Subject to certain requirements, we may give out medical information about you without prior authorization for public health purposes, abuse or neglect reporting, health oversight audits or inspections, research studies, funeral arrangements and organ donation, military, national security, worker's compensation purposes, and emergencies. We also disclose medical information when required by law, such as in response to a request from law enforcement in specific circumstances, or in response to valid judicial or administrative orders.

We also may contact you for appointment reminders, or to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options, alternatives, health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you, or to support fundraising efforts.

We may disclose medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care unless you object or to disaster relief authorities so that your family can be notified of your location and condition.

We may also create and distribute de-identified health information by removing all references to individually identifiable information.

Any other uses and disclosures not covered by this notice will be made only with your written authorization You may revoke such authorization in writing and we are required to honor and abide by that written request, except to the extent that we have already taken actions relying on your authorization.

You have the following rights with respect to your protected health information, which you can exercise by presenting a written request to the Privacy Officer:

        ·     The right to inspect and copy your protected health information that we use to make
               decisions about your care, when you submit a written request. If you request copies, we
               may charge a fee for the cost of copying, mailing or other related supplies. If we deny your
               request to review or obtain a copy, you may submit a written request for a review of that
               decision.
        ·     The right to amend your protected health information if you believe that information
               in your record is incorrect or if important information is missing submitting a request in
               to writing that provides your reason for requesting the amendment. We could deny your
               request amend a record if the information was not created by us; if it is not part of the
               medical information maintained by us; or if we determine that record is accurate. You may
               appeal, in writing, a decision by us not to amend a record. It is the policy of Aberdeen
               Family Physicians that all requests for amendment of incorrect protected health information
               maintained by this organization will be considered in a timely fashion. If such requests
               demonstrate that the information is actually incorrect, this organization will allow amending
               language to be added to the appropriate document It is also the policy of this organization
               that notice of such corrections will be given to any organization with which the incorrect
               information has been shared.
        ·     The right to receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information
               of those instances where we have disclosed medical information about you, other than for
               treatment, payment, healthcare operations or where you specifically authorized a
               disclosure, when you submit a written request The request must state the time period
               desired for the accounting, which must be less than a 6-year period and starting after April
               14, 2003. You may receive the list in paper or electronic form. The first disclosure list
               request in a 12-month period is free; other requests will be charged according to our cost
               of producing the list. We will inform you of the cost before you incur any cost.
        ·     The right to obtain a paper copy of this notice from us upon request.
        ·     The right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected
               health information, including those related to disclosures to family members, other
               relatives, close personal friends, or any other person identified by you. We are, however,
               not required to agree to a requested restriction. If we do agree to a restriction, we must
               abide by it unless you agree in writing to remove it.
        ·     The right to reasonable requests to receive confidential communications of
               protected health information from us by alternative means or at alternative locations,
               such as sending mail to an address other than your home, by notifying us in writing of the
               specific way or location for us to use to communicate with you.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information.

This notice is effective as of April 14, 2003 and we are required to abide by the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices currently in effect. For a more comprehensive copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices, please see the Privacy Officer or ask a Receptionist for a copy. We reserve the right to change the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices and to make the new notice provisions effective for all protected health information that we maintain. We will post and you may request a written copy of a revised Notice of Privacy Practices form this office.

You have recourse if you feel that your privacy protections have been violated. You have the right to file a written complaint with our office, or with the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Civil Rights, about violations of the provisions of this notice or the policies and procedures of our office. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

For more information about HIPAA or to file a complaint, please contact either:

Privacy Officer
Michael W. Opp
Clinic Administrator
Aberdeen Family Physicians
(605) 725-6800

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Office of Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
(202) 619-0257
Toll Free: 1-877-696-6775