Privacy Policy/HIPAA

Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information

This form, Notice of Privacy Practices, presents the information that federal law requires us to give our patients regarding our privacy practices.  This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can access this information.  Please review it carefully.

With your consent, the practice is permitted by federal privacy laws to make uses and disclosures of your health information for purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations. Protected health information is the information we create and obtain in providing our services to you. Such information may include documenting your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and applying for future care or treatment. It also includes billing documents for those services.

Example of uses of your health information for treatment purposes:

A nurse obtains treatment information about you and records it in a health record. During the course of your treatment, the doctor determines a need to consult with another specialist in the area. The doctor will share the information with such specialist and obtain input.

Example of use of your health information for payment purposes:

We submit a request for payment to your health insurance company. The health insurance company requests information from us regarding medical care given. We will provide information to them about you and the care given.

Example of use of your information for health care operations:

We obtain services from our insurers or other business associates such as quality assessment, quality improvement, outcome evaluation, protocol and clinical guidelines development, training programs, credentialing, medical review, legal services, and insurance. We will share information about you with such insurers or other business associates as necessary to obtain these services.

Your Health Information Rights

The health records we maintain and billing records are the physical property of the practice. The information in it, however, belongs to you. You have a right to:
• Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your health information by delivering the request in writing to our office. We are not required to grant the request, but we will comply with any request granted;
• Obtain a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information (“Notice”) by making a request at our office;
• Request that you be allowed to inspect and copy your health record and billing record—you may exercise this right by delivering the request in writing to our office;
• Appeal a denial of access to your protected health information except in certain circumstances;
• Request that your health care record be amended to correct incomplete or incorrect information by delivering a written request to our office;
• File a statement of disagreement if your amendment is denied, and require that the request for amendment and any denial be attached in all future disclosures of your protected health information;
• Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as required to be maintained by law by delivering a written request to our office. An accounting will not include internal uses of information for treatment, payment, or operations, disclosures made to you or made at your request, or disclosures made to family members or friends in the course of providing care;
• Request that communication of your health information be made by alternative means or at an alternative location by delivering the request in writing to our office; and,
• Revoke authorizations that you made previously to use or disclose information except to the extent information or action has already been taken by delivering a written revocation to our office.

If you want to exercise any of the above rights, please contact Donna Kotsios, at (281) 296-9562 or by mail at 4185 Technology Forest Blvd., Suite 100, The Woodlands, Texas 77381 or email at dkotsios@nwoms.net.

Our Responsibilities

The practice is required to:
• Maintain the privacy of your health information as required by law;
• Provide you with a notice of our duties and privacy practices as to the information we collect and maintain about you;
• Abide by the terms of this Notice;
• Notify you if we cannot accommodate a requested restriction or request; and
• Accommodate your reasonable requests regarding methods to communicate health information with you.

We reserve the right to amend, change, or eliminate provisions in our privacy practices and access practices and to enact new provisions regarding the protected health information we maintain. If our information practices change, we will amend our 2 Notice. You are entitled to receive a revised copy of the Notice by calling and requesting a copy of our “Notice” or by visiting our office and picking up a copy.

To Request Information or File a Complaint

If you have questions, would like additional information, or want to report a problem regarding the handling of your information, you may contact Donna Kotsios, at (281) 296-9562 or by mail at 4185 Technology Forest Blvd., Suite 100, The Woodlands, Texas 77381. You may also file a complaint with the US department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”). We cannot, and will not require you to waive the right to file a complaint with the HHS as a condition of receiving treatment from the practice. We cannot and will not, retaliate against you for filing a complaint with the HHS.

Other Disclosures and Uses

Notification
Unless you object, we may use or disclose your protected health information to notify, or assist in notifying, a family member, personal representative, or other person responsible for your care, about your location, and about your general condition, or your death.
Communication with Family
Using our best judgment, we may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend, or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or in payment for such care if you do not object or in an emergency.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
We may disclose to the FDA your protected health information relating to adverse events with respect to products and product defects, or post-marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacements.
Workers Compensation
If you are seeking compensation through Workers Compensation, we may disclose your protected health information to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to Workers Compensation.
Public Health
As required by law, we may disclose your protected health information to public health or legal authorities charges with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
Abuse and Neglect
We may disclose your protected health information to public authorities as allowed by law to report abuse or neglect.
Correctional Institutions
If you are an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution, or its agents, your protected health information necessary for your health and the health and safety of other individuals.
Law Enforcement
We may disclose your protected health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law, such as when required by a court order, or in cases involving felony prosecutions, or to the extent an individual is in the custody of law enforcement.
Health Oversight
Federal law allows us to release your protected health information to appropriate health oversight agencies or for health oversight activities.
Judicial/Administrative Proceedings
We may disclose your protected health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding as allowed or required by law, with your consent, or as directed by a proper court order.
Other Uses
Other uses and disclosures besides those identified in this Notice will be made only as otherwise authorized by law or with your written authorization and you may revoke the authorization as previously provided.
Website
If we maintain a website that provides information about our entity, this Notice will be on the website.

This notice is a pdf document which requires the Adobe Reader software. You most likely already have this software on your computer. However, if you have difficulty reading the notice, please click here to install Adobe Reader.

Links

This website contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable information.

Security

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, mailing list or informational pamphlet) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers and servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

2249 N. Loop 336 West, Suite A
Conroe, TX 77304
Phone: 936-756-8188
Fax: 936-441-1905
Hours: * Monday-Thursday 8-5
Friday 8-2
4185 Technology Forest Blvd, Suite 100
The Woodlands, TX 77381
Phone: 281-367-2001
Fax: 281-296-9539
Hours: * Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8-5
Wednesday 8-12
Friday 7-2
10333 Kuykendahl, Suite A
The Woodlands, TX 77382
Phone: 281-364-9933
Fax: 281-364-9917
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8-5
Wednesday 8-12
Friday 8-2
8687 Louetta Road, Suite 100,
Spring, TX 77379
Phone: 281-370-4034
Fax: 281-374-8251
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8-5
Wednesday 8-12
Friday 8-2
3200 Robinson Creek Pkwy. Suite A
Huntsville, TX 77340
Phone: 936-439-9572
Fax: 936-439-9729
Hours:* Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 8-5
Thursday 8-12
Friday 7-2
760 Fish Creek Thoroughfare, Suite 3
Montgomery, Texas 77316
Phone: 281-296-7476
Fax: 281-374-8251
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8-5
Wednesday 8-12
Friday 8-2
*Office closes at noon on the second Wednesday of each month for monthly staff meeting.
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