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Privacy Policy Statement Effective May 12th, 2009 We understand that information about you is personal. We are committed to protecting your health information. We will create a record for the care you receive at the facility and billing offices of L&L Therapy Services, LLC. We need this record to provide with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice tells you about the ways we may use and disclose your health information. We are required by law to make sure you health information that identifies you kept private; give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information; and follow the terms of this notice that is currently in affect. Any healthcare professional of L&L Therapy Services, LLC is authorized to enter your information into your medical record including any employee, staff, volunteer, director; occupational, speech, or physical therapist or assistants that employed or contracted by L&L Therapy Services, LLC. We may use your health information to provide you with treatment or services. We may disclose your health information to staff of L&L Therapy Services, LLC those individuals involved in providing services to you. We may also disclose your health information to people outside of L&L Therapy Services, LLC to provide services that are part of your care. We may use and disclose your health information so that your therapy and services provided by L&L Therapy Services, LLC may be billed and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company, or a third party. We may use and disclose your health information for our operations. This is necessary to run L&L Therapy Services, LLC and give quality care services to our patients. For example, we may use health information to review the treatment and services that are provided and evaluate the performance of our staff in provide these services to you. We may use and disclose your health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or therapy at L&L Therapy Services, LLC. We may use and disclose health information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment or therapy options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.We may use and disclose health information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that be of interest to you. There are some services provided in L&L Therapy Services, LLC through contacts with business associates. When we hire companies to perform these services, we may disclose your health information to these companies so that they can perform the job that we’ve asked them to do and bill you or your insurance company for the treatment or therapy services rendered. To protect your health information, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your health information. We may disclose your health information to a foundation or association that is related to the treatment and/or services you are receiving. We would only release contact information such as your name, address and phone number. We may release your health information to a family member, other relative, close personal friend, or any other person who is involved in your care or payment to your care. We may release your health information to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your conditions, status, and location. If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release your health information as required by military command authorities. We may release your information to worker’s compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses. We may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight agencies include audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the healthcare system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws. If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose your health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may disclose your health information in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in a dispute. We may release health information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official 1) In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process; 2) To indentify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; 3) About the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement; 3) About a death we believe may be the result of a criminal conduct; 4) About criminal conduct at L&L Therapy Services, LLC; 5) In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime. We may release your health information to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law. We may disclose your health information to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations. Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to you will be made only with your written permission. If you provide us permission to use or disclose your health information, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose your health information for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclose we have already made with your permission. We are required to retain records of the care we provided to you. In the event that North Carolina Law requires us to give more protection to your health information than stated in this notice or required by Federal Law, we will give that additional protection to your health information. You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of the health information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records. To inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to the Director of Operations of the appropriate L&L Therapy Services, LLC (location). If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request. We will respond to you within 30 days of receiving your written request. We may deny your request to inspect and/or obtain a copy of your health information in limited circumstances. If you are denied access to health information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. If you feel that health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for L&L Therapy Services, LLC. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing to the Director of Operations. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. We will respond within 60 days of receiving your written request. We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that 1) Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created; 2) The information is no longer available to make the amendment; 3) Is not part of the health information kept by or for L&L Therapy Services, LLC; 4) Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; 4) Is accurate and complete. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the health information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not use or disclose information about a treatment you had. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing. In your request, you must tell us (1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example, disclosures to your spouse. We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment. You may not limit uses and disclosures that we are legally required or allowed to make. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or at home. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to the Director of Operations. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may obtain a copy of this notice at any time from our website, www.lltherapyservices.com or from the L&L Therapy Services, LLC facility where you obtained treatment. We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. The notice will contain the effective date on the first page. You can view the current notice at our website, www.lltherapyservices.com. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with L&L Therapy Services, LLC or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. If you have any questions about this notice or any complaints about our privacy practices, or would like to know how to file a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, please contact the Director of Operations at (704)494-8929. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
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