This Notice of Privacy Practices is being provided to you as a requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law.

How your health information may be used:

TREATMENT: We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services. We may also disclose protected health information to physician's and his/her office staff who may be treating you or other physician's and their staff who may be consulted with respect to your care.

PAYMENT: Your protected health information will be used as needed to obtain payment for the services that we provide. This may include certain communications to your health insurer to get approval for the treatment that we recommend. We may also disclose protected health information to your insurance company and to their representatives to determine whether you are elgible for benefits or whether a particular services is covered under your health plan.

TO CONDUCT HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS: We may use or disclose your protected health information, as necessary, for our own health care operations in order to facilitate the function of the practice and to provide quality care to all patients.

OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES: As part of treatment, payment and healthcare operations, we may also use or disclose your protected health information to remind you of an appointment and to inform you of potential treatment alternative or options and to inform you of health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you. This may include postcards, folding postcards, letters and telephone reminders.

Disclosures of your protected health information for the purposes described in this notice may be made in writing, orally, or by facsimile.

Federal privacy rules allow us to use or disclose your protected health information without your permission or authorization for a number of reasons including the following: when legally required by federal, state (including worker's compensation) and local laws and in connection with judicial and administrative proceedings as well as for law enforcement purposes, when there are risks to public health including in the event of a serious threat to health or safety, to report abuse, neglect or domestic violence, to conduct health oversight activities and government functions.

We may use and disclose protected health information without authorization, but with opportunity to object, to your family member or a close personal friend if it is directly relevant to the person's involvement in your care, payment related to your care, and/or in connection with trying to locate or notify family members or others involved in your care concering your location, condition or death. Other than is stated above or where federal, state or local law requires us, we will not disclose your health information other than with your written authorization. You may revoke that authorization in writing at any time except to the extent that we have taken action in compliance with the authorization. You have the right to inspect and copy your protected health information, to request a restriction on uses and disclosures of your protected health information, to request to receive confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternative location, to request to have your physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, or social worker amend your protected health information, to receive an accounting of disclosures and to obtain a paper copy of this notice. If you believe that your privacy rights have been breeched you may express complaints to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and to us. Please let us know of your concerns verbally or in writing.