HIPPA – Notice of Privacy Practices

Our Responsibilities to you

• Maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices.
• Comply with the terms of our Notice currently in effect.

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all health information we maintain, including both health information we already have and health information we create or receive in the future.  Should we make material changes, we will make the revised Notice available to you by posting it in our patient waiting room area.

How we will use & disclose your health information fort treatment, Payment & Health Care Operations

We may use & disclose your health information for purposes of treatment, payment and health operations as described below:

• FOR TREATMENT – We may use & disclose your health information to provide you with treatment and services to coordinate your continuing care. Your health information may be used by doctors, nurses, lab technicians, dieticians, physical therapists or other personnel involved in your care.  For example, a pharmacist will need certain information to fill a prescription ordered by your doctor.  We may also disclose your health information to patients or facilities that will be involved in your care after you leave our facility.
• FOR PAYMENT – We may use & disclose your health information so that we can bill and receive payment for the treatment and services you receive. For billing and payment purposes, we may disclose your health information to insurance or managed care company, Medicare, Medicaid or another third party payer.

For example, we may contact Medicare or your health plan to confirm your coverage, request approval for a proposed treatment or service or to provide medical notes in support of charges submitted for payment.

• FOR HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS – We may use & disclose your health information as necessary for our internal operations, such as for general administration activities to monitor the quality of care you receive with us.

For example, we may use your health information to evaluate and improve the quality of care you received, for education and training purposes, and for planning for services.

Policy Regarding Payments

Cosmetic Dermatology & Aesthetic Laser Center has instituted the following policy regarding payments and billing:

We strongly encourage you to know your insurance benefits. We participate with most major insurance carriers; however we cannot guarantee inclusion within your specific plan. Many procedures are considered medically necessary and covered under insurance, however this does not mean that you will not incur out of pocket costs due to coinsurance and deductibles as determined by your plan. Upon your request we would be happy to provide you with the diagnosis and procedure information so you can contact your insurance carrier for a quote on patient responsibility prior to treatment.

If you do not have insurance coverage or your treatment is cosmetic and not considered medically necessary, payment is due in full at the time of service. For your convenience we accept: Cash, Check, Mastercard, Visa, AMEX and Discover. There is a fee for NSF checks returned by the bank. Financing programs are available through our office and Care Credit. Please contact our billing department for more details on this program: 781-598-4040.

HIPPA – Notice of Privacy Practices View details on this page.

We may make without your written authorization

Under the Privacy Regulations, we may make the following uses & disclosures without obtaining a written Authorization from you: 

1. As Required by Law. We may disclose your health information when required by law to do so.
2. Persons Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. Unless you object, we may disclose health information about you to a family member, close personal friend or other person you identify, including clergy, who is involved in your care.  These disclosures are limited to information relevant to the person’s involvement in your care or in arranging payment for your care.
3. Public Health Activities. We may disclose your health information for public health activities.
4. Reporting Victims of Abuse, Neglect of Domestic Violence. If we believe that you have been a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence, we may use & disclose your health information to notify a government authority, if authorized by law or if you agree to the report.
5. Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law.  A health oversight agency is a state or federal agency that oversees the health care system.  Some of the activities may include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections and licensure actions.
6. Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may disclose your health information in response to a court or administrative order.  We also may disclose information in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process.
7. Law Enforcement. We may disclose your health information for certain law enforcement purposes, including, for example, to file reports required by law or to report emergencies or suspicious deaths; to comply with a court order, warrant, or other legal process; to identify or locate a suspect or missing person, or to answer certain requests for information concerning crimes.
8. Research. Your health information may be used for research purposes, but only if (1) the privacy aspects of the research have been reviewed by a Privacy Board or Institutional Review Board and the Board can legally waive patient authorizations otherwise required by the Privacy Rule; (2) the researcher is collecting information for a research proposal; (3) the research occurs after your death; (4) if you give written authorization for the use or disclosure.

9. To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. When necessary to prevent serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of the public or another person, we may use or disclose your health information to someone able to help lessen or prevent the threatened harm.
10. Military and Veterans. If you are a member of the armed forces, we may use and disclose your health information as required by military command authorities.  We may also use & disclose health information about you if you are a member of a foreign military as required by the appropriate military authority.
11. National Security and Intelligence Activities; Protective Services for the President and Others. We may disclose health information to authorized federal officials conducting national security and intelligence activities or as needed to provide protection to the President of the United States, certain other persons or foreign heads of states or to conduct certain special investigations.
12. Inmates/Law Enforcement Custody. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may disclose your health information to the institution or official for certain purposes including your own health and safety as well as that of others.
13. Workers’ Compensation. We may use or disclose health information about you to an organization assisting in a disaster relief effort.
14. Appointment Reminders. We may use or disclose health information to remind you about appointments.
15. Treatment Alternatives and Health Related Benefits and Services. We may use or disclose your health information to inform you about treatment alternatives and health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
16. Business Associates. We may disclose your health information to our business associates under a Business Associates Agreement.

Your written Authorization is required for all other Uses or Disclosures pf you Health Information

• We will obtain your written authorization (an “Authorization”) prior to making any use or disclosure other than those previously described above.
• A written Authorization is designed to inform you of a specific use or disclosure, other than those set forth above, that we plan to make of your health information. The Authorization describes the particular health information to be used or disclosed and the purpose of the use or disclosure.  Where applicable, the written Authorization will also specify the name of the person to whom we are disclosing the health information.  The Authorization will also contain an expiration date or event.
• You may revoke a written Authorization previously given by you at any time but you must do so in writing. If you revoke your Authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your health information for the purposes specified in that Authorization except where we have already taken actions in reliance on your Authorization.

Your rights regarding your health information

Right to Request Restrictions.
You have the right to request that we restrict the way we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment or health care operations, however we are not required to agree to the restriction.  If we do agree to a restriction, we will honor that restriction except in the event of an emergency and will only disclose the restricted information to the extent necessary for your treatment.

Right to Request Confidential Communications.
You have the right to request that we communicate with you concerning your health matters in a certain manner or at a certain location.  For example, you can request that we contact you only at a certain phone number.  We will accommodate your reasonable requests.

Right to Personal Health Information.
You have the right to inspect and, upon written request, obtain a copy of your health information except under certain limited circumstances.  We reserve the right to charge reasonable postage and document retrieval/reproduction fees.

We may deny your request to inspect or receive copies in certain limited circumstances.  If you are denied access to health information, in some cases you will have a right to request review of the denial.  This review would be performed by a licensed health care professional designated by HOWARD S. GOLDBERG, M.D., INC. who did not participate in the decision to deny access.

Right to Request Amendment.
You have the right to request that we amend your health information.  Your request must be made in writing and you must state the reason for the requested amendment.  We may deny your request for the amendment if the information: (a) was not created by us, unless you provide reasonable information that the originator of the information is no longer available to act on your request; (b) is not part of the health information maintained by us; (c) is information to which you have a right of access; or (d) is already accurate and complete, as determined by us.

If we deny your request for amendment, we will give you a written denial notice, including the reasons for the denial and explain to you that you have the right to submit a written statement disagreeing with the denial.  Your letter of disagreement will be attached to your medical record.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures.
You have the right to request an “accounting” of certain disclosures of your health information.  This is a listing of disclosures made by us or by others on our behalf, but does not include disclosures for treatment, payment and health care operations or certain other exceptions.

You must submit your request in writing and you must state the time period for which you would like the accounting.  The accounting will include the disclosure date; the name of the person or entity that received the information and address, if known; a brief description of the information disclosed; and a brief statement of the purpose of the disclosure.  The first accounting provided within a 12-month period will be free; for further requests, we may charge you our costs for completing the accounting.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice.
You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this notice.  You may request a copy of this notice at any time.

Special rules regarding Disclosure of PSYCHIATRIC, SUBSTANCE ABUSE & HIV-RELATED information

 For disclosures concerning health information relating to care for psychiatric conditions, substance abuse or HIV-related information, special restriction may apply.  For example, we generally may not disclose this specially protected information in response to a subpoena, warrant or other legal process unless you sign a special authorization or a court orders the disclosure.  A general release of your health information will not be sufficient for purposes of disclosing psychiatric, substance abuse or HIV-related information.

• Psychiatric information. We will not disclose records relating to a diagnosis or treatment of your mental condition between the patient and psychiatrist or which are prepared at a mental health facility without specific written authorization or as required or permitted by law.
• HIV-related information. HIV-related information will not be disclosed, except under limited circumstances set forth under state and federal law, without your specific written Authorization.  A general authorization for release of medical or other information will not be sufficient for purposes of releasing HIV-related information.
• Substance abuse treatment. If you are treated in a specialized substance abuse program, information which could identify you as an alcohol or drug-dependent patient will not be disclosed without your specific authorization except for purposes of treatment or payment or where specifically required or allowed under state or federal law.

Complaints

1. If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint in writing with us or with the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 509 F, HHH Building, Washington, D.C. 20201.
2. To file a complaint with us, you should contact the Office Manager or Privacy Officer for HOWARD S. GOLDBERG, M.D., INC. @ 990 Paradise Road, Suite D, Swampscott, MA 01907 or call (781) 595-0151. It is our responsibility to respond to and resolve your complaint.