Notice of Privacy Practices & Office Policy
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND
DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY
Uses and Disclosures:
- Treatment. Your health information may be used by staff members or disclosed to other health care professionals for the purpose of evaluating your health, diagnosing medical conditions, and providing treatment. For example, results of laboratory tests and procedures will be available in your medical record to all health professionals who may provide treatment or who may be consulted by staff members.
- Payment. Your health information may be used to seek payment from your health plan, from other sources of coverage such as an automobile insurer, or from credit card companies that you may use to pay for services. For example, your health plan may request and receive information on dates of service, the services provided, and the medical condition being treated.
- Health care operations. Your health information may be used as necessary to support the day- to-day activities and management of Mack Eye Center. For example, information on the services you received may be used to support budgeting and financial reporting, and activities to evaluate and promote quality.
- Law enforcement. Your health information may be disclosed to law enforcement agencies to support government audits and inspections, to facilitate law-enforcement investigations, and to comply with government mandated reporting.
- Public health reporting. Your health information may be disclosed to public health agencies as required by law. For example, we are required to report certain communicable diseases to the state’s public health department.
- Other uses and disclosures require your authorization. Disclosure of your health information or
its use for any purpose other than those listed above requires your specific written authorization. If you change your mind after authorizing a use or disclosure of your information you may submit a written revocation of the authorization. However, your decision to revoke the authorization will not affect or undo any use or disclosure of information that occurred before you notified us of your decision to revoke your authorization.
Additional Uses of Information:
- Appointment reminders. Your health information will be used by our sta to send you appointment reminders.
- Information about treatments. Your health information may be used to send you information
that you may find interesting on the treatment and management of your medical condition. We may also send you information describing other health-related products and services that we believe may interest you.
Individual Rights:
You have certain rights under the federal privacy standards. These include:
The right to request restrictions on the use and disclosure of your protected health information.
The right to receive confidential communications concerning your medical condition and treatment.
The right to inspect and copy your protected health information.
The right to amend or submit corrections to your protected health information.
The right to receive an accounting of how and to whom your protected health information has been disclosed.
The right to receive a printed copy of this notice.
Mack Eye Center Duties:
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information and to provide you with this notice of privacy practices.
We also are required to abide by the privacy policies and practices that are outlined in this notice.
Right to Revise Privacy Practices:
As permitted by law, we reserve the right to amend or modify our privacy policies and practices. These changes in our policies and practices may be required by changes in federal and state laws and regulations. Upon request, we will provide you with the most recently revised notice on any offce visit. The revised policies and practices will be applied to all protected health information we maintain.
Requests to Inspect Protected Health Information:
You may generally inspect or copy the protected health information that we maintain. As permitted by federal regulation, we require that requests to inspect or copy protected health information be submitted in writing. You may obtain a form to request access to your records by contacting the receptionist or Dr. Mack. Your request will be reviewed and will generally be approved unless there are legal or medical reasons to deny the request.
Payment:
Payment is required at the TIME OF YOUR VISIT. We accept cash, check, debit, Mastercard, or Visa. If you have insurance you MUST present your insurance card at the time of your visit. Please notify the office of any address, phone number or insurance changes. Any co-payments are due at the TIME OF YOUR VISIT. There will be a service charge of $25.00 on all returned checks.
**There will also be a $25.00 charge for all NO CALL/NO Show appointments that are not cancelled 24 hours in advance of appointment time. Late fees will be applied to past due accounts over 90 days.
Prescriptions:
Prescriptions should be renewed Monday thru Friday. Twenty-four (24) hour advance notice is
required for phone-in/fax prescription renewals. Please do not call for renewal after office hours or on weekends. Renewals of all triplicate prescriptions require periodic office visits to monitor your progress and prescription use.
Forms:
Please allow up to five (5) working days for completion of your medical forms. Depending on the complexity of the forms, we reserve the right to charge for the completion.
Medical Record:
Due to the rising costs in operating our medical practice, there will be a $20.00 fee plus $1.00 per page charge to copy and/or mail your medical records. Upon payment and receipt of a properly signed authorization, your records will be transferred within ten 10 business days. If you are allowing your lawyer or life insurance company to retrieve copies of your records, the fees stated above apply.
Complaints:
If you would like to submit a comment or complaint about our privacy practices, you can do so by sending a letter outlining your concerns to:
Mack Eye Center
257 Monmouth Road, Suite 1B
Oakhurst, NJ 07755
If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you should call the matter to our attention by sending a letter describing the cause of your concern to the same address. You will not be penalized or otherwise retaliated against for filing a complaint.
This notice is effective as of 12/1/2016.
Information To Be Used or Disclosed:
The information covered by this authorization includes (some or all of the fields listed):
Eye exam results, including photos and/or scans, Blood/Radiologic test results, Consultants reports, Information on current or planned medical treatments
Purpose of Disclosure
Information listed above will be disclosed for general information purposes and/or medical decision making. Information listed above will be used or disclosed by Dr. Mack.
*Persons To Whom Information May Be Disclosed: Please make sure you filled out the fields at the top of this form.
Expiration Date of Authorization
This authorization is effective indefinitely unless revoked or terminated by the patient or the patient’s personal representative.
Right To Terminate or Revoke Authorization
You may revoke or terminate this authorization by submitting a written revocation to Mack Eye Center. You should contact the office to terminate this authorization.
Potential For Redisclosure
Information that is disclosed under this authorization may be disclosed again by the person or organization to which it is sent. It may not be possible to ensure your right to the protection of the privacy of this information once Mack Eye Center discloses it to another party.
Rights of the Individual
You may inspect or copy information used or disclosed under this authorization.
You may refuse to sign this authorization.
Effect of Refusing Authorization
If you refuse to sign this authorization, Mack Eye Center will not deny you any treatment except research-related treatment or treatment that you have requested for the purpose of disclosure to others.
e-signature
HIPPA STATEMENT: I have read and agree with Mack Eye Center’s HIPPA Notice of Privacy Policy. I hereby authorize Mack Eye Center to furnish to my insurance company or authorizing agency information regarding my protected health information for the purposes of treatment, payments, or health care operations. I further authorize the physician(s) of Mack Eye Center to consult as needed in their sole discretion with other medical providers regarding my medical care.