1. Introduction to Notice

DeepWellness Homeopathy is committed to protecting the privacy of your health information. This Notice of Privacy Practices ("Notice") describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information ("PHI") to carry out treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, and for other purposes permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights regarding your health information and our legal obligations with respect to that information.

Protected health information (PHI) is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition and related healthcare services.

We are required by law to:

• Maintain the privacy of your protected health information
• Provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices
• Follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect
• Notify you if there is a breach of your unsecured protected health information

This Notice applies to all records about your care generated by DeepWellness Homeopathy, whether made by our practitioners or others working in this office.

2. How We May Use Your Health Information

The following categories describe different ways we may use and disclose your protected health information. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed, but all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of these categories.

For Treatment

We may use your health information to provide you with homeopathic consultation services and to coordinate your care. We may disclose your health information to practitioners, staff, students, or other personnel who are involved in your care. For example, a practitioner may use the information in your records to determine which homeopathic approach is most appropriate for your condition.

For Payment

We may use and disclose your health information so that the treatment and services you receive may be billed to and payment collected from you, an insurance company, or a third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about services you received so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the service.

For Healthcare Operations

We may use and disclose your health information for our practice operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run our practice and make sure that all of our clients receive quality care. For example, we may use health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine health information about many clients to decide what additional services we should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new approaches are effective.

Appointment Reminders

We may use and disclose health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or services.

Health-Related Benefits and Services

We may use and disclose health information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.

Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care

We may release health information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care or who helps pay for your care, with your written authorization.

Research

Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose health information for research purposes. All research projects are subject to a special approval process. Before we use or disclose health information for research, the project will have been approved through this process. We will almost always ask for your specific permission if the researcher will have access to your name, address, or other information that reveals who you are.

As Required By Law

We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.

To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety

We may use and disclose health information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

Special Situations

We may also use or disclose your protected health information in the following special situations:

• Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release health information as required by military command authorities.
• Workers' Compensation: We may release health information for workers' compensation or similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
• Public Health Risks: We may disclose health information for public health activities, such as to prevent or control disease, injury, or disability; report births and deaths; report child abuse or neglect; report reactions to medications or problems with products; notify people of recalls of products they may be using; or notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
• Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure.
• Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
• Law Enforcement: We may release health information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons, or similar process; to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; about the victim of a crime; about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct; about criminal conduct at our facility; and 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.
• National Security and Intelligence Activities: We may release health information to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.
• Protective Services for the President and Others: We may disclose health information to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons, or foreign heads of state, or to conduct special investigations.

Other Uses and Disclosures

Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this Notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization. If you provide us with authorization to use or disclose health information about you, you may revoke that authorization, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose health information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. We are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your authorization, and we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.

3. Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information

You have the following rights regarding the health information we maintain about you:

Right to Inspect and Copy

You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your health information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes.

To inspect and copy your health information, you must submit your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. 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 may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain limited circumstances. If you are denied access to your health information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed healthcare professional chosen by our practice will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.

Right to Amend

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 our practice.

To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to our Privacy Officer. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your 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:

• Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment
• Is not part of the health information kept by or for our practice
• Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy
• Is accurate and complete

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures

You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." This is a list of the disclosures we made of your health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, healthcare operations, and certain other purposes.

To request this list of accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. Your request must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper or electronically). The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred.

Right to Request Restrictions

You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment, or healthcare 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.

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.

To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. 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.

Right to Request Confidential Communications

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 by mail.

To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. 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.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice

You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this Notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this Notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this Notice.

You may obtain a copy of this Notice at our website: www.deepwellness.me

To obtain a paper copy of this Notice, contact our Privacy Officer.

4. Our Responsibilities

DeepWellness Homeopathy is required to:

• Maintain the privacy of your health information
• Provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you
• Abide by the terms of this Notice
• Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
• Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
• Notify you of a breach of unsecured protected health information

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we will post the revised Notice in our office and on our website, and you may request a copy of the revised Notice.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this Notice.

5. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise your rights described in this Notice, you must submit your request in writing to:

Specific Instructions for Different Requests

To request access to or copies of your health information:

• Submit a written request specifying the records you wish to inspect or copy
• Include your contact information and preferred method of receiving the records
• We will respond to your request within 30 days
• If you request copies, we may charge a reasonable fee for copying and mailing

To request an amendment to your health information:

• Submit a written request clearly identifying the information you want amended
• Include the reason for your requested amendment
• We will respond to your request within 60 days

To request an accounting of disclosures:

• Submit a written request specifying the time period (not longer than six years)
• Indicate your preferred format (paper or electronic)
• We will provide the accounting within 60 days

To request restrictions on use or disclosure:

• Submit a written request specifying what information you want restricted
• Indicate whether you want to restrict use, disclosure, or both
• Specify to whom the restrictions should apply
• We will notify you of our decision within 30 days

To request confidential communications:

• Submit a written request specifying how or where you wish to be contacted
• Include alternative contact information if applicable
• We will accommodate all reasonable requests

If you have questions about how to exercise your rights, please contact our Privacy Officer for assistance.

6. Changes to This Notice

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. We will post a copy of the current Notice in our office and on our website. The Notice will contain the effective date on the first page.

When we make significant changes to our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and post the new Notice clearly and prominently at our practice location and on our website. We will also provide copies of the new Notice upon request.

You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information at the end of this Notice.

7. Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our practice or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with our practice, contact our Privacy Officer using the information at the end of this Notice. All complaints must be submitted in writing.

You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

8. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact: