HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
HOW WE PROTECT YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN ACCESS IT.
We respect your privacy and keep your protected health information (PHI) confidential. This notice explains how we may use and share your PHI and lists your rights. If you have questions, contact our Privacy Officer at the phone or address above.
Call or email our Privacy Officer—we're here to help.
AlignSD Wellness Center
A. How We May Use & Share Your PHI
The law allows us to use or share your PHI for the reasons below without needing extra permission.
1. Treatment
Share information with other providers (e.g., your primary-care doctor, labs, or imaging centers) to coordinate your care.
2. Payment
Use PHI to bill you or your insurance and to check your benefits.
3. Healthcare Operations
Use PHI for office functions such as quality reviews, staff training, licensing, and audits.
4. Appointment Reminders & Check-In
Call, text, email, or have you sign in so we can confirm appointments.
5. Family, Friends, or Caregivers
If you agree—or if you are unable to respond and we believe it is in your best interest—we may share limited information with a person involved in your care.
6. Public Health & Safety / Required by Law
Share information to meet legal duties (for example, public-health reporting, court orders, or to prevent a serious threat to health or safety).
7. Sale of PHI
We will not sell your PHI unless you sign a written authorization, which you may revoke at any time.
8. Change of Ownership
If AlignSD Wellness Center is sold or merges, your records become the property of the new owner, but you still control where copies are sent.
9. Breach Notification
If unsecured PHI is breached, we will notify you as required by law—usually by the email you provided.
B. Uses & Disclosures That Need Your Written OK
For any other purpose—such as most marketing or sharing chart notes—we will ask you to sign an authorization first. You may revoke that authorization in writing at any time.
C. Your Rights
You have the right to—
1. Inspect & Get Copies
See or receive an electronic or paper copy of your records. We may charge a reasonable fee.
2. Request Corrections
Ask us in writing to fix information you believe is incorrect or incomplete.
3. Confidential Communications
Ask us to contact you at a specific phone, address, or email. We will honor reasonable requests.
4. Restrict Certain Disclosures
Ask us not to share PHI with your health plan for services you pay for in full. We must honor this unless required by law.
5. Accounting of Disclosures
Get a list of certain non-routine disclosures we made in the past six years, free once every 12 months.
6. Copy of This Notice
Receive a paper or electronic copy of this notice at any time.
D. Future Changes to This Notice
We may change this notice at any time. New terms will apply to all PHI we hold. We email the current notice to each new patient through Jane for signature and post the latest version on our website.
E. Questions or Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights were violated, contact our Privacy Officer. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/. We will not retaliate against you.