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Notice of Privacy Practices

INGENES as a Hybrid Entity
This Notice of Privacy Practices (the “Notice”) describes how Instituto de Infertilidad y Genética México, S.C. (hereinafter INGENES or “Hybrid Entity”) may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or business operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. A Hybrid Entity is an entity that entails a multiple undertaking of different activities or functions, including, among others, health care functions performed by a covered entity, and that, at the same time, is also able to carry out certain business functions that a covered entity cannot perform or that are not inherent to its activities. Business functions that are not functions performed by a covered entity are referred to as “non-covered functions” or “non-health care functions.”
INGENES has a business associate relationship with INGENES ORANGE COUNTY, INC. and INGENES HOUSTON, P.C. (hereinafter individually the “Covered Entity” or collectively the “Covered Entities”), and together they form a single business unit for purposes of compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). In view of the foregoing, as a single business unit, although not under common control or ownership, we have elected to voluntarily comply, in substantial part, with the standards set forth in HIPAA. Each covered entity shall publish its Notice of Privacy Practices as set forth in HIPAA.
INGENES and the covered entities will share protected health information with each other for the treatment, payment and health care operations of the covered entities and jointly with them, and as permitted by HIPAA and this Notice of Privacy Practices. The compliance officer of the single business unit may be contacted at contacto@ingenes.com.

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

INGENES ORANGE COUNTY, INC., Covered Entity
This Notice of Privacy Practices (the “Notice”) describes how INGENES ORANGE COUNTY, INC. (hereinafter INGENES ORANGE COUNTY or “Covered Entity”) may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or business operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law, in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”).
INGENES ORANGE COUNTY will share protected health information with other covered entities or business associates for the treatment, payment and health care operations of the covered entities and jointly with them, and as permitted by HIPAA and this Notice of Privacy Practices. The compliance officer may be contacted at contacto@ingenes.com.

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

INGENES HOUSTON, P.C., Covered Entity
This Notice of Privacy Practices (the “Notice”) describes how INGENES HOUSTON, P.C. (hereinafter INGENES HOUSTON or “Covered Entity”) may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or business operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law, in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”).
INGENES HOUSTON will share protected health information with other covered entities or business associates for the treatment, payment and health care operations of the covered entities and jointly with them, and as permitted by HIPAA and this Notice of Privacy Practices. The compliance officer may be contacted at contacto@ingenes.com.

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.

We understand the importance of privacy and are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of your medical information. We make a record of the medical care we provide and may receive such records from others. We use these records to provide, or enable other health care providers to provide, quality medical care, to obtain payment for services provided to you as allowed by your health plan, and to enable us to meet our professional and legal obligations to operate this medical practice properly. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information (PHI), to provide individuals with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI, and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured PHI. This notice describes how we may use and disclose your medical information. It also describes your rights and our legal obligations with respect to your medical information. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact our Compliance Officer identified above.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • How This Medical Practice May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
  • When This Medical Practice May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information
  • Your Health Information Rights
  • Right to Request Special Privacy Protections
  • Right to Request Confidential Communications
  • Right to Inspect and Copy
  • Right to Amend or Supplement
  • Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
  • Right to a Paper or Electronic Copy of This Notice
  • Changes to This Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Complaints

How This Medical Practice May Use or Disclose Your Health Information

This medical practice collects health information about you and stores it in an electronic health record/personal health record. This is your medical record. The medical record is the property of this medical practice, but the information in the medical record belongs to you. The law permits us to use or disclose your health information for the following purposes:
1. Treatment. We use your medical information to provide you with medical care. We disclose medical information to our employees and others who are involved in providing the care you need. For example, we may share your medical information with other physicians or other health care providers who will provide services that we do not provide. Or we may share this information with a pharmacist who needs it to dispense a prescription to you, or with a laboratory that performs a test. We may also disclose medical information to members of your family or others who can help you when you are sick or injured, or after your death.
INGENES may refer you, the patient, to an outside provider (e.g., dietitian, nutritionist, physical therapist, psychotherapist, pharmacist, etc.) for health services related to the patient’s plan of care. Your decision to consult with or receive services from the outside provider is voluntary. In order to provide you with the best care, both INGENES and the outside provider may share your personal and medical information through the INGENES electronic medical record, and only to the extent necessary to carry out your treatment plan and for other permitted purposes as set forth by HIPAA. You have the right to request that INGENES or the outside provider not share your medical information, and you may revoke your consent at any time by sending an email to INGENES at contacto@ingenes.com. You may also, at any time, request a copy of your medical record by sending an email to contacto@ingenes.com. I have read this permitted disclosure and understand its terms.
2. Payment. We use and disclose your medical information to obtain payment for the services we provide. For example, we give your health plan the information it requires before it will pay us. We may also disclose information to other health care providers to assist them in obtaining payment for services they have provided to you.
3. Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose medical information about you to operate this medical practice. For example, we may use and disclose this information to review and improve the quality of care we provide, or the capability, competence and qualifications of our professional staff. Or we may use and disclose this information to get your health plan to authorize services or referrals. We may also use and disclose this information as necessary for medical reviews, legal services and audits, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance programs, and business planning and management. We may also share your medical information with our “business associates,” such as our billing service, that perform administrative services for us. We have a written contract with each of these business associates that contains terms requiring them and their subcontractors to protect the confidentiality and security of your PHI. We may also share your information with other health care providers, health care clearinghouses or health plans that have a relationship with you, when they request this information to help them with their quality assessment and improvement activities, their patient safety activities, their population-based activities and efforts to improve health or reduce health care costs, their protocol development, case management or care coordination activities, their review of the competence, qualifications and performance of health care professionals, their training programs, their accreditation, certification or licensing activities, or their health care fraud and abuse detection and compliance efforts. We may also share medical information about you with other health care providers, health care clearinghouses and health plans that participate with us in “organized health care arrangements” (OHCAs) for any of the OHCAs’ health care operations. OHCAs include hospitals, physician organizations, health plans and other entities that collectively provide health care services. A listing of the OHCAs in which we participate is available from the Compliance Officer.
4. Appointment Reminders. We may use and disclose medical information to contact you and remind you of your appointments. If you are not home, we may leave this information on your answering machine or in a message left with the person answering the telephone. We may also send you this information by email if you have previously consented to it on a form.
5. Sign-In Sheet. We may use and disclose medical information about you by asking you to sign in when you arrive at our office. We may also call out your name in public when we are ready to see you.
6. Notification and Communication with Family. We may disclose your health information to notify, or assist in notifying, a family member, your legal representative or another person responsible for your care about your location, your general condition or, unless you have instructed us otherwise, in the event of your death. In the event of a disaster, we may disclose information to a relief organization so that it may coordinate these notification efforts. We may also disclose information to someone who is involved with your care or helps pay for your care. If you are able and available to agree or object to the foregoing, we will give you the opportunity to object prior to making these disclosures, although in the event of a disaster, even if you object, we reserve the right to disclose this information if we believe it is necessary to respond to the emergency circumstances. If you are unable or unavailable to agree or object, our health professionals will use their best judgment in communicating with your family and others.
7. Marketing. Although we do not receive any payment for making these communications, we may contact you to provide you with information about products or services related to your treatment, case management or care coordination, or to direct or recommend other treatments, therapies, health care providers or settings of care that may be of interest to you. Similarly, we may describe products or services provided by this practice and tell you which health plans this practice participates in. We may also encourage you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and get recommended tests, participate in a disease management program, provide you with small gifts, tell you about government-sponsored health programs or encourage you to purchase a product or service when we see you, for which we may be paid. Finally, we may receive compensation that covers our cost of reminding you to take and refill your medication, or of otherwise communicating with you about a drug or biologic that is currently prescribed for you. We will not otherwise use or disclose your medical information for marketing purposes or accept any payment for other marketing communications without your prior written authorization. The authorization will disclose whether we will receive any compensation for any marketing activity you authorize, and we will stop any future marketing activity to the extent you revoke that authorization.
8. Required by Law. As required by law, we will use and disclose your medical information, but we will limit our use or disclosure to the relevant requirements of the law. When the law requires us to report abuse, neglect or domestic violence, or to respond to judicial or administrative proceedings, or to law enforcement officials, we will comply with the requirements set forth below concerning those activities.
9. Public Health. We may, and on occasion will be required by law to, disclose your health information to public health authorities for purposes related to: preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability; reporting abuse or neglect of children, elders or dependent adults; reporting domestic violence; reporting to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) problems with products and reactions to medications; and reporting exposure to disease or infection. When we report suspected abuse of elders or dependent adults or domestic violence, we will inform you or your personal representative immediately unless, in our best judgment, we believe that such notification would place you at risk of serious harm or would require informing a personal representative we suspect is responsible for the abuse or harm.
10. Health Oversight Activities. We may, and are sometimes required by law to, disclose your health information to health oversight agencies during the course of audits, investigations, inspections, licensure and other proceedings, subject to the limitations imposed by law.
11. Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may, and may sometimes be required by law to, disclose your health information in the course of any administrative or judicial proceeding to the extent expressly authorized by a court or administrative order. We may also disclose information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process if reasonable efforts have been made to notify you of the request and you have not objected, or if your objections have been adjudicated and resolved by a court or administrative order.
12. Law Enforcement. We may, and are sometimes required by law to, disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for purposes such as identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, complying with a court order, warrant or grand jury subpoena, and other law enforcement purposes.
13. Organ or Tissue Donation. We may disclose your health information to organizations involved in procuring, banking or transplanting organs and tissues.
14. Public Safety. We may, and are sometimes required by law to, disclose your health information to appropriate persons in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or the general public.
15. Specialized Government Functions. We may disclose your health information for military or national security purposes, or to correctional institutions or law enforcement officers that have you in lawful custody.
16. Change of Ownership by Change of Corporate Control. In the event that this medical practice is sold or merged with another organization, your health information/record will become the property of the new owner; however, you will retain the right to request that copies of your health information be transferred to another physician, facility or medical group.
17. Breach Notification. In the event of a breach of unsecured PHI, we will notify you as required by law. If you have provided us with a current email address, we may use email to communicate information related to the breach. In some circumstances, our business associates may provide the notification. We may also provide notification by other methods, as appropriate.
18. Research. We may disclose your health information to researchers conducting research with respect to which your written authorization is not required, as approved by an Institutional Review Board or privacy board, in compliance with governing law.
19. Fundraising. We may use or disclose your demographic information in order to contact you for our fundraising activities. For example, we may use the dates on which you received treatment, the department of service, your treating physician, outcome information and health insurance status to identify individuals who may be interested in participating in fundraising activities. If you do not wish to receive these materials, you may notify INGENES at any time by sending an email to INGENES at contacto@ingenes.com, and we will stop any further fundraising communications. Similarly, you should notify the Compliance Officer if you decide that you want to start receiving these solicitations again.

When This Medical Practice May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information

Except as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices, this medical practice will, consistent with its legal obligations, not use or disclose health information that identifies you without your written authorization. If you authorize this medical practice to use or disclose your health information for another purpose, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.
Your Health Information Rights
1. Right to Request Special Privacy Protections. You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information by a written request specifying what information you want to limit and what limitations on our use or disclosure of that information you wish to have imposed. If you ask us not to disclose information to your commercial health plan concerning health care items or services for which you paid in full in cash, we will comply with your request, unless we must disclose the information for legal or treatment reasons. We reserve the right to accept or reject any other request, and we will notify you of our decision.
2. Right to Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to request that you receive your health information in a specific way or at a specific location. For example, you may ask that we send information to a particular email account or to your work address. We will comply with all reasonable requests submitted in writing that specify how or where you wish to receive these communications.
3. Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy your health information, with limited exceptions. To access your medical information, you must submit a written request detailing what information you want to access, whether you want to inspect it or obtain a copy of it, and, if applicable, your preferred form and format. We will provide copies in your requested form and format if they are readily producible, or we will provide you with an alternative format you find acceptable, or, if we cannot agree and we maintain the record in an electronic format, your choice of a readable electronic or hard copy format. We will also send a copy to any other person you designate in writing. We will charge a reasonable fee that covers our costs for labor, supplies, postage and, if requested and agreed to in advance, the cost of preparing an explanation or summary.
4. Right to Amend or Supplement. You have the right to request that we amend health information about you that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. You must submit a request for amendment in writing and include the reasons you believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete. We are not required to change your health information, and we will provide you with information about this medical practice’s denial and how you can dispute the denial. We may deny your request if we do not have the information, if we did not create the information (unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment), if you are not permitted to inspect or copy the information at issue, or if the information is accurate and complete as is. If we deny your request, you may submit a written statement of your disagreement with that decision, and we may, in turn, prepare a written rebuttal. All information related to any request for amendment will be maintained and disclosed in conjunction with any subsequent disclosure of the disputed information.
5. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by this medical practice, except that this medical practice does not have to account for disclosures provided to you or pursuant to your written authorization, or as described in paragraphs 1 (treatment), 2 (payment), 3 (health care operations), 6 (notification and communication with family) and 15 (specialized government functions) of Section A of this Notice of Privacy Practices, or disclosures for research or public health purposes that exclude direct patient identifiers, or that are incident to a use or disclosure otherwise permitted or authorized by law, or disclosures to a health oversight agency or law enforcement official to the extent this medical practice has received notice from that agency or official that providing this accounting would be reasonably likely to impede their activities.
6. Right to a Paper or Electronic Copy of This Notice. You have the right to notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information, including the right to receive a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices, even if you previously requested to receive it by email.
If you would like a more detailed explanation of these rights, or if you would like to exercise one or more of these rights, contact INGENES at any time by sending an email to INGENES at contacto@ingenes.com.

USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRING YOUR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT

Use or Disclosure with Your Authorization. For any purpose other than those described above, your PHI may be used or disclosed only when you provide your written authorization on an authorization form (“Your Authorization”). For example, you will need to execute an authorization form before your PHI may be sent to your life insurance company or to the attorney representing the other party in litigation in which you are involved.
Marketing. Your written authorization (“Your Marketing Authorization”) must also be obtained before your PHI is used to send you any marketing materials. (However, marketing materials may be provided to you in a face-to-face encounter without obtaining Your Marketing Authorization. The Providers, clinic and/or Health Care Professionals may also give you a promotional gift of nominal value, if they so choose, without obtaining your marketing authorization.) The clinic, Providers and/or Health Care Professionals may communicate with you in a face-to-face encounter about products or services relating to your treatment, case management or care coordination, or about alternative treatments, therapies, providers or care settings, without Your Marketing Authorization.
In addition, the Clinic and/or the Health Care Professionals may send you treatment communications, unless you choose not to receive such communications, for which the Clinic and/or the Health Care Professionals may receive financial remuneration.
Sale of PHI. The Clinic and the Health Care Professionals will not disclose your PHI without your authorization in exchange for direct or indirect payment, except in limited circumstances permitted by law. These circumstances include public health activities; research; treatment of the individual; the sale, transfer, merger or consolidation of the Clinic; services provided by a business associate pursuant to a BAA or business associate agreement; providing an individual with a copy of his or her PHI; and other purposes deemed necessary and appropriate by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Uses and Disclosures of Your Highly Confidential Information.
In addition, federal and state laws require special privacy protections for certain highly confidential information about you (“Highly Confidential Information”), including the subset of your PHI that: (1) is maintained in psychotherapy notes; (2) is about mental illness, mental retardation and developmental disabilities; (3) is about alcohol or drug abuse or addiction; (4) is about HIV/AIDS testing, diagnosis or treatment; (5) is about communicable and transmissible diseases, including venereal diseases; (6) is about genetic testing; (7) is about child abuse and neglect; (8) is about domestic abuse of an adult; or (9) is about sexual assault. In order for your Highly Confidential Information to be disclosed for a purpose other than those permitted by law, your written authorization is required.

Changes to This Notice of Privacy Practices

We reserve the right to amend this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time in the future. Until such amendment is made, we are required by law to comply with the terms of this Notice currently in effect. After an amendment is made, the revised Notice of Privacy Practices will apply to all protected health information that we maintain, regardless of when it was created or received. We will keep a copy of the current notice posted in our reception area, and a copy will be available at each appointment. We will also post the current notice on our website.

Complaints

Complaints about this Notice of Privacy Practices or about how this medical practice handles your health information should be directed to our Compliance Officer identified at the top of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
If you are not satisfied with the manner in which this office handles a complaint, you may submit a formal complaint to: OCRPrivacy@hhs.gov
The complaint form can be found at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/hipcomplaint.pdf.
You will not be penalized in any way for filing a complaint.
We are required to abide by the duties and privacy practices described in this Notice. We will maintain the privacy of your protected health information and will notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact INGENES at contacto@ingenes.com.
Please note that your consent is voluntary. You may rescind your consent to any of the foregoing at any time by sending an email to INGENES, INGENES INGENES HOUSTON or INGENES ORANGE COUNTY at contacto@ingenes.com.

For Residents of the State of California

THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT (CCPA) PROVIDES SOME CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS WITH CERTAIN PRIVACY RIGHTS. TO EXERCISE ANY OF THESE RIGHTS, PLEASE CONTACT US AT THE EMAIL ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER LISTED BELOW.

1. Information to Which the CCPA Applies

The CCPA and the rights explained in this section apply to certain personal information that we may collect from California residents. However, the CCPA does not apply to personal information that we obtain from patients or prospective patients of our practice, or their legal representatives, for purposes of providing health care services or obtaining payment for health care services. This health information is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA). Our Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we use and disclose health information. The CCPA also does not apply to certain other kinds of information, such as information that is publicly available from government records and deidentified or aggregate information.
Aside from this excluded information, we have collected the following categories of personal information that is not covered by HIPAA or the CMIA:
  • Identifiers (e.g., name, postal address, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, passport number or other similar identifiers)
  • Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute, California Civil Code section 1798.80(e) (e.g., Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, education, employment, employment history, financial information)
  • Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law (e.g., age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, health condition, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information)
  • Commercial information (e.g., records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies)
  • Biometric information (e.g., genetic, behavioral and biological characteristics or activity patterns, such as fingerprints or retina scans)
  • Internet or other similar network activity (e.g., browsing history, search history)
  • Geolocation data (e.g., physical location or movements)
  • Sensory data (e.g., audio, electronic, visual, thermal or similar information)
  • Professional or employment-related information (e.g., current or past job history)
  • Non-public education information under FERPA (e.g., education records maintained by an educational institution)
  • Inferences drawn from other personal information (e.g., a profile reflecting a person’s preferences, characteristics, trends or behavior)

2. Right to Know

You have the right to know and see what personal information we have collected about you over the past 12 months, including:
  • The categories of personal information we have collected about you;
  • The categories of sources from which the personal information is collected;
  • The business or commercial purpose for collecting your personal information;
  • The categories of third parties with whom we have shared your personal information; and
  • The specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.

3. Right to Delete

You have the right to request that we delete the personal information we have collected from you (and to request that our service providers do the same). However, there are a number of exceptions, including, but not limited to, when the information is necessary for us or a third party to do any of the following:
  • Complete your transaction;
  • Provide you with the Services;
  • Perform a contract between us and you;
  • Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity, and prosecute those responsible for such activities;
  • Fix our system in the case of a bug;
  • Protect free speech rights, including the free speech rights of you or other users, or exercise another right provided by law;
  • Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (California Penal Code § 1546 et seq.);
  • Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws;
  • Comply with a legal obligation; or
  • Make other internal and lawful uses of the information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.

4. Right to Opt Out of the Sale of Your Personal Information

We do not sell any of your personal information.

5. Right to Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against those who exercise their rights under this section. If you exercise your rights, we will not deny you goods or services, charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, or provide you with a different level or quality of goods or services.

6. Other Rights

California Civil Code § 1798.83 permits users of our Services who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not disclose your personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. However, you may make an inquiry with any questions by contacting us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy.

7. Exercising These Rights

To request access to or deletion of your personal information, or to exercise any other data rights under California law, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy. Please include your full name, email address and an explanation that you are emailing us, so that we can verify and process your request efficiently. If we cannot verify your identity from the initial information you provide, we may request additional information from you, which will be used only for the purpose of verifying your identity to assist you in exercising your rights. You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf under this section. We may request additional information from you to confirm that the authorized agent has in fact been authorized by you to act on your behalf.

8. Access in Alternative Formats

Individuals with disabilities should contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section regarding how to access the information in this Privacy Policy in an alternative format.

9. Response Time

We aim to respond to a consumer request for access or deletion within 45 days of receiving a verifiable request. If we require more time, we will inform you of the reason and the extension period in writing.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless INGENES ORANGE COUNTY and its officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and affiliates against all actual and direct losses, liabilities, claims, costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that they may suffer as the result of third-party claims, demands, actions, investigations, settlements or judgments against them arising out of or in connection with any breach of these Terms of Use, or any breach of confidentiality, negligence or wrongful acts or omissions, by you or your dependents or agents. The limitation of liability and indemnification obligations of these Terms of Use set forth above will survive termination of these Terms of Use.

10. Do Not Track Symbols

We do not have the capability to respond to “Do Not Track” signals received from various web browsers at this time.

11. How to Contact Us

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this policy, or if you wish to exercise any rights with respect to your personal information, please feel free to contact us by email at contacto@ingenes.com

For Residents of the State of Texas

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. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how INGENES HOUSTON, P.C. may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations (TPO) and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law.
It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. “Protected health information,” or 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 health care services.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION

Your protected health information may be used and disclosed (on paper or in electronic form) by your physician, our office staff and others outside of our office who are involved in your care and treatment for the purpose of providing health care services to you, to pay your health care bills, to support the operation of the physician’s practice, and for any other use required by law. Except for the following purposes, we will use and disclose your protected health information only with your written permission.
You may revoke such permission at any time by writing to: INGENES HOUSTON, contacto@ingenes.com. We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate or manage your health care and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your health care with a third party. For example, your protected health information may be provided to a physician to whom you have been referred to ensure that the physician has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you.
Payment. Your protected health information will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for your health care services. For example, we would provide information about you to your health insurance plan so that it will pay for your services.
Health Care Operations. We may use or disclose, as needed, your protected health information in order to support the business activities of your physician’s practice. These activities include, but are not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities. For example, we may disclose your protected health information to externs who observe patient exams at our office. In addition, we may use a sign-in sheet at the front desk where you will be asked to sign your name. We may also call you by name in the waiting room when your physician is ready to see you. We may use or disclose your protected health information as necessary to contact you to remind you of your appointment. We may use or disclose your protected health information in the following situations without your authorization. These situations include: as required by law, public health issues, communicable diseases, health oversight, abuse or neglect, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements, legal proceedings, law enforcement, coroners, funeral directors and organ donation, research, criminal activity, military activity and national security, workers’ compensation, and required uses and disclosures.
Under the law, we must make disclosures to you and when required by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our compliance with the requirements of Section 164.500. Other permitted and required uses and disclosures will be made only with your consent, authorization or opportunity to object, unless required by law.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION

The following is a statement of your rights with respect to your protected health information. Such requests must be made in writing and addressed to: INGENES HOUSTON, contacto@ingenes.com. You have the right to inspect and copy your protected health information. You have the right to inspect a copy of your medical record, on paper or in electronic form. Under the Texas Medical Privacy Act (HB 300), you may request an electronic or paper copy, and we must provide it within 15 days. Under federal law, however, you may not inspect or copy the following records: psychotherapy notes; information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or for use in, a civil, criminal or administrative action or proceeding; and protected health information that is subject to law that prohibits access to protected health information.
You have the right to request a restriction of your protected health information. This means that you may ask us not to use or disclose any part of your protected health information for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations. You may also request that any part of your protected health information not be disclosed to family members or friends who may be involved in your care or for notification purposes, as described in the Notice of Privacy Practices.
Your request must state the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply. Your physician is not required to agree to a restriction that you may request. If the physician believes it is in your best interest to permit use and disclosure of your protected health information, your protected health information will not be restricted. You then have the right to use another health care professional.
You have the right to request to receive confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternative location. You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this notice from us, upon request, even if you have agreed to accept this notice alternatively, i.e., electronically. You have the right to have your physician amend your protected health information. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us, and we may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy of any such rebuttal.
You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have made, if any, of your protected health information.
Complaints. You may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of Health and Human Services if you believe we have violated your privacy rights. You may file a complaint with us by notifying our privacy contact of your complaint. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Changes to This Notice. We may change this notice and make it effective for medical information we already have about you, as well as for new information. The current notice will be posted and available at all times. You have the right to request a paper copy of the current notice at any visit or by written request.
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