Notice of Privacy Practices

HeartspanMD Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information

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 for Protected Health Information (the “Notice”) describes the privacy practices at MK Cardiology, PLLC d/b/a HeartspanMD, its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “HeartspanMD”). In this Notice, we may also refer to we, us or our. It also applies to its Providers and Employees and Third-Party Vendors who may share Protected Health Information (“PHI”) with each other in order to provide Services. We do this for the treatment, payment and health care operations at HeartspanMD as allowed by HIPAA and this Notice. We may use and share your PHI to provide you with medical care, such as scheduling appointments, diagnosing your condition, and prescribing medication.

PROTECTION OF YOUR PHI

By law, we must protect your PHI, which includes information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical health or condition, treatment or payment for health care services. We must provide you with this Notice explaining our legal duties and privacy practices for your PHI. This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your PHI. We provide you with some examples, but we don’t spell out every allowable use or disclosure in this Notice. This Notice also describes your rights and what we must do to use and disclose your PHI. This Notice also applies to any electronic PHI related to using this website, email or telehealth/virtual visits.

We, and our employees and agents, must follow the terms of this Notice and any changes we make to it. This Notice also describes your rights to access and control your PHI. In addition to HIPAA, we must also follow state privacy laws that are sometimes stricter (or more protective of your PHI) than federal law.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION

Your PHI may be used and disclosed by our health care providers, our staff, and other health care providers (e.g., specialists, nutritionists, nurses), outside of our office, that are involved in your care and treatment for the purpose of providing health care services to you, to support our business operations, to obtain payment for your care, and any other use authorized or required by law.

SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT RECORDS

If we create, receive, or maintain records relating to your treatment for a substance use disorder, those records are subject to additional confidentiality protections under 42 C.F.R. Part 2, which federal law now aligns with HIPAA. This means:

• We generally may not disclose information that would identify you as having a substance use disorder, or disclose your substance use disorder treatment records, without your specific written consent — except as otherwise permitted by law (for example, in a medical emergency, or pursuant to a qualifying court order).
• Any person or entity that receives this information from us is prohibited from redisclosing it unless the redisclosure is expressly permitted by federal law.
• Federal law prohibits use of this information in a criminal, civil, administrative, or legislative proceeding against you without your consent or a qualifying court order, except in limited circumstances defined by 42 C.F.R. Part 2.
• You have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures we have made of this information.

COMMUNICATIONS VIA EMAIL OR TEXT

We use a range of physical, technical, and administrative procedures to protect the privacy of your personal information. However, communications via email and text message may not be secure. Email or text messages that are not encrypted or secure can be intercepted and read by parties other than the person to whom it is addressed. We recommend transmitting communication securely and will use secure platforms, whenever possible, when we communicate with you.

We will not share your mobile information with third parties for marketing purposes without your explicit consent. We will not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to third parties without your consent, except as required by law or as necessary to provide our services.

You have the right to opt out of receiving SMS (Text) messages from Us at any time. To opt out, please reply 'STOP' to any message you receive from Us or contact Us at [email protected].

TREATMENT

We will use and disclose your PHI 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, we may share your PHI with other parties (such as pharmacies, doctors, hospitals or other health care providers) to help them provide care to you or coordinate your care. In some cases, uses and disclosures of your PHI may be made through a Health Information Exchange or other shared system.

PAYMENT

HeartspanMD is a cash-pay medical practice. We may use and disclose your protected health information as permitted by law to process payment for our services and coordinate with pharmacies, laboratories, imaging centers, or other healthcare providers when appropriate.

An example of this is submitting a Prior Authorization on your behalf or electronically sending a Prescription to your Pharmacy.

HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS

We may use, as needed, your PHI in order to support the business activities of HeartspanMD. These activities include things like improving quality of care, providing information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services, developing or maintaining and supporting computer systems, legal services, and conducting audits and compliance programs, including fraud, waste and abuse investigations. We may also use and share your PHI to contact you about health-related products and programs. We will not use your PHI for marketing purposes unless you consent to such communication.

USES AND DISCLOSURES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:

We may use or disclose your PHI in the following situations without your authorization. These situations include the following uses and disclosures: as required by law; for public health purposes; for health care oversight purposes; in connection with legal proceedings; for law enforcement purposes; to coroners, funeral directors and organ donation agencies; for certain research purposes; for abuse or neglect reporting; pursuant to Food and Drug Administration requirements; for allegations of certain criminal activities; for certain military activity and national security purposes; for workers’ compensation reporting; relating to certain inmate reporting; and other required uses and disclosures. Under the law, we must make certain disclosures to you upon your request, and when required by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our compliance with the requirements of HIPAA.

State laws may further restrict these disclosures. We may also use or disclose your de-identified information for any purpose permitted by law without your authorization.

USES AND DISCLOSURES THAT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION

Other permitted and required uses and disclosures will be made only with your consent, authorization or opportunity to object unless permitted or required by law. Without your authorization, We are expressly prohibited from using or disclosing your PHI for marketing purposes unless otherwise permitted under applicable law. We may not sell your PHI without your authorization. Your PHI will not be used for fundraising. We will not use or disclose your medical records without your authorization, except as permitted by law. If you provide us with an authorization for certain uses and disclosures of your information, you may revoke such authorization, at any time, in writing, except to the extent that we have taken an action in reliance on the use or disclosure indicated in the authorization.

YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION (PHI)

You have the right to request a restriction on the use or disclosure of your PHI. Your request must be in writing and state the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply. We are not required to agree to a restriction that you may request, except if the requested restriction is on a disclosure to a health plan for a payment or health care operations purpose regarding a service that has been paid in full out-of-pocket.

You have the right to request to receive confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternate location. We will comply with all reasonable requests submitted in writing which specify how or where you wish to receive these communications.

You have the right to request to access, inspect, and copy your protected health information.

You have the right to request an amendment of your protected health information. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us. We may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and we 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 PHI. This right only applies to disclosures for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations as described in this Notice. It excludes disclosures we may have made to you, your family members, or friends involved in your care. The right to receive this information is subject to certain exceptions, restrictions and limitations. We will respond to your request within 60 days (with up to a 30-day extension if needed).

You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice, upon request, even if you have previously requested its receipt electronically by e-mail.

To request any inspection, documentation or to exercise any right described here, please submit your request to [email protected].

TO REPORT A PROBLEM

Reports of a problem about this Notice or how we handle your PHI should be directed to our team in writing. You may also submit a formal complaint to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this Notice. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact us: [email protected]

PRIVACY OFFICER

HeartspanMD designated a Privacy Officer who is responsible for the development and implementation of our privacy policies and procedures, and who serves as your point of contact for questions, concerns, or complaints about the privacy of your health information.

Privacy Officer: Marcin Kuzma, CEO
Phone: 305-676-5203
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address: 1032 E Brandon Blvd. #2007, Brandon, FL 33511

You may contact our Privacy Officer at any time to exercise any of the rights described in this Notice, to ask questions about our privacy practices, or to file a complaint. You will not be retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint.

BREACH OF HEALTH INFORMATION

We will notify you if a breach of your unsecured PHI is discovered. Notification will be made to you no later than 60 days from the breach discovery and will include a brief description of how the breach occurred, the PHI involved and contact information for you to ask questions.

REVISIONS TO THIS NOTICE

We reserve the right to revise this Notice and to make the revised Notice effective for PHI we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. You are entitled to a copy of the Notice currently in effect. Any significant changes to this Notice will be posted on our website and linked to our privacy policy.