Privacy Practices - Silverman Ankle & Foot

Silverman Ankle & Foot – Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how your protected health information may be used and disclosed and how you can gain access to this information. Please read it carefully. During your treatment at Silverman Ankle & Foot, doctors, nurses, and other caregivers may gather information about your medical history and your current health. The terms of this Notice apply to health information created or received by Silverman Ankle & Foot. This notice explains your privacy rights regarding this type of information (protected health information) and how that information may be disclosed and used by others. We are required by law to: make sure that medical information that identifies you is kept private; give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your medical information; follow the terms of the Notice that is currently in effect; and notify you in the event there is a breach of any unsecured protected health information about you. Your medical information may be used and disclosed for the following purposes:

Appointment Reminders and Other Health Information: We may use your medical information to send you reminders about future appointments. We may also send you refill reminders or other communications about your current medications. However, if we receive any financial remuneration for making such refill or medication communications beyond our costs of making the communication, we must first obtain your written authorization to make such communications. We may contact you with information about new or alternative treatments or other health care services or for purposes of care coordination, unless we receive financial remuneration in exchange for making the communication; in that case, we will obtain your written authorization to make such communications. However, we are not required to obtain your written authorization for face-to-face communications.

Clinic Directory: We may include certain limited information about you in our directory while you are a patient. This information may include your name, location of the clinic, and your religious affiliation and spoken language, if you provide this information to us. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation and condition, may be released to people who ask for you by name. This is so your family, friends and clergy can know your location. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don’t ask for you by name. If you would prefer that Silverman Ankle & Foot not make these disclosures, please notify the Office Manager, at 952-224-8500.

Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose medical information about you for Silverman Ankle & Foot’s health care business operations. Health care operations are the uses and disclosures of information that are necessary to run Silverman Ankle & Foot and to make sure that all of our patients receive the highest quality care. For example, we may use medical information to evaluate the performance of our staff and physician in caring for you and to review our treatment and services. We will get your written consent before making disclosures to others outside Silverman Ankle & Foot for the purpose of health care operations.

Marketing and Philanthropy: Your name and address may be used by Silverman Ankle & Foot for the purpose of marketing, such as an email or mailed informative and educational newsletter, or to notify you of a philanthropic case supported by Silverman Ankle & Foot. With each correspondence, you will have the option to opt-out, either in writing or by phone, whichever is most convenient for you. Your information will not be sold.

Others Assisting in Your Care: Silverman Ankle & Foot will only disclose medical information to those taking care of you, helping you to pay your bills, or other close family members or friends if these people need to know this information to help you, and then only to the extent permitted by law. We may, for example, provide limited medical information to allow a family member to pick up a prescription for you. Generally, we will get your written consent prior to making disclosures about you to family or friends. If you are unable to make health care decisions, Silverman Ankle & Foot will disclose relevant medical information to family members or other responsible people if we feel it is in your best interest to do so, including in an emergency situation.

Payment: We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive may be billed to, and payment collected from you, an insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about treatment you received at Silverman Ankle & Foot so your health plan will pay us directly or reimburse you for the treatment. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval, to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment, or for purposes of an independent review of a denial of a claim based on lack of medical necessity. We will get your written consent prior to making disclosures for payment purposes.

Research: Federal law permits Silverman Ankle & Foot to use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes, either with your specific, written authorization or when the study has been reviewed for privacy protection by an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board before the research begins. In some cases, researchers may be permitted to use information in a limited way to determine whether the study or the potential participants are appropriate. Minnesota law generally requires that we get your general consent before we disclose your health information to an outside researcher. We will make a good faith effort to obtain your consent or refusal to participate in any research study, as required by law, prior to releasing any identifiable information about you to outside researchers.

Required by Law: We will disclose medical information about you when we are required to do so by federal, state or local law.

To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose medical 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 must be only to someone able to help prevent the threat. In addition, Minnesota law generally does not permit these disclosures unless we have your written consent to do so or when the disclosure is specifically required by law, including the limited circumstances in which Silverman Ankle & Foot health care professionals have a “duty to warn.”

To Business Associates: Some services are provided by or to Silverman Ankle & Foot through contracts with business associates. Examples include Silverman Ankle & Foot’s attorneys, consultants, collection agencies, and accreditation organizations. We may disclose information about you to our business associate so that they can perform the job we have contracted with them to do. To protect the information that is disclosed, each business associate is required to sign an agreement to appropriately safeguard the information and not to re-disclose the information unless specifically permitted by law.

Treatment: We may use your information to provide, coordinate, and manage your care and treatment. For example, Silverman Ankle & Foot may share your medical information with another physician for a consultation or a referral. We will get your written consent prior to making disclosures outside Silverman Ankle & Foot for treatment purposes, except in emergency circumstances when it is not possible to get your consent.

Your protected health information may be released in the following special situations:

Health Oversight Activities: Silverman Ankle & Foot may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for health oversight activities that are authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, government audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure activities. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws. Minnesota law requires that patient-identifying information (for example, your name, social security number, etc.) be removed from most disclosures for health oversight purposes, unless you have provided us with written consent for the disclosure.

Inmates: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we will release medical information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official only as required by law or with your written consent.

Lawsuits and Disputes: We may disclose medical information about you in response to a valid court order or statutory authorization, or with your written consent.

Law Enforcement: We may release medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in response to a valid court order, grand jury subpoena, or warrant, or with your written consent. In addition, we are required to report certain types of wounds, such as gunshot wounds and some burns. In most cases, reports will include only the fact of injury, and any additional disclosures would require your consent or a court order. We may also release information to law enforcement that is not a part of the health record (in other words, non-medical information) for the following reasons: – To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; – If you are the victim of a crime, if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain your agreement; – 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.

Medical Examiners, Coroners, and Funeral Directors: We will release medical information to a coroner or medical examiner in the case of certain types of death, and we must disclose health records upon the request of the coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify you or determine the cause of death. We may also release the fact of death and certain demographic information about you to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties. Other disclosures from your health record will require the consent of a surviving spouse, parent, a person appointed by you in writing, or your legally authorized representative.

Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we will release medical information about you as requested by military command authorities if we are required to do so by law, or when we have your written consent. We may also release medical information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority as required by law or with written consent.

National Security and Intelligence Activities: We will release medical information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counter-intelligence, and other national security activities only as required by law or with your written consent.

Organ and Tissue Donation: We may release your medical information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation, or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation. The information that Silverman Ankle & Foot may disclose is limited to the information necessary to make a transplant possible.

Protective Services for the President and Others: We will disclose medical information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons, or foreign heads of state, or conduct special investigations only as required by law or with your written consent.

Public Health: We may disclose medical information to public health authorities about you for public health activities. These disclosures generally include the following: – Preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability; – Reporting births and deaths; – Reporting child abuse or neglect, or abuse of a vulnerable adult; – Reporting reactions to medications or problems with products; – Notifying people of recalls of products they may be using; – Notifying a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition; or – Reporting to the FDA as permitted or required by law.

Workers’ Compensation: We may release medical information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness. We are permitted to disclose information regarding your work related injury to your employer or your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer without your specific consent, so long as the information is related to a workers’ compensation claim.

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

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 medical information about you. This list will not include disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations; disclosures that you have authorized or that have been made to you; disclosures for facility directories; disclosures for national security or intelligence purposes; disclosures to correctional institutions or law enforcement with custody of you; disclosures that took place before July 1, 2005; and certain other disclosures. To request this list of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to Silverman Ankle & Foot. Your request must state a time period for which you would like the accounting. The accounting period may not go back further than six years from the date of the request, and it may not include dates before July 1, 2005. You may receive one free accounting in any 12-month period. We will charge you for additional requests.

Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and receive a copy of your medical information that is used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records maintained by Silverman Ankle & Foot. If you wish to inspect and copy medical information, you must submit your request in writing to Silverman Ankle & Foot. 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, to the extent permitted by state and federal law. If we maintain your health information in an electronic health record, you have the right to receive a copy of your health information in electronic form. You may also direct us to transmit your health information (whether in hard copy or electronic form) directly to an entity or person clearly and specifically designated by you in writing. We may deny your request to inspect and copy your information in certain very limited circumstances. For example, we may deny access if your physician believes it will be harmful to your health, or could cause a threat to others. In these cases, we may supply the information to a third party who may release the information to you. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by Silverman Ankle & Foot 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 Request Amendment: If you believe that medical information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to change the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for Silverman Ankle & Foot. To request a change to your information, your request must be made in writing and submitted to Silverman Ankle & Foot. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. Silverman Ankle & Foot 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 Silverman Ankle & Foot unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment; – Is not part of the medical information kept by or for Silverman Ankle & Foot; – Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or – Is accurate and complete.

Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you. If you pay out-of-pocket in full for an item or service, then you may request that we not disclose information pertaining solely to such item or service to your health plan for purposes of payment or health care operations. We are required to agree with such a request, unless you request a restriction on the information we disclose to a health maintenance organization (“HMO”) and the law prohibits us from accepting payment from you above the cost-sharing amount for the item or service that is the subject of the requested restriction. However, we are not required to agree to any other request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment or you request that we remove the restriction. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to Silverman Ankle & Foot. 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, if you want to prohibit 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 contact you only at work or only by mail. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to Silverman Ankle & Foot. 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, and we may require you to provide information about how payment will be handled.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You have the right to receive a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice any time. This notice is on our website at www.anklefootmd.com.

Changes to This Notice: The effective date of this notice is July 1, 2005, and it has been updated effective September 23, 2013. We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you, as well as any information we receive in the future. If the terms of this notice are changed, Silverman Ankle & Foot will provide you with a revised notice upon request, and we will post the revised notice on our website and in designated locations at Silverman Ankle & Foot.

Complaints or Questions: If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Silverman Ankle & Foot, or to ask a question about this Notice, contact Silverman Ankle & Foot and ask to speak with the Clinic Manager at 952-224-8500. All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint. Other Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information We are required to obtain a written authorization from you for most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, uses and disclosures of protected health information for marketing purposes and disclosures that constitute a sale of protected health information. Except as described above, Silverman Ankle & Foot will not use or disclose your protected health information without a specific written authorization from you. If you provide us with this written authorization to use or disclose medical 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 medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization, except to the extent we have already relied on your authorization. We are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.

Data Collected: This website may collect personal information (such as name, address, phone number, e-mail address, etc.) that you voluntarily submit through our website contact forms or email. Any user-submitted information will be used for customer support purposes and to respond to your requests. We do not resell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to other parties, with the exception of trusted third parties who help us operate our website and conduct our business, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may release your information if doing so is necessary to comply with the law. Non-personally identifiable information collected may be provided to other parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

Cookies: This website uses cookies in order to learn more about site traffic and provide a better experience. A cookie is a string of data that a website stores on a user’s computer when they visit a website. The user’s browser provides that string of data to the website when that user returns to the site. If you are visiting this website and you do not want cookies placed on your device, you should set your browser to refuse cookies before using this website.

Analytics: This site uses Google Analytics and Google Ads to better understand how users interact with the site and to provide a better user experience. To that end, this site may collect information about visitors such as the browser or device being used, IP address, language preference, referring website, and the date and time of each visitor request, and more. This site may also collect information about how a user interacts with this website including pages visited, clicks, internal links, and more. To read more about Google’s privacy and terms, click on the link below.

Google’s Privacy & Terms

Embedded content from and links to other websites: Pages on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website. Pages on this site may also include links to other websites. We are not responsible for any content or privacy policies on other websites that are linked to from this website.

Silverman Ankle & Foot – Notice of Privacy Practices

Minnesota Service Area