NAWI Privacy and HIPPA Policy

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) provides safeguards to protect your privacy. Implementation of HIPAA requirements officially began on April 14, 2003. Many of the policies have been our practice for years. 

What this is all about: Specifically, there are rules and restrictions on who may see or be notified of your Protected Health Information (PHI). These restrictions do not include the normal interchange of information necessary to provide you with office services. HIPPA provides certain rights and protections to you as the patient. We balance these needs with our goal of providing you with quality professional service and care. Additional information is available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. www.hhs.gov 

NAWI Wellness Center has adopted the following policies: 

• Patient information will be kept confidential except as is necessary to provide services or to ensure that all administrative matters related to your care are handled appropriately. This specifically includes the sharing of information with other healthcare providers, laboratories, health insurance payers as is necessary and appropriate for your care. Patient files may be stored in open file racks and will not contain any coding which identifies a patient’s condition or information which is not already a matter of public record. The normal course of providing care means that such records may be left, at least temporarily, in administrative areas such as the front office, examination room, etc. Those records will not be available to persons other than office staff. 

• It is the policy of this office to remind patients of their appointments. We may do this by telephone, e-mail, U.S mail, or by any means convenient for the practice and/or as requested by you. We may send you other communications informing you of changes to office policy and new technology that you might find valuable or informative. 

• The practice utilizes a number of vendors in the conduct of business. These vendors may have access to PHI but must agree to abide by the confidentiality rules of HIPPA. 

• You, the client, understands and agrees to inspections of the office and review of documents which may include PHI by government agencies or insurance payers in normal performance of their duties. 

• You, the client, agree to bring any concerns or complaints regarding privacy to the attention of the office manager or the doctor. 

• Your confidential information will not be used for the purposes of marketing or advertising of products, goods or services. 

• NAWI agrees to provide patients with access to their records in accordance with state and federal laws. 

• NAWI may change, add, delete or modify any of these provisions to better serve the needs of the both the practice and the patient. 

• You, the client, have the right to request restrictions in the use of your protected health information (PHI) and to request change in certain policies used within the office concerning your PHI. However, we are not obligated to alter internal policies to conform to your request. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please ask the NAWI staff.