ABOUT\nTHIS NOTICE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care is\ncommitted to protecting your health information. This Notice of Privacy\nPractices (\u201cNotice\u201d) is provided pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability\nand Accountability Act of 1996 (\u201cHIPAA\u201d) as revised in the 2013 HIPAA Omnibus\nRule . This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health\ninformation to carry out treatment, payment or audiological\/health care\noperations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. This\nNotice also describes your rights and our duties with respect to your protected\nhealth information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProtected health information\u201d\nis information about you that may identify you and that relates to your past,\npresent or future physical or mental health\/condition and related\naudiological\/health care services. We must follow the privacy practices that\nare described in this Notice while it is in effect. If you have any questions\nabout this Notice, please contact our Privacy Officer at (772) 562-5100 or aaronshearingaid@bellsouth.net.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The following categories\ndescribe the different ways that we may use and disclose your protected health\ninformation. These examples are not meant to be exhaustive, but to illustrate\nthe types of uses and disclosures that may be made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may use and disclose your\nprotected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your\naudiological treatment and any related services. We may also disclose your\nprotected health information to other third party\nproviders involved in your audiological\/health care. For example, your\nprotected health information may be provided to a physician or other\naudiological\/health care provider (e.g. a specialist or laboratory) to whom you\nhave been referred to ensure that the physician or other audiological\/health\ncare provider has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may use and disclose your\nprotected health information so that the treatment and health care services you\nreceive may be billed to you, your insurance company, a government program, or\nthird party payors. This may include certain activities that your health\ninsurance plan may undertake before it approves or pays for the\naudiological\/health care services we recommend for you, such as making a determination\nof eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits, reviewing services provided\nto you for medical necessity, and undertaking utilization review activities.\nFor example, we may provide your health plan with medical information about the\naudiological\/health care services Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care rendered to you for\nreimbursement purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may use and disclose your\nprotected health information for audiological\/health care operation purposes.\nThese uses and disclosures are necessary to make sure that all of our patients\nreceive quality care and for our operation and management purposes. For\nexample, we may use your protected health information to review the quality of\nthe treatment and services you receive and to evaluate the performance of our\nteam members in caring for you. We also may disclose information to\naudiologists, physicians, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other\npersonnel for educational and learning purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may provide treatment\ncommunications concerning treatment alternatives or other health related\nproducts or services. For communications for which we or a business associate\nmay receive financial remuneration in exchange for making the communication, we\nmust obtain written authorization unless the communication is made face-to-face\nand\/or involving promotional gifts of nominal value. If you do not wish to\nreceive these communications please submit a written request to our Privacy\nOfficer, at Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care, 925 37th Place, Vero Beach, FL, 32960. We may use or disclose your\ndemographic information and dates of services provided to you, as necessary, in\norder to contact you for fundraising activities supported by Aaron\u2019s Hearing\nCare. You have the right to opt out of receiving fundraising communications. If\nyou do not want to receive these materials, please submit a written request to\nour Privacy Officer, at Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care, 925 37th Place, Vero Beach, FL, 32960.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unless you object, we may\ndisclose to a member of your family, a relative, a close friend or any other\nperson you identify, your protected health information that directly relates to\nthat person\u2019s involvement in your health care. If you are unable to agree or\nobject to such a disclosure, we may disclose such information as necessary if\nwe determine that it is in your best interest based on our professional\njudgment. Also, for example, if you are brought into this office and are unable\nto communicate normally with your clinician for some reason, we may find it is\nin your best interest to give your hearing instrument and other supplies to the\nfriend or relative who brought you in for treatment. We may also use and\ndisclose protected health information to notify such persons of your location,\ngeneral condition, or death. We also may coordinate with disaster relief\nagencies to make this type of notification. We also may use professional\njudgment and our experience with common practice to make reasonable decisions\nabout your best interests in allowing a person to act on your behalf to pick up\nyour hearing instruments, supplies, records, or other things that contain\nprotected health information about you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may use or disclose your\nprotected health information to the extent that the use or disclosure is\nrequired by law. The use or disclosure will be made in compliance with the law\nand will be limited to the relevant requirements of the law. You will be\nnotified, as required by law, of any such uses or disclosures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information for public health activities and purposes to a public health\nauthority that is permitted by law to collect or receive the information. The\ndisclosure will be made for the purpose of controlling disease, injury or\ndisability. We may also disclose your protected health information, if directed\nby the public health authority, to a foreign government agency that is\ncollaborating with the public health authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information to our business associates that perform functions on our\nbehalf or provide us with services if the information is necessary for such\nfunctions or services. To protect your health information, however, we require\nthe business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information, if authorized by law, to a person who may have been exposed\nto a communicable disease or may otherwise be at risk of contracting or\nspreading the disease or condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by\nlaw, such as audits, investigations, and inspections. Oversight agencies<\/p>\n\n\n\n seeking this information\ninclude government agencies that oversee the audiological\/health care system,\ngovernment benefit programs, other government regulatory programs and civil\nrights laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information to a public health authority that is authorized by law to\nreceive reports of abuse or neglect. In addition, we may disclose your\nprotected health information if we believe that you have been a victim of\nabuse, neglect or domestic violence to the governmental entity or agency\nauthorized to receive such information. In this case, the disclosure will be\nmade consistent with the requirements of applicable federal and state laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected health information to a person or company required by the Food and Drug Administration to report adverse events, product defects or problems, biologic product deviations, track products to enable product recalls, to make repairs or replacements, or to conduct post marketing surveillance, as required by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding,\nin response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal (to the extent\nsuch disclosure is expressly authorized), and in certain conditions in response\nto a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information, so long as applicable legal requirements are met, for law\nenforcement purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information to a coroner or medical examiner for identification\npurposes, determining cause of death or for the coroner or medical examiner to\nperform other duties authorized by law. We may also disclose your protected\nhealth information to a funeral director, as authorized by law, in order to\npermit the funeral director to carry out its duties. We may disclose such\ninformation in reasonable anticipation of death. Protected health information\nmay be used and disclosed for cadaveric organ, eye or tissue donation purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may disclose your protected\nhealth information to researchers when their research has been approved by an\ninstitutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and\nestablished protocols to ensure the privacy of your protected health information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consistent with applicable\nfederal and state laws, we may disclose your protected health information to\nprevent or lessen a serious threat to your health and safety or to the health\nand safety of another person or the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are involved with\nmilitary, national security or intelligence activities or if you are in law\nenforcement custody, we may disclose your protected health information to\nauthorized officials so they may carry out their legal duties under the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We may\ndisclose your protected health information as authorized for workers\u2019\ncompensation or other similar programs that provide benefits for a work-related\nillness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nmay use or disclose your protected health information to provide legally\nrequired notices of unauthorized access to or disclosure of your health\ninformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the law, we must make disclosures to you\nand when required by the Secretary of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S.\nDepartment of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our\ncompliance with the requirements of Section 164.500 et. Seq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certain federal and state laws\nmay require special privacy protections that restrict the use and disclosure of\ncertain health information, including HIV-related information, alcohol and\nsubstance abuse information, mental health information, and genetic\ninformation. Some parts of this Notice may not apply to these types of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nfollowing uses and disclosures will be made only with your written\nauthorization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other uses and disclosures of your protected health information not described in this Notice will be made only with your written authorization, unless otherwise permitted or required by law. You may revoke this authorization, at any time, in writing, except to the extent that Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care has taken an action in reliance on the use or disclosure indicated in the authorization. Additionally, if a use or disclosure of protected health information described above in this Notice is prohibited or materially limited by other laws that apply to use, it is our intent to meet the requirements of the more stringent law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following is a statement of\nyour rights with respect to your protected health information and a brief\ndescription of how you may exercise these rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\nhave the right to be notified upon a breach of any of your unsecured protected\nhealth information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may inspect and obtain a\ncopy of your protected health information that is contained in your medical and\nbilling records and any other records that Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care uses for making\ndecisions about you. To inspect and copy \nyour medical information, you must submit a written request to our Privacy\nOfficer, at Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care, 925 37th Place, Vero Beach, FL, 32960. If you\nrequest a copy of your information, we may charge you a fee for the costs of\ncopying, mailing or other costs incurred by us in complying with you request.\nUnder federal law, you may not inspect or copy the following records:\npsychotherapy notes; information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or use\nin, a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding; and protected\nhealth information that is subject to law that prohibits access to protected\nhealth information. Depending on the circumstances, we may deny your request to\ninspect and\/or copy your protected health information. A decision to deny\naccess may be reviewable. Please contact our Privacy Officer at (772) 562-5100\nor aaronshearingaid@bellsouth.net <\/a>if\nyou have questions about access to your medical record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may ask us not to use or\ndisclose any part of your protected health information for the purposes of\ntreatment, payment or healthcare operations. You may also request that any part\nof your protected health information not be disclosed to family members or\nfriends who may be involved in your care or for notification purposes as\ndescribed in this Notice. To request a restriction on who may have access to\nyour protected health information, you must submit a written request to our\nPrivacy Officer, at Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care, 925 37th Place, Vero Beach, FL,\n32960. Your request must state the specific restriction requested and to whom\nyou want the restriction to apply. Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care is not required to\nagree to a restriction that you may request, unless you are asking us to\nrestrict the use and disclosure of your protected health information to a\nhealth plan for payment or audiological\/health care operation purposes and such\ninformation you wish to restrict pertains solely to a audiological\/health care\nitem or service for which you have paid us \u201cout-of-pocket\u201d in full. If we\nbelieve it is in your best interest to permit the use and disclosure of your\nprotected health information, your protected health information will not be\nrestricted. If we do agree to the requested restriction, we may not use or\ndisclose your protected health information in violation of that restriction\nunless it is needed to provide emergency treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have the right to request to\nreceive confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an\nalternative location. We will accommodate reasonable requests. You must request\nthis by submitting a written request to our Privacy Officer, at Aaron\u2019s Hearing\nCare, 925 37th Place, Vero Beach, FL, 32960.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may request an amendment of\nyour protected health information contained in your medical and billing records\nand any other records that Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care uses for making decisions about\nyou, for as long as we maintain the protected health information. You must\nrequest for an amendment by submitting a written request to our Privacy\nOfficer, at Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care, 925 37th Place, Vero Beach, FL, 32960, and\nprovide the reason(s) that support your request. In certain cases, we may deny\nyour request for an amendment. If we deny your request for an amendment, you\nhave the right to file a statement of disagreement with us and we may prepare a\nrebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy of any such rebuttal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have made, if any, of your protected health information. This right applies to disclosures for purposes other than treatment, payment or healthcare operations as described in this Notice. It excludes disclosures we may have made to you, for a resident directory, to family members or friends involved in your care, or for notification purposes. The right to receive this information is subject to certain exceptions, restrictions and limitations. Additionally, limitations are different for electronic health records. You must request for an accounting of disclosures by submitting a written request to our Privacy Officer, at Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care, 925 37th Place, Vero Beach, FL, 32960, and provide the reason(s) that support your request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have the right to receive a paper copy of this Notice even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. To obtain a paper copy of this Notice, you can contact our Privacy Officer at (772) 562-5100 or aaronshearingaid@bellsouth.net.<\/a> You may also obtain a copy of this Notice at www.aaronshearingcare.com.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you believe your privacy\nrights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the\nSecretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you have a\nquestion about this Notice or wish to file a complaint with us, please contact\nour Privacy Officer at (772) 562-5100 or aaronshearingaid@bellsouth.net<\/a>\nor the Corporate Privacy Officer at the address listed below. All complaints\nmust be submitted in writing. Aaron\u2019s Hearing Care will not retaliate against\nyou for filing a complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR\nPROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Treatment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Payment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Audiological\/Health Care Operations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Treatment Communications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n5. Fundraising Activities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Others Involved in Your Healthcare<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Required by Law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Public Health<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Business Associates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
10. Communicable Diseases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
11. Health Oversight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
12. Abuse or Neglect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
13. Food and Drug Administration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
14. Legal Proceedings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
15. Law Enforcement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
16. Coroners, Funeral Directors, and Organ Donation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
17. Research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
18. Serious Threat to Health or Safety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
19. \nMilitary Activity and National Security<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
20. Workers\u2019 Compensation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
21. For Data Breach Notification Purposes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
22. Required Uses and Disclosures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SPECIAL PROTECTIONS FOR HIV, ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE,\nMENTAL HEALTH AND GENETIC INFORMATION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION BASED\nUPON YOUR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR\nPROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Right to be Notified if there is a Breach of Your Protected Health information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Right to Inspect and Copy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Right to Request Restrictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Right to Request Confidential Communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. Right to Request Amendment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Right to Obtain a Paper Copy of this Notice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
COMPLAINTS OR QUESTIONS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n