Legal Notice

1.  Any information provided by this web site is intended for information and educational purposes only; is not intended to establish any professional provider to patient relationship; and is not a substitute for the professional advice and consultation that would be obtained in a visit or call to a health care professional If you have any questions regarding a medical condition, please call your physician or other health care provider promptly.

Privacy Statement

2. Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA will not intentionally share any information you provide us through this web site with any other entity without your consent. However, we can not provide any assurance that visitor information provided to our site cannot or will not be accessed or known by a third party who might "hack" into our site. We would encourage you to not provide any confidential or private information about you or your health status on this web site. Because of the nature of electronic communication, we are unable to totally safeguard the information from intentional or accidental disclosure and the site is provided without express or implied guarantee.

Third Party Sites

3. This web site may or may not contain links to third party web sites for your convenience. Although we try to link only to those sites that share our high standards and respect for privacy, Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA takes no responsibility for the content or information contained on those other sites, and does not exert any editorial or other control over those other sites. Inclusion of the other sites by links does not imply any endorsement of the material or information on the other sites.

Disclaimer

4. You agree that your access to and use of this web site is subject to these terms and conditions and all applicable laws, and that you are using it at your own risk. This web site and its contents are provided to you on an "as is" basis. Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA does not provide any assurances as to the accuracy or completeness of the information available at or through this site. This web site may contain errors and may not be complete. Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA expressly disclaims any representation or warranty, express or implied, concerning the accuracy or completeness of the information. Persons accessing this information assume full responsibility for the use of the information and understand and agree that Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA is not responsible or liable for any claim, loss, or damage arising from the use of the information.

Copyright © 2013

Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA

All rights reserved.

You may view this web site and its contents using your web browser and electronically copy and print hard copies of parts of this web site solely for your personal, non-commercial use. Any other use, including the reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission, and display of the content of this web site is strictly prohibited.

Viruses

Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA cannot guarantee that any file or program available for download or execution from this web site is free from viruses or other conditions which could damage or interfere with your data, hardware, or software. By using this web site, you agree to assume all risk for the use of all programs and files contained on this web site. You agree to release Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA from any and all legal responsibility for or consequences associate with the use of this web site.

Notice Of Privacy Practices

Our Pledge Regarding Medical Information

The privacy of your medical information is important to us. We respect your privacy and treat all healthcare information about our patients with care under strict policies of confidentiality that all of our staff are committed to following. This Notice will tell you about the ways we may use and share medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain duties we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.

Questions and Complaints

You have the right to complain to us, or to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint with us or to the government. Should you have any questions or complaints you may direct all inquiries to the Privacy Officer.

Our Legal Duty

Important: 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.

Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA is required by law to protect certain aspects of your healthcare information know as Protected Health Information or PHI and to provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices.

This Notice describes our privacy practices, your legal rights, and lets you know, how Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA is permitted to:

•Use and disclose PHI about you

•How you can access and copy that information

•How you may request amendment of that information

•How you may request restrictions on our use and disclosure of your PHI

In most situations we may use this information described in this Notice without your permission, but there are some situations where we may use it only after we obtain your written authorization, if we are required by law to do so.

Use and Disclosure of Your Medical Information

The following section describes ways in which Tampa Bay Pulmonary Medicine, PA will disclose medical information. Not every use or disclosure will be listed. We will not use or disclose your medical information for any purpose not listed below, without your specific written authorization. Any specific written authorization you provide may be revoked at any time by writing to us.

FOR TREATMENT:

We may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students or other people who are taking care of you. We may also share medical information about you to your healthcare providers to assist them in treating you.

For Payment:

We may use and disclose your medical information for payment purposes. A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include your medical information.

For Health Care Operations:

We may use and disclose your medical information for our health care operations. This might include measuring and improving quality, evaluating the performance of employees, conducting training programs, and getting the accreditation, certificates, licenses, and credentials we need to serve you.

Additional Uses and Disclosures:

In addition to using and disclosing your medical information for treatment, payment, and health care operations, we may use and disclose medical information for the following purposes:

Facility Directory: Unless you notify us that you object, the following medical information about you will be placed in our facility directories: your name, your location in our facility, and your condition described in general terms.

Notification: We may use and disclose medical information to notify or help notify: a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care. We will share information about your location, general condition, or death. If you are present, we will get your permission if possible before we share, or give you the opportunity to refuse permission. In case of emergency, and if you are not able to give or refuse permission, we will share only the health information that is directly necessary for your health care, according to our professional judgment. We will also use our professional judgment to make decisions in your best interest about allowing someone to pick up medicine, medical supplies, x-ray or medical information for you.

Disaster Relief: We may share medical information with a public or private organization or person who can legally assist in disaster relief efforts.

Research in Limited Circumstances: We may use medical information for research purposes in limited circumstances where the research has been approved by a review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of medical information.

Funeral Director, Coroner, Medical Examiner: To help them carry out their duties, we may share the medical information of a person who has died with a coroner, medical examiner, funeral director, or an organ procurement organization.

Court Orders and Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: We may disclose medical information in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, under certain circumstances. Under limited circumstances, such as a court order, warrant, or grand jury subpoena, we may share your medical information with law enforcement officials. We may share limited information with a law enforcement official concerning the medical information of a suspect, fugitive, material witness, crime victim or missing person. We may share the medical information of an inmate or other person in lawful custody with a law enforcement official or correctional institution under certain circumstances.

Public Health Activities: As required by law, we may disclose your medical information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability, including child abuse or neglect. We may also disclose your medical information to persons subject to jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration for purposes of reporting adverse events associated with product defects or problems, to enable product recalls, repairs or replacements, track products, or to conduct activities required by the Food and Drug Administration. We may also, when we are authorized by law to do so, notify a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or condition.

Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence: We may use and disclose medical information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may share your medical information if it is necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health of safety or the health or safety of others. We may share medical information when necessary to help law enforcement officials capture a person who has admitted to being part of a crime or has escaped from legal custody.

Workers Compensation: We may disclose health information when authorized or necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs.

Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose medical information to an agency providing health oversight for oversight activities authorized by law, including audits, civil, administrative, or criminal investigations or proceedings, inspections, licensure or disciplinary actions, or other authorized activities.

Law Enforcement: Under certain circumstances, we may disclose health information to law enforcement officials. These circumstances include reporting required by certain laws (such as the reporting of certain types of wounds), pursuant to certain subpoenas or court orders, reporting limited information concerning identification and location at the request of a law enforcement official, reports regarding suspected victims of crimes at the request of a law enforcement official, reporting death, crimes on our premises, and crimes in emergencies.

Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose medical information for purposes of sending your appointment postcards, or otherwise reminding you of your appointment.

Alternative and Additional Medical Services: We may use and disclose medical information to furnish you with information about health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you, and to describe or recommend treatment alternatives.

Your Individual Rights

You Have a Right to: Look at or get copies of certain parts of your medical information. You may request that we provide copies in a format other than photocopies. We will use the format you request unless it is not practical for us

1.to do so.  You must make your request in writing.  You may ask the receptionist for the form needed to request access.  There may be charges for copying and for postage if you want the copies mailed to you.  Ask the receptionist about our fee structure. 

2.Receive a list of all the times we or our business associates shared your medical information for purposes other than treatment, payment, and health care operations and other specified exceptions.

3.Request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your medical information.  We are not required to agree to these additional restrictions, but if we do, we will abide by our agreement (except in the case of an emergency).

4.Request that we communicate with you about your medical information by different means or to different locations.  Your request that we communicate your medical information to you by different means or at different locations must be made in writing to our Privacy Officer.

5.Request that we change certain parts of your medical information.  We may deny your request if we did not create the information you want or for certain other reasons.  If we deny your request, we will provide you with a written explanation.  You may respond with a statement of disagreement that will be added to the information you wanted changed.  If we accept your request to change the information, we will make reasonable efforts to tell others, including people you name, of the change and to include the changes in any future sharing of that information.

6.If you wish to receive a paper copy of this privacy notice, then you have the right to obtain a paper copy by making a request in writing to the Privacy Officer.