PRIVACY NOTICE

PLEASE REVIEW THIS PRIVACY NOTICE CAREFULLY. THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED, DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.

When you provide us with information through the Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery Website (the “Website”), it is important for you to understand what information we collect anbout you during your visit and what we do with that information. Your visit to the Webiste is subject to this Privacy Policy and our Terms and Conditions. Please note that this Privacy Policy governs only information provided to the Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery (the “Clinic”) and communications from Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery. It does not govern any other information or communications that may reference the Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, for example, communications from retailers or anyother stores. This Privacy Policy was last updated July 19th, 2005.

1. Who will follow this notice.

This notice describes the Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery’s practices and that of:
• Any health care professional authorized to enter information into your clinic chart.
• All departments and units of the clinic.
• All members of the medical staff and their office staff.
• All allied health licensed professionals and their office staff.
• Any member of a volunteer group or health care students we allow to help you while you are receiving care from this clinic.
• Your personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor’s use and disclosure of your medical information created in the doctor’s office or clinic.
• All employees, staff and other clinic/hospital personnel.
• All of these entities, sites and locations follow the terms of this notice.

2. 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 medical information about you.
• Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

3. Collection of Personally Identifiable Information by Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery. We do not collect personally identifiable information about you, except when you provide it to us. As well, we need this record so that we can provide you with quality care and comply with certain legal requirements.For example, if you decide to complete a user registeration form or online survey or make a purchase, you may be asked to provide certain informaiton such as your contact information (e.g. name, e-mail address, mailing address, and telephone number), age group, gender and product and/or cosmetic concerns, physical health concerns, and the brands and products you use. If you decide to place an order, we will aslo need to know your delivery and billing address, credit card number and expiration date. To protect your personal information, users registering at this Website must also enter a user name/e-mail address and password. If you would prefer that we not collect any personally identifibable information from you, please do not provide us with any such information. When you submit your personally identifiable information on the Website, you are giving your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

4. How we may use and disclose medical information about you. The following categories describe different ways we use and disclose medical information. For each category of uses and disclosures, we will explain what we mean and give some examples. Not every category will be listed. All of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the identified categories:

• 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 hospital personnel who are involved in taking care of you at the Clinic. Different departments of the Clinic also may share medical information about you in order to coordinate the care you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and x-rays. We also may disclose medical information about you to people outside the Clinic who may be involved in your medical care after you leave the Clinic, or other information used to provide services that are part of your care.

• For Payment. We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the Clinic may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about surgery you received at the Clinic so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.

• For Healthcare Operations. We may use and disclose medical information about you for Clinic operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the Clinic and to make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine the medical information we have with medical information from other hospitals/clinics to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer. We remove identifiable information from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care delivery without learning who the specific patient is.

• Business Associates. Some services of our organization are provided through contractual arrangements with business associates. These include radiology, certain laboratory services, supplemental staffing, transcription and data management. When services are provided by a business associate, we may disclose your health information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we have asked them to do and bill you or your insurance company for those services. In addition, we may disclose your health information to accrediting agencies and certain outside consultants. Our business associates must use appropriate safeguards to protect your health information.

• Appointment Reminders. We may contact you to remind you of appointments for diagnostic testing or treatment or other health-related benefits and services that maybe of interest to you, including educational opportunities.

• Treatment Alternatives. We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.

• Health-related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.

• Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. We may release health information about you to a friend, family member or any other person identified by you as being involved in your health care or who is involved in payment for your care. In addition, we may disclose medical information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location.

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

• To Advert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use or disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety, or to the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

4. Special Situations.

• Specialized Governmental Functions. We may disclose your health information for military and veterans’ activities, national security and intelligence activities, and similar special governmental functions as required or permitted 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.

• Public Health Activities. We may disclose health information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include:

• To prevent or control disease, injury, or disability.

• To report reactions to medications or problems with products.

• To notify people of recalls of products they may be using.

• To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition.

• To notify the appropriate government authority if we suspect a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will make this disclosure when required or authorized by law.

•Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities may include audits, investigations, inspections and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs and compliance with civil rights law.

•Lawsuits and Disputes. If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose protected health information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

•Law Enforcement. We may release medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official:

• Response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process.

• Identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.

• Inquiries as to the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement.

• Inquiries as to a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct.

• Inquiries as to criminal conduct at the hospital.

• 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.

•National Security and Intelligence Activities. We may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence and other national security activities authorized by law.

•Protective Services for the President and Others. We may disclose health information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of states, or to conduct special investigations.

•Inmates. We may release health information to a correctional institution or law enforcement official about persons who are inmates of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official. This release would be necessary (1) for the institution to provide health care; (2) to protect the health and safety of the inmate and others; or (3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.

• Research. We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information. In addition, we may disclose information to researchers in preparation for research.

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We may disclose to the FDA your health information relating to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects, or post marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs or replacement.

• Marketing. We may use your information to provide you with information regarding a health-related product or service provided by the Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery or affiliates of the Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, or information regarding your treatment or care, such as appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives. In addition, your health information may be used in face-to-face encounters or to provide you with gifts of nominal value.

•Other uses of Medical Information. Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this Notice or by the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization. If you provide us written authorization to use or disclose health 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 health information for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your authorization and that we are required to retain records of the care provided.

Cookies and IP Addresses. A cookie is a piece of data that enables us to track and target your preferences. We may place a "cookie" on your computer's hard drive so we can recognize you as a return user and personalize your experience and your use of this Website. The cookie will be stored on your computer's hard drive until you remove it. We may also use temporary or "session" cookies to help you shop. These cookies will expire when you place an order. You can have your browser notify you of, or automatically reject, cookies. If you reject our cookies, you may still use the Website, but you may be limited in the use of some of the features. We may also use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the Website, track traffic patterns, and gather demographic information for aggregate use, as well as in combination with your personally identifiable information for credit fraud protection and risk reduction.

Some of our other business partners and service providers may also use cookies on the Site. However, we have no access to, or control over, these cookies and do not accept any responsibility for such use.

5. Business Transfers.

As we continue to develop our business, we might sell certain of our assets. In such transactions, user information, including personally identifiable information, generally is one of the transferred business assets, and by submitting your personal information on the Site you agree that your data may be transferred to such parties in these circumstances.

6. Your rights regarding medical information about you.

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

•Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually this includes medical and billing records.

•To inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to the Medical Records Director. 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.

•We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain, very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by the Clinic 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 Amend. If you feel that medical information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for the Clinic.
To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to the Medical Records Director. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request.

7. We may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:

• Was not created by us, 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 the Clinic.

• Is not part of the information that you would be permitted to inspect and copy.

• Is accurate and complete.

•We will respond within _____ days of receiving your request.

•Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request a list of the disclosures we have made of your protected health information for other than treatment, payment and health care operations, or as described in this Notice. To request this list or accounting of disclosure, you must submit your request in writing to the Medical Records Director. Your request must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before ___________ [DATE]. The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred.

•Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend.
We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you with emergency treatment.
To request a restriction, you must make your request in writing to the Medical Records Director. 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, 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 only contact you at work or by mail.
To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to the Medical Records Director. We will not ask you the reason for your request and we will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. We must agree to your written request so long as we can easily provide it in the format you requested.

8. Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice.
You may obtain a copy of this notice at our website, www.frhs.org. To obtain a paper copy of this notice, contact the Main Office at Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery.

9. Changes to this notice
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. We will post a copy of the current notice in the hospital and on our web site. The notice will contain on the first page, on the top right-hand corner, the effective date. In addition, each time you register at or are admitted to the Clinic for treatment or health care services as an inpatient or outpatient, we will offer you a copy of the current notice in effect.

10. Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Sandhu Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized or otherwise retaliated against for filing a complaint.