Notice of Privacy Practices

Our promise to you

Eye Doctor Villages FL, the practice of Dr. James A. Russell, OD, is required by law to keep your protected health information (PHI) private. PHI is information about your eyes, your health or your care that can identify you. This notice explains how we use and share PHI and what rights you have.

How we may use and disclose your PHI

We may use and share your PHI in the following ways without asking for your written permission:

• Treatment. To provide and coordinate your eye care. For example, we may share your records with another doctor or an eye surgeon we refer you to, or with a lab that makes your lenses.
• Payment. To bill and collect payment for your care, such as sending information to your vision or medical insurance plan or checking your coverage.
• Health care operations. To run the practice, such as staff training, quality checks, scheduling and record keeping.
• Appointment reminders. To contact you by phone, text, mail or email about appointments, follow-up care or your glasses or contact lenses being ready. Tell us if you prefer a certain method.
• Treatment options and services. To tell you about treatments or services that may interest you.
• Business associates. To companies that perform services for us, such as billing or software, and who agree in writing to protect your PHI.
• Family and friends. To a family member or other person involved in your care or payment, when you agree or do not object, or when we believe it is in your best interest if you cannot speak for yourself.
• As required by law. When federal, state or local law requires it.
• Public health and safety. To report disease, injury or reactions to products, and to prevent a serious threat to health or safety.
• Abuse, neglect or domestic violence. To report to the proper authorities as the law allows.
• Health oversight, legal proceedings and law enforcement. For audits and inspections, in response to a court order or valid legal request, and for certain law enforcement purposes.
• Workers’ compensation, military and national security, and coroners. As the law permits or requires.

Uses that need your written authorization

We will ask for your written permission before we use or share your PHI for most marketing purposes, for any sale of PHI, and for other uses not described in this notice. You may take back your permission at any time in writing. This will not affect anything we already did while it was in effect.

Your rights

You have the following rights about your PHI. To use any of them, put your request in writing and send it to our privacy officer, [Privacy Officer name to confirm], at 2478 Burnsed Blvd, The Villages, FL 32163.

• Access. You may look at and get a copy of your records, including an electronic copy if we keep them electronically. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
• Amendment. You may ask us to correct information you believe is wrong or incomplete. We may deny the request in some cases and will explain why in writing.
• Accounting of disclosures. You may ask for a list of certain times we shared your PHI, as the law defines them, going back six years.
• Request restrictions. You may ask us to limit how we use or share your PHI. We are not required to agree, except when you pay for a service in full out of pocket and ask us not to tell your health plan about it.
• Confidential communications. You may ask us to contact you in a certain way or place, such as a different phone number or mailing address. We will say yes to reasonable requests.
• Paper copy of this notice. You may ask for a paper copy at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
• Notice of a breach. You have the right to be told if your PHI is involved in a breach of unsecured information.

Our duties

We are required by law to keep your PHI private and secure, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect, and to tell you if a breach affects your PHI.

We may change this notice, and the change may apply to PHI we already hold. The current notice will be posted on this website and available at our office.

Questions and complaints

If you think your privacy rights were violated, you may file a complaint with us. Send it to our privacy officer, [Privacy Officer name to confirm], at 2478 Burnsed Blvd, The Villages, FL 32163, call (352) 399-5412, or email TheVillages@HindSightEyeCare.com.

You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights at https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Electronic communication and records

If you contact us by email or text, please know these methods may not be fully secure. We will use them for routine matters like appointment reminders, and we ask you to call us for anything sensitive. Our staff only see the part of your record they need to do their jobs, and we train them to protect your privacy.

If you tell us you do not want to be contacted a certain way, we will respect that whenever we reasonably can.

Contact

Eye Doctor Villages FL
2478 Burnsed Blvd, The Villages, FL 32163
Phone: (352) 399-5412
Email: TheVillages@HindSightEyeCare.com
Privacy officer: [Privacy Officer name to confirm]

This notice should be reviewed by the practice and its attorney before publication.