TEMO CARETM PATIENT NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

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.

Temo Care’s Commitment to Your Privacy

Temo Spine Care, P.A., a Texas professional association, and Temo Spine Care California, P.C., a California professional corporation (collectively, “Temo Care”) is dedicated to protecting the privacy of your protected health information (‘PHI’). PHI is information about you that may be used to identify you (such as your name, social security number, email address, mobile telephone number, address or date of birth), and that relates to (a) your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition, (b) the provision of healthcare to you, or (c) your past, present, or future payment for the provision of healthcare. In conducting its business, Temo Care will receive and create records containing your PHI. Temo Care is required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI and to provide you with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI. Other health care providers involved in your care may have different policies or notices regarding their use and disclosure of your PHI.

Temo Care must maintain the privacy of your PHI, give you this Notice of its legal duties and privacy practices, notify you if you are affected by a breach of unsecured PHI; and abide by the terms of this Notice while it is in effect. Temo Care and its employees, volunteers and other personnel must also above by this Notice.

This current Notice takes effect on September 24, 2022 , and will remain in effect until Temo Care replaces it. Temo Care reserves the right to change the terms of this Notice at any time, as long as the changes are in compliance with applicable law. If Temo Care changes the terms of this Notice, the new terms will apply to all PHI that it maintains, including PHI that was created or received before such changes were made. If Temo Care changes this Notice, it will post the new Notice on its Web site and will make the new Notice available upon request. If there are any changes to this Notice we will provide you with the updated Notice by posting it on our Web site. In addition, when the changes are material we will notify you of the changes via email to the email address you provided.

Uses and Disclosures of PHI

Temo Care may use and disclose your PHI for the following purposes:

  • 1. Treatment, Payment and Healthcare Operations. Temo Care is permitted to use and disclose your PHI for purposes of (a) treatment, (b) payment and (c) healthcare operations. For example:
    • Treatment. Temo Care may disclose your PHI to another physician or healthcare provider for purposes of a visit or in connection with the provision of follow-up treatment.
    • Payment Temo Care may use and disclose your PHI to your health insurer or health plan in connection with the processing and payment of claims and other charges.
    • Healthcare Operations Temo Care may use and disclose your PHI in connection with its healthcare operations, such as providing customer services and conducting quality review assessments. Temo Care may engage third parties to provide various services for Temo Care. If any such third party must have access to your PHI in order to perform its services, Temo Care will require that third party to enter an agreement that binds the third party to the use and disclosure restrictions outlined in this Notice.
  • 2. Authorization Temo Care is permitted to use and disclose your PHI upon your written authorization, to the extent such use or disclosure is consistent with your authorization. You may revoke any such authorization at any time. To authorize Temo Care to disclose your PHI to a third party, download the HIPAA Authorization to Disclose Protected Health Information here [insert link to form] and mail it to the address listed on the form
  • 3. As Required by Law Temo Care may use and disclose your PHI to the extent required by law.
  • 4. Special Circumstances. The following categories describe unique circumstances in which Temo Care may use or disclose your PHI:
    • a) Public Health Activities Temo Care may disclose your PHI to public health authorities or other governmental authorities for purposes including preventing and controlling disease, reporting child abuse or neglect, reporting domestic violence and reporting to the Food and Drug Administration regarding the quality, safety and effectiveness of a regulated product or activity. Temo Care may, in certain circumstances, disclose PHI to persons who have been exposed to a communicable disease or may otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
    • b) Workers’ Compensation Temo Care may disclose your PHI as authorized by, and to the extent necessary to comply with, workers’ compensation programs and other similar programs relating to work-related illnesses or injuries.
    • c) Health Oversight Activities. Temo Care may disclose your PHI to a health oversight agency for authorized activities such as audits, investigations, inspections, licensing and disciplinary actions relating to the healthcare system or government benefit programs.
    • d) Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. Temo Care may disclose your PHI, in certain circumstances, as permitted by applicable law, in response to an order from a court or administrative agency, or in response to a subpoena or discovery request.
    • e) Law Enforcement. Temo Care may, under certain circumstances, disclose your PHI to a law enforcement official, such as for purposes of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.
    • f) Decedents Temo Care may, under certain circumstances, disclose PHI to coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors for purposes such as identification, determining the cause of death and fulfilling duties relating to decedents.
    • g) Organ Procurement Temo Care may, under certain circumstances, use or disclose PHI for the purposes of organ donation and transplantation.
    • h) Research. Temo Care may, under certain circumstances, use or disclose PHI in a limited data set that does not include direct identifiers such as your name, address, social security number, phone number and email address, for research purposes. Such uses may include activities that are preparatory to research or informing you of research studies that may be of interest to you. You will not be enrolled in a research study without your prior voluntary informed consent, unless an institutional review board (IRB) has waived the need to obtain informed consent.
    • i) Threat to Health or SafetyTemo Care may, under certain circumstances, use or disclose PHI if necessary, to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.
    • j) Specialized Government Functions Temo Care, may in certain situations, use and disclose PHI of persons who are, or were, in the Armed Forces for purposes such as ensuring proper execution of a military mission or determining entitlement to benefits. Temo Care may also disclose PHI to federal officials for intelligence and national security purposes.
  • 5. Marketing and Sale. Most uses and disclosures of PHI for marketing purposes, and disclosures that constitute a sale of medical information, require your prior express authorization. We will obtain your written permission for (1) most uses and disclosures of PHI for marketing purposes, as defined by HIPAA; and (2) disclosures that constitute a sale of PHI, as defined by HIPAA. If you provide us permission to use or disclose your PHI, you may revoke that permission in writing at any time. If you revoke your permission, your revocation will be effective upon receipt, but will not be effective to the extent that we or others have acted in reliance upon such permission.

Your Rights Regarding Your PHI

You have the following rights regarding the PHI maintained by Temo Care:

  • confidential Communication You have the right to receive confidential communications of your PHI. You may request that Temo Care communicate with you through alternate means or at an alternate location, and Temo Care will accommodate your reasonable requests. You must submit your request in writing to Temo Care.
  • Restrictions You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of PHI for treatment, payment or healthcare operations. You also have the right to request that Temo Care restrict its disclosures of PHI to only certain individuals involved in your care or the payment of your care. You must submit your request in writing to Temo Care. Temo Care is not required to comply with your request. However, if Temo Care agrees to comply with your request, it will be bound by such agreement, except when otherwise required by law or in the event of an emergency.
  • Inspection and Copies You have the right to inspect and copy your PHI. You must submit your request in writing to Temo Care. Temo Care may impose a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, labor and supplies associated with your request. Temo Care may deny your request to inspect and/or copy your PHI in certain limited circumstances. If that occurs, Temo Care will inform you of the reason for the denial, and you may request a review of the denial.
  • Amendment You have a right to request that Temo Care amend your PHI if you believe it is incorrect or incomplete, and you may request an amendment for as long as the information is maintained by Temo Care. You must submit your request in writing to Temo Care and provide a reason to support the requested amendment. Temo Care may, under certain circumstances, deny your request by sending you a written notice of denial. If Temo Care denies your request, you will be permitted to submit a statement of disagreement for inclusion in your records.
  • Accounting of Disclosures You have a right to receive an accounting of all disclosures Temo Care has made of your PHI. However, that right does not include disclosures made for treatment, payment or healthcare operations, disclosures made to you about your treatment, disclosures made pursuant to an authorization, and certain other disclosures. You must submit your request in writing to Temo Care and you must specify the time period involved (which must be for a period of time less than six years from the date of the disclosure). Your first accounting will be free of charge. However, Temo Care may charge you for the costs involved in fulfilling any additional request made within a period of 12 months. Temo Care will inform you of such costs in advance, so that you may withdraw or modify your request to save costs.
  • Breach notification You have the right to be notified in the event that Temo Care (or a Temo Care Business Associate) discovers a breach of unsecured PHI.
  • Paper Copy You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice from Temo Care at any time upon request. To obtain a paper copy of this notice, please contact the Privacy Officer by sending an email to info@temocare.com.
  • Complaint You may complain to Temo Care and to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services if you believe that your privacy rights have been violated. To file a complaint with Temo Care, you must submit a statement in writing to: Privacy Officer , Beejal Amin or sending an email to info@temocare.com. Temo Care will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
  • Further Information If you would like more information about your privacy rights, please send an email to the Privacy Officer at info@temocare.com.

Each registered user must agree to the Terms of use, privacy policy and patient notice of privacy practices.