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.

This notice applies to the Dr. V clinics (Woodland Hills, Glendale and Laguna Hills) and to health information they hold about you, including information in the Dr. V Weight Management portal, to the extent they are covered by the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule or by California's Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA).

Our duties

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

How we may use and disclose your PHI without your written authorization

• Treatment: to provide, coordinate and manage your care, including with other providers involved in your care.
• Payment: to bill for and collect payment for services, and to obtain approval or coverage where applicable.
• Health care operations: to run our practice, assess quality, train staff, and for business management and compliance.
• Reminders and information: to remind you of appointments and tell you about treatment options and health-related services.
• As required or permitted by law: public health activities; reporting suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence; health oversight; judicial and administrative proceedings; law enforcement; coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors; organ donation; certain research approved by a privacy board; to prevent a serious threat to health or safety; specialized government functions; and workers' compensation.
• Business associates: to companies that perform services for us under a written agreement to protect your PHI.
• People involved in your care: family or others you identify, if you agree or do not object, or in an emergency where it is in your interest.

Uses and disclosures that need your written authorization

We need your written authorization for uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes (where applicable), for marketing, for any sale of PHI, and for any other use not described here. California law may require your authorization for some disclosures that HIPAA would otherwise allow. You can revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except where we already acted on it.

Your rights

• Inspect and copy your records, including an electronic copy, usually within 30 days. A reasonable cost-based fee may apply to copies.
• Ask us to amend information you believe is wrong or incomplete.
• Receive an accounting of certain disclosures we made in the last six years.
• Request restrictions on some uses and disclosures. We must agree if you pay out of pocket in full and ask us not to share the service with your health plan, unless the law requires otherwise.
• Ask for confidential communications by another means or at another address.
• Get a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you accepted it electronically.
• Be notified of a breach of your unsecured PHI.

To use these rights, open Privacy & data in the portal or contact us below.

Changes to this notice

We may change this notice and the new notice will apply to all PHI we hold. The current version and its effective date are shown above and available on request and in the portal.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights were violated, you may complain to us at the contact below or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201, phone 1-877-696-6775, hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint. California residents may also contact the California Department of Public Health or the California Attorney General. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Contact

Privacy Officer, Weightabolism (Dr. V), 21021 Ventura Blvd, Suite 101, Woodland Hills, CA 91364, USA. Email drvaziri@doctorvaziri.com. Phone (818) 704-1188.