HIPAA Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Pediatrica Health Group, Inc. (“Pediatrica”) has a legal duty to protect the privacy of individual health information. This law is known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule (the “Rule”). The Privacy Rule requires us to give you a copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices (the “Notice”). This Notice explains our use of your medical or health information. The Rule also requires us to ask you to sign a form called an “Acknowledgment”. By signing the Acknowledgment, you are confirming that you received a copy of the Notice.

We hope that Pediatrica’s Privacy Practices helps you to understand the ways we use and protect your health information. If you have any questions about this Notice or our privacy practices, please feel free to contact Pediatrica’s Compliance Officer at 786-628-7583.

Notice of Privacy Practices

Pediatrica has pediatric physician offices throughout Florida and Texas. This notice applies to all records regarding your care at any Pediatrica physician’s office ( each a “Pediatrica Office”).  Each time you a Pediatrica Office a record of your visit is made. The record typically has information about your symptoms, diagnosis, examination, test results, treatment plan and bill-related information. 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.

Designated Record Set

It is the policy of Pediatrica to ensure that patient files have defined designated record sets to allow individuals access and to request amendments to their individually identifiable health information maintained in these designated record sets. Pediatrica shall maintain a central record system (to be used jointly across multiple sections/clinics within the organizational component or across multiple components if feasible) and ensure that all original documents containing individual identifiable health information resulting from the provision of health care services from within that component are incorporated. These are the components Designated Record set:

1. Auxiliary or working records maintained outside/independent of the central system and that are used for decision making related to the provision of health care. Examples may include but are not limited to databases, systems or paper records that have duplicative information from the central system and are added to without this information being incorporated into the central system.

Patient Rights

As a Patient you have the Right to:

• Ask us not to share your medical information.
  •  You have the right to ask us not to share or to limit the medical information we use or share to treat you, get payment for our services to you, and to run our clinics. Your request must be made in writing and given to the Privacy Officer.
  • By law, we must agree to not share or limit your medical information if:
• It is for making payments or health care operations.
• We are not required by law to not share or limit the information.
• It is for an item or service you have paid for in full, out of pocket.

1. Look at it and get a copy of your health information in the way you choose, and we can provide. Pediatrica may charge a fee according to local procedures for paper copies of PHI, if the fee only includes the costs of copying and postage and is consistent with any limit set by state law. With respect to any fee Pediatrica may impose for providing PHI in electronic form, such fee shall not be greater than labor costs in responding to such request for PHI in electronic form; and, in Compliance with State and Federal law. In addition, you may be asked to fill out, sign, and return a Patient Record Request form.
2. Get Confidential (private) Communications: You may ask us to send papers that have your Protected Health Information (PHI) to an address different from the one you gave us, or to send the information in another way. Pediatrica reserves the right to request this in writing and will make bona fide efforts to grant reasonable requests. We may ask you to put this in writing, and we will try to accommodate any reasonable request. For example, you may ask us to send a copy of your medical records to a different address than your home address or send an electronic copy by email, fax, or in an electronic portal or other electronic application.
3. Ask for Changes to your Medical Records. Requests for medical records amendment should be made in writing by the person seeking record modification. Pediatrica shall act no later than sixty (60) days after receipt of such a request. There may be times when we may deny your request.
4. Know who your Information has been Shared with.
   • You may ask for a list (accounting) of people or organizations that we have shared your medical information with.
   • We will not go back more than 6 years before the date of your request. This list will not include when we have shared information:
     • With you
     • For your treatment
     • To get payment for your treatment
     • Allowed with your permission.
     • As described in this Notice

We are not required to agree to your request except as noted above. If we do agree, we will follow your request unless the information is needed for an emergency.

• Unlawful Access or Use of your Medical Information: You may have the right to be told if your medical information was accessed or used in a way that was not allowed or not secure. If the law requires us to tell you about this kind of access, use, or disclosure then we will tell you as soon as possible giving you the following information:
  • A description of what happened.
  • The types of medical information that was accessed, used or disclosed.
  • Things you can do to protect yourself from harm.
  • What we did about this
  • How and who to contact for more information
  • Get more information about your privacy rights or to make a complaint.

PATIENT CHOICES

As a patient you have choices in the way we share information as we:

• Share your medical information with relatives, friends and caregivers.
  • If you want us to, and agree, we will share your medical information with your family member, relative, close personal friend, or another person you chose. If, for some reason such as medical emergency, you are not able to agree or do not agree, we may use our professional judgment to decide if sharing your information is in your best interest. This includes information about your location and general condition.
• Contact you by mail, phone, text message or email about appointments and other health care related matters. We will use the contact information you give us when we mail, call, text or email you. Any message left on voice mail, with a person who answers the phone, text or in an email may include:
  • Your name
  • The clinic and location
  • The doctor or other health care provider you have the appointment with

We will follow anything reasonable you ask of us by sending an appointment reminder in a different way. We may contact you too:

• Follow up on test results, care given or treatment options.
  • Tell you about health-related products or services that may interest you offered by Pediatrica.
• Include your information in our patient directory.

Pediatrica’s Uses and Disclosures of Health Information

    We may Use and Share Information for:

1. Treatment
2. Billing of services
3. Resolution of claims for the health plans.
4. Run our organization.
5. Comply with the law.
6. Help with public health and safety issues.
7. Address workers’ compensation or requests from the government.
8. Request documents from external connected sites and display in Pediatrics medical record, i.e. health information exchange.
9. Usage of AI Technology for purposes of documenting medical information efficiently and accurately
10. Work with a medical examiner or funeral director.
11. Participate in organized health care arrangements.

For More Information or to Make Complaints

You may contact Pediatrica’s Privacy Officer for more information about:

• Your privacy rights
• If you believe we have violated your privacy rights
• If you do not agree with the decision, we made about access to your protected health information (PHI)

You may also make complaints in writing to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The Pediatrica Privacy Program will provide you with the address for the OCR. We will not take any action against you if you file a complaint with us or with the OCR, and we will not ask you not to file a complaint as a condition of treatment or payment.

You may contact the Privacy Program at:

Pediatrica Health Group, Inc.
75 Valencia Avenue
Suite 709
Coral Gables, Florida 33134

Phone: (786) 628-7583 or Email emuneton@pediatrica.com