Privacy Practices

Effective Date: September 1, 2026.

Purpose

This office is committed to compliance with all federal and state laws that pertain to any aspect of the clinical practices or business procedures of this office. In particular, privacy and security rules relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), along with related state laws, are integral to matters of privacy, medical records, the confidentiality of communications, and other topics.

Health information is used for a variety of legitimate purposes, including patient care, quality review, education, research, public health, and legal and financial interests.

Regardless of the use or users, patients must be assured that the information they share with health care professionals will remain confidential. Failure to provide this assurance could result in patients giving incomplete and even false information, which could affect the quality and outcome of care as well as the reliability of the information. Improper disclosure of health care information may cause significant harm to a person's privacy, health care, reputation, and may unfairly affect the ability of a person to obtain employment, education, insurance, and credit.

Policy

The HIPAA Privacy Policy applies to all protected information (PHI) in this office. This includes information that is stored and transmitted electronically, paper records, and oral communications. PHI includes any information as it relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health condition of our patients, any treatments they receive, and health care payment information.

Under all circumstances, when PHI must be communicated either within this office or to a third party, only the minimal amount of information is to be given that is necessary to accomplish the appropriate purpose that will be divulged.

PHI that is shared as part of delivering quality patient care will not be scrutinized under the minimal necessary guidelines.

Only medical records and files that are immediately necessary for patient care are to be kept at workstations. They should be filed appropriately if not in use at the moment.

Even acknowledging or indicating that a person is a patient of this practice is inappropriate.

A patient's presence in the clinic could indicate the nature of the patient's illness and should not be disclosed to anyone not involved in the immediate care of the patient. Any unauthorized disclosure by employees could render the clinic liable for damages on grounds of defamation or invasion of the right of privacy.

Vintage Family Medicine and Pediatrics · 860 Hebron Parkway, Suite 203, Lewisville, TX 75057-5143