Privacy Practices

Treatment. We will use and share your medical record to provide, coordinate and manage your healthcare treatment and related services. We may also share your health information with other physicians who may be treating you. For example, your medical information also may be shared with care providers outside Natural Medicine of Seattle to whom you have been referred so that the care provider has the information needed to properly diagnose or treat you.

Payment. We may use and share your medical information to be paid for the care and services we provided you. For example, we may contact your insurance company to learn if a service is covered. We may bill you or your insurance company for the services we provide.

Health-care Operations. We need to use and share your health information to run our health-care business. We may use or share your information for several reasons. For example:  Our staff may use your medical information to make sure that you and other patients get the best possible care. Medical students may see the information as part of their training. Others on our staff may use it to make sure that billing is being done correctly. In certain special conditions, other health-care providers may get your information from us to run their businesses.

Business Associates. We may share your medical information with another company or organization, called a “business associate” that we hire to provide a service to us or on our behalf. We will only share your information if the business associate has agreed in writing to keep it private. For example: A business associate is a company that submits bills on our behalf to your insurance company.

Appointment Reminders. We may contact you to remind you of an appointment or to change one. We may also let you know that it is time for a follow-up appointment or a regular check-up.

Health-Related Benefits, Services and Treatment Alternatives. We may tell you about interesting health-related benefits or services such as newsletters, announcements, possible treatments or alternatives.

Required Disclosures. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services may investigate privacy violations. If your health information is requested as part of an investigation, we must share your information with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. We will share your information if they ask for it as part of an investigation of a privacy violation. Under the same laws, we must give you information in your medical record. We are allowed to keep some information from you.

Required by Law. We must share medical information if federal, state or local law says so.

Public Health and Safety. We may share your medical information for public health reasons. These include:

• to prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
• to report births and deaths;
• to report child abuse or neglect;
• to report information to the FDA about the products it oversees;
• to let you know that you may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for getting or spreading a disease or condition; or
• to your employer in certain limited instances.

Abuse and Neglect. The law may require us to report suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence to state and federal agencies. Your information may be shared with these agencies for this purpose. Generally, you will be told that we are sharing this information with these agencies.

Health Oversight Activities. Certain health agencies are in charge of overseeing health-care systems and government programs or to make sure that civil rights laws are being followed. We may share your information with these agencies for these purposes.

Legal Proceedings. If a court or administrative authority orders us to do so, we may release your health records. We will only share the information required by the order. If we receive any other legal request, we may also release your health record. However, for other requests we will only release the information if we are told that you know about it, had a chance to object and did not.

Law Enforcement. We may share health information if a law enforcement official asks for it:

• to respond to a court order, warrant, summons or other similar process;
• to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person; or
• to obtain information about an actual or suspected victim of a crime.

We may share information with a law enforcement official:

• if we believe a death was the result of a crime;
• to report crimes on our property; or
• in an emergency.

Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. We may share health information with a coroner or medical examiner to identify a dead person or find the cause of death. We also may release health information to funeral directors if they need it to do their job.

To Prevent a Serious Threat to Safety. We may use and share your medical information to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of others.

Special Governmental Functions. We may share your medical information with:

Authorized federal officials:

• for intelligence, counter-intelligence and other national security activities authorized by law; or
• to protect the president.

Armed forces command authorities or the Department of Veteran’s Affairs:

• to see if you are fit for military duty or eligible for veterans health services; or
• to see if you are medically fit to receive a security clearance by the Department of State.

Correctional facility or law enforcement official or agency if you are an inmate or under the custody of a law enforcement official or agency, if necessary, to:

• help the correctional facility provide you with health care; or
• protect the health and safety of you and/or others.

Workers Compensation. We may share your health information with agencies or individuals to follow workers compensation laws or other similar programs.