Privacy Policy & HIPAA

Website privacy policy

Website visits

Our website uses tools such as Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages people use. These tools use cookies and may record your IP address, browser type, and the pages you view. They do not receive your name, contact details, or anything you type into a form. You can block cookies in your browser settings.

We also use CallRail, a call-tracking service, to see which pages and ads lead to phone calls. When you call the number on our site, CallRail records your phone number and the date, time, and length of the call. Calls to this number are recorded.

Online booking

When you book online, we collect your name, email, phone number, and the reason for your visit. We use this only to schedule and prepare for your visit.

Links to other websites

Our site links to other websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices.

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HIPAA: your health information

What is protected health information (PHI)?

Protected Health Information (PHI) is any health information that can identify you. At our office, that includes your health and sexual history, your symptoms, exam findings, rapid test and lab results, and any treatment or prescription we give you.

We use and share PHI only as the law allows, and only as much as needed to care for you, run our office, or meet legal duties.

Information we collect

At your visit

• Name, date of birth, and contact details
• Your health and sexual history, and your symptoms
• Exam findings and test results
• Your insurance information, if you use insurance
• A government-issued ID with your home address, when the lab bills you directly
• Payment information

By phone

When you call our office, we may collect information to answer questions or explain your visit. Only authorized staff can access it.

How we use your information

• Examine you and run your tests
• Give you your results and treat you when treatment is needed
• Send lab samples to the lab and track your results
• Send prescriptions to the pharmacy you choose
• Bill your insurance or take payment
• Keep your medical record
• Meet legal and professional requirements

We do not sell, rent, or trade your information.

Who sees your test results

We give your results to you. Rapid test results can be given to you by phone or by email. Regular email is not encrypted. We do not share your results with a partner, family member, employer, or anyone else without your written permission, unless the law requires it.

Lab testing

Lab tests are processed by Northwell Health Labs or Quest Diagnostics. We send the lab your sample and the information needed to run and bill the test. The lab sends your results to our office. Northwell also sends your results to you through its Labfly app. If you use insurance, the lab bills your insurance directly. If you do not use insurance, Northwell bills you at your home address. Each lab handles your information under its own privacy practices.

Insurance

If you use insurance, we send your insurance company the information needed to bill your visit. Your insurance company may send a statement about the visit to the person who holds the plan.

Public health reporting

New York law requires doctors and labs to report certain positive test results to the health department. These include HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and hepatitis B and C. The health department keeps these reports confidential.

HIV-related information

New York law gives HIV-related information extra protection. We release it only with your specific written permission, or when the law allows or requires it.

Other sharing

We may share information with:

• The pharmacy you choose, when we prescribe medication
• Our lab, payment processor, online booking, call-tracking, and record-system vendors, who must keep it confidential under written agreements
• Courts or government agencies, when the law requires it

How we protect your information

• Secure electronic medical records
• Access limited to authorized staff
• Staff trained on privacy
• Paper records kept locked

No system is fully secure, but we follow standard safeguards to lower the risk. We keep medical records for as long as New York law requires.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• Get a copy of your medical records and test results
• Ask us to correct information you believe is wrong
• Ask for a list of who we shared your information with
• Ask us to contact you in a certain way or at a certain address
• Ask us not to share a visit with your insurance when you pay for it in full yourself
• Get a copy of this policy
• File a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not treat you differently for filing a complaint.

To use any of these rights, contact our office.

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Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when laws or our office practices change. Updates will be posted here with a new effective date.

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Contact us

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