Notice of Privacy Practices

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how Loredo Hand Care Institute may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) to carry out treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, and for other purposes permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights regarding your PHI. This Notice is required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Please review it carefully.

1. Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Loredo Hand Care Institute is committed to protecting the privacy of your protected health information (PHI). PHI is information about you that may identify you and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health, the healthcare services you receive, or the payment for those services.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI, give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect.

2. Uses and Disclosures for Treatment, Payment, and Healthcare Operations

We may use and disclose your PHI without your specific written authorization for the following purposes:

Treatment

We may use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your hand, wrist, and elbow care. For example, we may share information with other physicians, hand therapists, imaging centers, pharmacies, surgery centers, and hospitals involved in your treatment. We may also share PHI with your referring physician so they can continue to coordinate your overall care.

Payment

We may use and disclose your PHI to obtain payment for the services we provide. This includes submitting claims to your health insurance plan, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (for veterans served through the VA Community Care Network), Medicare, Medicaid, workers’ compensation carriers, and other payers. We may also disclose PHI to collection agencies or legal counsel when necessary to pursue unpaid balances.

Healthcare Operations

We may use and disclose your PHI for our internal operations, including quality assessment, performance review, staff training, credentialing, accreditation, compliance audits, business planning, and general administrative functions. For example, we may review records to evaluate the quality of care we provide, train staff on best practices, and manage the practice’s day-to-day operations.

3. Other Uses and Disclosures Without Your Authorization

In the following situations, we may use or disclose your PHI without your authorization, as permitted or required by law:

• Required by law (state, federal, or local law).
• Public health activities, such as reporting communicable diseases, adverse events, or product defects to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, reported to appropriate authorities.
• Health oversight activities, such as audits, investigations, and inspections by state and federal health oversight agencies.
• Judicial and administrative proceedings, in response to a court order, subpoena, or discovery request, with appropriate safeguards.
• Law enforcement, when required by law or in response to a valid legal request.
• Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors, for the purposes of identification or determining the cause of death.
• Organ and tissue donation, to organizations involved in procurement, banking, or transplantation.
• Research, only with appropriate approval of an institutional review board or privacy board.
• Serious threat to health or safety, to prevent a serious and imminent threat to a person or the public.
• Military and veterans activities, when you are a member of the armed forces or a veteran.
• National security and intelligence activities, as permitted by law.
• Workers’ compensation, to the extent permitted by and required by applicable state law.

4. Uses and Disclosures That Require Your Written Authorization

Uses and disclosures of PHI not described above will be made only with your written authorization. This includes:

• Most uses and disclosures of PHI for marketing purposes
• Sale of PHI
• Psychotherapy notes, if any

You may revoke any written authorization you have given us, in writing, at any time. Revocation will not affect any uses or disclosures already made in reliance on your authorization.

5. Your Rights Regarding Your Protected Health Information

You have the following rights regarding the PHI we maintain about you.

Right to Inspect and Copy

You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI, including billing records, with limited exceptions. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies as permitted by law.

Right to Request Amendment

You have the right to request that we amend PHI we maintain about you if you believe it is inaccurate or incomplete. Requests must be in writing and must explain the reason for the amendment. We may deny the request in certain situations permitted by law. If we deny the request, you have the right to submit a written statement of disagreement.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures

You have the right to request a list of certain disclosures of your PHI we have made during the six years prior to your request, excluding disclosures for treatment, payment, healthcare operations, and certain other purposes. One accounting per 12-month period is provided without charge; a reasonable fee may apply to additional requests in the same period.

Right to Request Restrictions

You have the right to request that we restrict certain uses and disclosures of your PHI for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. We are not required to agree to the restriction except where the disclosure is for payment or healthcare operations and relates to an item or service you paid for in full out of pocket.

Right to Request Confidential Communications

You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you may ask that we contact you only at a specific phone number or only at a specific mailing address. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice

You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically. A paper copy is available at the reception desk and can be mailed to you upon request.

Right to Revoke Prior Authorizations

You have the right to revoke in writing any prior authorization you have given us, except to the extent we have already taken action in reliance on it.

Right to Notification of a Breach

You have the right to be notified in the event of a breach of unsecured PHI that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

6. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of the rights described above, please submit a written request to our privacy officer at the address below. Standard forms are available at the reception desk and on request by phone.

7. How to File a Complaint

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

With Loredo Hand Care Institute

Submit a written complaint to our privacy officer at the address above, or call 972-939-4974 and ask for the privacy officer.

With the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

You may file a written complaint with the Office for Civil Rights:

8. Changes to This Notice

We reserve the right to change this Notice and make the revised Notice effective for all PHI we maintain, including PHI created or received prior to the effective date of the revision. The current Notice will be posted in the office and on our website, with the effective date at the top.

9. Effective Date and Contact

This Notice is effective as of 2026-04-19.

Questions about this Notice may be directed to our privacy officer at the contact information above.