Privacy Policy
The content on Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) website is intended to be general information and is provided only as a service. It is not medical advice and should not be taken as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat a health condition and is in no way meant to be a substitute for professional medical care.
As cosmetic and plastic surgery technology and surgical approaches change daily and every potential patient is unique, Azad Plastic Surgery does not warrant (either expressed or implied) the accuracy, completeness or appropriateness of this information to anyone. This website could contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. A personal consultation would be necessary to gather the appropriate personalized details including more complete information on choices, alternatives and possible complications for making the right cosmetic surgery decisions. Kamran Azad, MD and Azad Plastic Surgery will not be liable for any direct or indirect, incidental or consequential damage caused by use or misuse of this worldwide website. This would include lost revenues, profits or loss of future earnings.
Unless otherwise noted, all procedure photos are patients of Dr. Kamran Azad’s and reflect his work as such. Results vary; those of the photographs are exceptional. Photos contained within the menu bars of the website are models and not meant to reflect any expectation of surgical outcome. Patient testimonials are quotes from actual patients of Dr. Kamran Azad but do not imply any warranty or guarantee of individual results.
Kamran Azad, MD and Azad Plastic Surgery is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy applies to the Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) website and governs data collection and usage. By using the Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) website, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.
Contents
Collection of your personal information
Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) collects personally identifiable information, such as your e-mail address, name, home or work address or telephone number. Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) also collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your ZIP code, age, gender, preferences, interests and favorites.
There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by Kamran Azad, MD. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring website addresses. This information is used by Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) website.
Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery)does not read any of your private online communications.
Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) encourages you to review the privacy statements of websites you choose to link to from Kamran Azad, MD so that you can understand how those websites collect, use and share your information. Kamran Azad, MD is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on websites outside of the Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) and Kamran Azad, MD family of websites.
Use of your personal information
Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) collects and uses your personal information to operate the Kamran Azad, MD website and deliver the services you have requested. Kamran Azad, MD also uses your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) and its affiliates. Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.
Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to Kamran Azad, MD, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.
Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.
Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) keeps track of the websites and pages our customers visit within Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery), in order to determine what Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.
Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) websites will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery); and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery), or the public.
The Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) website use “cookies” to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) pages, or register with Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) site or services, a cookie helps Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) features that you customized.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) services or websites you visit.
The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires all health care records and other individually identifiable health information used or disclosed to us in any form, whether electronically, on paper, or orally, be kept confidential. This federal law gives you, the patient, significant new rights to understand and control how your health information is used. HIPAA provides penalties for covered entitles that misuse personal health information. As required by HIPAA, we have prepared this explanation of how we are required to maintain the privacy of your health information and how we may use and disclose your health information.
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Kamran Azad, MD
Plastic Surgeon
Azad Plastic Surgery
407-848-3400
Effective Date: January 1, 2015
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.
We understand the importance of privacy and are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of your medical information. We make a record of the medical care we provide and may receive such records from others. We use these records to provide or enable other health care providers to provide quality medical care, to obtain payment for services provided to you as allowed by your health plan and to enable us to meet our professional and legal obligations to operate this medical practice properly. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information, to provide individuals with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information, and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information. This notice describes how we may use and disclose your medical information. It also describes your rights and our legal obligations with respect to your medical information. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact our Privacy Officer listed above.
Table of contents
1. How This Medical Practice May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
2. When This Medical Practice May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information
3. Your Health Information Rights
– Right to Request Special Privacy Protections
– Right to Request Confidential Communications
– Right to Inspect and Copy
– Right to Amend or Supplement
– Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
– Right to a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice
4. Changes to this Notice of Privacy Practices Complaint
A. How This Medical Practice May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
This medical practice collects health information about you and stores it in a chart and some information on a computer. This is your medical record. The medical record is the property of this medical practice, but the information in the medical record belongs to you. The law permits us to use or disclose your health information for the following purposes:
1. Treatment. We use medical information about you to provide your medical care. We disclose medical information to our employees and others who are involved in providing the care you need. For example, we may share your medical information with other physicians or other health care providers who will provide services that we do not provide. Or we may share this information with a pharmacist who needs it to dispense a prescription to you, or a laboratory that performs a test. We may also disclose medical information to members of your family or others who can help you when you are sick or injured, or after you die.
2. Payment. We use and disclose medical information about you to obtain payment for some of the services we provide. For example, we give your health plan the information it requires before it will pay us. We may also disclose information to other health care providers to assist them in obtaining payment for services they have provided to you.
3. Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose medical information about you to operate this medical practice. For example, we may use and disclose this information to review and improve the quality of care we provide, or the competence and qualifications of our professional staff. Or we may use and disclose this information to get your health plan to authorize services or referrals. We may also use and disclose this information as necessary for medical reviews, legal services and audits, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance programs and business planning and management. We may also share your medical information with our “business associates,” such as our billing service, that perform administrative services for us. We have a written contract with each of these business associates that contains terms requiring them and their subcontractors to protect the confidentiality and security of your protected health information. We may also share your information with other health care providers, health care clearinghouses or health plans that have a relationship with you, when they request this information to help them with their quality assessment and improvement activities, their patient-safety activities, their population-based efforts to improve health or reduce health care costs, their protocol development, case management or care-coordination activities, their review of competence, qualifications and performance of health care professionals, their training programs, their accreditation, certification or licensing activities, or their health care fraud and abuse detection and compliance efforts.
4. Appointment Reminders. We may use and disclose medical information to contact and remind you about appointments. If you do not answer, we may leave this information in a voicemail or in a message left with the person answering the phone.
5. Sign In Sheet. We may use and disclose medical information about you by having you sign in when you arrive at our office. We may also call out your name when we are ready to see you.
6. Notification and Communication With Family. We may disclose your health information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care about your location, your general condition or, unless you had instructed us otherwise, in the event of your death. In the event of a disaster, we may disclose information to a relief organization so that they may coordinate these notification efforts. We may also disclose information to someone who is involved with your care or helps pay for your care. If you are able and available to agree or object, we will give you the opportunity to object prior to making these disclosures, although we may disclose this information in a disaster even over your objection if we believe it is necessary to respond to the emergency circumstances. If you are unable or unavailable to agree or object, our health professionals will use their best judgment in communication with your family and others.
7. Marketing. Provided we do not receive any payment for making these communications, we may contact you to give you information about products or services related to your treatment, case management or care coordination, or to direct or recommend other treatments, therapies, health care providers or settings of care that may be of interest to you. We may similarly describe products or services provided by this practice and tell you which health plans this practice participates in. We may also encourage you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and get recommended tests, participate in a disease management program, provide you with small gifts, tell you about government sponsored health programs or encourage you to purchase a product or service when we see you, for which we may be paid. Finally, we may receive compensation which covers our cost of reminding you to take and refill your medication, or otherwise communicate about a drug or biologic that is currently prescribed for you. We will not otherwise use or disclose your medical information for marketing purposes or accept any payment for other marketing communications without your prior written authorization. The authorization will disclose whether we receive any compensation for any marketing activity you authorize, and we will stop any future marketing activity to the extent you revoke that authorization.
8. Sale of Health Information. We will not sell your health information without your prior written authorization. The authorization will disclose that we will receive compensation for your health information if you authorize us to sell it, and we will stop any future sales of your information to the extent that you revoke that authorization.
9. Required by Law. As required by law, we will use and disclose your health information, but we will limit our use or disclosure to the relevant requirements of the law. When the law requires us to report abuse, neglect or domestic violence, or respond to judicial or administrative proceedings, or to law enforcement officials, we will further comply with the requirement set forth below concerning those activities.
10. Public Health. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to public health authorities for purposes related to: preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability; reporting child, elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect; reporting domestic violence; reporting to the Food and Drug Administration problems with products and reactions to medications; and reporting disease or infection exposure. When we report suspected elder or dependent adult abuse or domestic violence, we will inform you or your personal representative promptly unless in our best professional judgment, we believe the notification would place you at risk of serious harm or would require informing a personal representative we believe is responsible for the abuse or harm.
11. Health Oversight Activities. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to health oversight agencies during the course of audits, investigations, inspections, public utilization and policy, licensure and other proceedings, subject to the limitations imposed by law.
12. Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information in the course of any administrative or judicial proceeding to the extent expressly authorized by a court or administrative order. We may also disclose information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process if reasonable efforts have been made to notify you of the request and you have not objected, or if your objections have been resolved by a court or administrative order.
13. Law Enforcement. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for purposes such as identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, complying with a court order, warrant, grand jury subpoena and other law enforcement purposes.
14. Coroners. We may, and are often required by law, to disclose your health information to coroners in connection with their investigations of deaths.
15. Organ or Tissue Donation. We may disclose your health information to organizations involved in procuring, banking or transplanting organs and tissues.
16. Public Safety. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to appropriate persons in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or the general public.
17. Proof of Immunization. We will disclose proof of immunization to a school that is required to have it before admitting a student where you have agreed to the disclosure on behalf of yourself or your dependent.
18. Specialized Government Functions. We may disclose your health information for military or national security purposes or to correctional institutions or law enforcement officers that have you in their lawful custody.
19. Workers’ Compensation. We may disclose your health information as necessary to comply with workers’ compensation laws. For example, to the extent your care is covered by workers’ compensation, we will make periodic reports to your employer about your condition. We are also required by law to report cases of occupational injury or occupational illness to the employer or workers’ compensation insurer.
20. Change of Ownership. In the event that this medical practice is sold or merged with another organization, your health information/record will become the property of the new owner, although you will maintain the right to request that copies of your health information be transferred to another physician or medical group.
21. Breach Notification. In the case of a breach of unsecured protected health information, we will notify you as required by law. If you have provided us with a current e-mail address, we may use e-mail to communicate information related to the breach. In some circumstances our business associate may provide the notification. We may also provide notification by other methods as appropriate.
22. Research. We may disclose your health information to researchers conducting research with respect to which your written authorization is not required as approved by an Institutional Review Board or privacy board, in compliance with governing law.
B. When This Medical Practice May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information
Except as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices, this medical practice will, consistent with its legal obligations, not use or disclose health information which identifies you without your written authorization. If you do authorize this medical practice to use or disclose your health information for another purpose, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.
C. Your Health Information Rights
1. Right to Request Special Privacy Protections. You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information by a written request specifying what information you want to limit, and what limitations on our use or disclosure of that information you wish to have imposed. If you tell us not to disclose information to your commercial health plan concerning health care items or services for which you paid for in full out-of-pocket, we will abide by your request, unless we must disclose the information for treatment or legal reasons. We reserve the right to accept or reject any other request, and will notify you of our decision.
2. Right to Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to request that you receive your health information in a specific way or at a specific location. For example, you may ask that we send information to a particular e-mail account or to your work address. We will comply with all reasonable requests submitted in writing which specify how or where you wish to receive these communications.
3. Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy your health information, with limited exceptions. To access your medical information, you must submit a written request detailing what information you want access to, whether you want to inspect it or get a copy of it, and if you want a copy, your preferred form and format. We will provide copies in your requested form and format if it is readily producible, or we will provide you with an alternative format you find acceptable, or if we can’t agree and we maintain the record in an electronic format, your choice of a readable electronic or hardcopy format. We will also send a copy to any other person you designate in writing. We will charge a reasonable fee which covers our costs for labor, supplies, postage, and if requested and agreed to in advance, the cost of preparing an explanation or summary. We may deny your request under limited circumstances. If we deny your request to access your child’s records or the records of an incapacitated adult you are representing because we believe allowing access would be reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to the patient, you will have a right to appeal our decision.
4. Right to Amend or Supplement. You have a right to request that we amend your health information that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. You must make a request to amend in writing, and include the reasons you believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete. We are not required to change your health information, and will provide you with information about this medical practice’s denial and how you can disagree with the denial. We may deny your request if we do not have the information, if we did not create the information (unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment), if you would not be permitted to inspect or copy the information at issue, or if the information is accurate and complete as is. If we deny your request, you may submit a written statement of your disagreement with that decision, and we may, in turn, prepare a written rebuttal. All information related to any request to amend will be maintained and disclosed in conjunction with any subsequent disclosure of the disputed information.
5. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by this medical practice, except that this medical practice does not have to account for the disclosures provided to you or pursuant to your written authorization, or as described in paragraphs 1 (treatment), 2 (payment), 3 (health care operations), 6 (notification and communication with family) and 18 (specialized government functions) of Section A of this Notice of Privacy Practices or disclosures for purposes of research or public health which exclude direct patient identifiers, or which are incident to a use or disclosure otherwise permitted or authorized by law, or the disclosures to a health oversight agency or law enforcement official to the extent this medical practice has received notice from that agency or official that providing this accounting would be reasonably likely to impede their activities.
6. Right to a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice. You have a right to notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information, including a right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices, even if you have previously requested its receipt by e-mail. If you would like to have a more detailed explanation of these rights or if you would like to exercise one or more of these rights, contact our Privacy Officer listed at the top of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
D. Changes to this Notice of Privacy Practices
We reserve the right to amend this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time in the future. Until such amendment is made, we are required by law to comply with the terms of this Notice currently in effect. After an amendment is made, the revised Notice of Privacy Protections will apply to all protected health information that we maintain, regardless of when it was created or received. We will keep a copy of the current notice posted in our reception area, and a copy will be available at each appointment. We will also post the current notice on our website.
E. Complaints
Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you have any questions regarding this notice or our health information privacy policies or if you believe that Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) has not adhered to this statement, please contact Kamran Azad, MD (Azad Plastic Surgery) at [email protected]. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.