NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

K and B Surgical Center
9033 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 210 Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310-746-4700

Effective Date: January 1, 2013

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.

FOR DETAILS ABOUT HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE INFORMATION COLLECTED ABOUT VISITORS TO OUR WEBSITE, PLEASE SEE OUR SEPARATE WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY

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 facility properly. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information and to provide individuals with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to 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

A. How This Medical Facility May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
B. When This Medical Facility May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information
C. Your Health Information Rights

1. Right to Request Special Privacy Protections
2. Right to Request Confidential Communications
3. Right to Inspect and Copy
4. Right to Amend or Supplement
5. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
6. Right to a Paper Copy of this Notice

D. Changes to this Notice of Privacy Practices
E. Complaints

A. How This Medical Facility May Use or Disclose Your Health Information

This medical facility collects health information about you and stores it in a server-based, electronic medical record. This is your medical record. The medical record is the property of this medical facility, 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 healthcare providers who will provide services which 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. With your expressed written consent, we may also disclose medical information to members of your family or others who can help you when you are sick or injured.

2. Payment. We use and disclose medical information about you to obtain payment for 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.  Individuals and companies such as our billing partners may also obtain and use your medical information to facilitate the billing process.

3. Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose medical information about you to operate this medical facility. 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 to protect the confidentiality and security of your medical information. Although federal law does not protect health information which is disclosed to someone other than another healthcare provider, health plan or healthcare clearinghouse, under California law all recipients of health care information are prohibited from re-disclosing it except as specifically required or permitted by law. 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 efforts to improve health or reduce health care costs, 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 respond to our phone call, we may leave this information on your voicemail or answering machine 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 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. 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 or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you, or to provide you with small gifts or reminders about our Center and its services. We may also encourage you to purchase a product or service when we see you. If you are currently an enrollee of a health plan, we may receive payment for communications to you in conjunction with our provision, coordination, or management of your health care and related services, including our coordination or management of your health care with a third party, our consultation with other health care providers relating to your care, or if we refer you for health care, but only to the extent these communications describe: 1) a provider’s participation in the health plan’s network, 2) the extent of your covered benefits, or 3) concerning the availability of more cost-effective pharmaceuticals.

We will not accept any payment for other marketing communications without your prior written authorization unless you have a chronic and seriously debilitating or life-threatening condition and we are making the communication in conjunction with our provision, coordination, or management of your health care and related services, including our coordination or management of your health care with a third party, our consultation with other health care providers relating to your care, or if we refer you for health care. If we make these types of communications to you while you have a chronic and seriously debilitating or life-threatening condition, we will tell you who is paying us, and we will also tell you how to stop these communications if you prefer not to receive them. We will not otherwise use or disclose your medical information for marketing purposes without your written authorization, and we will disclose whether we receive any payments for any marketing activity you authorize.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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, licensure and other proceedings, subject to the limitations imposed by federal and California law.

11. 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.

12. 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 of locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, complying with a court order, warrant, grand jury subpoena and other law enforcement purposes.

13. Coroners. We may, and are often required by law, to disclose your health information to coroners in connection with their investigations of deaths.

14. Organ or Tissue Donation. We may disclose your health information to organizations involved in procuring, banking or transplanting organs and tissues.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. Worker’s Compensation. We may disclose your health information as necessary to comply with worker’s 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 and/or other individuals involved in handling your case.

18. Change of Ownership. In the event that this medical facility 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.

19. 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 email address, we may use email 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

20. 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.

21. Fundraising. We may use or disclose your demographic information and the dates that you received treatment in order to contact you for fundraising activities. If you do not want to receive these materials, notify the Privacy Officer listed at the top of this Notice of Privacy Practices and we will stop any further fundraising communications.

B. When This Medical Facility May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information

Except as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices, this medical facility will 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 or if such information must be submitted in order for us to obtain payment by your health care plan for a part or portion of your overall care. We reserve the right to accept or reject any other request, and will notify you of our decision. From time to time, your commercial health care plan will request full records of all care provided, regardless of whether covered in full or in part by your plan; we reserve the right to provide all information necessary to obtain payment for all or part of your care regardless of amounts paid out of pocket. 

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 and whether you want to inspect it or get a copy of it. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee, as allowed by California and federal law. 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. If we deny your request to access your psychotherapy notes, you will have the right to have them transferred to another mental health professional. If your written request clearly, conspicuously and specifically asks us to send you or some other person or entity an electronic copy of your medical record, and we do not deny the request as discussed above, we will send a copy of the electronic health record as you requested, and will charge you no more than what it cost us to respond to your request.

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 facility’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. You also have the right to request that we add to your record a statement of up to 250 words concerning any statement or item you believe to be incomplete or incorrect.

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 facility, except that this medical facility 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 16 (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 facility has received notice from that agency or official that providing this accounting would be reasonably likely to impede their activities.

6. You have 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 this Notice. 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

Complaints about this Notice of Privacy Practices or how this medical practice handles your health information should be directed to our Privacy Officer listed at the top of this Notice of Privacy Practices.  If you are not satisfied with the manner in which this office handles a complaint, you may submit a formal complaint to:

Region IX
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
90 7th Street, Suite 4-100
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 437-8310; (415) 437-8311 (TDD)
(415) 437-8329 FAX
OCRMail@hhs.gov

The complaint form may be found at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/hipcomplaint.pdf. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

Patient Rights and Responsibilities

In the spirit of providing patients with the highest levels of quality care, protection and privacy, K and B Surgical Center has adopted and champions the following Patient Rights and Responsibilities:

Patient Rights include the right to:

• Exercise these rights without regard to sex, age or cultural, economic, educational, or religious background or the source of payment for his/her care.
• Be treated with respect, consideration, and dignity.
• Be provided with appropriate personal privacy, care in a safe setting, and free from all forms of abuse and harassment.
• Knowledge of the name of the physician who has primary responsibility for coordinating his/her care and the names and professional relationships of other physicians who will see him/her.
• Receive information from his/her physician about his illness, his/her course of treatment and his prospects for recovery in terms that he/she can understand.
• Receive as much information from his/her physician about any proposed treatment or procedure as he/she may need in order to give informed consent or to refuse this course of treatment. Except in emergencies, this information shall include a description of the procedure or treatment, the medically significant risks involved in each, and to know the name of the person who will carry out the procedure or treatment.
• Actively participate in decisions regarding his/her medical care to the extent permitted by law, this includes the right to refuse treatment or change his/her primary physician.
• Confidential treatment of disclosures and records whereby patients are given the opportunity to approve or refuse their release, except when required by law.
• Information for the provision of after-hour and emergency care.
• Information regarding fees for service, payment policies and financial obligations.
• Decline participation in experimental or trial studies.
• Receive marketing or advertising materials that reflects the services of the Centers in a way which is not misleading.
• Express their concerns and receive a response to their inquiries in a timely fashion.
• Self-determination including the right to accept or to refuse treatment and the right to formulate an Advance Directive.
• Know and understand what to expect related to their care and treatment.

Patient Responsibilities include the responsibility for:

• Providing complete and accurate information to the best of his/her ability about his/her health, any medications, including over-the-counter products and dietary supplements and any allergies or sensitivities.
• Asking for an explanation if you do not understand papers you are asked to sign or anything about your own or your child’s care.
• Gathering as much information as you need to make informed decisions.

• Being available so staff can teach you how to care for yourself or your child; we want to share our knowledge with you, but you must be prepared to learn.
• Following the care prescribed or recommended for you or your child by the physicians, nurses, and other members of the health care team; remember, if you refuse treatment or do not follow instructions, you are responsible for your actions.
• Respecting the rights and privacy of others.
• Assuring the financial obligations associated with your own or your child’s care are fulfilled.
• Being respectful of his/her personal property and that of other persons in the Center.
• Providing a responsible adult to transport you home from the facility and remain with you for 24 hours, if required by your provider.
• Informing his/her provider about any living will, medical power of attorney, or other directive that could affect his/her care.
• Taking an active role in ensuring safe patient care. Ask questions or state concerns while in our care. If you don’t understand, kindly ask again until you have fully understood the parameters of your care.

K and B Surgical Center

Facility Ownership:

Thank you for selecting K and B Surgical Center for your health care services. Your physician may or may not have an ownership interest in the Surgical Center as not all physicians who practice here have an ownership interest.  As a patient, you have the right to receive a list of all physician owners in this facility, upon request.  By signing this document, you acknowledge that you are aware that your physician may have an ownership interest in K and B Surgical Center, and you acknowledge that you have a right to have the procedure(s) performed elsewhere.

What is an ASC (Ambulatory Surgical Center)?

ASCs are facilities for surgical patients who do not need to be admitted to the hospital.  ASC patients typically arrive for admission, have surgery performed in a full-service operating room with specialized staff, recover safely and quickly from anesthesia and return home within hours of their surgery.  Some procedures require patients to stay for several hours to allow nurses to monitor their recovery.

Please know that our ASC is fully equipped to take care of any needs that might arise during your procedure.  Our staff is highly trained to work with our state of the art equipment.  We privilege only the finest surgeons and we continually strive to provide only the most enjoyable experiences to our patients.

What types of surgeries are performed at ASCs?

Depending on the ASC, centers may specialize in one service line such as plastic surgery or eye care, while other centers may offer multi-specialties such as ear, nose and throat procedures, gynecological procedures, general procedures, orthopedic procedures and podiatry procedures.

Our Center is a multispecialty Surgical Center, welcoming patients for a number of different procedures ranging from General Surgery to Weight Loss Surgery, Gastroenterology, Plastics, Urology, ENT, Orthopedics, Pediatric Surgery, Spine Surgery and several other types.

Why Choose an ASC?

ASCs are on the cutting edge of technology, often utilizing the most current surgical innovations with the least invasive techniques, allowing patients to return to their normal lifestyle sooner.  ASCs are efficient, understanding that everyone’s time is important. Their convenient surgical flow allows you less wait time and less bureaucracy.

K and B Surgical Center prides itself on providing top of the line care and service to patients with optimized accessibility and availability.  Our Center also offers a patient-friendly, comfort-focused environment.  The intimacy and one-on-one care of a Center like ours provides our patients with a personalized experience during which you can be assured that you are our priority and you are our focus.

K and B Surgical Center has also undergone a rigorous accreditation process, performed by a widely esteemed, independent accrediting agency, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC).  You will find this accreditation posted in the Patient Information Binder.

PATIENT CONCERNS AND/OR GRIEVANCES:

As part of our Mission to provide the highest level of care and service to our patients, we invite any and all feedback you might have.  At the end of your visit with us, you will be provided with a Patient Satisfaction Survey.  Please provide any feedback you think might be useful to our team and/or management as we continue to perfect the services we provide our patients.  Persons having a particular concern or grievance regarding K and B Surgical Center, including but not limited to, decisions regarding admission, treatment, discharge, denial of services, quality of services, courtesy of personnel or any other issue are encouraged to contact the Center Administrator:

K and B Surgical Center
9033 Wilshire Blvd. #210
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310.746.4700

Should you feel your concerns have not been addressed by K and B Surgical Center’s Administration, you are invited to escalate your feedback to the following agencies:

QIPS Hotline
Patientsafety@dhs.lacounty.gov
213.989.7233 or 800.611.4365
(QIPS works with medical facilities to respond to patient concerns.)

California State Medical Board
www.mbc.ca.gov
800.633.2322
(Specific concerns regarding Medical Doctors can be reported to this Board.)

California Department of Public Health
www.cdph.ca.gov

Office of the Medicare Beneficiary Ombudsman
www.cms.hhs.gov/center/ombudsman.asp

Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)
5250 Old Orchard Road, Unit 200
Skokie, IL 60077
847.853.6060

ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

An “Advance directive” is a general term that refers to your oral and written instructions about your future medical care, in the event that you become unable to speak for yourself. Each state regulates the use of advance directives differently. There are two types of advance directives: a living will and a medical power of attorney. If you would like a copy of the official State advance directive forms, visit http://www.calhealth.org/Download/AdvanceDirective_English.pdf. or http://www.calhealth.org/Download/AdvanceDirective_Spanish.pdf

OUR SURGERY CENTER’S ADVANCE DIRECTIVE POLICY:

The majority of procedures performed at the Surgery Center are considered to be of minimal risk. Of course, no surgery is without risk. You and your surgeon will have discussed the specifics of your procedure and the risks associated with your procedure, the expected recovery and the care after your surgery.

It is the policy of the Surgical Center, regardless of the contents of any advance directive or instructions from a health care surrogate or attorney in fact, that if an adverse event occurs during your treatment at the Surgery Center, the personnel at the Surgery Center will initiate resuscitative or other stabilizing measures and transfer you to an acute care hospital for further evaluation. At the acute care hospital further treatment or withdrawal of treatment measures already begun will be ordered in accordance with your wishes, advance directive, or health care power of attorney.

If you do have an advance directive please bring a copy to K and B Surgical Center on your date of surgery.