Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.
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.
Kristen Lee, MD, Inc. is required by law to protect the privacy of your protected health information, provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices, and follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect.
Your Rights
You have the right to:
Get a Copy of Your Medical Record
You may ask to see or receive an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. We will provide a copy or summary of your health information within the time required by law.
We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee as permitted by law.
Ask Us to Correct Your Medical Record
You may ask us to correct health information about you that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. We may deny your request in some circumstances, but we will explain why in writing.
Request Confidential Communications
You may ask us to contact you in a specific way, such as by phone, secure portal, mail, or at a different address. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
Ask Us to Limit What We Use or Share
You may ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not always required to agree to your request, but we will consider it.
If you pay for a service out of pocket in full and ask us not to share that information with your health plan for payment or health care operations, we will agree unless a law requires us to share it.
Get a List of Certain Disclosures
You may ask for an accounting of certain disclosures of your health information. This does not include all disclosures, such as disclosures made for treatment, payment, health care operations, or disclosures you authorized.
Get a Copy of This Notice
You may ask for a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically.
Choose Someone to Act for You
If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person may exercise your rights and make choices about your health information, as permitted by law.
File a Complaint
You may file a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. You may contact the Practice directly using the contact information listed on this website.
You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Your Choices
For certain health information, you may tell us your choices about what we share. You may tell us whether you want us to share information with family members, close friends, others involved in your care, or others involved in payment for your care.
If you are not able to tell us your preference, such as in an emergency, we may share information if we believe it is in your best interest.
We generally will not use or disclose your health information for marketing purposes or sell your health information without your written authorization.
Psychotherapy notes, if maintained separately from the medical record, receive special protection and generally require your written authorization before they are used or disclosed, except in limited circumstances allowed by law.
Our Uses and Disclosures
We may use and share your health information in the following ways:
Treatment
We may use and share your health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your care. For example, we may communicate with another treating clinician, therapist, primary care doctor, pharmacy, hospital, or other health care provider involved in your care.
Payment
We may use and share your health information to bill and receive payment for services. For example, we may provide information needed for superbills, payment processing, or collection of unpaid balances.
Health Care Operations
We may use and share your health information to run the Practice, improve care, train staff, conduct quality review, perform administrative tasks, and contact you when necessary.
Appointment Reminders and Communications
We may use your information to contact you about appointments, scheduling, forms, billing, treatment-related matters, or practice updates.
Business Associates
We may share health information with third-party service providers who perform services for the Practice, such as electronic health record platforms, billing services, secure messaging platforms, payment processors, legal counsel, accountants, consultants, or IT vendors. When required, these vendors must agree to protect your information.
Other Uses and Disclosures Allowed or Required by Law
We may use or disclose your health information when allowed or required by law, including for public health and safety, reporting suspected abuse or neglect, health oversight activities, judicial or administrative proceedings, law enforcement purposes, workers' compensation, coroners or medical examiners, research under certain legally approved conditions, avoiding a serious and imminent threat to health or safety, military or national security purposes when applicable, and compliance with federal, state, or local law.
Mental Health and Substance Use Information
Mental health information may receive additional protections under federal and California law. Substance use disorder treatment records may also receive additional protections under federal law if the Practice is subject to those rules.
We will only use or disclose specially protected information as permitted or required by applicable law.
Uses and Disclosures That Usually Require Written Authorization
We generally need your written authorization before we use or disclose psychotherapy notes, use or disclose your information for marketing purposes, sell your protected health information, release information to people or organizations not otherwise permitted by law, or release certain specially protected information when authorization is required by law.
You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already relied on it.
Reproductive Health Information
We will follow federal and California law regarding the privacy of reproductive health information. We will not use or disclose protected health information for prohibited purposes under applicable law.
Breach Notification
If there is a breach of unsecured protected health information that affects you, we will notify you as required by law.
Our Responsibilities
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information, give you this Notice of Privacy Practices, follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect, notify you if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information, and not use or disclose your information other than as described here unless you authorize us in writing.
Changes to This Notice
We may change the terms of this Notice, and the changes may apply to information we already have about you. The updated Notice will be available upon request and posted on our website.
Contact
For questions about this Notice or to exercise your privacy rights, please contact the Practice using the contact information listed on this website.
Contact the Practice