Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective date: April 14, 2003

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.

William G. Brown M.D. Dermatology & Associates, LLC is committed to the privacy and confidentiality of your health information which includes information that identifies you and tells about your past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition. William G. Brown M.D. Dermatology & Associates is required by law to protect the privacy of this information and to provide you with a copy of this notice which describes the health information privacy practices of our office and it's medical staff. A copy of our current notice will always be posted in our patient waiting area. You will also be able to obtain your own copy by requesting one from our administrative staff at the time of your visit.

Requirement for Written Authorization
Unless otherwise provided for in this notice, William G. Brown M.D. Dermatology & Associates generally will obtain your written authorization before using your health information or sharing it with others outside of our office. If you provide us with written authorization, you may revoke that authorization at any time, except to the extent that we have already relied upon it. To revoke an authorization, please provide written notice to the Office Manager at 1720 S. Crain Highway Suite 101, Glen Burnie, Maryland 21061.

How we may use and disclose your health information
1. Treatment - We may share your health information with doctors or nurses taking care of you, and they may use that information to learn more about your medical condition or treat you. For example, it may be necessary to discuss your medical condition with other physicians or health professionals in order to diagnose and treat your specific medical condition.

2. Payment - It may be necessary for our office to share your medical information with others in order to obtain payment for your medical services. For example, it may be necessary to release operative reports or diagnosis codes to your health insurance carrier or prescription plan in order to obtain the proper benefits for services provided or for prescription coverage.

3. Health Care Operations - We may use your health information or share it with others in order to conduct our normal business operations. For example, we may use your health information to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you.

4. Business Associates - We may share your health information with another company that performs business services for us such as our medical transcriptionist and contracted computer software provider. If so, we will have a written contract to ensure that all business associates protect that privacy of your health information.

5. Appointment Reminders, Follow Up, Treatment Alternatives, Benefits and Services - We may use your health information when we contact you with a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or services at our office or as a follow up to determine your well being or satisfaction after receiving care at our office. We also may use your health information to recommend possible treatment alternatives.

6. Friends and Family Involved In Your Care - If you do not object, we may share your health information with a family member, relative, close personal friend, or any other person identified by you who is involved in your care or payment for that care. This includes discussion of biopsy results, lab test results, plans for treatment and/or complications of treatment.

7. Emergencies - We may use or disclose your health information if you need emergency treatment or if we are required by law to treat you but are not able to obtain your written authorization. If this happens, we will try to obtain your written authorization as soon as we reasonably can after we treat you.

8. As Required by Law - We may disclose your health information if we are required by law to do so.

9. Public Health Activities - We may disclose your health information to authorized public health officials so they may carry out their public health activities. This includes reporting certain diseases and cancers to the proper governmental agencies.

10. Employment, School, or Day Care Related - We may release some health information to your employer or school if necessary to ensure your safety and health as well as the safety and health of other students or employees. For example, we may release information about contagious diseases to your school or day care facility or release information to your employer to prevent exposure to agents which may impede your treatment and recovery.

11. Victims of Abuse or Neglect - We may release your health information to a public health authority that is authorized to receive reports of abuse and neglect when the law requires or permits such reports. We will make every effort to obtain your permission before releasing this information, but in some cases we may be required or authorized to act without your permission.

12. Health Oversight Activities - We may release your health information to government agencies authorized to conduct audits, investigations, and inspections of health care facilities.

13. Lawsuits and Disputes - We may disclose your health information if required by law or an order of a court that is handling a lawsuit or dispute.

14. Law Enforcement - We may disclose your health information to law enforcement officials (under limited circumstances with some restrictions).

15. To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety - In limited circumstances, we may use your health information or share it with others when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety, or the health and safety of another person or the public.

16. National Security and Intelligence Activities or Protective Services - We may disclose your health information to authorized federal officials who are conducting national security and intelligence activities.

17. Inmates and Correctional Institutions - If you are an inmate or you are detained by a law enforcement officer, we may disclose your health information to the prison officials or law enforcement officers if necessary to provide you with health care, or maintain safety, security and good order at the place where you are confined.

18. Research - In most cases, we will ask for your written authorization before using your health information or sharing it with others to conduct research. However, under some circumstances, we may use or disclose your health information without your authorization if we obtain approval through a special review process to ensure that research without your authorization poses minimal risk to your privacy.

Your Rights to Access and Control Your Health Information

1. Right to Inspect and Copy Records - You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of any of your health information maintained in our medical and billing records. To inspect or obtain a copy of your health information, please submit your request to the administrative staff of this office. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, postage or preparing a summary of information we use to fulfill your request. These fees are set by Maryland Law.

2. Right to Amend Records - If you believe that the health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept in our records. Please submit all requests for amendment to the administrative staff of this office. Please include the reasons why you think we should make the amendment.

3. Right to Request Additional Privacy Protections - You have the right to request that we further restrict the way we use and disclose your health information to treat your condition for that treatment. You may also request that we limit how we disclose information about you to family or friends involved in your care. We are not required to agree to your request for a restriction, and in some cases the restriction you request may not be permitted under law. However, if you do agree, we will be bound by our agreement unless the information is needed to provide you with emergency treatment or comply with the law.

4. Right to Request Confidential Communications - You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a more confidential way. For example, you may request that we contact you at work instead of at home or vice versa.

5. How io Obtain a Copy of Revised Notices - We may change our privacy practices from time to time. If we do, we will revise this notice so you will have an accurate summary of our practices. We will post any revised notice in our office waiting room area. You may obtain an updated notice of our privacy practices at the time of your next visit. The effective date of the notice will always be printed on the first page of the notice.

6. How to File a Complaint - If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with us, please contact the Office Manager in writing, including a description of your complaint and contact information so that we can thoroughly investigate and respond to your complaint. No one will retaliate or take action against you for filing a complaint.