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HIPAA Privacy Policy
Elite MedSpa + Wellness Center
Notice of Privacy Practices
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
When you have a treatment or procedure at Elite MedSpa + Wellness Center, you give information about yourself and your health to our medical providers and staff. This information, along with the record of the care you receive, is called Protected Health Information (PHI).
Your PHI may include details about your symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, test results, and payment information. It may be stored in paper form and/or electronically on our secure computer systems. We use this information to provide you with excellent medical care, to comply with legal requirements, and to improve the services we offer.
We use your PHI within our practice and may share it with outside health care providers or service partners when needed for your care, our operations, or other permitted purposes.
This Notice explains how we use and share your health information, and when we must get your specific permission before doing so.
We are required by law to:
- Maintain the privacy of your PHI
- Provide you with this Notice describing our legal duties and privacy practices
- Abide by the terms of this Notice currently in effect
- Notify you promptly if a breach of your unsecured PHI occurs
How We May Use and Disclose Your PHI Without Authorization
We may use and disclose your PHI for the following purposes without your written authorization, except where prohibited by Massachusetts or federal law:
1. Treatment
We may share your PHI with physicians, nurses, aestheticians, and other members of your care team, both within our facility and with other providers involved in your care. This ensures your treatment is coordinated and effective.
Examples:
- Sharing your medical history and treatment plans with a referring physician
- Sending lab results or procedure notes to another provider
- Coordinating your care between different specialists
2. Payment
We may use and disclose your PHI to bill and collect payment for the services we provide. This may include sharing information with insurance companies or other payers to verify coverage and process claims.
Examples:
- Sending treatment records to your insurance carrier for reimbursement
- Confirming benefits and eligibility with your health plan
3. Health Care Operations
We use and share your PHI for activities needed to run our facility and maintain quality care. Some activities may involve “business associates” — outside companies that help us with services like billing, transcription, auditing, legal services, storage, or consulting. These business associates are required by law to safeguard your PHI.
Examples of Health Care Operations include:
- Monitoring the quality of care and making improvements where needed
- Ensuring providers and staff are properly qualified
- Reviewing records for completeness and accuracy
- Meeting standards set by regulating agencies
- Teaching and training health professionals
- Using external services such as transcription or auditing
- Storing and managing your health information securely
- Managing and analyzing your medical information for internal improvement
We may also contact you:
- At the phone numbers or address you provide (including voicemail) about
appointments, cancellations, billing, or pre-procedure assessments - To share information about other services that may benefit you
- With instructions about your treatment, follow-up care, or options
Other Permitted Uses and Disclosures
We may also use or disclose your PHI without your authorization in the following
situations:
- Public health reporting (disease tracking, recalls, adverse events)
- Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
- Health oversight activities such as audits or investigations
- Judicial or administrative proceedings in response to subpoenas or orders
- Law enforcement investigations or reporting
- Activities involving medical examiners, coroners, or funeral directors
- Organ and tissue donation coordination
- Approved medical research
- Preventing a serious threat to health or safety
- Specialized government functions (e.g., military, national security)
- Workers’ compensation programs
Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Authorization
We must obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing your PHI for any purpose not described above, including:
- Most uses of psychotherapy notes
- Marketing communications unrelated to your care
- The sale of your PHI
Revoking Authorization: You may revoke your authorization at any time in writing. This will not affect any disclosures already made with your permission.
Your Rights Regarding Your PHI
You have the right to:
- Inspect and copy your medical records
- Request an Amendment if you believe information is incorrect or incomplete
- Receive an Accounting of Disclosures showing when and to whom we disclosed your
PHI (for purposes other than treatment, payment, or operations) - Request Restrictions on how your PHI is used or shared (we may not be able to
agree to all requests, but we will do our best) - Request Confidential Communications at an alternative address or number
- Receive a Paper Copy of this Notice at any time
Retention and Destruction of Records
We retain your records as required by law. When records are no longer needed:
- Paper records are shredded
- Electronic records are permanently deleted, and related storage media is physically destroyed before disposal
Changes to This Notice
We reserve the right to revise this Notice at any time, as permitted by law. Any changes will be posted in our office and on our website, and will apply to all PHI we maintain, including information collected before the update.
Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may:
- File a complaint with our Privacy Officer
- File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
PERSON TO CONTACT FOR INFORMATION OR WITH A COMPLAINT
Joelle Lieman, MD – Managing Directing
-OR-
Nicole Billings – Practice Manager
Elite MedSpa + Wellness Center
1 Chapel St. | Needham, MA | 02492
781-559-3433
hello@myelitemedspa.com
Acknowledgment: You may be asked to sign a form stating you received this Notice. Your signature does not mean you agree with its contents — only that you were provided a copy.
This Notice is available on our website and at our office upon request.