144 FAMILY CARE
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
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.
Effective Date: April 17, 2026
1. OUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR PRIVACY
144 Family Care is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your
protected health information ("PHI"). This notice describes how we may use
and disclose your PHI and your rights regarding that information. We are
required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI, provide you with this
notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and follow the terms of the
notice currently in effect.
We understand that your medical information is personal and private, and
we are dedicated to safeguarding it in accordance with the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), the Health
Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH
Act"), and all applicable federal and state regulations.
2. HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR
PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
The following categories describe the ways we may use and disclose your
PHI without your written authorization:
2.1 Treatment
We may use your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your healthcare
and related services. This includes sharing your medical information with
other healthcare providers involved in your care, such as consulting
physicians, referring providers, specialists, pharmacies, laboratories, and
other treatment facilities. For example, your treating physician may share
your PHI with a specialist to whom you have been referred in order to
ensure that the specialist has the necessary information to diagnose or treat
you.
2.2 Payment
We may use and disclose your PHI for billing and payment purposes. This
includes submitting claims to your health insurance plan, verifying your
insurance coverage and eligibility, obtaining prior authorizations for
proposed treatments, and conducting utilization review activities. For
example, we may send a claim to your health insurer that includes your
diagnosis and procedure codes, dates of service, and other required
information in order to receive payment for services rendered.
2.3 Healthcare Operations
We may use and disclose your PHI for our internal healthcare operations.
These activities include, but are not limited to:
● Quality assessment and improvement activities
● Conducting or arranging for medical reviews, audits, and compliance
programs
● Credentialing and peer review activities
● Business planning, development, and general administrative activities
● Training of medical students, residents, and other healthcare
professionals
● Customer service and grievance resolution
2.4 Business Associates
We may disclose your PHI to third-party business associates who perform
certain functions or provide certain services on our behalf, such as billing
companies, IT service providers, transcription services, attorneys, and
accountants. All of our business associates are required, under contract and
by law, to protect the privacy of your PHI and are not allowed to use or
disclose any information other than as specified in a written Business
Associate Agreement.
2.5 As Required by Law
We may use or disclose your PHI when we are required to do so by any
applicable federal, state, or local law, including but not limited to
mandatory public health reporting, court orders, and administrative
proceedings.
3. OTHER PERMITTED AND REQUIRED USES AND
DISCLOSURES
In addition to the uses described above, we may use or disclose your PHI
without your authorization for the following purposes, subject to all
applicable legal requirements and limitations:
3.1 Public Health Activities
We may disclose your PHI to public health authorities authorized by law to
collect or receive such information for the purpose of preventing or
controlling disease, injury, or disability; reporting vital events such as births
and deaths; reporting child abuse or neglect; reporting adverse events or
product defects related to FDA-regulated products; and notifying individuals
who may have been exposed to a communicable disease.
3.2 Health Oversight Activities
We may disclose your PHI to a health oversight agency for activities
authorized by law, including audits, investigations, inspections, licensure
actions, and other proceedings necessary for the oversight of the healthcare
system, government benefit programs, and compliance with civil rights
laws.
3.3 Judicial and Administrative Proceedings
We may disclose your PHI in the course of any judicial or administrative
proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal, or
in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process,
provided that satisfactory assurances are made regarding notice to the
individual or a protective order.
3.4 Law Enforcement Purposes
We may disclose your PHI to a law enforcement official for law enforcement
purposes, including reporting certain types of wounds, injuries, or physical
conditions; complying with a court order, warrant, subpoena, or summons;
identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, or missing person; and reporting
a crime that occurred on our premises.
3.5 Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors
We may disclose your PHI to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral
director as necessary for them to carry out their duties.
3.6 Organ and Tissue Donation
We may disclose your PHI to organizations that handle organ procurement
or organ, eye, or tissue transplantation, or to an organ donation bank, as
necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation if you
are an organ donor.
3.7 Research
We may use or disclose your PHI for research purposes, subject to the
approval of an institutional review board or privacy board that has reviewed
the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of
your information.
3.8 To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety
We may use or disclose your PHI when we believe, in good faith, that such
use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent
threat to the health or safety of a person or the public, and the disclosure is
to a person or persons reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat.
3.9 Military and Veterans
If you are a member of the Armed Forces, we may use or disclose your PHI
as required by military command authorities. We may also use or disclose
PHI about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military
authority.
3.10 Workers' Compensation
We may use or disclose your PHI as authorized by and to the extent
necessary to comply with workers' compensation laws and other similar
programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
3.11 Inmates and Law Enforcement Custody
If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a
law enforcement official, we may disclose your PHI to the correctional
institution or law enforcement official as necessary for your health and
safety, the health and safety of others, or the safety and security of the
institution.
3.12 Required Uses and Disclosures
We are required to disclose your PHI to you when you request access to, or
an accounting of disclosures of, your PHI. We are also required to disclose
your PHI to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services when the Secretary is investigating or determining our compliance
with HIPAA.
3.13 Appointment Reminders and Health-Related Benefits and
Services
We may use and disclose your PHI to contact you with appointment
reminders, or to inform you about treatment alternatives, health-related
benefits, or services that may be of interest to you.
3.14 Fundraising
We may use certain limited information about you — including your name,
address, phone number, dates of service, department of service, treating
physician, and health insurance status — to contact you for fundraising
purposes. You have the right to opt out of receiving any fundraising
communications. Each fundraising communication will include clear
instructions on how to opt out of future solicitations.
4. USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRING YOUR
WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION
Except as described in this notice, we will not use or disclose your PHI
without your written authorization. The following uses and disclosures
require your written authorization:
● Marketing: We will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing
purposes without your written authorization, except for face-to-face
communications and promotional gifts of nominal value.
● Sale of PHI: We will not sell your PHI without your prior written
authorization.
● Psychotherapy Notes: Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy
notes require your written authorization.
● Other Uses: Any other uses and disclosures of your PHI not
described in this notice will be made only with your written
authorization.
If you provide us with a written authorization to use or disclose your PHI,
you may revoke that authorization, in writing, at any time. If you revoke
your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your PHI for the
purposes covered by the authorization, except to the extent that we have
already taken action in reliance on the authorization. Your revocation will
not affect any uses or disclosures permitted by the authorization while it
was in effect.
5. YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PROTECTED
HEALTH INFORMATION
You have the following rights with respect to your PHI. To exercise any of
these rights, please submit a written request to our Privacy Officer using
the contact information provided at the end of this notice.
5.1 Right to Inspect and Copy
You have the right to request access to and obtain a copy of your PHI that is
maintained in a designated record set, which includes medical and billing
records. Your request must be submitted in writing. We may charge a
reasonable, cost-based fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other
supplies associated with your request. We may deny your request to inspect
and copy your PHI in certain limited circumstances; if access is denied, you
may request a review of the denial.
5.2 Right to Request Amendment
You have the right to request an amendment to your PHI maintained in a
designated record set if you believe the information is incorrect or
incomplete. Your request must be submitted in writing and must include the
reason(s) supporting the requested amendment. We may deny your request
if the information was not created by us, is not part of the designated record
set, is not available for inspection, or is accurate and complete as
maintained.
5.3 Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
You have the right to request a list of certain disclosures we have made of
your PHI. This accounting will not include disclosures made for the
purposes of treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, or disclosures
made to you, made pursuant to your authorization, or made for certain
other purposes as permitted by law. Your request must be submitted in
writing and must specify the time period for the accounting (not to exceed
six years prior to the date of the request). The first accounting in any
twelve-month period will be provided free of charge; subsequent requests
may be subject to a reasonable fee.
5.4 Right to Request Restrictions
You have the right to request that we restrict certain uses and disclosures
of your PHI for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. You also have
the right to request restrictions on disclosures to individuals involved in
your care or payment for your care. We are not required to agree to your
request, except in the following circumstance: we must agree to restrict
disclosures to a health plan for payment or healthcare operations purposes
if the disclosure pertains to a healthcare item or service for which you have
paid out of pocket in full.
5.5 Right to Request Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your
health matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you
may request that we contact you only at your work address or via a specific
telephone number. Your request must be submitted in writing and must
specify the alternative means or location for communication. We will
accommodate all reasonable requests.
5.6 Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice
You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices
upon request, even if you have previously agreed to receive the notice
electronically.
5.7 Right to Be Notified of a Breach
You have the right to be notified in the event that we, or one of our business
associates, discover a breach of your unsecured PHI. Notification will be
made in accordance with applicable federal and state law.
6. OUR DUTIES
We are required by law to:
● Maintain the privacy and security of your protected health
information.
● Notify you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised
the privacy or security of your information.
● Follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and
provide you with a copy of it.
● Refrain from using or disclosing your information other than as
described in this notice unless you tell us we may in writing. If you
authorize us to use or disclose your PHI, you may change your mind at
any time by notifying us in writing.
7. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices
and to make the new provisions effective for all PHI that we maintain,
including information created or received prior to the date of the change.
Whenever a material change is made to this notice, a revised notice will be
posted in a prominent location at our office and will be made available on
our website at 144familycare.com. You may also request a copy of the
current notice at any time by contacting our Privacy Officer.
8. MOBILE INFORMATION PRIVACY
No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for
marketing/promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text
messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be
shared with any third parties.
144 Family Care does not share, sell, or rent your mobile phone number or any personal information collected through SMS messaging with third parties for their marketing purposes. Your mobile number will only be used to send you the SMS messages you have opted in to receive.
9. COMPLAINTS
If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right
to file a complaint with 144 Family Care or with the Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. You will not be penalized,
retaliated against, or otherwise discriminated against for filing a complaint.
To file a complaint with 144 Family Care, contact:
144 Family Care — Privacy Officer
Email: info@144familycare.com
Phone: (425) 292-2570
To file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, contact:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 1-877-696-6775
Website: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/
10. CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this Notice of Privacy Practices, your
privacy rights, or wish to exercise any of the rights described herein, please
contact our Privacy Officer:
144 Family CarePrivacy OfficerEmail: info@144familycare.comPhone: (425) 292-2570Website: 144familycare.com |
This notice is effective as of April 17, 2026.