HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES (NPP)

Graceful Care Primary Services, LLC
Effective Date: December 1, 2025

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.

Graceful Care Primary Services is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your health information. This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your Protected Health Information (PHI), your rights regarding your PHI, and our responsibilities under federal and state law.

If you have questions about this Notice or want to exercise your rights, please contact us using the information at the end of this document.

YOUR RIGHTS

You have the right to:

Get an Electronic or Paper Copy of Your Medical Record
You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you.
We will provide a copy or summary, usually within a reasonable time, and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee as allowed by law.

Ask Us to Correct Your Medical Record
You can request a correction if you believe your information is incomplete or incorrect.
We may deny the request in some cases, but we will explain the reason in writing.

Request Confidential Communications
You may ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, at a particular phone number or mailing address).
We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Request a Restriction on the Use or Disclosure of Your Information
You may request that we not use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations.
We are not required to agree to all requests; however, if you pay for a service entirely out-of-pocket, you may request that we not share information about that service with your health plan. We must agree unless a law requires otherwise.

Get a List of Those With Whom We’ve Shared Information
You may request an accounting of disclosures of your PHI for up to six years prior to the date of your request.
This list will not include disclosures made for treatment, payment, or health care operations.

Obtain a Copy of This Notice
You may request a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you receive electronic communications.

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
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights.
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

YOUR CHOICES

In certain situations, you have the right to make choices about how we use and share your information.

You may tell us your preferences regarding the sharing of information:

• With family members, caregivers, or others involved in your care
  
• During emergencies or disaster relief situations
  

If you are unable to express your preferences (for example, if you are unconscious), we may share your information if we believe it is in your best interest and permitted by law.

We will never:

• Sell your PHI
  
• Use or share PHI for marketing without your written authorization
  
• Share psychotherapy notes without your written authorization
  
  

Special Notes About Our Practice

• We do not maintain a hospital directory.
  
• We do not create or retain psychotherapy notes in this practice.
  
  

Stricter State Laws
If federal or state law provides greater privacy protection than HIPAA, we will follow the stricter standard.
For example, we do not share substance use treatment records without your written permission except as permitted or required by law.

HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways:

For Treatment
We may use your PHI and share it with other providers involved in your care.
Example: Another doctor treating you may need information about your condition.

For Payment
We may use or disclose your PHI to bill and receive payment from you, your insurance company, or other payers.
Example: We send PHI to your health plan so they will pay for your services.

For Health Care Operations
We may use or disclose your PHI to operate our practice, improve quality of care, and support administrative functions.
Example: We use PHI to evaluate provider performance and improve services.

ADDITIONAL USES AND DISCLOSURES

We are allowed or required to share your PHI in other ways—generally for public good—subject to legal conditions:

Public Health & Safety
We may share information for public health activities, disease reporting, product recalls, reporting adverse events, or to prevent/control disease.

Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence
We may disclose your PHI to appropriate authorities if required by law.

Health Oversight Activities
Government agencies may request your PHI for audits, inspections, investigations, licensing, and similar oversight.

Legal Proceedings
We may disclose information in response to a court order, subpoena, or administrative request, as permitted by law.

Law Enforcement
We may share information for law enforcement purposes under specific conditions.

Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors
We may release information as needed for identification, determining cause of death, or related duties.

Organ and Tissue Donation
We may share PHI with organizations that handle organ procurement or transplantation.

Research (Under Safeguards)
We may use or disclose PHI for research purposes when permitted by law and subject to privacy protections.

To Prevent a Serious Threat to Health or Safety
We may share PHI if necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat.

Workers’ Compensation, Disability, and Similar Programs
We may share PHI as authorized by workers’ compensation or similar laws.

Business Associates
We may share PHI with third-party vendors that support our practice (e.g., billing, IT, storage, compliance), provided they sign a Business Associate Agreement requiring them to protect the information.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

We are required by law to:

• Maintain the privacy and security of your PHI
  
• Give you this Notice outlining our privacy practices
  
• Notify you promptly if a breach occurs that may compromise your information
  
• Follow the terms in this Notice as long as it is in effect
  
• Obtain your written authorization for uses and disclosures not described in this Notice
  

We will not use or share your PHI other than as described here unless you provide written permission.
If you authorize a use or disclosure, you may revoke that authorization at any time, except to the extent we have already relied on it.

JOINT NOTICE / ORGANIZED HEALTH CARE ARRANGEMENT 

Graceful Care Primary is not currently part of an Organized Health Care Arrangement (OHCA).
If this changes in the future, we will update this Notice to explain how PHI is shared within the OHCA.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

We may change the terms of this Notice at any time.
When updates occur, the new Notice will:

• Be posted on our website, and
  
• Be available in our office upon request.
  

The Effective Date at the top indicates when the Notice last changed.