HIPPA Notice

Effective Date: July 2026

Primary Care & Functional Medicine Center

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed, how you can obtain access to this information, and your rights concerning your health information.

Please review it carefully.

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. Primary Care & Functional Medicine Center has responsibilities to help you exercise those rights.

Obtain 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 maintain about you.

We generally will provide a copy or summary within 30 days of your request, as required by applicable law. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee where permitted by law.

Medical-record requests may be processed through an authorized third-party medical-record service.

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 certain requests when permitted by law. If we deny your request, we will provide an explanation in writing within the timeframe required by applicable law.

Request Confidential Communications

You may ask us to communicate with you in a particular way or at a particular location, such as contacting you only at a certain telephone number or sending correspondence to a different address.

We will accommodate reasonable requests as required by law.

Ask Us to Limit What We Use or Share

You may ask us not to use or disclose certain health information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.

We are not required to agree to every request.

If you pay for a healthcare service or item completely out of pocket, you may ask us not to disclose information about that service or item to your health insurer for purposes of payment or healthcare operations. We will honor that request unless disclosure is required by law.

Obtain an Accounting of Disclosures

You may request a list, or accounting, of certain disclosures of your health information made during the six years before your request.

The accounting will not include certain disclosures excluded by law, such as many disclosures for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.

We will provide one accounting within a 12-month period without charge. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for additional requests during the same 12-month period.

Obtain a Copy of This Notice

You may request a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time, even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically.

Choose Someone to Act for You

If you have given someone medical power of attorney or another person has legal authority to act as your personal representative, that person may exercise your privacy rights and make choices regarding your health information as permitted by law.

We may verify that the individual has appropriate legal authority before taking action.

File a Complaint

You may contact us if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.

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 preferences regarding what we share.

These situations may include:

  • Sharing information with family members, friends, or others involved in your care
  • Sharing information in a disaster-relief situation
  • Certain communications about our services
  • Certain marketing activities

If you are unable to tell us your preference—for example, because you are unconscious—we may disclose information when we believe it is in your best interest and the disclosure is permitted by law.

We may also disclose information when necessary to reduce a serious and imminent threat to health or safety as permitted by law.

We will obtain your written authorization for uses and disclosures when authorization is required by law.

How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information

We typically use or disclose health information in the following ways.

Treatment

We may use your health information and share it with other healthcare professionals involved in your treatment.

For example, a physician treating you may discuss relevant information with another healthcare professional involved in your care.

Healthcare Operations

We may use and disclose health information to operate our practice, improve care, administer our services, train appropriate personnel, and conduct quality-assessment and business activities permitted by law.

Billing and Payment

We may use and disclose your health information to bill and receive payment from health plans or other entities.

For example, we may provide information about a visit or service to your health insurer so that the insurer can process a claim.

Other Uses and Disclosures Permitted or Required by Law

We may use or disclose your health information without your written authorization in circumstances permitted or required by law, including:

Public Health and Safety

We may disclose information for certain public-health and safety activities, such as:

  • Preventing or controlling disease
  • Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence as required or permitted by law
  • Reporting adverse reactions to medications or problems with products
  • Preventing or reducing a serious threat to health or safety

Research

We may use or disclose health information for research when the applicable legal requirements have been satisfied.

Compliance With Law

We may disclose information when federal or state law requires us to do so.

Organ and Tissue Donation

We may disclose health information to organizations involved in organ, eye, or tissue donation when applicable.

Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors

We may disclose health information to coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors when permitted or required by law.

Workers' Compensation and Government Requests

We may use or disclose information for workers' compensation claims and for certain law-enforcement, health-oversight, military, national-security, correctional, or other governmental purposes when permitted or required by law.

Legal Proceedings

We may disclose health information in response to certain court or administrative orders, subpoenas, discovery requests, or other lawful processes, subject to applicable legal requirements and protections.

Uses Requiring Authorization

For uses and disclosures not otherwise permitted or required by law, we will obtain your written authorization.

Where required by law, this includes certain uses and disclosures involving marketing or the sale of protected health information.

If you provide written authorization, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance upon it.

Our Responsibilities

Primary Care & Functional Medicine Center is required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

We are required to:

  • Maintain appropriate safeguards for protected health information
  • Follow the privacy practices described in the notice currently in effect
  • Provide you with a copy of this notice upon request
  • Notify you promptly following a breach of unsecured protected health information when notification is required by law
  • Refrain from using or disclosing your information except as permitted by law, described in this notice, or authorized by you

Electronic Services and Third Parties

Primary Care & Functional Medicine Center may use third-party service providers to support functions such as patient-portal access, billing, payment processing, and medical-record requests.

When a third party performs services involving protected health information on our behalf and is considered our business associate under HIPAA, appropriate contractual and privacy safeguards are required.

Our website may also link to external services that operate independently. The privacy and security practices of independently operated third-party websites may differ from ours.

Changes to This Notice

We may change the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices.

Changes may apply to all health information we maintain, including information created or received before the change.

If we materially revise this notice, the current version will be made available at our office and on our website and will be provided upon request.

Questions, Requests, or Complaints

For questions about this notice, requests involving your privacy rights, or complaints regarding our privacy practices, contact:

James Lemire, MD
Medical Director
Primary Care & Functional Medicine Center
7651 SW State Rd 200 #401
Ocala, FL 34476
Phone: (352) 670-2073
Email: info@primarycareocala.com

You may also file a privacy complaint with the:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights

Information about filing a complaint is available through the HHS Office for Civil Rights.

Primary Care & Functional Medicine Center will not retaliate against you for filing a privacy complaint.