Privacy Policy

Your privacy is very important to Beverly Hills Gastroenterology (bhg), and we are committed to protecting it. You are welcome to explore our web site without providing any information about yourself. When you visit and navigate our Web site, we will not collect personal information about you unless you provide us that information voluntarily. By "personal information" we mean data that is unique to an individual, such as a name, address, e-mail address, or telephone number.

What information does Beverly Hills Gastroenterology collect from me?

Our web server automatically recognizes your domain name. Our web server does not recognize your e-mail address. Most of bhg’s web site has been designed to not require the use of any personal identifiers (such as name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address). IF YOU SEND US AN E-MAIL OR SUBSCRIBE TO A NEWSLETTTER, WE WILL HAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS AT OUR SITE.

bhg collects and uses certain information on its web site. This information includes your IP (Internet Protocol Address), information about your browser (i.e., whether you are using Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.), and information about your Internet Service Provider (i.e., AOL, Verizon). An IP address (Internet Protocol Address) is a unique number that is used to represent every single computer in a network. All computers on the Internet have a unique IP address. None of the foregoing information will be used by bhg in any way, or in connection with any other information, to identify you personally.

bhg uses the statistical information gathered about you and all of its users for internal statistical purposes only, e.g., to track where users go on the web site. This information is not linked to specifically identifiable individuals. This type of information will be used to aid bhg in adding information to its web site that will be useful for site users and that will improve the performance of our web site.

Children's Privacy

We do not intend to collect information from children. If we learn that we inadvertently have collected personal identifying information from a child under the age of 13, we will promptly delete that data from our systems.

E-Mails

When you sign up for free health e-mails, we maintain information about your selections only for the purpose of sending you the e-mails. We do not use identifying personal information for any other purpose although it may be included in anonymous, aggregated, statistical information. If you communicate with us by email you should understand that email is not secure against interception. If your communication includes sensitive or confidential information, please contact us by phone or mail.

Instructions for unsubscribing from e-mails are located at the bottom of each e-mail message. Click the link given and request to be removed from our list.

Cookies

A cookie is a piece of information that is stored on your computer's hard drive, not on our site.

We do not use cookies on our site and will not obtain personally-identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us.

Disclosure of Your Information

All of the information you choose to provide us is absolutely confidential and voluntary. We will never give, sell, rent, or reveal your name or address (including e-mail) to any outside party without your express consent. Beverly Hills Gastroenterology will not disclose your personally identifiable information to independent third parties other than those who help us operate our site (such as an independent third party who might help us deliver our newsletters).

When you sign up for these member services, we will share your name, contact information, or other information necessary for the third party to provide the services. These independent third parties will only use your information to provide the designated service and will handle your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Security Measures

Beverly Hills Gastroenterology takes reasonable precautions to protect your personally identifiable information. When users submit personally identifiable information, it is protected both on-line and off-line.

Notification of Changes

We will prominently post any significant changes we make to our Privacy Policy. Beverly Hills Gastroenterology will use the information collected from you in accordance with the privacy policy in effect when the information was collected.

Links to Other Web Sites

This site contains links to other sites. bhg is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such web sites.

HIPAA Compliance

Notice of Health Information Practices

This notice describes how information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please read it carefully.

Introduction

At Beverly Hills Gastroenterology, we are committed to treating and using protected health information about you responsibly. This Notice of Health Information Practices describes the personal information we collect and how and when we use or disclose the information. It also describes your rights as they relate to your protected health information. This Notice is effective 1-1-09 and applies to all protected health information as defined by federal regulations.

Understanding Your Health Record/Information

Each time you visit Beverly Hills Gastroenterology, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and plans for future care of treatment. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

Basis for planning your care and treatment
Means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care
Legal document describing the care you received
Means by which you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided
A tool in educating health professionals
A source of data for medical research
A source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of this state and the nation
A source of data for our planning and marketing
A tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve

Understanding what is your record and how your health information is used helps you to: ensure its accuracy, better understand who, what, when, where, and why other may access your health information, and make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.

Your Health Information Rights

Although your health record is the physical property of Beverly Hills Gastroenterology, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

Obtain a paper copy of this notice of information practices upon request
Inspect and copy your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 164.524
Amend your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 164.528
Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information for in 45 CFR 164.528
Request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
Request a restriction on certain uses/ disclosures of your information as provided for in 45 CFR 164.522
Revoke your authorization to use of disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken

Our Responsibilities

Beverly Hills Gastroenterology is required to:

Maintain the privacy of your health information
Provide you with this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with the respect to information we collect and maintain about you
Abide by the terms of this notice
Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
Accommodate reasonable request you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we will mail a revised notice to the address you’ve supplied us, or if you agree, we will email the revised notice to you.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice. We will also discontinue to use or disclose your health information after we have received a written revocation of the authorization according to the procedures included in the authorization.

For More Information or to Report a Problem

If you have questions and would like additional information, you may contact the practice’s Privacy Officer at 310-659-1300.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the practice’s Privacy Officer or with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint with either the Privacy Officer or the OCR.

Office for Civil Rights:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201