The terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices apply to North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group operating as a clinically integrated health care arrangement composed of the physicians, clinicians, and other licensed professionals treating patients in these practices. The members of this clinically integrated health care arrangement work and practice at North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group at the following locations:

All of the entities and persons listed will share medical health information (referred to as Protected Health Information or “PHI”) of patients as necessary to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations as permitted by law.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of our patients' PHI and to provide patients with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI. We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice so long as it remains in effect. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices as necessary and to make the new Notice effective for all PHI maintained by us. You may receive a copy of any revised notices at the above listed locations or a copy may be obtained by mailing a request to Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011 or by accessing our corporate website at www.nohc.com.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION

Your Authorization. Except as outlined below, we will not use or disclose your PHI for any purpose unless you have signed a form authorizing the use or disclosure. You have the right to revoke that consent or authorization in writing unless we have taken any action in reliance on the consent or authorization.

Uses and Disclosures for Treatment. We will make uses and disclosures of your PHI as necessary for your treatment. For instance, doctors and nurses and other professionals involved in your care will use information in your medical record and information that you provide about your symptoms and reactions to plan a course of treatment for you that may include procedures, medications, tests, etc. We may also release your PHI to another health care facility or professional who is not affiliated with our practice but who is or will be providing treatment to you. For instance, if, after you leave the office, you are going to receive hospital care, we may release your PHI to that hospital so that a plan of care can be prepared for you.

Uses and Disclosures for Payment. We will make uses and disclosures of your PHI as necessary for payment purposes of those health professionals and facilities that have treated you or provided services to you. For instance, we may forward information regarding your medical procedures and treatment to your insurance company to arrange payment for the services provided to you or we may use your information to prepare a bill to send to you or to the person responsible for your payment.

Uses and Disclosures for Health Care Operations. We will use and disclose your PHI as necessary, and as permitted by law, for our health care operations which include clinical improvement, professional peer review, business management, etc. For instance, we may use and disclose your PHI for purposes of improving the clinical treatment and care of our patients. We may also disclose your PHI to another health care facility, health care professional, or health plan for such things as quality assurance and case management, but only if that facility, professional, or plan also has or had a patient relationship with you.

Family and Friends Involved In Your Care. With your approval, we may from time to time disclose your PHI to designated family, friends, and others who are involved in your care or in payment of your care in order to facilitate that person's involvement in caring for you or paying for your care. If you are unavailable, incapacitated, or facing an emergency medical situation, and we determine that a limited disclosure may be in your best interest, we may share limited PHI with such individuals without your approval. We may also disclose limited PHI to a public or private entity that is authorized to assist in disaster relief efforts in order for that entity to locate a family member or other persons that may be involved in some aspect of caring for you.

Business Associates. Certain aspects and components of our services are performed through contracts with outside persons or organizations, such as auditing, accreditation, legal services, etc. At times it may be necessary for us to provide certain of your PHI to one or more of these outside persons or organizations who assist us with our health care operations. In all cases, we require these business associates to appropriately safeguard the privacy of your information.

Appointments and Services. We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or test results. You have the right to request and we will attempt to accommodate reasonable requests by you to receive communications regarding your PHI from us by alternative means or at alternative locations. For instance, if you wish appointment reminders to not be left on voice mail or sent to a particular address, we will attempt to accommodate reasonable requests. You may request such confidential communication in writing and may send your request to Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011. Each request will be reviewed and you will be notified within 60 days if your request will be honored.

Health Products and Services. We may from time to time use your PHI to communicate with you about health products and services necessary for your treatment, to advise you of new products and services we offer, and to provide general health and wellness information.

Research. In limited circumstances, we may use and disclose your PHI for purposes that are preparatory to research. For example, a researcher may wish to compare outcomes of all patients that received a particular drug and will need to review a series of medical records. Your PHI may be reviewed by North Ohio Research, Ltd., to determine if you are eligible to participate in a clinical trial. North Ohio Research, Ltd. assists North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group physicians in conducting clinical trials. In all cases where your PHI is disclosed to North Ohio Research, Ltd. for purposes that are preparatory to research, your privacy will be protected by strict confidentiality requirements applied by an Institutional Review Board or privacy board which oversees the research or by representations of the researchers that limit their use and disclosure of patient information.

Other Uses and Disclosures. We are permitted or required by law to make certain other uses and disclosures of your PHI without your consent or authorization.

RIGHTS THAT YOU HAVE

Access to Your Personal Health Information. You have the right to copy and/or inspect much of the PHI that we retain on your behalf. All requests for access must be made in writing and signed by you or your representative. You may obtain an access request form from any North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group location as contained within this privacy notice. If you request a copy of the PHI that we retain on your behalf, we may charge you a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other costs associated with your request. We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to your PHI that we retain on your behalf, you may request that the denial be reviewed.

Amendments to Your Personal Health Information. If you believe that the PHI that we maintain on your behalf is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to request in writing that PHI be amended or corrected. We are not obligated to make all requested amendments but will give each request careful consideration. All amendment requests, in order to be considered by us, must be in writing, signed by you or your representative, and must state the reasons for the amendment/correction request. If an amendment or correction you request is made by us, we may also notify others who work with us and have copies of the uncorrected record if we believe that such notification is necessary. You may obtain an amendment request form from Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011.

Accounting for Disclosures of Your Personal Health Information. You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures made by us of your PHI after April 14, 2003. Requests must be made in writing, state a time period which may not be larger than six (6) years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003, and signed by you or your representative. Accounting request forms are available from Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011. The first request within a twelve (12) month period will be free. For additional requests, we may charge you for the cost of providing the accounting. We will notify you of the costs involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred.

Restrictions on Use and Disclosure of Your Personal Health Information. You have the right to request restrictions of our uses and disclosures of your PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations. Please send your written request for restrictions and include in writing your specific request along with your full name, address, and date of birth, to Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011. We are not required to agree to your restriction request but will attempt to accommodate reasonable requests when appropriate and we retain the right to terminate an agreed-to restriction if we believe such termination is appropriate. In the event of a termination by us, we will notify you of such termination. You also have the right to terminate, in writing or orally, any agreed-to restriction by sending such termination notice to Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011.

Complaints. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011. You may also file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C. in writing within 180 days of a violation of your rights. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

Right to a Paper Copy. You have a right to a paper copy of this Notice. You may ask us to give you a paper copy of this Notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this Notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this Notice. To obtain a paper copy of this Notice please provide a written request to Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011.

Acknowledgment of Receipt of Notice. You will be asked to sign an acknowledgment form that you received this Notice of Practice Practices.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

If you have questions or need further assistance regarding this Notice, you may contact Compliance, North Ohio Heart Center/Ohio Medical Group, 1220 Moore Road Suite B, Avon, Ohio 44011, phone:(440) 930-4488, email: info@NOHC.com .

EFFECTIVE DATE

This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective April 14, 2003.