Notice of privacy practices

Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.

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.

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

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 a summary of your health information within a reasonable time.
If you ask to see or receive a copy of your record for purposes of reviewing current medical care, we may not charge you a fee.
If you request copies of your patient records of past medical care, or for certain appeals, we may charge you specified fees.

Ask us to correct your medical record

You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete.
We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communication

You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a
different address.
We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

You can ask for a list of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting per year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

Get a copy of this privacy notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.

Choose someone to act for you

If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting Privacy Officer, Marya Lydeen at: 8301 Golden Valley Rd, Ste 200 Golden Valley, MN 55427 or info@minnesotaent.com or 763-233-5775.
You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a preference for how we share your information, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

You have the right and choice to allow us to share information with your family, friends, or others involved in your care.

Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your health information?

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

Treat you

With your consent, we can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.

Run our organization

We can use your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.

Bill for your services

With your consent, we can use and share your health information to obtain authorization for services, bill for services, and get payment from health plans or other entities.
We will never sell your personal information.

Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

Preventing disease
Helping with product recalls
Reporting adverse reactions to medications
Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Comply with the law

We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests 

We can use or share health information about you:

For workers’ compensation claims
For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law

Respond to lawsuits and legal actions 

We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

Automatic Data Collection & Tracking Technology

What We Collect and Why

Like many modern websites, we use automatic data collection technologies, such as cookies, server logs, and web beacons, to analyze how visitors interact with our site. This data helps us improve website performance, optimize navigation, and enhance the services we offer.

When you visit our website, we may collect technical, non-personal information, including but not limited to:

Device information (e.g., IP address, browser type, operating system).
Usage data (e.g., pages viewed, time spent on pages, referring/exit pages, and clickstream data).
General location data (e.g., city/state derived from IP address).

We configure certain tools to reduce or limit the collection of identifying information where reasonably possible. We do not intend for this website’s tracking technologies to be used to collect sensitive health information, and you should not submit sensitive medical information through general website forms unless expressly instructed.

How We Use and Share This Data

We may share this de-identified usage data with third-party analytics providers to help us understand website traffic trends. The data shared with these providers is aggregated and does not include direct personal identifiers such as your name, email address, or phone number.

Distinction from Protected Health Information (PHI)

Please note that general website analytics data is separate and distinct from Protected Health Information (PHI).

PHI is health information you voluntarily provide to us through secure channels, such as our Patient Portal or secure intake forms.
Our collection, use, and disclosure of PHI are governed strictly by our Notice of Privacy Practices.

We do not use or disclose PHI for marketing or general website analytics purposes without your valid, written authorization as required by HIPAA.

Our Responsibilities

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html. 

Changes to the Terms of this Notice 

The effective date of this notice is March 1, 2025. We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site at www.MinnesotaENT.com.