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.

We respect our legal obligation to keep health information that identifies you private. Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations The most common reason why use or disclose your information for treatment purposed are: setting up an appointment for you; testing or examining your eyes; prescribing glasses, contact lenses, or eye medications and faxing them to be filled; showing you low vision aids; referring you to another doctor or clinic for eye care or low vision aids or sevices or getting copies of your health information from another professional that you may have seen before us. Examples of how we use or disclose you health information for payment purposes are: asking you about your health or vision care plans, or other sources of payment; preparing and sending bills or claims; and collecting unpaid amounts (either ourselves or through a collection agency or attorney). "Health care operations" mean those administrative and managerial functions that we have to do in order to run our office. Examplse of how we use or disclose your information for health care operations are: financial or billing audits; internal quality assurance; personnel decisions; participation in managed care plans; defense of legal matters; business planning; and outside storage of records.

We routinely use your health information inside our office for these purposes without any special permisssion. If we need to disclose your health information outside of our office for these reasons, [we will] ask you for special written permission.

More information on our Privacy Practices are available in our office upon request Effictive date of notice: April 14, 2003