EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1, 2023
Last Updated March 3, 2025

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

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. If you have any questions about this
notice, please contact our Privacy Officer at 2801 NE
213 th street, Suite 801 Aventura, FL 33345 or 305-932-
6676.
PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE
This notice describes the ways in which we may use and
disclose medical information about you. This notice also
describes your rights and certain obligations we have
regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.
OUR LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
We are required by law to:
• Make sure that medical information that identifies you
is kept private.
• Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy
practices with respect to medical information about
you.
• Follow the terms of the notice that currently is in
effect.
• Change the notice only in accordance with federal
rules; and
• Provide our internal complaint process for privacy
issues to you.
WHO WILL FOLLOW OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES
This notice describes the practices of Arthritis Rheumatic
Disease Specialties. ("AARDS") and that of:
• All AARDS employees, staff and other AARDS
personnel.
• Arthritis Rheumatic disease specialties subsidiaries,
affiliates and managed entities (all of which are
collectively referred as “AARDS").
All these entities, sites and locations follow the terms of
this notice. In addition, these entities, sites and locations
may share medical information with each other for
treatment, payment or health care operations purposes

described in this notice.

OUR PLEDGE REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION:
We understand that medical information about you and
your health is personal. We are committed to protecting
medical information about you. We create a record of the
care and services that we provide to you. We need this
record to provide you with medical care and to comply
with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all
the records of your care we generate from which you
can be individually identified. This notice also applies to
other health information about you, such as information
we collect with your authorization during research studies
that do not involve treatment. Your personal doctor and
other entities providing products or services to you may
have different policies or notices regarding their use and
disclosure of your medical information.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION
ABOUT YOU.
You have the following rights regarding medical
information we maintain about you:
• Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to
inspect and copy medical information about you or
your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing
records.
To inspect and copy medical information about you
or your care, you must submit your request in writing
to our Privacy Office; 2801 NE 213 TH St, Suite 801
Aventura, FL 33180. If you request a copy of the
information, we may charge a fee for the costs of
copying, mailing or other supplies associated with
your request.
We may deny your request to inspect and copy in
certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied
access to medical information, you may request that
the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care
professional chosen by us will review your request
and the denial. The person conducting the review will
not be the person who denied your request. We will
comply with the outcome of the review.
• Right to Amend. If you feel that the medical
information, we have about you is incorrect or
incomplete, you may ask us to amend the
information. You have the right to request an
amendment for as long as the information is kept
by or for us.

To request an amendment, your request must be
made in writing and submitted to our Privacy Office.
2801 NE 213 th street, Suite 801 Aventura, FL 33180.
In addition, you must provide a reason that supports
your request.
We may deny your request for an amendment if it is
not in writing or does not include a reason sufficient
to support the request. In addition, we may deny
your request if you ask us to amend information that:
• Was not created by us, unless the person or
entity that created the information is no longer
available to make the amendment.
• Is not part of the medical information kept by or
for us.
• Is not part of the information which you would be
permitted to inspect and copy; or
• Is accurate and complete.
• Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have
the right to request an "accounting of disclosures."
This accounting is a list of the disclosures we made
of medical information about you, except disclosures
made for treatment, payment and AARDS's health
care operations ("TPO Accounting"). You may have
a right to a TPO Accounting in the future, in which
case we will amend this Notice, including the effective
date of your right to a TPO Accounting. Any TPO
Accounting will be for a period of no longer than a
three-year time period.
To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you
must submit your request in writing to the Privacy
Office 2801 NE 213 TH ST, Suite 801Aventura, FL
33180. Your request must state a time period which
may not be longer than six years. Your request
should indicate in what form you want the list (for
example, on paper, electronically). The first list you
request within a 12- month period will be free. For
additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of
providing the list. We will notify you of the cost
involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify
your request at that time before any costs are
incurred.
• Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right
to request a restriction or limitation on the medical
information we use or disclose about you for
treatment, payment or health care operations. You
also have the right to request a limit on the medical
information we disclose about you to someone who is
involved in your care or the payment for your care,
like a family member or friend. We are not required to
agree to your request, except as stated at the end of
this paragraph. If we do agree, we will comply with
your request unless the information is needed to.

you pay out of pocket for the entire cost of a service,
you have a right to request that we not disclose this
service to your health plan for payment or health care
operations purposes. We must comply with that
request, unless the disclosure to your health plan is
required by law.
To request restrictions, you must make your request
in writing to our Privacy Office; 2801 NE 213 th street,
Suite 801 Aventura, FL 33180. In your request, you
must tell us.
(1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you
want to limit our use, disclosure or both; and (3) to
whom you want the limits to apply, for example,
disclosures to your spouse.
• Right to Request Confidential Communications.
You have the right to request that we communicate
with you about medical matters in a certain way or at
a certain location. For example, you can ask that we
only contact you at work or by mail.
To request confidential communications, you must
make your request in writing to our Privacy Office;
2801 NE 213 TH ST, Suite 801 Aventura, FL 33180.
We will not ask you the reason for your request. We
will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your
request must specify how or where you wish to be
contacted.
• Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have
the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask
us to give you a 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, contact our
Privacy Officer at 2801 NE 213 TH Street, Suite 801.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU.
The following categories describe different ways that we
are permitted to use and disclose medical information as
a health care provider, although certain of these
categories may not apply to our business and we may not
actually use or disclose your medical information for such
purposes. For each category of uses or disclosures, we
will explain what we mean and try to give some
examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will
be listed. However, all the ways we are permitted or
required to use and disclose information will fall within
one of the general categories.
• For Treatment. We may use medical information
about you to provide you with medical treatment or
services. We may disclose medical information
about (you to physicians, nurses and their office
personnel,

example, your health care provider may disclose your
medical information for treatment purposes when
referring you to another health care provider. We
also may disclose medical information about you to
people who may be involved in your medical care
after you have received our products and services,
such as social workers or home health agencies.
• For Payment. We may use and disclose medical
information about you so that the treatment and
services we provide you may be billed to, and
payment may be collected from you, an insurance
company or a third party. For example, we may need
to give your health plan information about products
and services we provided to you, so your health plan
will pay us or reimburse you for the products and
services. We may also tell your health plan about a
treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior
approval or to determine whether your plan will cover
the treatment.
• For Health Care Operations. We may use and
disclose medical information about you for our health
care operations. These uses and disclosures are
necessary to run our company and make sure that all
our patients receive quality care. For example, we
may use medical information to review our treatment
and services and to evaluate the performance of our
staff in caring for you. We may also combine medical
information about many patients to decide what
additional services we should offer, what services are
not needed, and whether certain new treatments are
effective. We may also disclose information to our
compliance department, attorneys, auditors, business
planners and managers, health care educators and
trainers, peer review committees and general
administrators for review and learning purposes and
in order to assist in the defense of any claim, lawsuit,
proceeding or investigation. We may remove
information that identifies you from this set of medical
information so others may use it to study health care
and health care delivery without learning who the
specific patients are.
• Appointment Reminders. We may use and
disclose medical information to contact you as a
reminder that you have an appointment for treatment
or services.
• Treatment Alternatives. We may use and disclose
medical information to tell you about or recommend
possible treatment options or alternatives that may be
of interest to you.
• Health-Related Benefits and Services. We may
use and disclose medical information to tell you about
health-related benefits or services that may be of
interest to you.
• Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for

about you to a friend or family member who is
involved in your medical care. We may also give
information to someone who helps pay for your care.
We may also tell your family or friends your location
and condition and that you are receiving products and
services from us. In addition, we may disclose
medical information about you to any entity assisting
in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be
notified about your condition, status and location.
• Research. Under certain circumstances, we may
use and disclose medical information about you for
research purposes. For example, a research project
may involve comparing the health and recovery of all
patients who received one product or service to those
who received another, for the same condition. All
research projects, however, are subject to a special
approval process. This process evaluates a
proposed research project and its use of medical
information, trying to balance the research needs with
patients' need for privacy of their medical information.
Before we use or disclose medical information for
research, the project will have been approved
through this research approval process, but we may,
however, disclose medical information about you to
people preparing to conduct a research project, for
example, to help them look for patients with specific
medical needs, so long as the medical information
they review does not leave our premises. We will
almost always ask for your specific permission if the
researcher will have access to your name, address or
other information that reveals who you are, or will be
involved in your care.
• As Required by Law. We will disclose medical
information about you when required to do so by
federal, state or local law.
• To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We
may use and disclose medical information about you
when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your
health and safety or the health and safety of the
public or another person. Any disclosure, however,
would only be to someone able to help prevent the
threat.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
• Military and Veterans. If you are a member of the
armed forces, we may release medical information
about you as required by military command
authorities. We may also release medical information
about foreign military personnel to the appropriate
foreign military authority.
• Workers' Compensation. We may release medical
information about you for workers' compensation or
similar programs. These programs provide benefits
for work-related injuries or illness.

o Public Health Activities. We may disclose medical
information about you for public health activities.
These activities generally include the following:
• to prevent or control disease, injury or disability.
• to report births and deaths.
• to report child abuse or neglect.
• to report reactions to medications or problems
with products.
• to notify people of recalls of products they may be
using.
• to notify a person who may have been exposed
to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or
spreading a disease or condition.
• to notify the appropriate government authority if
we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse,
neglect or domestic violence. We will only make
this disclosure if you agree or when required or
authorized by law.
• Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose
medical information to a health oversight agency for
activities authorized by law. These oversight
activities include, for example, audits, investigations,
inspections, and licensure. These activities are
necessary for the government to monitor the health
care system, government programs, and compliance
with civil rights laws.
• Lawsuits and Disputes. If you are involved in a
lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose medical
information about you in response to a court or
administrative order. We may also disclose' medical
information about you in response to a subpoena,
discovery request, or other lawful process by
someone else involved in the dispute, but only if
efforts have been made to tell you about the request
or to obtain an order protecting the information
requested.
• Law Enforcement. We may release medical
information if asked to do so by a law enforcement
official:
• In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant,
summons or similar process.
• To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material
witness, or missing person.
• About the victim of a crime if, under certain
limited circumstances, we are unable to
obtain.
the person's agreement.
•

About a death we believe may be the result
of criminal conduct.
• About criminal conduct occurring on our
premises; and
• In emergency circumstances to report a
crime; the location of the crime or victims; or
the identity, description or location of the
person who committed the crime.
• Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral
Directors. We may release medical information
to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be
necessary, for example, to identify a deceased
person or determine the cause of death. We
may also release medical information about our
patients to funeral directors as necessary to
carry out their duties.
• National Security and Intelligence Activities.
We may release medical information about you
to authorized federal officials for intelligence,
counterintelligence, and other national security
activities authorized by law.
• Protective Services for the President and
Others. We may disclose medical information
about you to authorized federal officials so they
may provide protection to the President, other
authorized persons or foreign heads of state or
conduct special investigations.
• Inmates. If you are an inmate of a correctional
institution or under the custody of a law
enforcement official, we may release medical
information about you to the correctional
institution or law enforcement official. This
release would be necessary (1) for the
institution to provide you with health care; (2) to
protect your health and safety or the health and
safety of others; or (3) for the safety and
security of the correctional institution.
• Organ and Tissue Donation. ff you are an
organ donor, we may release medical
information to organizations that handle organ
procurement or organ, eye or tissue
transplantation or to an organ donation bank,
as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue
donation and transplantation.
• Sale of Business Assets. We reserve the
right to transfer medical information about you to
a third party in conjunction with the sale of our
company or certain assets belonging to our
company.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE We reserve the right to
change this notice. We reserve the right to make the
revised or changed notice effective for medical
information we already have about you as well as any
information we receive in the future. We will
4

post a copy of the current notice in your physician's office (or
at the facility where you are being treated). The notice will
contain on the first page, in the top right-hand corner,

the effective date. If we do change this notice, we will re­
post a copy of the current notice, but we will not
redistribute this notice to you.

COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with us, contact our Privacy Office at 2801 NE 213 TH St
Suite 801 Aventura, FL 33180 or at 305-652-6676. All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be
penalized for filing a complaint.
OTHER USES OF MEDICAL INFORMATION.
Other uses and disclosures of medical information not generally covered by the examples given in this notice or the laws
that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization. If you authorize us to use or disclose medical
information about you, you may revoke that authorization, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will
no longer use or disclose medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You
understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your authorization, and that we
are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.
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