NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Effective Date: May 6, 2026
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.
Contact Information
Penny Leonard
Practice Manager
Center for Digestive Disease
936-321-5440
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
- Make every effort to maintain the privacy and security of your medical information;
• Provide notice of our legal duties and privacy practices;
• Abide by the terms of this notice;
• Accommodate reasonable requests for confidential communications;
• Maintain safeguards to protect electronic protected health information (ePHI);
• Notify you and the Department of Health & Human Services of breaches as required by law.
FOR TREATMENT
We may use and disclose your medical information to provide, coordinate, or manage your healthcare services, including telehealth and virtual healthcare technologies.
FOR PAYMENT
We may use and disclose your medical information for billing and payment purposes involving insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, or other payors.
FOR HEALTHCARE OPERATIONS
We may use your information for quality improvement, staff training, auditing, compliance, billing review, and operational support activities.
USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND AUTOMATED TECHNOLOGIES
Center for Digestive Disease may use secure artificial intelligence (“AI”), speech recognition software, automated documentation systems, machine learning technologies, electronic prescribing systems, scheduling systems, and clinical support tools to assist with healthcare operations, patient communication, documentation, billing, quality improvement, and clinical decision support.
These technologies are used in accordance with applicable privacy and security laws, including HIPAA, and are designed to support — not replace — the professional judgment of licensed healthcare providers.
APPOINTMENT REMINDERS AND PATIENT COMMUNICATIONS
We may contact you by phone call, voicemail, text message (SMS), patient portal, email, mail, or other electronic communication methods regarding appointments, test results, prescriptions, billing matters, procedure preparation instructions, follow-up care, and other healthcare-related communications.
By providing your phone number or email address, you authorize Center for Digestive Disease to communicate with you using these methods unless you notify us otherwise in writing.
PATIENT PORTAL COMMUNICATIONS
If you enroll in our patient portal, you may access portions of your medical record, communicate securely with our office, request appointments, complete forms, receive statements, and review test results electronically.
BUSINESS ASSOCIATES AND TECHNOLOGY VENDORS
We may share medical information with trusted vendors, electronic health record providers, billing companies, cloud-based service providers, AI technology vendors, consultants, and other business associates who perform services on our behalf.
YOUR RIGHTS
You have the right to:
• Inspect and obtain copies of your medical records;
• Request amendments to your records;
• Request restrictions on certain uses or disclosures;
• Request confidential communications; and
• Receive an accounting of disclosures.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with:
Penny Leonard
Practice Manager
Center for Digestive Disease
936-321-5440
Or with:
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/
Updated from the original Notice of Privacy Practices.
