Your Rights
Star Wellness MD, PLLC · Universal City, Texas
This is our complete legal notice under HIPAA. A plain-language summary is on our Privacy Policy page.
As required by the privacy regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
Effective Date: November 1, 2024 · Last reviewed: August 5, 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.
The Practice is dedicated to maintaining the privacy of your identifiable health information. In providing care, we create and retain records about you and the services we provide. We are required by law to maintain the confidentiality of health information that identifies you, and to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices. We are required to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.
This notice describes how we may use and disclose your identifiable health information, your rights regarding that information, and our obligations concerning its use and disclosure. Its terms apply to all records containing your identifiable health information that we create or retain.
Compliance Officer
Star Wellness MD, PLLC
1652 Pat Booker Road, Universal City, TX 78148
(210) 775-1785
All written requests described in this notice should be sent to the Compliance Officer at the address above.
1. Treatment. We may use your identifiable health information to treat you. For example, we may conduct a follow-up interview and use the results to modify your treatment plan. Members of our workforce may use or disclose your information in order to treat you or assist in your treatment. We may also disclose your information to others involved in your care, such as your physician, therapist, or a family member assisting you.
2. Payment. We may use and disclose your identifiable health information to bill and collect payment for services and items you receive from us. We may also use and disclose it to obtain payment from third parties who may be responsible for those costs, and to bill you directly.
3. Health care operations. We may use and disclose your identifiable health information to operate our business — for example, to evaluate the quality of care you received, to train staff, or to conduct cost-management and business planning activities.
4. Appointment reminders. We may use and disclose your identifiable health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment, including by telephone, voicemail, text message, or email as you have authorized.
5. Health-related benefits and services. We may use and disclose your identifiable health information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you, to the extent permitted without your authorization.
6. Release of information to family and friends. We may release your identifiable health information to a family member or friend who is helping to pay for your care or who assists in taking care of you, consistent with your wishes.
7. Disclosures required by law. We will use and disclose your identifiable health information when federal, state, or local law requires us to do so.
1. Public health risks. We may disclose your identifiable health information to public health authorities authorized by law to collect it, for purposes including: maintaining vital records such as births and deaths; reporting child abuse or neglect; preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability; notifying a person of potential exposure to a communicable disease; reporting reactions to drugs or problems with products or devices; notifying individuals of a product recall; notifying appropriate government agencies regarding the potential abuse or neglect of an adult patient, including domestic violence, where the patient agrees or where we are required or authorized by law; and notifying an employer under limited circumstances relating to workplace injury or illness.
2. Health oversight activities. We may disclose your identifiable health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, including investigations, inspections, audits, surveys, licensure and disciplinary actions, and proceedings necessary to monitor government programs and compliance with the law.
3. Lawsuits and similar proceedings. We may use and disclose your identifiable health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose it in response to a discovery request, subpoena, or other lawful process by another party to a dispute, but only if we have made an effort to notify you of the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
4. Law enforcement. We may release identifiable health information to a law enforcement official: regarding a crime victim in certain situations where we cannot obtain the person’s agreement; concerning a death we believe may have resulted from criminal conduct; regarding criminal conduct at our offices; in response to a warrant, summons, court order, subpoena, or similar legal process; to identify or locate a suspect, material witness, fugitive, or missing person; and in an emergency, to report a crime.
5. Serious threats to health or safety. We may use and disclose your identifiable health information when necessary to reduce or prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or that of another person or the public, and only to a person or organization able to help prevent the threat.
6. Military. We may disclose your identifiable health information if you are a member of the United States or a foreign military force, including veterans, where required by the appropriate military command authorities.
7. National security. We may disclose your identifiable health information to federal officials for intelligence and national security activities authorized by law, and to protect the President, other officials, or foreign heads of state.
8. Workers’ compensation. We may release your identifiable health information for workers’ compensation and similar programs.
The following uses and disclosures will be made only with your written authorization:
Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, if we maintain them.
Uses and disclosures of your identifiable health information for marketing purposes, other than face-to-face communications with you and promotional gifts of nominal value. If we receive payment from a third party in connection with a marketing communication, we will tell you.
Any disclosure that constitutes a sale of your identifiable health information.
Any other use or disclosure not described in this notice will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance on it. We are required to retain records of the care we provide.
1. Confidential communications. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health and related issues in a particular manner or at a certain location — for example, that we contact you at home rather than at work. Submit a written request to the Compliance Officer specifying the method of contact or location. We will accommodate reasonable requests, and you do not need to give a reason.
2. Requesting restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction on our use or disclosure of your identifiable health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations, and to request that we limit disclosure to individuals involved in your care or payment for your care. Submit your request in writing to the Compliance Officer, describing clearly (a) the information you wish to restrict, (b) whether you are asking us to limit use, disclosure, or both, and (c) to whom the limits should apply. We are not required to agree to most requests; however, if we do agree, we are bound by that agreement except in emergencies, where the information is necessary to treat you, or where the law requires otherwise.
We are required by law to agree to one type of request: if you pay for a service or item in full, out of pocket, we must honor your request that we not disclose information about that service or item to your health plan, unless the law requires the disclosure.
3. Inspection and copies. You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of the identifiable health information used to make decisions about you, including medical and billing records, but not including psychotherapy notes. Submit your request in writing to the Compliance Officer. If we maintain the information electronically, you may request an electronic copy or ask that we transmit a copy to a person you designate. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee as permitted by law. We may deny a request in certain limited circumstances; you may request that a denial be reviewed by another licensed healthcare professional chosen by us.
4. Amendment. You may ask us to amend your health information if you believe it is incorrect or incomplete, for as long as we keep the information. Submit your request in writing to the Compliance Officer, along with a reason supporting the request. We will deny the request if it is not submitted in writing with a supporting reason. We may also deny a request to amend information that (a) is accurate and complete, (b) is not part of the identifiable health information kept by or for the Practice, (c) is not part of the information you would be permitted to inspect and copy, or (d) was not created by the Practice, unless the person or entity that created it is no longer available to make the amendment.
5. Accounting of disclosures. You have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures we have made of your identifiable health information. Submit your request in writing to the Compliance Officer. Your request must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. The first accounting in any 12-month period is free; we may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for additional requests, and we will notify you of the cost in advance so you may withdraw or modify your request.
6. Paper copy of this notice. You are entitled to a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically. Ask any staff member or contact the Compliance Officer.
7. Notification of a breach. You have the right to be notified if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your unsecured identifiable health information.
8. Complaints. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Practice or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To file with the Practice, submit a written complaint to the Compliance Officer. To file with the federal government, contact the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201, or visit www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints. You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.
We reserve the right to revise or amend this notice. Any revision will be effective for all records we have created or maintained in the past and for any records we create or maintain in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in a prominent location in our office and on our website, and you may request a copy at any visit.
A paper copy of this notice is available at our front desk at any time, without charge. This notice is also provided in the consent packet every patient signs. See our Privacy Policy for a plain-language summary of these practices and our website data practices.
