Dear Patient,

Physicians have always protected the confidentiality of health information. Today, state and federal laws also attempt to ensure the confidentiality of this sensitive information.

The federal government has published regulations to protect the privacy of your health information. This "privacy rule" protects health information that is maintained by physicians, hospitals, other health care providers and health plans. Physicians must comply with the Privacy Rules Standards for protecting the confidentiality of your health information by April 14, 2003.

This new regulation protects virtually all patients' information. Every time you see a physician, are admitted to the hospital, fill a prescription, or send a claim to a health plan, your physician, the hospital or other health care provider will need to consider the privacy rule. All health information including paper records, oral communications, and electronic formats are protected by the privacy rule.

The privacy rule also provides you certain rights, such as the right to have access to your medical records. However, there are certain exceptions to these rights. We also take precautions in our office to safeguard your health information.