Privacy Policy

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 PRIVACY OF YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO US.

Our Legal Duty We are required by applicable federal and state laws to maintain the privacy of your protected health information. We are also required to give you this notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your protected health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this notice while it is in effect. This notice takes effect April 14, 2003, and will remain in effect until we replace it.

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, provided that such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our notice effective for all protected healthin formation that we maintain, including medical information we created or received before we made the changes.

You may request a copy of our notice (or any subsequent revised notice) at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this notice,please contact us using the information listed at the end of this notice.

Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information We will use and disclose your protected health information about you for treatment, payment, and health care operations. Following are examples of the types of uses and disclosures of your protected health care information that may occur. These examples are not meant to be exhaustive,but to describe the types of uses and disclosures that maybe made by our office.

Treatment: We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate or manage your healthcare and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your health care with a third party. For example, we would disclose your protected health information, as necessary, to a home health agency that provides care to you. We will also disclose protected health information to other physicians who may be treating you. For example, your protected health information may be provided to a physician to whom you have been referred to ensure that the physician has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you.

In addition, we may disclose your protected health information from time to time to another physician or health care provider (e.g., a specialist or laboratory)who, at the request of your physician, becomes involved in your care by providing assistance with your health care diagnosis or treatment to your physician.

Payment: Your protected health information will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for your health care services. This may include certain activities that your health insurance plan may undertake before it approves or pays for the health care services we recommend for you, such as:making a determination of eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits, reviewing services provided to you for protected health necessity, and undertaking utilization review activities. For example, obtaining approval for a hospital stay may require that your relevant protected health information be disclosed to the health plan to obtain approval for the hospital admission.

Health Care Operations: We may use or disclose, as needed,your protected health information in order to conduct certain business and operational activities. These activities include, but are not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, training of students, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities.

For example, we may use a sign-in sheet at the registration desk where you will be asked to sign your name. We may also call you by name in the waiting room when your doctor is ready to see you. We may use or disclose your protected health information, as necessary, to contact you by telephone or mail to remind you of your appointment.

We will share your protected health information with third party "business associates" that perform various activities (e.g., billing, transcription services) for the practice. Whenever an arrangement between our office and a business associate involves the use or disclosure of your protected health information, we will have a written contract that contains terms that will protect the privacy of your protected health information.

We may use or disclose your protected health information,as necessary, to provide you with information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. We may also use and disclose your protected health information for other marketing activities. For example, your name and address may be used to send you a newsletter about our practice and the services we offer. We may also send you information about products or services that we believe may be beneficial to you. You may contact us to request that these materials not be sent to you.

Uses and Disclosures Based On Your Written Authorization:Other uses and disclosures of your protected health information will be made only with your authorization,unless otherwise permitted or required by law as described below.

You may give us written authorization to use your protected health information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose. If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time. Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect. Without your written authorization, we will not disclose your health care information except as described in this notice.

Others Involved in Your Health Care: Unless you object, we may disclose to a member of your family, a relative, a close friend or any other person you identify, your protected health information that directly relates to that person's involvement in your health care. If you are unable to agree or object to such a disclosure, we may disclose such information as necessary if we determine that it is in your best interest based on our professional judgment. We may use or disclose protected health information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative or any other person that is responsible for your care of your location, general condition or death.

Marketing: We may use your protected health information to contact you with information about treatment alternatives that may be of interest to you. We may disclose your protected health information to a business associate to assist us in these activities. Unless the information is provided to you by a general newsletter or in person or is for products or services of nominal value, you may opt out of receiving further such information by telling us using the contact information listed at the end of this notice.

Research; Death; Organ Donation: We may use or disclose your protected health information for research purposes in limited circumstances. We may disclose the protected health information of a deceased person to a coroner, protected health examiner, funeral director or organ procurement organization for certain purposes.

Public Health and Safety: We may disclose your protected health information to the extent necessary to avert a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety, or the health or safety of others. We may disclose your protected health information to a government agency authorized to oversee the health care system or government programs or its contractors, and to public health authorities for public health purposes.

Health Oversight: We may disclose protected health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations and inspections. Oversight agencies seeking this information include government agencies that oversee the health care system, government benefit programs, other government regulatory programs and civil rights laws.

Abuse or Neglect: We may disclose your protected health information to a public health authority that is authorized by law to receive reports of child abuse or neglect. In addition, we may disclose your protected health information if we believe that you have been a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence to the governmental entity or agency authorized to receive such information. In this case, the disclosure will be made consistent with the requirements of applicable federal and state laws.

Food and Drug Administration: We may disclose your protected health information to a person or company required by the Food and Drug Administration to report adverse events, product defects or problems, biologic product deviations; to track products; to enable product recalls; to make repairs or replacements; or to conduct post marketing surveillance, as required.

Criminal Activity: Consistent with applicable federal and state laws, we may disclose your protected health information, if we believe that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public. We may also disclose protected health information if it is necessary for law enforcement authorities to identify or apprehend an individual.

Required by Law: We may use or disclose your protected health information when we are required to do so by law. For example, we must disclose your protected health information to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upon request for purposes of determining whether we are in compliance with federal privacy laws. We may disclose your protected health information when authorized by workers' compensation or similar laws.

Process and Proceedings: We may disclose your protected health information in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process,under certain circumstances. Under limited circumstances,such as a court order, warrant or grand jury subpoena, wemay disclose your protected health information to law enforcement officials.

Law Enforcement: We may disclose limited information to a law enforcement official concerning the protected health information of a suspect, fugitive, material witness, crime victim or missing person. We may disclose the protected health information of an inmate or other person in lawful custody to a law enforcement official or correctional institution under certain circumstances. We may disclose protected health information where necessary to assist law enforcement officials to capture an individual who has admitted to participation in a crime or has escaped from lawful custody.

Patient Rights Access: You have the right to look at or get copies of your protected health information, with limited exceptions. You must make a request in writing to the contact person listed herein to obtain access to your protected health information. You may also request access by sending us a letter to the address at the end of this notice. If you request copies, we will charge you $25.00 for each page or$10.00 per hour to locate and copy your protected health information, and postage if you want the copies mailed to you. If you prefer, we will prepare a summary or an explanation of your protected health information for a fee. Contact us using the information listed at the end of this notice for a full explanation of our fee structure.

Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to receive a list of instances in which we or our business associates disclosed your protected health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, health care operations and certain other activities after April 14, 2003. After April14, 2009, the accounting will be provided for the past six(6) years. We will provide you with the date on which we made the disclosure, the name of the person or entity to whom we disclosed your protected health information, a description of the protected health information we disclosed, the reason for the disclosure, and certain other information. If you request this list more than once in a12-month period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to these additional requests. Contact us using the information listed at the end of this notice for a full explanation of our fee structure.

Restriction Requests: You have the right to request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your protected health information. We are not required to agree to these additional restrictions, but if we do, wewill abide by our agreement (except in an emergency). Any agreement we may make to a request for additional restrictions must be in writing signed by a person authorized to make such an agreement on our behalf. We will not be bound unless our agreement is so memorialized in writing.

Confidential Communication: You have the right to request that we communicate with you in confidence about your protected health information by alternative means or to an alternative location. You must make your request in writing. We must accommodate your request if it is reasonable, specifies the alternative means or location,and continues to permit us to bill and collect payment from you.

Amendment: You have the right to request that we amend your protected health information. Your request must be in writing, and it must explain why the information should be amended. We may deny your request if we did not create the information you want amended or for certain other reasons. If we deny your request, we will provide you a written explanation. You may respond with a statement of disagreement to be appended to the information you wanted amended. If we accept your request to amend the information, we will make reasonable efforts to inform others, including people or entities you name, of the amendment and to include the changes in any future disclosures of that information.

Electronic Notice: If you receive this notice on our website or by electronic mail (e-mail), you are entitled to receive this notice in written form. Please contact us using the information listed at the end of this notice to obtain this notice in written form.

Questions and Complaints If you want more information about our privacy practices or have questions or concerns, please contact us using the information below. If you believe that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your protected health information or in response to a request you made, you may complain to us using the contact information below. You also may submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the address to file your complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upon request.

We support your right to protect the privacy of your protected health information. We will not retaliate in anyway if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Name of Contact Person: Robert Avramian Telephone: (818) 373-0010 Address: 7618 Woodman Avenue Unit 10 Panorama City, CA 91402

Terms of Use

1. This World Wide Web site with its home page in the domain http://biosteportho.com/ , hereinafter referred to as the Website, is an information service provided by BioStep, at no charge to users of the World Wide Web, with the express condition that these users agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth in this Terms of Use Agreement. BioStep reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time, and you agree to abide by the most recent version of this Terms of Use Agreement each time you view and use the Website. You are accordingly advised to consult the Terms of Use Agreement each time you view and use the Website. Do not use the Website if you do not agree to all of the following terms and conditions.

2. You acknowledge that the information on the Website is provided 'as is' for general information only. It is not intended to provide medical advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultations with qualified health professionals who are familiar with your individual medical needs. BioStep makes no warranties of any kind regarding this Website, including but not limited to any warranty of accuracy, completeness, currency, reliability, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, or any warranty that these pages, or the computer server which makes them available, are free of viruses or other harmful elements, and such warranties are expressly disclaimed.

3. You agree that you will hold harmless BioStep and its shareholders, officers, directors, and employees from all claims arising out of or related to your access or use of, or your inability to access or use, this Website or the information contained in this Website or other websites to which it is linked, including but not limited to claims that you have found something you have heard, viewed or downloaded from this Website or any other website to which it is linked to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, or infringing upon your intellectual property rights. In no event will BioStep or any of the information contributors to the Website be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you in reliance on such information or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if BioStep has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

4. You acknowledge that the opinions and recommendations contained in this Website are not necessarily those of BioStep.

5. BioStep may provide links on the Website to other websites which are not under the control of BIoStep. In general, any website which has an address (or URL) not containing http://biosteportho.com/ is such a website. These links are provided for convenience or reference only and are not intended as an endorsement by BioStep of the organization or individual operating the website or a warranty of any type regarding the website or the information on the website.

6. You may provide hypertext links to this Website on another website, provided that: (a) the link be a text-only link clearly marked “BioStep”, (b) the link must 'point' to the URL http://biosteportho.com/ and not to other pages within the Website, (c) the appearance, position and other aspects of the link may not be such as to damage or dilute the goodwill associated with BioStep’s name and trademarks, (d) the appearance, position and other aspects of the link may not create the false appearance that an entity other than BioStep is associated with or sponsored by BioStep, (e) the link, when activated by a user, must display this Website full-screen and not within a 'frame' on the linked website, and (f) BioStep reserves the right to revoke its consent to any link at any time at its sole discretion by amending this Terms of Use Agreement. You agree that any other hypertext links to this Website must be approved in writing by BioStep.

7. The works of authorship contained in this Website, including but not limited to all design, text and images, are owned or licensed by BioStep, or its suppliers and contributors, and may not be copied, reproduced, transmitted, displayed, performed, distributed, rented, sublicensed, altered, stored by subsequent use or otherwise used in whole or in part in any manner without BioStep’s prior written consent, except that the user may make such temporary copies in a single computer's RAM and hard drive as is necessary to browse the Website, and that the user may produce one permanent printout of each page of the Website (unmodified in form, with a copy of this Terms of Use Agreement attached) to be used by the user for personal and non-commercial uses which do not harm the reputation of BioStep.

8. This Website (excluding linked sites) is controlled by BioStep. which is headquartered in the State of California, in the United States of America. It may be accessed from all 50 states, as well as from other countries around the world. Because each of these places has laws that may differ from those of California, by accessing this Website you agree that the statutes and laws of the State of California, without regard to conflicts of law principles thereof, will apply to all matters arising from or relating to the use of this Website. You also agree and hereby submit to the exclusive legal jurisdiction and venues of the Courts of Los Angeles County, California and the United States District Court for the Central District of California with respect to such matters. BioStep makes no representation that materials on the Website are appropriate or available for use in other locations, and accessing them from territories where their contents are illegal is hereby prohibited. Individuals or organizations choosing to access this Website from other locations do so of their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

9. All text and electronic images on this Website are copyrighted materials which are either registered copyrights, unregistered common law copyrights, registered trademarks or salesmarks BioStep, its suppliers or contributors. Any attempt to infringe upon or to circumvent these copyrights or trademarks will subject the infringing individual or organization to severe criminal and civil penalties as prescribed by law.