Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective date: October 1, 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.

Our commitment to your privacy

Acupuncture for Athletics ("we", "us") keeps a record of the care we provide to you. This notice explains how we use and share your medical information, the rights you have over it, and how we protect it.

Because we don't bill health insurance, the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule doesn't generally apply to our practice. Your medical information is protected by California law, including the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) and the Patient Access to Health Records Act. We also choose to follow privacy practices modeled on HIPAA, as described below.

We will:

• keep your medical information confidential, and share it only as described in this notice or with your written authorization;
• protect it with reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards;
• follow the terms of the notice currently in effect; and
• notify you as required by California law if a breach compromises the security of your medical information.

How we may use and share your medical information

Treatment. We use your medical information to provide and coordinate your care, and may share it with other providers treating you. Example: with your physician or physical therapist, so your acupuncture plan fits the rest of your rehabilitation.

Payment. We use your information to collect payment for your care. Example: preparing a superbill you can submit to your insurer for out-of-network reimbursement, or processing an HSA or FSA card.

Running our practice. We use your information for administrative purposes, such as scheduling, record keeping, reviewing the quality of our care and training staff.

Appointment reminders and service information. We may contact you by phone, text or email to remind you of appointments or tell you about treatment options and health-related services we offer.

Service providers. Some services are provided for us by vendors, such as our electronic health record and scheduling system. They may receive your information only to do that work for us, and must keep it confidential.

People involved in your care. With your agreement, we may share information with a family member, friend or other person you identify who is involved in your care or payment for it. In an emergency, we will use our professional judgement about what is in your best interest.

When the law requires or allows us to share information

California law requires or allows us to share medical information without your authorization in limited situations, including:

• Legal orders: in response to a court order, a valid subpoena, a search warrant, or another legal process that meets the requirements of California law.
• Licensing and oversight: to the California Acupuncture Board and other agencies authorized by law to investigate or oversee health care providers.
• Abuse and neglect: reporting suspected child, elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect, as we are required to do as health care practitioners.
• Public health and safety: reports required by law, such as of certain diseases, and to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.
• Coroners and medical examiners, as permitted by law.
• Other situations where California law specifically requires or permits disclosure.

Uses that require your written authorization

We will not use or share your information for any other purpose without your written authorization, including:

• marketing;
• sale of your medical information; we never sell your medical information;
• using your story, photo or testimonial to promote our practice.

If you give us authorization, you may cancel it in writing at any time. Cancelling it stops future uses and disclosures, but it does not undo anything we already did in reliance on it.

California law gives certain information extra protection, including HIV test results and some mental health information, and we share it only as that law allows.

Your rights

See or get a copy of your records. You can ask in writing to inspect your health records or receive a copy. Under California law, we will let you inspect them within 5 working days of your request, and provide copies within 15 days. We may charge a reasonable fee as permitted by law.

Add a statement to your record. If you believe something in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you can give us a written addendum of up to 250 words, and we will attach it to your record. You can also ask us to correct it.

Request confidential communications. You can ask us to contact you in a specific way, for example by cell phone rather than home phone, or to send mail to a different address. We will agree to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we share. You can ask us not to share certain information, for example with a family member. We will consider every request, and tell you whether we can agree.

Ask who we've shared information with. You can ask us for a list of the people and organizations, other than your own providers, with whom we have shared your medical information.

Get a copy of this notice. You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time.

Choose someone to act for you. If you have given someone medical power of attorney, or someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights. We will confirm they have this authority before we act.

Changes to this notice

We may change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available on request, in our office and on this website.

Questions and complaints

If you have questions, want to exercise any of your rights, or feel your privacy has not been respected, please contact us first so we can put it right:

Privacy Officer, Acupuncture for Athletics
2920 Webster Street, San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 646-1862 · [email protected]

You can also contact the California Acupuncture Board at www.acupuncture.ca.gov, or the California Attorney General's privacy unit at oag.ca.gov/privacy.

We will not retaliate against you for making a complaint.