NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED, HOW YOU CAN ACCESS THIS INFORMATION, AND HOW TO FILE A PRIVACY COMPLAINT. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Paragond is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your medical information. This Notice of Privacy Practices explains your rights, our legal responsibilities, and how we may use or disclose protected health information (PHI) in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other applicable laws.

YOUR RIGHTS

Access Your Medical Records

You have the right to inspect and obtain an electronic or paper copy of your medical records and other health information we maintain about you, with limited exceptions permitted by law. We generally respond within 30 days and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee when permitted by law.

Request Corrections

You may request that we correct health information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. We may deny your request in certain circumstances but will provide a written explanation.

Request Confidential Communications

You may request that we contact you through a specific method or at a particular location. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Request Restrictions

You may request restrictions on how we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. We are not required to agree to every request.

If you pay in full out of pocket for a healthcare service, you may request that we not disclose information about that service to your health plan for payment or healthcare operations. We must honor this request unless disclosure is otherwise required by law.

Receive an Accounting of Disclosures

You may request a list of certain disclosures of your health information made during the six years preceding your request. Certain disclosures, including many made for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, are excluded.

Receive a Copy of This Notice

You may request a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically.

Choose Someone to Act on Your Behalf

If you have designated a legally authorized personal representative, or if someone has legal authority to make healthcare decisions for you, that person may exercise your rights as permitted by law.

File a Complaint

You may file a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. You may contact Paragond directly or submit a complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION

Treatment

We may use your protected health information internally to provide, coordinate, and manage your healthcare.

At Paragond, we respect your right to control the sharing of your medical information. As a general practice policy, we obtain your written authorization through a Release of Information before disclosing medical records or treatment information to outside healthcare providers.

Exceptions may apply when disclosures are required by law, necessary for certain healthcare operations, or otherwise permitted under applicable privacy regulations.

We strive to ensure that patients remain informed about how their medical information is shared and with whom.

Payment

We may use and disclose information necessary to process payments, manage patient accounts, verify billing information, and collect payment for healthcare services.

Paragond uses Stripe for payment processing. We seek to limit information shared with payment processors to what is necessary for authorized billing activities.

Healthcare Operations

We may use and disclose health information for legitimate practice operations, including quality improvement, clinical coordination, staff training, administrative activities, compliance reviews, and evaluating the effectiveness of our services.

Electronic Medical Records

Paragond uses ModMed as its electronic medical record system to maintain patient records, clinical documentation, laboratory information, treatment plans, prescriptions, and related healthcare information.

Authorized personnel may access records as necessary to perform their responsibilities, subject to applicable privacy and security requirements.

Patient Communications

Paragond uses Spruce Health for patient communications, including secure messaging, telephone calls, text messaging, appointment coordination, and care-related communication. We may use your contact information to communicate about appointments, laboratory results, prescriptions, treatment recommendations, and administrative matters.

Traditional SMS text messaging and standard email may carry privacy risks. We encourage patients to use designated secure communication methods when discussing sensitive medical information.

OTHER PERMITTED OR REQUIRED DISCLOSURES

We may use or disclose health information without additional authorization when permitted or required by applicable law, including for public health activities, health oversight, reporting suspected abuse or neglect, workers' compensation, judicial or administrative proceedings, law enforcement purposes, organ and tissue donation, coroners or medical examiners, certain research activities, and preventing or reducing serious threats to health or safety.

We may disclose information to family members, caregivers, or other individuals involved in your care or payment for care when permitted by law and consistent with your preferences.

We may share information with business associates that perform services on our behalf, subject to applicable privacy requirements and required contractual safeguards.

More protective federal or state confidentiality laws will apply when they govern particular records or disclosures.

MARKETING, AUTHORIZATIONS, AND SENSITIVE INFORMATION

We will obtain your written authorization when HIPAA requires it, including for most uses or disclosures of psychotherapy notes, most marketing uses of protected health information, and disclosures constituting a sale of protected health information.

We will not use your protected health information for purposes requiring authorization unless you provide that authorization.

You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance on it.

Certain sensitive information may be subject to additional confidentiality requirements under federal or state law.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Paragond is required by law to maintain the privacy and security of protected health information.

We must provide you with this Notice describing our legal duties and privacy practices and follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect.

We are required to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information when notification is required by law.

We will not use or disclose protected health information in ways that are not permitted by law or described in this Notice without obtaining appropriate authorization.

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect patient information and restrict access to authorized personnel.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

We reserve the right to modify this Notice and make revised provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain, as permitted by law.

Updated notices will be made available on our website and upon request.

QUESTIONS OR PRIVACY COMPLAINTS

If you have questions about this Notice, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or would like to submit a complaint, please contact:
Privacy Contact: Megan Lane
Website: www.paragond.health

Email: info@paragond.health
Phone: (208) 789-0220

You may also file a complaint with:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
Website: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr

Complaint Portal: https://ocrportal.hhs.gov

Paragond will not retaliate against anyone for exercising their privacy rights or submitting a complaint.

Effective Date: October 19, 2026