NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

 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. 

Your Health Information Rights
Your health record is the physical property of this practice, however the information it contains belongs
to you. You have the following rights and we request that you notify the Privacy Officer of the Practice of your requests for any of these actions:
            a. Request Restrictions. You have a right to request restrictions on the use of your  
                information.
            b. Obtain a Paper Copy of this Notice: You have a right to receive a paper copy of this Notice.
            c. Inspect and Copy: You have a right to inspect and receive a copy of your health information.
                If you request a copy of your information, you may be charged a reasonable fee for
                photocopying, retrieval. labor, postage and
                supplies used.
            d. Amend: You have the right to request that we amend your health information.
            e. Obtain an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an accounting of certain
                disclosures of information that have been made about you. This listing includes those
                disclosures of your information other than treatment, payment or healthcare purposes and is
                within a specified period of up to six years. The first listing of disclosures is provided as a
                complimentary service to you, but you may be charged a reasonable fee
                for additional requests made within a twelve-month period.
             f. Request Your Authorization for Disclosure: You have the right to revoke an authorization for
                disclosure of information that was previously given.

Our Responsibilities
Our practice is required to:
            a. Confidentiality: Maintain the privacy of your health information.
            b. Provide a copy of this notice: We will provide you with a copy of this notice of our legal duties
                and privacy practices with respect to the information we collect and maintain about you.
            c. Abide by the terms of this notice.
            d. Unable to restrict: We will notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction of
                your information
            e. Provide alternative means or alternative locations: We will accommodate reasonable requests
                you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative
                locations.

            We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and to make new provisions effective for
            all protected health information we keep. Should our information practices change, we will notify
            you of these changes when you  return to our office. We will not use or disclosure your health
            information without your authorization, except as
            described I this notice.   

Examples of Disclosures of information
             a. Treatment:
                 1. We will use your health information for treatment purposes. As an example, information
                     given to a nurse or physician will be recorded in your health record and used to determine
                     your treatment goals, actions taken and clinical observations.
                 2. We will provide your other healthcare providers with copies of various reports that will
                     help them to treat you for subsequent conditions that may arise.

             b. Payment: A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer. The information on or
                 accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, your diagnosis, treatments
                 and supplies used.

             c. Healthcare Operations: The physicians and members of your healthcare team may use the
                 information to evaluate the quality of care you received as well as the care received by
                 others similar to you. This information will be used to improve the effectiveness of healthcare
                 operations and services we provide.

             d. Business Associates: There are some services provided through contracts with business
                 associates. As an example, we contract with a company that provides information services
                 for the computer system we operate. When these services are contracted, we may disclose
                 your health information to this business associate so that they can perform the work we
                 require. To protect your health information, the business associate must
                 appropriately safeguard your information.

             e. Notification: We may disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member,
                 personal representative or other person responsible for your care, information about your
                 general condition.

             f. Communication with family: We will use good judgment in disclosing to a family member or any
                other person you identify health information relevant to that person's involvement in your care
                or payment related to your care.

             g. Research: We will disclose only limited information to approved researchers that participate
                 in research approved by our institutional review board. We will obtain a written authorization
                 from you to disclose
                 information for other research purposes.

             h. Funeral Directors: We may disclose health information o funeral directors consistent with
                 state law that allows them to carry out their duties.

              i. Organ Donation: If you are an organ donor, we may disclose your information to
                 organizations that help  procure, bank or transport organs for tissue donation and
                 transplantation purposes.

              j. Marketing: We may contact you to provided appointment reminders or information about
                 treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to
                 you.

             k. Fund raising: We may contact you as part of a fund-raising effort.

              l. Food and Drug Administration: We may disclose to the FDA health information relative to
                 adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects or
                 post-marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs or replacement.

             m. Workers Compensation: In accordance with state law, we may disclose health information
                  as required for processing a claim under worker's compensation.

             n. Public Health: Under South Carolina law, we may disclose your health information as
                 required for processing a claim under worker's compensation.

             o. Correctional institution: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to
                 the institution or its agents health information that is needed for your health or the health and
                 safety of other individuals.

             p. Law enforcement: We may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as
                 required by law or in response to a valid subpoena.

             q. Health investigation: Federal and state laws make provisions for your health information to
                 be released to appropriate health authorities provided that a member of our staff or business
                 associates believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have
                 otherwise endangered one or more patients, workers
                 or the public.

             r. Other disclosures: All other uses and disclosures of your information will only be made with 
                your written authorization. If you have authorized us to use or disclose information about
                you, you may revoke this authorization at any time.

Adapted from the following sources:

American Health Information Management Association
Practice Brief - Notice of Information Practices, May, 2001

American Medical Association
Field Guide to HIPAA Implementation
Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell and Jernigan, LLP

If you would like to obtain  copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices send a written request to:

Midland Hearing Associates
3 Richland Medical Park Suite 130
Columbia, SC  29203
(803) 765-1919
&
1 Wellness Boulevard
Suite 108
Irmo, SC 29063
(803) 765-1919