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.
This Notice of Privacy Practices (the “Notice”) describes how Advocate Radiation Oncology LLC (“we” or “our”) may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment, or business operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. “Protected health information” or “PHI” is information about you, including demographic information, which may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical health or condition, treatment, or payment for health care services. This Notice also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information.
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION:
Your protected health information may be used and disclosed by our health care providers, our staff, and others outside of our office that are involved in your care and treatment for the purpose of providing health care services to you, to support our business operations, to obtain payment for your care, and any other use authorized or required by law.
TREATMENT:
We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your health care with a third party. For example, your protected health information may be provided to a health care provider to whom you have been referred to ensure the necessary information is accessible to diagnose or treat you.
Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies: We may use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, machine learning algorithms, and automated systems to support various aspects of your healthcare experience. These technologies may be used in treatment, payment operations, healthcare operations, and administrative functions to enhance the quality, efficiency, and safety of services we provide.
When we use AI technologies, your protected health information may be processed through these systems. Qualified healthcare professionals review all AI-assisted clinical recommendations before any treatment decisions are made. We implement appropriate safeguards to protect your information when processed through AI systems.
PAYMENT:
Your protected health information may be used to bill or 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 your services, such as making a determination of eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits and reviewing services provided to you for medical necessity.
Artificial Intelligence in Payment and Operations: As healthcare technology evolves, we may implement AI technologies to support payment processing and operational activities. If and when we deploy such systems, we will ensure appropriate protections for your protected health information and will update this Notice as necessary to describe specific AI applications.
HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS:
We may use or disclose, as needed, your protected health information in order to support the business activities of our organization. These activities include, but are not limited to, improving quality of care, providing information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services, developing, or maintaining and supporting computer systems, legal services, and conducting audits and compliance programs, including fraud, waste, and abuse investigations.
Artificial Intelligence in Health Care Operations: We may use AI technologies to support various healthcare operations activities, including quality improvement, workflow optimization, and administrative functions. When we use AI for these purposes, we implement appropriate safeguards to protect your protected health information.
Business Associates and AI Technologies: We work with various business associates who may use AI technologies to process your protected health information on our behalf. These business associates are contractually required to protect your PHI and may only use or disclose it as specified in their business associate agreements with us. When business associates use AI systems to process your information, they must comply with appropriate safeguards and our privacy and security standards.
USES AND DISCLOSURES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:
We may use or disclose your protected health information in the following situations without your authorization. These situations include the following uses and disclosures: as required by law; for public health purposes; for health care oversight purposes; for abuse or neglect reporting; pursuant to Food and Drug Administration requirements; in connection with legal proceedings; for law enforcement purposes; to coroners, funeral directors and organ donation agencies; for certain research purposes; for allegations of certain criminal activities; for certain military activity and national security purposes; for workers’ compensation reporting; relating to certain inmate reporting; and other required uses and disclosures. Under the law, we must make certain disclosures to you upon your request, and when required by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our compliance with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). State laws may further restrict these disclosures.
AI Processing for Required Disclosures: When we are required to make disclosures without your authorization, we may use AI technologies to facilitate these disclosures where appropriate and in compliance with applicable law.
USES AND DISCLOSURES THAT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:
Other permitted and required uses and disclosures will be made only with your consent, authorization or opportunity to object unless permitted or required by law. Without your authorization, we are expressly prohibited from using or disclosures your protected health information for marketing purposes. We may not sell your protected health information without your authorization. Your protected health information will not be used for fundraising. We will not use or disclose your psychotherapy notes without your authorization, except as permitted by law.
AI Uses Requiring Authorization: Certain AI applications may require your specific authorization, including use of your PHI for AI algorithm development or research beyond what is necessary for your treatment, payment, or our health care operations.
If you provide us with authorization for certain uses and disclosures of your information, you may revoke such authorization, at any time, in writing, except to the extent that we have taken an action in reliance on the use or disclosure indicated in the authorization.
YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION:
- You have the right to request a restriction on the use or disclosure of your protected health information, including restrictions on AI processing. Your request must be in writing and state the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply. We are not required to agree to a restriction that you may request, except if the requested restriction is on a disclosure to a health plan for a payment or health care operations purpose regarding a service that has been paid in full out-of-pocket.
- You have the right to request to receive confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternate location. We will comply with all reasonable requests submitted in writing which specify how or where you wish to receive these communications.
- You have the right to request access, inspect, and copy your protected health information, including information processed through AI systems.
- You have the right to request an amendment of your protected health information, including corrections to AI-processed data or AI-generated insights in your medical record. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us. We may prepare a rebuttal to your statement, and we will provide you with a copy of any such rebuttal.
- You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures of your protected health information that we have made, paper or electronic, including disclosures involving AI processing, except for certain disclosures which were pursuant to an authorization, for purposes of treatment, payment, or healthcare operations (unless the information is maintained in an electronic health record); or for certain other purposes.
- You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice, upon request, even if you have previously requested its receipt electronically by e-mail.
- We will notify you if a breach of your unsecured protected health information is discovered, including breaches involving AI systems or AI-enabled business associate services.
- You have the right to request information about how AI technologies may be used to process your protected health information when such use significantly affects your care.
- Right to Human Review: You have the right to request human review of AI-assisted decisions that significantly impact your care or coverage determinations. All final clinical decisions involving AI recommendations will be reviewed and approved by qualified healthcare professionals, and AI will not be the sole basis for medical necessity determinations.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, machine learning algorithms, and automated systems to support various aspects of your healthcare experience in accordance with applicable law. When we use AI technologies, your protected health information may be processed through these systems. These technologies may be used, for example, in treatment, payment operations, and healthcare operations/administrative functions to enhance the quality, efficiency, and safety of services we provide. We implement appropriate safeguards to protect your information when processed through AI technologies. We enter into business associate agreements with third party vendors who process your protected health information on our behalf. You may have the right to request human review of AI-assisted decisions that significantly impact your care or coverage determinations. Final clinical decisions involving AI recommendations are reviewed and approved by qualified healthcare professionals.
AI SAFEGUARDS AND PROTECTIONS:
When we use AI technologies to process your protected health information, we implement comprehensive safeguards consistent with HIPAA Privacy and Security Rule requirements:
Technical Safeguards: We implement appropriate technical measures to protect PHI processed through AI systems, including data encryption, access controls, authentication mechanisms, audit capabilities, and data minimization practices as required by applicable regulations.
Administrative Safeguards: We maintain policies and procedures governing AI use with PHI, provide staff training on privacy and security requirements, conduct risk assessments, implement incident response procedures, and ensure appropriate business associate oversight when AI services are provided by third parties.
Physical Safeguards: We ensure that AI processing infrastructure and workstations have appropriate physical protection, including secure facilities, controlled access, and secure disposal of any PHI used in AI processing.
These safeguards are designed to protect your protected health information regardless of the specific AI technologies we may implement, and we continuously evaluate and update our protections as technology and regulations evolve.
REVISIONS TO THIS NOTICE:
We reserve the right to revise this Notice and to make the revised Notice effective for protected health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. You are entitled to a copy of the Notice currently in effect. Any significant changes to this Notice will be posted on our website.
COMPLAINTS:
Complaints about this Notice or how we handle your protected health information, including concerns about AI processing, must be directed to our HIPAA Privacy Officer. Please reach out to us by email Privacy@phspecialists.com or call 888-211-9869 and ask to speak with our HIPAA Privacy Officer. We follow the duties and privacy practices described in this Notice.
You may also submit a complaint to:
Office for Civil Rights|
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, Suite 16T70 61 Forsyth Street, S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30303-8909
Customer Response Center: (800) 368-1019
Fax: (202) 619-3818
TDD: (800) 537-7697
Email: ocrmail@hhs.gov
We will never retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
This Notice was originally published and effective on January 30, 2025, revised September 25, 2025
Dr. Todd Pezzi first became interested in oncology at a young age after seeing cancer impact his own family. He is passionate about delivering state-of-the-art oncologic care to the residents of Southwest Florida.
Thomas J. Klein, M.D., Ph.D., FACRO is a board-certified radiation oncologist who provides world class cancer treatment in a caring community setting. He values the personal relationships he forms with each of his patients and is committed to helping them in their fight against cancer. Dr. Klein is an advocate for his patients both in and out of the clinic. He has raised awareness on news broadcasts, lobbied for cancer patients’ rights on Capitol Hill, and educated physicians around the country on making better treatment decisions for their patients.
