Eye Associates is committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to sesmithmd.com and sesmithmd.com and/or fmdei.com and to keeping personal information that visitors provide us private. We have established procedures and policies to ensure that the privacy of each visitor to sesmithmd.com and/or fmdei.com is protected. The following is a description of the information that we collect, how we will use the information and how we protect visitor information we collect. We request that you read the following description of our Privacy Policies and if you have any questions or comments, please contact us at 239-936-7685

Information that we collect and how we will use such information

We will collect and maintain certain basic personally identifying information (“Personal Information”) about you when you contact us by e-mail and give us your personal information. Personal Information we collect will include such items as your name and e-mail address. We will use this information to respond to your requests for information. In addition, we may use Personal Information to send you information and news about additions to sesmithmd.com and we may from time to time request additional Personal Information that we will use to better tailor our content to your needs. When we collect Personal Information from you, we will ask whether you want to be contacted by us.

In addition to Personal Information, our Web servers will collect and store general information about you that cannot be used to personally identify you. Such information includes the name of the domain and the host from which you access the Internet, the IP (Internet Protocol) address of your computer, your Internet browser and operating system, the time you accessed sesmithmd.com and the Web site from which you linked to sesmithmd.com, if any. We will use this information to monitor the use of capecoraleyecenter.com. We will also use this non-personal information to improve and modify sesmithmd.com and we may share this non-personal information with third parties in aggregate form.

Dissemination of Information to Third Parties

Eye Associates will not sell, rent, loan or share your Personal Information with any third parties, unless you have authorized us to do so or we are legally required to do so. Eye Associates may provide non-personal information, which will not allow you to be identified or contacted, in aggregate form to third parties.

Security

Eye Associates uses commercially reasonable computer security technology selected and implemented to ensure adherence to the privacy policies described in this online posting. All information contained or collected on sesmithmd.com is protected using encryption programs.

Cookies

A “Cookie” is a small text file that we place on your computer’s hard drive that allows us to keep track of your activities on sesmithmd.com and/or capecoraleyecenter.com. We will use Cookies to let us know whether you have visited sesmithmd.com before and to help us generate content that may be of interest to you.

Links to Other Sites

Our site may provide links to other Web sites. The privacy policies described here for Eye Associates do NOT apply to those external links. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of other sites you visit. Be informed. You are the person best qualified to protect your own privacy.

Social Media Policy

We are not responsible for any information collected by social networks on which we maintain a social media presence. These include, but are not limited to, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Each social network has its own privacy policy and it should be read before creating an account on the network. We are not responsible for any marketing or retargeting performed by a social network after you have visited our pages.

Your Consent

By accessing sesmithmd.com, you consent to the use of this information by Eye Associates. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy in the future, we will post the changes on this page. If any such change relates to a change in how we use your Personal Information, we will provide you with the option to consent to the change, or have your Personal Information removed from sesmithmd.com.

Changes to this Policy

This Privacy Policy will always be available to users on this page for you to read. We will update this Privacy Policy to reflect new features, services and options, as well as any other changes regarding the use of personal information.

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Our Privacy Policy regarding Medical information is listed below:

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.

Patient Health Information

Under federal law, your patient health information is protected and confidential. Patient health information includes information about your symptoms, test results, diagnosis, treatment, and related medical information. Your health information also includes payment, billing, and insurance information. Your information may be stored electronically and if so is subject to electronic disclosure.

How We Use & Disclose Your Patient Health Information

Treatment: We will use and disclose your health information to provide you with medical treatment or services. For example, nurses, physicians, and other members of your treatment team will record information in your record and use it to determine the most appropriate course of care. We may also disclose the information to other health care providers who are participating in your treatment, to pharmacists who are filling your prescriptions, and to family members who are helping with your care.

Payment: We will use and disclose your health information for payment purposes. For example, we may need to obtain authorization from your insurance company before providing certain types of treatment or disclose your information to payors to determine whether you are enrolled or eligible for benefits. We will submit bills and maintain records of payments from your health plan.
Health Care Operations: We will use and disclose your health information to conduct our standard internal operations, including proper administration of records, evaluation of the quality of treatment, arranging for legal services and to assess the care and outcomes of your case and others like it.

Special Uses and Disclosures

Following a procedure, we will disclose your discharge instructions and information related to your care to the individual who is driving you home from the center or who is otherwise identified as assisting in your post-procedure care. We may also disclose relevant health information to a family member, friend or others involved in your care or payment for your care and disclose information to those assisting in disaster relief efforts.

Other Uses and Disclosures

We may be required or permitted to use or disclose the information even without your permission as described below:

Required by Law: We may be required by law to disclose your information, such as to report gunshot wounds, suspected abuse or neglect, or similar injuries and events.

Research: We may use or disclose information for approved medical research.

Public Health Activities: We may disclose vital statistics, diseases, information related to recalls of dangerous products, and similar information to public health authorities.

Health oversight: We may disclose information to assist in investigations and audits, eligibility for government programs, and similar activities.

Judicial and administrative proceedings: We may disclose information in response to an appropriate subpoena, discovery request or court order.

Law enforcement purposes: We may disclose information needed or requested by law enforcement officials or to report a crime on our premises.

Deaths: We may disclose information regarding deaths to coroners, medical examiners, funeral directors, and organ donation agencies.

Serious threat to health or safety: We may use and disclose information when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person.

Military and Special Government Functions: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release information as required by military command authorities. We may also disclose information to correctional institutions or for national security purposes.

Workers Compensation: We may release information about you for workers compensation or similar programs providing benefits for work- related injuries or illness.

Business Associates: We may disclose your health information to business associates (individuals or entities that perform functions on our behalf) provided they agree to safeguard the information.

Messages: We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or for billing or collections and may leave messages on your answering machine, voice mail or through other methods.

In any other situation, we will ask for your written authorization before using or disclosing identifiable health information about you. If you choose to sign an authorization to disclose information, you can later revoke that authorization to stop any future uses and disclosures. Subject to compliance with limited exceptions, we will not use or disclose psychotherapy notes, use or disclose your health information for marketing purposes or sell your health information, unless you have signed an authorization.

Individual Rights
You have the following rights regarding your health information. Please contact the Contact Person listed below to obtain the appropriate form for exercising these rights.

• You may request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures. We are not required to agree to a requested restriction, except for requests to limit disclosures to your health plan for purposes of payment or health care operations when you have paid in full, out-of-pocket for the item or service covered by the request and when the uses or disclosures are not required by law.
• You may ask us to communicate with you confidentially by, for example, sending notices to a special address or not using postcards to
• remind you of appointments.
• In most cases, you have the right to look at or get a copy of your health information. There may be a small charge for copies.
• You have the right to request that we amend your information.
• You may request a list of disclosures of information about you for reasons other than treatment, payment, or health care operations and except for other exceptions.
• You have the right to obtain a paper copy of the current version of this Notice upon request, even if you have previously agreed to receive it electronically.

Our Legal Duty

We are required by law to protect and maintain the privacy of your health information, to provide this Notice about our legal duties and privacy practices regarding protected health information, and to abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect. We are required to notify affected individuals in the event of a breach involving unsecured protected health information.

Changes in Privacy Practices

We may change this Notice at any time and make the new terms effective for all health information we hold. The effective date of this Notice is listed at the bottom of the page. If we change our Notice, we will post the new Notice in the waiting area. For more information about our privacy practices, contact the person listed below.

Complaints

If you are concerned that we have violated your privacy rights, you may contact the person listed below. You also may send a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The person listed below will provide you with the appropriate address upon request. You will not be penalized in any way for filing a complaint.

Contact Person

If you have any questions, requests, or complaints, please contact:

Ed Cropper, RN, BSN, Admin
Eye Associates of Fort Myers
4225 Evans Ave., Ft. Myers, FL 33901
(239) 936-7685