HIPAA Privacy Practices

Notice of Privacy Practices | Flowers Chiropractic

Flowers Chiropractic, PLLC
14 Flowers Crossroads Way, Suite 106
Clayton, NC 27527
Phone: (919) 553-6711

Dr. Taylor M. Watkins, D.C.

Effective Date: January 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.

At Flowers Chiropractic, we understand how important your privacy is. We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of your health information and to using it only in ways that support your care, your billing, and our legal obligations as a healthcare provider. We make a record of the chiropractic care we provide and may receive records from other providers involved in your care. We use these records to provide quality chiropractic treatment, to obtain payment for services as allowed by your health plan, and to meet our professional and legal obligations to operate this practice properly.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information, to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information, and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information. This notice describes how we may use and disclose your health information. It also describes your rights and our legal obligations with respect to that information. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact our Privacy Officer at the address and phone number listed above.

Table of Contents

  • A. How This Practice May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
  • B. When This Practice May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information
  • C. Your Health Information Rights
  • D. Changes to This Notice of Privacy Practices
  • E. Complaints

A. How This Practice May Use or Disclose Your Health Information

Flowers Chiropractic collects health information about you and stores it in a patient chart and on a computer system. This is your medical record. The record is the property of this practice, but the information in the record belongs to you. The law permits us to use or disclose your health information for the following purposes:

  1. Treatment. We use your health information to provide chiropractic care. We disclose health information to our staff and others directly involved in providing the care you need. For example, we may share your information with other healthcare providers who will provide services we do not offer, or with a laboratory that performs diagnostic testing. We may also disclose health information to members of your family or others who can help you when you are sick or injured, or after you die.
  2. Payment. We use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for the services we provide. For example, we provide your health plan with the information it requires before it will pay us. We may also disclose information to other healthcare providers to assist them in obtaining payment for services they have provided to you.
  3. Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose your health information to operate this practice. For example, we may use and disclose this information to review and improve the quality of care we provide, or the qualifications of our professional staff. We may use it to obtain authorization for services or referrals from your health plan. We may also use and disclose this information as necessary for medical reviews, legal services, audits, fraud and abuse detection, compliance programs, and business planning and management. We may share your health information with our business associates — such as our billing service — that perform administrative services for us. We have written contracts with each of these business associates requiring them and their subcontractors to protect the confidentiality and security of your protected health information. We may also share your information with other healthcare providers, clearinghouses, or health plans that have a relationship with you, when they request this information to support their quality improvement, patient safety, population health, case management, credentialing, training, or fraud and abuse compliance activities.
  4. Appointment Reminders. We may use and disclose your health information to contact you and remind you about appointments. If you are not available, we may leave this information on your voicemail or in a message with the person who answers the phone.
  5. Sign-In Sheet. We may use and disclose your health information by having you sign in when you arrive at our office. We may also call your name when we are ready to see you.
  6. Notification and Communication With Family. We may disclose your health information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, your personal representative, or another person responsible for your care about your location, your general condition, or — unless you have instructed us otherwise — in the event of your death. In the event of a disaster, we may disclose information to a relief organization to coordinate notification efforts. We may also disclose information to someone involved with your care or who helps pay for your care. If you are able and available to agree or object, we will give you the opportunity to do so before making these disclosures. If you are unable or unavailable to agree or object, our staff will use their best judgment in communicating with your family and others.
  7. Marketing. Provided we do not receive any payment for making these communications, we may contact you to give you information about products or services related to your treatment, case management, or care coordination, or to direct or recommend other treatments, therapies, healthcare providers, or settings of care that may be of interest to you. We may describe services provided by this practice and tell you which health plans we participate in. We may also encourage you to maintain a healthy lifestyle, get recommended screenings, or participate in a wellness program. We will not otherwise use or disclose your health information for marketing purposes or accept payment for other marketing communications without your prior written authorization. We will stop any future marketing activity to the extent you revoke that authorization.
  8. Sale of Health Information. We will not sell your health information without your prior written authorization. The authorization will disclose that we will receive compensation for your health information if you authorize us to sell it, and we will stop any future sales to the extent you revoke that authorization.
  9. Required by Law. As required by law, we will use and disclose your health information, but will limit our use or disclosure to the relevant requirements of the law. When the law requires us to report abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, or respond to judicial or administrative proceedings, or to law enforcement officials, we will comply with those requirements as set forth below.
  10. Public Health. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to public health authorities for purposes related to: preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability; reporting child, elder, or dependent adult abuse or neglect; reporting domestic violence; reporting to the Food and Drug Administration problems with products and reactions to medications; and reporting disease or infection exposure. When we report suspected elder or dependent adult abuse or domestic violence, we will inform you or your personal representative promptly, unless in our best professional judgment we believe the notification would place you at risk of serious harm or would require informing a personal representative we believe is responsible for the abuse or harm.
  11. Health Oversight Activities. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to health oversight agencies during the course of audits, investigations, inspections, licensure, and other proceedings, subject to the limitations imposed by law.
  12. Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information in the course of any administrative or judicial proceeding, to the extent expressly authorized by a court or administrative order. We may also disclose information in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process if reasonable efforts have been made to notify you of the request and you have not objected, or if your objections have been resolved by a court or administrative order.
  13. Law Enforcement. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for purposes such as identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; complying with a court order, warrant, or grand jury subpoena; or for other law enforcement purposes.
  14. Coroners. We may, and are often required by law, to disclose your health information to coroners in connection with their investigations of deaths.
  15. Organ or Tissue Donation. We may disclose your health information to organizations involved in procuring, banking, or transplanting organs and tissues.
  16. Public Safety. We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to appropriate persons in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or the general public.
  17. Proof of Immunization. We will disclose proof of immunization to a school required to have it before admitting a student where you have agreed to the disclosure on behalf of yourself or your dependent.
  18. Specialized Government Functions. We may disclose your health information for military or national security purposes, or to correctional institutions or law enforcement officers that have you in their lawful custody.
  19. Workers’ Compensation. We may disclose your health information as necessary to comply with workers’ compensation laws. For example, to the extent your care is covered by workers’ compensation, we will make periodic reports to your employer about your condition. We are also required by law to report cases of occupational injury or occupational illness to the employer or workers’ compensation insurer.
  20. Change of Ownership. In the event that this practice is sold or merged with another organization, your health information and records will become the property of the new owner, although you will maintain the right to request that copies of your health information be transferred to another chiropractor or healthcare provider.
  21. Breach Notification. In the case of a breach of unsecured protected health information, we will notify you as required by law. If you have provided us with a current email address, we may use email to communicate information related to the breach. In some circumstances our business associate may provide the notification. We may also provide notification by other methods as appropriate.

B. When This Practice May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information

Except as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices, Flowers Chiropractic will not use or disclose health information that identifies you without your written authorization. If you do authorize this practice to use or disclose your health information for another purpose, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.

C. Your Health Information Rights

  1. Right to Request Special Privacy Protections. You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information by submitting a written request specifying what information you want to limit and what limitations you wish to have imposed. If you tell us not to disclose information to your commercial health plan concerning health care items or services for which you paid in full out-of-pocket, we will honor your request unless we must disclose the information for treatment or legal reasons. We reserve the right to accept or reject any other restriction request and will notify you of our decision.
  2. Right to Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to request that you receive your health information in a specific way or at a specific location. For example, you may ask that we send information to a particular email account or to your work address. We will comply with all reasonable requests submitted in writing that specify how or where you wish to receive these communications.
  3. Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy your health information, with limited exceptions. To access your health information, you must submit a written request detailing what information you want, whether you want to inspect it or receive a copy, and if you want a copy, your preferred form and format. We will provide copies in your requested format if it is readily producible, or we will provide you with an alternative format acceptable to you. We will also send a copy to any other person you designate in writing. We will charge a reasonable fee covering our costs for labor, supplies, and postage, and — if requested and agreed to in advance — the cost of preparing an explanation or summary. We may deny your request under limited circumstances, and where applicable you will have the right to appeal that denial.
  4. Right to Amend or Supplement. You have a right to request that we amend health information you believe is incorrect or incomplete. You must make a request to amend in writing and include the reasons you believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete. We are not required to change your health information, and we will provide you with information about our denial and how you can disagree with that decision. We may deny your request if we do not have the information, if we did not create the information (unless the entity that created it is no longer available to make the amendment), if you would not be permitted to inspect or copy the information at issue, or if the information is accurate and complete as is. If we deny your request, you may submit a written statement of disagreement, and we may in turn prepare a written rebuttal. All information related to any amendment request will be maintained and disclosed in conjunction with any subsequent disclosure of the disputed information.
  5. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by this practice, except that we do not have to account for disclosures made to you, disclosures made pursuant to your written authorization, or disclosures for treatment, payment, health care operations, notification and family communication, and specialized government functions, as described in Section A of this Notice. We are also not required to account for disclosures for research or public health purposes that exclude direct patient identifiers, disclosures incident to a use or disclosure otherwise permitted by law, or disclosures to a health oversight agency or law enforcement official where we have received notice that providing an accounting would reasonably impede their activities.
  6. Right to a Paper or Electronic Copy of This Notice. You have a right to receive a copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time, including a paper copy, even if you have previously requested it by email. A copy is available at the front desk and on our website at flowerschiropractic.com.

If you would like a more detailed explanation of these rights, or if you would like to exercise one or more of these rights, please contact our Privacy Officer at the address and phone number listed at the top of this Notice.

D. Changes to This Notice of Privacy Practices

We reserve the right to amend this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time. Until an amendment is made, we are required by law to comply with the terms of this Notice currently in effect. After an amendment is made, the revised Notice will apply to all protected health information we maintain, regardless of when it was created or received. We will keep a copy of the current Notice posted in our reception area, and a copy will be available at each appointment. We will also post the current Notice on our website.

E. Complaints

Complaints about this Notice of Privacy Practices or how Flowers Chiropractic handles your health information should be directed to our Privacy Officer:

Flowers Chiropractic, PLLC — Privacy Officer
ATTN: Dr. Taylor Watkins
14 Flowers Crossroads Way, Suite 106
Clayton, NC 27527
(919) 553-6711

If you are not satisfied with the manner in which this office handles a complaint, you may submit a formal complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights:

You will not be penalized in any way for filing a complaint.

This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective January 1, 2026. Flowers Chiropractic, PLLC · 14 Flowers Crossroads Way, Suite 106, Clayton, NC 27527 · (919) 553-6711 · flowerschiropractic.com