Summary of Your Medical Privacy Protection
The Virginia Center for Reproductive Medicine (VCRM) is dedicated to maintaining the absolute confidentiality of your medical, genetic, and fertility treatment information. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (45 CFR § 164.520), you have clearly defined legal rights regarding how your Protected Health Information (PHI) is accessed, shared, and guarded.
Understanding Protected Health Information (PHI)
This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information.
“Protected Health Information” (PHI) is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition and related healthcare services, including reproductive endocrinology records, diagnostic ultrasound scans, embryology lab records, and endocrine blood panels.
We are required by federal law to abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices. We may change the terms of our notice at any time. The new notice will be effective for all protected health information that we maintain at that time. Upon your request, we will provide you with any revised Notice of Privacy Practices by accessing our website at www.vcrmed.com, calling our office at (703) 437-7722 to request a copy by mail, or asking for one during your next appointment.
1. Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information
Uses & Disclosures Based Upon Your Written Consent
You will be asked by your physician to sign a consent form upon registering at VCRM. Once you have consented to the use and disclosure of your protected health information for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations by signing the consent form, your physician and our clinical staff will use or disclose your PHI as described below:
Treatment Coordination
We will use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your fertility care and related medical services. This includes coordinating care with third-party providers (e.g., home health agencies, diagnostic radiology, compounding fertility pharmacies, or specialized reference laboratories). We may also provide information to referring OB/GYNs, urologists, or maternal-fetal medicine specialists involved in your care.
Payment & Billing
Your PHI will be utilized, as needed, to obtain payment for your healthcare services. This includes eligibility determination, coverage verification with insurance plans, medical necessity reviews, and prior authorizations for fertility treatments, medications, or hospital procedures.
Healthcare Operations
We may use or disclose your PHI to support practice management activities, including clinical quality assessment, accreditation reviews (such as AAAASF, CAP, CLIA, and SART audits), employee performance evaluations, medical student/fellow training, and licensing.
Business Associates & Communication Practices
We share protected health information with trusted third-party “Business Associates” that perform essential business and administrative services for our practice (such as electronic medical record hosting, medical billing, embryology cryostorage monitoring, and secure transcription). Whenever a business associate arrangement involves the handling of your PHI, we execute a legally binding written Business Associate Agreement (BAA) ensuring strict privacy and security compliance.
Additionally, we may contact you to provide appointment reminders, follow-up testing notifications, or information about treatment alternatives and fertility support services. We do not sell your personal or medical data to third parties.
Uses and Disclosures Based Upon Your Written Authorization
Other uses and disclosures of your protected health information—including disclosures to third-party attorneys, employers, or life insurance companies—will be made only with your specific written authorization, unless otherwise permitted or required by law. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent that our clinic has already acted in reliance upon it.
Permitted & Required Disclosures (With Opportunity to Object or Without Consent)
Federal regulations define specific circumstances where medical practices may disclose PHI with your opportunity to agree/object, or where required by statutory mandates:
Individuals Involved in Your Care
Unless you explicitly object, we may disclose relevant health information to a family member, partner, personal representative, or close friend whom you identify as actively involved in your fertility care or payment. In emergency circumstances where you are incapacitated, our physicians will use professional medical judgment to determine what is in your best interest.
Emergency Treatment & Communication Barriers
In life-threatening emergency situations, our physicians may use or disclose PHI to provide urgent medical treatment, attempting to obtain consent as soon as reasonably possible. If significant communication barriers exist, physicians may proceed under professional medical judgment when intent to consent is apparent.
Legal, Regulatory & Public Health Mandates
We may disclose PHI without prior authorization when required by federal, state, or local law, including:
- Public Health Authorities: Reporting communicable diseases, mandatory SART/CDC fertility clinic outcome data, and vital statistics.
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Adverse event tracking, biologic product deviations, and medication recall notices.
- Health Oversight Agencies: Audits, civil rights investigations, and licensing inspections conducted by HHS, state medical boards, or CAP/CLIA inspectors.
- Legal Proceedings & Law Enforcement: Formal court orders, subpoenas, administrative tribunal directives, or lawful warrants.
- Abuse or Neglect: Mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse, neglect, or vulnerable adult domestic violence.
- Worker’s Compensation & Military/National Security: Established worker's comp programs and authorized federal security protocols.
2. Your Individual Rights Under HIPAA
Federal law grants you significant rights regarding the protected health information kept in your medical designated record set at VCRM:
Right to Inspect and Obtain Copies of Your Medical Records
You have the right to inspect and obtain paper or electronic copies of your designated medical record set, including laboratory reports, ultrasound images, physician notes, and billing history. Under certain narrow federal exceptions (such as psychotherapy notes or records compiled for civil proceedings), access may be restricted. To request your records, contact our Privacy Contact in writing.
Right to Request Treatment & Disclosure Restrictions
You may ask us in writing not to use or disclose specific parts of your PHI for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, or not to share details with certain family members. While your physician is not legally required to agree to all requested restrictions if it compromises clinical care, any agreed-upon restriction will be strictly honored (except in emergency treatment scenarios).
Right to Request Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that our staff communicate with you via alternative means or at alternative locations (for example, contacting you only via a specific mobile number, secure patient portal message, or mailing records to a P.O. Box rather than your home address). We accommodate all reasonable written requests without requiring an explanation.
Right to Request an Amendment to Your Records
If you believe that information in your designated medical record is inaccurate or incomplete, you may submit a formal written request to have Dr. Sharara or our clinical staff amend the record. If an amendment request is denied, you have the right to file a written statement of disagreement that will be attached to your permanent chart along with our clinical rebuttal.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
You have the right to receive an accounting of non-routine disclosures of your PHI made by VCRM for purposes other than treatment, payment, or operations (e.g., disclosures made pursuant to public health reporting or court subpoenas). You may request an accounting for disclosures occurring within the past six years.
Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice
You have the right to receive a physical paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time upon request, even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically via our website or patient portal.
3. Complaints and Privacy Contact Information
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, or if you have questions regarding our HIPAA practices, you may file a formal complaint directly with our clinic or with the federal government. We will never retaliate against you in any way for filing a complaint.
VCRM Privacy Officer
Contact Person: Mrs. Patricia Shanz
Practice: Virginia Center for Reproductive Medicine
Address: 11150 Sunset Hills Rd, Suite 100, Reston, VA 20190
Phone: (703) 437-7722
Fax: (703) 437-9755
Email: info@vcrmed.com
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Agency: Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
Region III: DC, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
Address: 801 Market Street, Suite 9300, Philadelphia, PA 19107-3134
OCR Hotline: (800) 368-1019 | TDD: (800) 537-7697
Online Portal: HHS OCR Complaint Portal