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.
Effective date: November 10, 2026
Who follows this notice
This notice applies to Rhett Women’s Center, including our Mt. Pleasant office, our Aesthetics Center and our Georgetown office, and to our physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and staff. We are required by law to protect the privacy of your health information, give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and follow the notice that is currently in effect.
Your rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.
Get a copy of your medical record
You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this. We will provide a copy or a summary, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
Ask us to correct your medical record
You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this. We may say no, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.
Request confidential communications
You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or cell phone) or to send mail to a different address. We will say yes to all reasonable requests.
Ask us to limit what we use or share
You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say no if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service or health care item out of pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information with your health insurer for payment or our operations. We will say yes unless a law requires us to share that information.
Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information
You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with and why. We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We will provide one accounting a year for free but may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
Get a copy of this privacy notice
You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
Choose someone to act for you
If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
Be notified of a breach
You have the right to be notified if there is a breach of your unsecured health information.
File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated
You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting our Privacy Officer using the information at the end of this notice. You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Your choices
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.
In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
- Share information with your family, close friends or others involved in your care
- Share information in a disaster relief situation
If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
- Marketing purposes
- Sale of your information
- Most sharing of psychotherapy notes
We do not conduct fundraising. If we ever do, we may contact you, but you can tell us not to contact you again.
Our uses and disclosures
We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
Treat you
We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example: your provider shares lab or ultrasound results with a specialist or a pharmacy that fills your prescription.
Run our organization
We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care and contact you when necessary. Example: we use health information to review the quality of our care, train staff and manage our in-house surgery center.
Bill for your services
We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. Example: we give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.
Appointment reminders and health-related services
We may use your contact information to remind you of appointments by phone, voicemail, text message or email, and to tell you about treatment options or health-related services that may interest you. You can ask us to stop or to contact you a different way.
Business associates
We use outside companies to help us with services such as billing, scheduling, secure online forms, electronic health records and IT support. These business associates must sign a contract agreeing to protect your health information as required by law.
How else can we use or share your health information?
We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways, usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes.
- Help with public health and safety issues, such as preventing disease, helping with product recalls, reporting adverse reactions to medications, reporting suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence, and preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
- Do research, under the conditions the law allows
- Comply with the law, including sharing information with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law
- Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
- Work with a medical examiner or funeral director when an individual dies
- Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement and other government requests, such as workers’ compensation claims, law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official, health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law, and special government functions such as military, national security and presidential protective services
- Respond to lawsuits and legal actions, such as in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena
Other uses and disclosures not described in this notice will be made only with your written permission. If you give us permission, you may change your mind at any time by telling us in writing. When we share information as this notice allows, the person or organization that receives it may share it again, and it may no longer be protected by federal privacy law.
Substance use disorder treatment records
If we receive records from a federally assisted substance use disorder treatment program (covered by 42 C.F.R. Part 2), those records have extra protection. We will not use or share them in any civil, criminal, administrative or legislative proceeding against you unless you give written consent or a court orders it after you have been given notice and an opportunity to be heard. If we ever use these records for fundraising, we will first give you a clear opportunity to opt out.
South Carolina law
Where South Carolina law gives your health information more protection than federal law, for example certain information about HIV, sexually transmitted infections, mental health or substance use, we follow the stricter law.
Our responsibilities
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
- We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
- We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.
Changes to the terms of this notice
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our offices and on our website.
Contact our Privacy Officer
Privacy Officer, Rhett Women’s Center
1300 Hospital Drive, Suite 150
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
Phone: 843.375.2210 | Fax: 843.375.2214
Please call or write rather than email if your question includes personal health information.