This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed, how you can get access to this information, and your rights under federal and Texas law. Please review it carefully.
Effective Date: February 1, 2026
I
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
Vertex Pain Physicians is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your protected health information (PHI). In the course of treating you, and operating our practice, we create and maintain records that contain medical and billing information about you.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI, provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, notify you following a breach of unsecured PHI when required, and follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.
This notice applies to all PHI created or maintained by Vertex Pain Physicians. We may change the terms of this notice, and any change will apply to all PHI we maintain. The current notice will be available in our offices, on our website if we maintain one describing our services, and upon request.
Questions or Concerns
If you have questions about this notice or our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy and Security Officer at Vertex Pain Physicians. You may contact our Privacy and Security Officer by one of the following methods:
- Email: aconaghan@texaspaindoc.com
- Telephone: 210-777-0150
- or apply for a copy in person at 110 Stone Oak Loop, San Antonio, Texas 78258 and ask for the office manager.
II
Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information
Get a copy of your medical record.
You may ask to inspect or receive a paper or electronic copy of your medical record and certain other health information we maintain about you. Under HIPAA, we will act on your request within 30 days. If we cannot act within that period, we may take one additional 30-day extension only if we provide a written explanation and the date by which we will respond. For requests covered by Texas law, if we maintain an electronic health records system capable of fulfilling your written request, we will provide the requested records no later than the 15th business day after we receive your written request, unless a lawful exception applies. Any fee we charge will be limited to a reasonable, cost-based fee allowed by applicable law. We do not charge a retrieval fee. Send written requests to the Privacy and Security Officer at the address or email listed above.
Ask us to correct your record.
You may ask us to amend health information that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. Your request must be in writing and must explain why the amendment is needed. We may deny the request in certain circumstances, but if we do, we will tell you why in writing.
Request confidential communication.
You may ask us to communicate with you in a certain way or at a certain location, such as at a different mailing address, email address, or phone number. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
Ask us to limit what we use or share.
You may ask us not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations, or to limit disclosures to people involved in your care or payment for your care. We are not required to agree to most requested restrictions. However, if you pay in full out of pocket for a service or item and ask us not to disclose that information to your health plan for payment or health care operations, we will honor that request unless disclosure is required by law.
Get a list of certain disclosures.
You may ask for an accounting of certain disclosures we made of your health information for the six years before your request. The accounting will not include disclosures for treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other disclosures permitted by law. The first accounting you request in a 12-month period is free. We may charge a reasonable fee for additional requests within the same 12-month period, and we will tell you about the cost in advance.
Choose someone to act for you.
If a person has legal authority to act for you, such as a personal representative, legal guardian, or agent under a medical power of attorney, that person may exercise your privacy rights to the extent permitted by law.
Get a paper copy of this notice.
You may ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
File a complaint.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
III
Your Choices
For certain health information, you may tell us your preferences about what we share. If you are able to tell us your preference, we will follow it when required by law.
- Sharing information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care or payment for your care.
- Contacting you with appointment reminders, care coordination information, treatment alternatives, or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
- Sharing information in a disaster relief situation.
If you are not able to tell us your preference, such as if you are unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, we may share your information if we believe it is in your best interest or if permitted by law.
In the following situations, we will not use or disclose your information unless you give us written authorization, except where otherwise permitted or required by law:
- Most uses and disclosures for marketing purposes.
- Any sale of protected health information.
- Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, if any.
- Other uses and disclosures not described in this notice.
You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already relied on it.
IV
How We May Use and Disclose Your PHI
Treatment
We may use your PHI to provide, coordinate, and manage your care. For example, we may use laboratory results to help reach a diagnosis, write prescriptions, disclose prescription information to a pharmacy, and share information with physicians, nurses, surgery centers, hospitals, imaging centers, laboratories, therapists, and other health care professionals involved in your treatment. We may also share information with others who assist in your care, such as a spouse, child, parent, or other caregiver, when appropriate.
Payment
We may use and disclose your PHI to bill for services and collect payment from you, your health plan, workers’ compensation, or another responsible party. For example, we may provide your insurer with information about your diagnosis, treatment, or procedures to determine eligibility, authorization, coverage, or payment.
Health Care Operations
We may use and disclose your PHI for health care operations, including quality assessment and improvement activities, staff training, credentialing, licensing, compliance and auditing activities, care management, business planning, customer service, and other activities necessary to run our practice.
Appointment reminders and related communications
We may use and disclose your PHI to contact you with appointment reminders, information about treatment options or alternatives, and information about health-related benefits or services that may be relevant to your care.
Disclosures to family, friends, and others involved in your care.
We may disclose your PHI to a family member, friend, guardian, or other person involved in your care or payment for your care when appropriate. For example, if a parent or guardian asks a caregiver to bring a child to an appointment, the caregiver may be given information needed for that visit.
As required by law
We will use or disclose your PHI when federal, state, or local law requires it.
V
Other Uses and Disclosures Allowed or Required by Law Public health activities
- Maintaining vital records such as births and deaths.
- Reporting child abuse or neglect.
- Notifying a person about possible exposure to a communicable disease or a risk of spreading or contracting a disease or condition.
- Reporting adverse reactions to drugs or problems with products or medical devices.
- Notifying people about recalls of products or devices they may be using.
- Reporting abuse, neglect, or domestic violence when required or authorized by law.
- Providing information to an employer in limited situations involving workplace illness, injury, or medical surveillance.
Health oversight activities
We may disclose PHI to health oversight agencies for audits, investigations, inspections, surveys, licensure, disciplinary actions, civil, administrative, or criminal proceedings, and other oversight activities authorized by law.
Lawsuits and legal proceedings
We may disclose PHI in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose PHI in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process when HIPAA and other applicable law permit the disclosure.
Law enforcement
We may disclose PHI to law enforcement officials for certain law enforcement purposes, including about a crime victim in certain situations, a death we believe may have resulted from criminal conduct, criminal conduct on our premises, to comply with a warrant or similar legal process, to identify or locate a suspect, witness, fugitive, or missing person, or to report a crime in an emergency.
Coroners, medical examiners, funeral directors, and organ donation
We may disclose PHI to a coroner or medical examiner to identify a deceased person or determine cause of death, to funeral directors as needed for their duties, and to organizations involved in organ, eye, or tissue procurement, donation, or transplantation.
Research
We may use or disclose PHI for research when permitted by law. When required, we will obtain your written authorization unless an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board has approved a waiver or alteration of authorization.
Serious threats to health or safety
We may use or disclose PHI when necessary to help prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of another person or the public.
Specialized government functions
We may disclose PHI for military and veterans’ activities, national security and intelligence activities, protective services for the President or other authorized persons, correctional institution purposes, or lawful custodial situations when permitted by law.
Workers’ compensation
We may disclose PHI as authorized by workers’ compensation and similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
VI
Our Responsibilities and How to Contact Us
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your PHI, provide you with this notice, and follow the duties and privacy practices described in the notice currently in effect.
We will notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured PHI when required by law.
We reserve the right to change this notice. Any revised notice will apply to all PHI we maintain and will be available in our offices, on our website if we maintain one describing our services, and upon request.
Exercise Your Rights or Ask Questions
To request access, amendment, confidential communications, restrictions, or an accounting of disclosures, or to ask questions about this notice, contact our Privacy and Security Officer at Vertex Pain Physicians, 110 Stone Oak Loop, San Antonio, TX 78258, or email aconaghan@texaspaindoc.com.
File a Complaint
You may file a written complaint with Vertex Pain Physicians at the address above. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights electronically through the OCR complaint portal, by mail at 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20201, or by phone at 1-877-696-6775. You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.
