Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to L.A. Pain & Wellness Institute ("the Practice," "we," "us," or "our"), located at 1245 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 403, Los Angeles, CA 90017. It describes how we collect and use information when you visit our website at lapain.net or contact our office.

This policy covers website and administrative information only. For a full explanation of how we handle your protected health information (PHI) as a patient, please see our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices below.

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1. Information We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to respond to your inquiries, schedule appointments, and operate our website effectively. We do not collect Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, detailed medical records, or any sensitive health data through our website forms.

Information we may collect includes:

• Contact information - your name, phone number, and email address when you submit a contact or appointment request form.
• Appointment details - preferred appointment date, time, and the general reason for your visit (such as "workers' comp follow-up" or "new patient inquiry").
• Message content - any information you choose to include in the message field of our contact form.
• Usage data - browser type, pages visited, time on site, and referring URL, collected automatically through analytics cookies.

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2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Appointment scheduling - to contact you, confirm your appointment request, and coordinate with our front office team.
• Practice communications - to respond to your questions, send appointment reminders, or provide information about our services when you have requested it.
• Service improvement - to understand how visitors use our website so we can make it more useful and accessible.
• Legal compliance - to fulfill any obligations required by applicable federal or California state law.

We do not use your information for automated decision-making, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to operating our medical practice.

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3. HIPAA and Your Medical Privacy

L.A. Pain & Wellness Institute is a HIPAA-covered entity. Your protected health information (PHI) - including medical records, treatment history, diagnoses, insurance information, and billing records - is governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the HITECH Act, not just this website privacy policy.

As a patient, you have specific rights under HIPAA, including the right to:

• Access and receive a copy of your medical records
• Request corrections to your health information
• Receive an accounting of certain disclosures of your PHI
• Request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your information
• File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated

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4. We Do Not Sell Your Information

We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to third parties for their marketing or commercial purposes. This applies to both website visitors and patients.

We may share information with trusted third parties only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers - vendors who assist us in operating our website or practice (such as appointment scheduling software or email delivery) under strict confidentiality agreements.
• Legal requirements - when required by law, court order, or government authority.
• Patient care - sharing PHI with other treating providers or authorized parties as permitted under HIPAA and described in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California residents have additional rights regarding their personal information. Because we do not sell personal data, the opt-out right for sale of information does not apply. For any other CCPA requests, contact us using the information in Section 8.

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5. Cookies and Analytics

Our website uses a small number of cookies to help us understand how visitors interact with our site. We use basic analytics cookies only - we do not use advertising, retargeting, or third-party tracking cookies.

The cookies we use may include:

• Analytics cookies - tools such as Google Analytics may place cookies to track page views, session length, and traffic sources. This data is aggregated and anonymized. We use it to understand overall website performance, not to identify individual users.
• Session cookies - temporary cookies that expire when you close your browser, used to maintain basic website functionality.

You can disable cookies through your browser settings at any time. Disabling cookies will not affect your ability to view our website or submit a contact form, though some analytics features will no longer function.

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6. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and administrative measures to protect the information we collect. Our website is served over HTTPS (secure, encrypted connection). Access to patient records and practice management systems is restricted to authorized staff and secured in compliance with HIPAA requirements.

No data transmission over the internet is completely secure. If you need to share sensitive medical information, please contact our office directly by phone rather than through a web form or standard email.

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7. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on where you live, you may have certain rights with respect to your personal information. These include the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of information we hold about you (to the extent permitted by applicable law and not in conflict with our legal obligations or HIPAA requirements).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the information in Section 8 below. We will respond to verifiable requests within the timeframes required by applicable law.

If you are a patient and wish to exercise rights related to your protected health information under HIPAA, please contact our Privacy Officer directly or refer to our Notice of Privacy Practices.

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8. Questions About This Policy

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, how we handle your information, or wish to submit a privacy-related request, contact us:

• Phone: (213) 482-1046
• Email: info@lapain.net
• Mail: L.A. Pain & Wellness Institute, 1245 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 403, Los Angeles, CA 90017

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9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Continued use of our website after changes are posted constitutes your acknowledgment of the updated policy.