Privacy Policy

Notice of Privacy Practices

Updated December 20, 2021

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. 

A copy of this notice can be given to you in person when you are in the office or at your request it can be mailed to you.

Please review this notice carefully

We maintain protocols to ensure the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We have physical security in our building, passwords to protect databases, and virus/intrusion detection software. Within our practice, access to your information is limited to those who need it to perform their jobs. 

At the Stram Center for Integrative Medicine, we are committed to treating and using your protected health information responsibly. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes the personal information we collect, and how and when we use or disclose that information. This Notice applies to all protected health information as defined by federal regulations.

This notice describes our practices and applies to:

·       Any health care professional authorized to enter information into your chart;

·       Any member of a volunteer group or intern we allow to help you while you are in the office; All employees, staff and other personnel

These entities follow the terms of this notice and may share medical information with each other for treatment, payment or healthcare operations purposes described in this notice.

This notice will tell about the ways in which we may use and disclose medical information about you.  We also describe your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.

We are required by law to:

·       Make sure that medical information that identities you is kept private (with certain exceptions); 

·       Make this notice and our legal duties and privacy practices available to you with respect to medical information about you;

·       Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

Uses and Disclosures

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose medical information. For each category of uses and disclosures, we will explain what we mean. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed; however, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

At Your Request

We may disclose information when requested by you. This disclosure requires a written request.

For Treatment

We may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, health care students, or other practice personnel who are involved in taking care of you at the office.  The office also may share medical information about you in order to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and X-rays. We also may disclose medical information about you to people outside the Stram Center who are involved in the provision, management, or coordination of your care after you leave the office, such as skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, other physicians or practitioners.  We will also provide your other physician (s) or subsequent healthcare provider (s) when applicable with copies of various reports that should assist them in treating you at your written request. These reports may be limited to your medical information and test results ordered by our medical staff.

For Payment

We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the office may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, we may need to give information about your condition and treatment you received at the Stram Center to support third parties’ payment of your care. We may also tell your health plan or insurer about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan or insurer will cover the treatment.  We may also provide basic information about you and your health plan, insurance company or other source of payment to practitioners outside our office who are involved in your care, to assist them in obtaining payment for services they provide you.

For Regular Health Care Operations

We may use and disclose medical information about you for health care operations necessary to run our practice and support core functions. For example, we may disclose information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other office personnel for review and learning purposes.  We may also combine the medical information we have with medical information from other offices to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the services we offer.

To a "Business Associate" 

There are some services provided to our organization through contracts with business associates. Some examples are accountants and computer and electronic health record support staff. We may disclose your medical information to these business associates to allow them to perform the functions they perform on our behalf.

 

To tell you About Appointments and Treatment Alternatives. 

We may disclose your information, as necessary, to provide you with appointment reminders (including leaving a message at the contact number you provide), or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related services that may be of interest to you.

To Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care

Unless there is a specific written request from you to the contrary, health professionals, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member or close personal friend health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or payment related to your care. In some instances, however, specific laws limit our ability to talk to your relatives without your explicit consent (e.g., mental health care, AIDS care).

In addition, we may disclose medical information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief e ort so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location

As Required by Law

We may disclose health information as required by law. This may include reporting a crime, responding to a court order, grand jury subpoena, warrant, discovery request, or other legal processes (audits, investigations, and inspections) to ensure compliance with government regulations and civil rights laws. . If you arrive at the emergency department either unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate, we are required to attempt to contact someone we believe can make health care decisions for you (ex: a family member or agent under a healthcare power of attorney)

Public Health

We may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.

Abuse or Neglect or Harm to Oneself

We may disclose your health information to a government agency that is authorized by law to receive reports of child abuse or neglect or if we believe you are a harm to yourself.  In addition, if we believe that you have been a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence, or if we have reason to believe you are a harm to yourself, we may disclose your information to a government agency authorized to receive such information. This may also be necessary to avert a serious threat to the health and safety of you or another person.

Our Responsibilities

A copy of this notice may be given to you in person when you are in the office or can be mailed to you at your request. It is also available electronically on your patient portal for download and printing.

Understanding your Health Record

New York State law requires a physician to maintain a medical record for each patient, which accurately reflects their evaluation and treatment. Each time you visit the Stram Center, a record of your visit is made. Unless otherwise provided by law, medical records must be retained for at least six years.  Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or treatment. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

Basis for planning your care and treatment,

Means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care,

Legal document describing the care you received,

Means by which you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided,

Tool in educating health professionals,

Source of data for medical research,

Source of information for public health officials charged to improve the health of the state and nation

Source of data for our planning and providing better services to you and our other patients, and Tool by which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and outcomes we achieve.

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to: ensure its accuracy; better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health information; and make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.

Your Health Information Rights

Although your health record is the physical property of the Stram Center, you have certain rights regarding the information. You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your health record in the form and format requested if readily producible, and if not, in a readable format agreed to by us and you. We may charge a reasonable cost based fee for any copies, in accordance with state law. However, under federal and state law, you may not inspect or obtain a copy of the following records: psychotherapy notes, information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or for use in, a civil, criminal or administrative action or proceeding, and protected health information that is subject to law that prohibits access to that protected health information. 

For More Information or to Report a Problem

If you have questions and would like additional information about our Notice of Privacy Practices, you may contact administrative managers at (518) 689-2244 or by writing to our Administrator at 90 Adams Place, Delmar, NY 12054.

NOTICE OF PRIVACY POLICY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RECIEPT

By signing below, you acknowledge receipt of the Stram Center Notice of Privacy Practices, updated December 20, 2021.

Our notice of Privacy Practices provides information about how we may use and disclose your protected health information.  We encourage you to read it in full.

Our Notice of Privacy Practices is subject to change. If we change our notice, you may obtain a copy of the revised notice by contacting our office.

Letters & Forms

Please make your request, for the following, at the time of your visit, or refer to the patient portal for forms. If you are unable to access the patient portal, please call our office for assistance:

  • Medical records: allow at least two weeks after a signed written request, authorizing release of your medical information (we only send medical information originating from our office)
  • Work or School Forms: allow two weeks for completion
  • Disability & Social Security forms are complex and are completed for established, active patients only (within 3 months of an appointment) with adequate clinical history. Please allow 2-3 weeks for completion.

Payment Options

-We accept cash, checks or credit cards (with the exception of American Express).

-Payment is due at the time of service.

-New patient scheduling fees and phone consultations must be pre-paid over the phone with a credit card.

Prescription Refill Requests

Plan ahead for refilling your prescriptions; call the office five days in advance to renew your prescription or make your request through the patient portal, preferred. If you are unable to access the portal, please call our office and we will assist you.
Refills take at least 3 business days to process

  • Please be sure to contact your pharmacy 5 days in advance of a prescription refill
  • Prescription refills can be faxed to our office by your pharmacy
  • Your nurse will consult with your practitioner to determine if continuation of your medication is indicated
  • Refill requests are only for active patients (within 6 months of last appointment)
  • If more than 6 months since last appointment, you must make a follow up appointment in order to renew prescriptions

How Do I Submit to Insurance

For consultation services with the medical practitioners, your receipts will have the necessary information to process a reimbursement claim, which includes the diagnostic and procedure codes for you to submit to your insurance company.

*Please note, that naturopathic consultations in NY State are not covered by insurance as licensure of naturopaths in NY is still pending

*MEDICARE: There are no out of network benefits for Medicare patients seeking consultations at the Stram Center. A Medicare mandated private contract must be signed in order for Medicare beneficiaries to be seen at our office. Dr. Stram is opted out of Medicare.

Insurance Information

The Stram Center does not accept or bill Insurance or Medicare. However, we will give you diagnostic codes so that you may submit your bills to your insurance company for potential reimbursement.

*MEDICARE: There are no out of network benefits for Medicare patients seeking consultations at the Stram Center. A Medicare mandated private contract must be signed in order for Medicare beneficiaries to be seen. Dr. Stram is opted out of Medicare

We use Labcorp and/or Quest for our clinical on-site lab work, along with various test kits. We cannot guarantee the cost of laboratory tests at the time of your appointment. Prior to your appointment, please check with your insurance company for individual coverage options for laboratory testing and your preferred laboratory. Our blood draw team will make every effort to send any blood work to the preferred lab.

Message Exchange System

We  offer our established patients the opportunity to communicate with our nursing staff via our  secure messaging system through our electronic health record patient portal. If you are unable to access the patient portal, please call our front desk office to assist you.  All medical questions transmitted through our messaging system will be discussed with your practitioner team. Please note the following policies:

  • Please allow  48 business hours for a reply. 
  • If your health concerns require more than 3 messages  in a given week, we ask that you call our office to schedule an appointment
  • Please do not use the message exchange system for urgent matters. If you are unable to get through to our front desk or the office is closed, please contact your  urgent care or emergency department. 
  • Lab and imaging results are not discussed via the message exchange system nor by phone. Lab results and subsequent treatment options are reviewed with you during an in person scheduled follow up appointment (or minimally, a scheduled phone consultation at the provider's discretion)  If a lab or imaging result is urgent or acute in nature, we will contact you.

Hours of Operation

Our Delmar, NY office is open Mondays – Fridays from 8am to 5pm (later if a class is scheduled)

Our phone hours of operation are Mondays – Fridays from 8:30amEST  to 4pmEST

  • Call 518.689.2244 to reach us
  • Our fax number is 518-689-2081

Our Burlington, VT office is currently accepting patients for telehealth consultations, Monday- Thursdays, 9amEST to 5pm EST  until our new office is completed!

Our phone hours of operation are Monday - Friday from 9amEST to 4pm EST

  • Call 802.891.3459 to reach us
  • Our fax number is 802-376-1814

Urgent Matters

  • For all urgent matters, if you are unable to reach us by phone, please call your local Urgent Care or Emergency department.
  • Do not leave a message or send a secure message through our portal for urgent matters.

Cancellations

Because all of our patients are important to us, we want to be of service to everyone’s needs, and respectfully require that the following time frame for changing appointments is adhered to. We appreciate your understanding.

If you cannot make an appointment:

  • Please give 3 business days’ (prior to the day of your scheduled medical appointment) notice for cancellation by calling our office (not by portal messaging)

    Please note the following policies:
  • If you cannot cancel 3 business days or more in advance, you may be assessed a cancellation fee for a medical appointment.
  • 24 business hours notice would be required for acupuncture, massage, mental health, iv or hbot in order to avoid missed appointment fees.
  • This fee must be paid prior to rescheduling a new appointment
  • Exceptions will be made for hazardous weather and unplanned emergencies, or sudden illness.
  • New medical patients must provide a deposit to reserve their appointments. Cancelling without rescheduling will incur a scheduling fee.

New Medical Consultations

If you are making a new patient appointment, you will speak with our New Patient Navigator who will help to determine which of our services and practitioners are the best fit for you. Our goal is to help you form a successful partnership with your practitioner so that your health goals will be achieved. We will take the time to talk with you and help guide you to the right choice for your needs.

Our aim is to investigate the root cause of your symptoms and understand the road blocks you may have experienced to reaching optimal wellness.

-Our new patient navigator will take a deposit payment which includes a  scheduling fee, at the time you schedule your first medical appointment. This is not an additional charge for the cost of your initial appointment.

-This deposit  will be deducted from the cost of your new patient appointment.

-This deposit is applicable for one rescheduled visit if you cannot keep your initial appointment and you give us the required 72 business hours notice*. *See cancellation policy.

-The scheduling fee portion of your initial deposit is not refundable if you cancel your new medical consultation appointment all together.

Top