Lower Cost, Better Results, World Renowned Doctor. Free Consultation.

Infertile patients cannot afford to wait for treatment while their eggs get older.

Dr. Sherman Silber, Infertility Center of St. Louis, is offering video consultations for patients who need to plan now for their treatment while stay-at-home orders are in place. He is talking to and evaluating patients in their home to comply with social distancing measures.

Dr. Silber is discovering that patients actually prefer this method of telemedicine consultation over the conventional office visit. Patients have conveyed that “it is so much more convenient and less stressful” to have a telemedicine personal consultation than to take a day off from work to travel to the doctor’s office and sit with other nervous patients in the waiting room.

The COVID-19 pandemic is thus changing much of the way we will do things in the future, and for the better. “Our patients are surprisingly much happier with this approach. Of course, at some point we need to perform hands on treatment. But with this new manner of seeing patients, we can come to the right diagnosis and treatment plan for most patients more efficiently, quickly, and painlessly, with no loss of personal one-on-one communication.” This is a very welcome new era of telemedicine that has been forced on us by the current difficult times.

Menu
Phone +1 (314) 576-1400
Contact Us
The Infertility Center of St. Louis
The Infertility Center of St. Louis
About Dr. Silber
Patient Comments
X

Notice of Privacy Practices

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 VERY CAREFULLY.

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes the practices of The Infertility Center of St. Louis. We create a record of the care and services you receive at our center. We understand that information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information about you. This notice applies to all of the records of your care at The Infertility Center of St. Louis.

This notice will tell you 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. Not every use or disclosure is covered, but all of the ways that we are allowed to use and disclose information will fall into one of the categories.

YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS

Although your health information is the physical property of The Infertility Center of St. Louis, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

Request restrictions on the way we use your medical information; request and receive information from us in a different way or manner; review your medical information; request that we amend your medical information; know how we have used or disclosed your medical information; revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken; obtain a paper copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices upon request;

You may exercise your rights set forth in this notice by providing a written request to The Infertility Center of St. Louis, Attn: Privacy Officer, 224 S. Woods Mill Road, Suite 730, St. Louis, MO 63017. Your written request must include the following: Your full name, date of birth or social security number, telephone number, detailed description of request, requester’s name (if different from the patient), requester’s relationship to the patient, and dated signature.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

The Infertility Center of St. Louis is required to:

Maintain the privacy of your health information; provide you with a notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with regard to information we collect and maintain about you; abide by the terms of this notice currently in effect; notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction; accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means.

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain at that time. Upon request, we will provide you with any revised Notice of Privacy Practices by mail or in person at the time of your next appointment.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization except as described in this notice.

EXAMPLES OF DISCLOSURE FOR TREATMENT, PAYMENT, HEALTHCARE OPERATIONS AND AS OTHERWISE ALLOWED BY LAW

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose medical information. For each category of uses or disclosures, we will explain what mean and try to give examples.

We will use your health information for treatment. For example, we may disclose medical information about you to other doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other personnel who are involved in your care with The Infertility Center of St. Louis. We may share medical information about you in order to coordinate different treatments such as prescriptions, lab work, and ultrasound. We may also disclose medical information about you to people outside of our center or St. Luke’s Hospital who may be involved in your medical care or who provide services that are part of your care.

We will use your health information for payment. Your protected health information will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for your healthcare services. This may include certain activities that your health insurance plan may undertake before it approves, denies, or pays for your healthcare services, such as making a determination of eligibility or coverage, reviewing medical records to determine medical necessity, and undertaking utilization review activities. A receipt or invoice may also be sent to you or a third­ party payer. The information on or accompanying the receipt or invoice may include information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis and procedures.

We will use your health information for regular health care operations. For example, we may use the information in your health records to assess the care and outcome in your case and others like it. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care and services we provide.

We will use your health information as otherwise allowed by law. We can use or disclose protected health information about you without your authorization when there is an emergency or when we are required by law to treat you; when we are required by law to disclose certain information; or when there are substantial communication barriers to obtaining consent from you. Further, we may use or disclose your protected health information without your consent or authorization in any of the following circumstances:

When it is required by law; when it involves use and disclosure for public health activities, such as mandated disease reporting, etc.; when reporting information about victims of abuse, neglect or domestic violence; when disclosing information for the purpose of health oversight activities, such as audits, investigations, licensure, or disciplinary actions or legal proceedings or actions; when disclosing information for law enforcement purposes, for instance, to locate or identify a suspect, fugitive, witness or missing person or regarding a victim of a crime who cannot give consent or authorization due to incapacity; when disclosing information about deceased persons to medical examiners, coroners and funeral directors; when disclosing or using information for organ and tissue donation purposes; when disclosing information related to a research project when a waiver of authorization has been approved by the lnvestigational Research Body; when we believe in good faith that the disclosure is necessary to avert a serious health or safety threat to you or to the public’s safety; when disclosure is necessary for specialized government functions, such as military service, for the protection of the President or for national security and intelligence activities; when required by military command authorities, if you are a member of the armed forces (or if foreign military personnel, to appropriate foreign military authorities); when in the case of a prison inmate, information can be released to the correctional facility in which he or she resides for the following purposes: (1) for the institution to provide the inmate with health care; (2) to protect the health and safety of others; or (3) for the safety and security of the correctional facility; and when disclosure is necessary to comply with Worker’s Compensation laws or purposes.

We may use medical information to:

Contact you to provide appointment reminders, information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you, and instructions regarding scheduled treatment.

PLANNED USES OR DISCLOSURES TO WHICH YOU MAY OBJECT

We will use or disclose your health information for purposes described in this section unless you object to or otherwise restrict a particular release. You must direct your written objections or request for restrictions to The Infertility Center of St. Louis, Attn: Privacy Officer, 224 S. Woods Mill Road, Suite 730, St. Louis, MO 63017.

We may use or disclose your health information to contact you and remind you about an appointment for treatment or medical care; to provide you with information about our recommendations for possible treatment options or alternatives that may interest you; for scheduling tests, procedures, and treatments with other providers.

We may release health information about you to a friend and/or family member who is involved in your care. If you are available, you may object and we will not make these disclosures. If you are not available, we will determine whether a disclosure to your family and friends is in your best interest. We will disclose only health information that is directly relevant to their involvement in your care.

We can tell your family and/or friends of your condition and that you are using The Infertility Center of St. Louis for treatment and services. We can also give this information to someone who will help or is helping pay for your treatment or care.

We can disclose health information about you to a public or private entity that is authorized by law or its charter to assist in disaster relief efforts, i.e., the American Red Cross for the purpose of notification of family and/or friends of your whereabouts and condition.

OTHER USES OR DISCLOSURES

Uses or disclosures not covered in the Notice of Privacy Practices will not be made without your written authorization. If you provide us written authorization to use or disclose information, you can change your mind and revoke your authorization at any time, as long as it is in writing. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose the information. However, we will not be able to take back any disclosures that we have made pursuant to your previous authorization. Written revocations should be sent to The Infertility Center of St. Louis, Attn: Privacy Officer, 224 S. Woods Mill Road, Suite 730, St. Louis, MO 63017.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REPORT A PROBLEM

You may contact The Infertility Center of St. Louis, Attn: Privacy Officer, 224 S. Woods Mill Road, Suite 730, St. Louis, MO 63017, or by phone at 314-576-1400, regarding questions on this Notice of Privacy Practices, requests for personal disclosure of documentation, or potential violations of your privacy rights.

You may also file a complaint with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint with either The Infertility Center of St. Louis of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Effective 4/14/03

DOWNLOAD HIPAA FOrm