Email Usage & Terms of Agreement
Established patients previously seen in our office can get in touch with us securely through our patient portal.
For everyone else (including established patients wanting to contact us via regular email)...
By definition, regular email is not considered confidential unless encrypted, something your email to us will not be. Thus, our receipt of your email tells us that you are willing to waive any confidentiality provisions of the HIPAA / HITECH acts. Our physician email responses should also not be considered confidential given lack of encryption. To confidentially pursue any matters please send a letter by postal mail or schedule a personal visit.
If you have never been seen in the office and you do not wish to email us due to privacy concerns, please make an appointment or mail / fax us a letter with your concerns. We will not discuss medical matters over the phone if you have never been seen in our office.
Please Note! Due to large patient volumes, we are accepting new patients from the Northern half of Virginia only (Fauquier and bordering counties only). You can appeal this limitation by sending us an email. Appeals by phone will NOT be accepted. In only very rare and selective cases have we made exceptions. Read why we instituted this policy.
Since email is not encrypted, regular email should
(if the email gets intercepted).
I have read, understood, and waive any HIPAA / HITECH confidentiality provisions related to regular email communication. By proceeding, you hereby agree to hold Fauquier ENT and affiliates harmless from any hacking or any other unauthorized use of your personal information by outside parties.
If you are an internet online marketer, please click here.
If you are a journalist or represent a media outlet, please click here.
HIPAA Confidentiality Provisions
The HIPAA Security Standard contains two subparts that relate directly to data integrity, data access, and mechanisms for handling data. The part most relevant to email is the rule requiring "securing patient records containing individually identifiable health information so that they are not readily available to those who do not need them." The relevant HIPAA subparts include:
- 45 CFR Part 142, § 142.308 (c). “Technical security services to guard data integrity, confidentiality and availability.” These are processes that protect information and control individual access to information.
- 45 CFR Part 142, § 142.308 (d). “Technical security mechanisms.” These are controls that prevent unauthorized access to information that is transmitted across an internal network or across the public Internet.