HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

Villages Optical respects the privacy of your health information. This HIPAA notice applies to the eye care and optical services we provide at 3479 Wedgewood Ln, The Villages, FL 32162. If you have questions, please contact our Privacy Officer, LaDonna Olson, at (352) 775-2833.

Your Rights Under This HIPAA Notice

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section of our HIPAA notice explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

Get a copy of your health and vision records

• You can ask to see or get a copy of your health records and other health information we have about you, including your eyeglass and contact lens prescriptions. Ask us how to do this.
• If we keep your records electronically, you can ask for an electronic copy.
• We will provide a copy or a summary, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your records

• You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete.
• We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications

• You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, a home or cell phone number). You can also ask us to send mail to a different address.
• We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

• You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
• If you pay for a service or item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information with your health insurer for payment or operations. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share it.

Get a list of those we’ve shared information with

• You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask. The list shows who we shared it with, and why.
• We will include all disclosures except those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one list a year at no cost but may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another within 12 months.

Get a copy of this notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically. Ask at the front desk or call (352) 775-2833.

Choose someone to act for you

If you have given someone medical power of attorney, or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority before we take any action.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

See Questions and complaints below. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations below, talk to us and we will follow your instructions.

• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care (for example, someone picking up your glasses).
• Share information in a disaster relief situation.

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. Also, we may share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

We never share your information for marketing purposes or sell your information unless you give us written permission. We do not conduct fundraising.

How We Use and Share Your Information

To treat you

We use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example: our optometrist may share exam results with your primary care doctor or refer you to an ophthalmologist for further care.

To bill for your services

We use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. Example: we give information about your eye exam and eyewear to your vision or medical insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

To run our practice

We use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary. Example: we use your information to manage your appointments and to remind you about upcoming eye exams or when your glasses or contact lenses are ready.

Other ways we may share your information

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways, usually ways that contribute to the public good. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes:

• Public health and safety: preventing disease, reporting adverse reactions to medications or problems with products such as contact lenses, reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, and preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.
• Research: only under the conditions the law allows.
• As required by law: including to the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we are complying with federal privacy law.
• Organ and tissue donation requests, and to a medical examiner or funeral director when an individual dies.
• Workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests: for workers’ compensation claims, for law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official, to health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law, and for special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.
• Lawsuits and legal actions: in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.
• Business associates: companies that help us (for example, billing, scheduling, or our electronic records system) may receive information to do that work. They are required by contract and by law to protect it.

Uses That Need Your Written Permission

Other uses and disclosures not described in this notice, including most sharing for marketing and any sale of your information, will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted on it.

Our Responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• If a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information, we will let you know promptly.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing.

For more information, see the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: hhs.gov/hipaa.

Changes to This Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available on request, in our office, and on this website.

Questions and Complaints

If you have questions about this notice, want to exercise any of your rights, or believe your privacy rights have been violated, contact our Privacy Officer:

You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling (877) 696-6775, or visiting hhs.gov/ocr/complaints.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Effective date of this notice: January 1, 2026.