Notice of Privacy Practices

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 carefully.

Gastro in Florida (AKRO GASTRO LLC)
Dr. Vikram Tarugu, MD
Okeechobee office: 201 SW 16th St, Okeechobee, FL 34974 — (863) 824-3447
Wellington office: 1447 Medical Park Blvd Ste 405, Wellington, FL 33414 — (561) 767-8342

Your Health Information

Each time you visit our practice, a record of your visit is made. 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, a means of communication among the health professionals who contribute to your care, a source of information for applying your diagnosis and treatment information to your bill, a means by which a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided, and a tool for our everyday health care operations.

How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information

For treatment. We may use and disclose your health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and related services. For example, we may share information with another physician or health care provider who is involved in your care, or with a laboratory or imaging facility that performs a test for you.

For payment. We may use and disclose your health information so that the treatment and services you receive may be billed and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company, or a third party. For example, we may share information with your health plan to obtain approval for a procedure or to determine whether it will cover the treatment.

For health care operations. We may use and disclose your health information for our health care operations, such as reviewing the quality of the care you receive, training staff, and managing our practice.

Other permitted uses and disclosures. We may also use and disclose your health information, as permitted or required by law, for purposes including: as required by law; for public health activities; to report abuse, neglect, or domestic violence; for health oversight activities; for judicial and administrative proceedings; for law enforcement purposes; to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director; for organ or tissue donation; for research, as permitted by law; to avert a serious threat to health or safety; for certain government functions, including military and national security activities; and for workers’ compensation, as permitted by law.

We will not use or disclose your health information for purposes other than those described in this notice, or as otherwise permitted or required by law, without your written authorization. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already relied on it.

Your Rights

• Access and copies. You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your health information in our records, subject to limited exceptions permitted by law.
• Amendments. You have the right to request that we amend your health information if you believe it is incorrect or incomplete. We may deny the request in certain circumstances, and will explain the reason for a denial.
• Accounting of disclosures. You have the right to request a list, or accounting, of certain disclosures of your health information that we have made.
• Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your health information. We are not required to agree to a restriction in every case, except as required by law for certain disclosures to a health plan when you have paid in full out of pocket.
• Confidential communications. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information in a certain way or at a certain location. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
• Paper copy of this notice. You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have received it electronically.
• Breach notification. You have the right to be notified if we discover a breach of your unsecured health information.

Our Duties

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information, to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to abide by the terms of the notice currently in effect. We will notify you if a breach of your unsecured health information occurs. We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice, and to make the new terms effective for all health information we maintain. If we make a material change, we will provide a revised notice.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our office by contacting the Privacy Official at our Okeechobee office — Gastro in Florida, 201 SW 16th St, Okeechobee, FL 34974, (863) 824-3447. You may also file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, or by calling 1-877-696-6775, or through the Office for Civil Rights complaint portal. Filing a complaint will not affect your care, and we will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Contact Us

For questions about this notice or to exercise any of the rights described above, please contact our office at (863) 824-3447.

Effective date: November 6, 2026