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.
Effective Date: February 16, 2026
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
At Bella Vida MedSpa, we are dedicated to maintaining the privacy of your Protected Health Information (PHI). In conducting our business, we will create records regarding you and the treatment and services we provide to you. We are required by law to maintain the confidentiality of health information that identifies you. We are also required by law to provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and the privacy practices that we maintain in our practice concerning your PHI. By federal and state law, we must follow the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices that we have in effect at the time.
1. How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information
The following categories describe the different ways in which we may use and disclose your PHI.
Treatment: We may use your PHI to treat you. For example, we may ask you to undergo laboratory tests (such as for Hormone Therapy), and we may use the results to help us reach a diagnosis. We might use your PHI in order to write a prescription for you, or we might disclose your PHI to a pharmacy when we order a prescription for you.
Payment: We may use and disclose your PHI in order to bill and collect payment for the services and items you may receive from us. For example, we may contact your health insurer to certify that you are eligible for benefits (if applicable), or we may provide your insurer with details regarding your treatment to determine if your insurer will cover, or pay for, your treatment.
Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose your PHI to operate our business. As examples of the ways in which we may use and disclose your information for our operations, our practice may use your PHI to evaluate the quality of care you received from us, or to conduct cost-management and business planning activities for our practice.
Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose your PHI to contact you and remind you of an appointment.
2. Special Protections for Specific Information
Recent federal updates (effective 2026) provide additional protections for specific types of health information.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Records: Federal law and regulations (42 CFR Part 2) protect the confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records. We are prohibited from using or disclosing these records for the purposes of a criminal, civil, or administrative investigation or prosecution against you, absent a specific court order or your specific written consent. These protections apply even if you do not receive substance abuse treatment from us, but have disclosed such history in the course of other medical treatments (e.g., during a medical weight loss consultation).
Reproductive Health Care Privacy: We are prohibited from using or disclosing your PHI for the purpose of conducting a criminal, civil, or administrative investigation into, or imposing liability on, any person for the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care, where such health care is lawful under the circumstances in which it was provided.
3. Use and Disclosure of Your PHI in Certain Special Circumstances
The following categories describe unique scenarios in which we may use or disclose your identifiable health information:
Public Health Risks: We may disclose your PHI to public health authorities that are authorized by law to collect information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your PHI to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. Inspections, licensure, and illegal conduct investigations are examples of health oversight activities.
Lawsuits and Similar Proceedings: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose your PHI in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose your PHI in response to a discovery request, subpoena, or other lawful process by another party involved in the dispute, but only if we have made an effort to inform you of the request or to obtain an order protecting the information the party has requested.
Law Enforcement: We may release PHI if asked to do so by a law enforcement official regarding a crime victim in certain situations, concerning a death we believe has resulted from criminal conduct, or regarding criminal conduct at our offices. Note: This is subject to the stricter protections for SUD and Reproductive Health records mentioned in Section 2.
Serious Threats to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose your PHI when necessary to reduce or prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of another individual or the public. Under these circumstances, we will only make disclosures to a person or organization able to help prevent the threat.
4. Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information
You have the following rights regarding the PHI that we maintain about you:
Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that our practice communicate with you about your health and related issues in a particular manner or at a certain location. For instance, you may ask that we contact you at home, rather than work.
Requesting Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction in our use or disclosure of your PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required to agree to your request; however, if we do agree, we are bound by our agreement except when otherwise required by law, in emergencies, or when the information is necessary to treat you.
Inspection and Copies: You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of the PHI that may be used to make decisions about you, including patient medical records and billing records.
Amendment: You may ask us to amend your health information if you believe it is incorrect or incomplete, and you may request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for our practice.
Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an “accounting of disclosures.” An “accounting of disclosures” is a list of certain non-routine disclosures our practice has made of your PHI for non-treatment, non-payment, or non-operations purposes.
Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You are entitled to receive a paper copy of our notice of privacy practices. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time.
5. California State Law
We are required to comply with the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) and other California state laws where they provide stricter privacy protections than federal law. If a state law provides more protection for your privacy than federal law, we will follow the state law.
6. Changes to This Notice
We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all PHI that we maintain. We will post a copy of the current notice in our office and on our website.
7. Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our practice or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with our practice, contact our office at the address below. All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
8. Contact Information
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact:
Bella Vida MedSpa Privacy Officer / Office Management 26550 Ynez Road, Suite B Temecula, CA 92591 (951) 296-9988