Fees + Policies

+ 24-hour Cancelation Policy

Please provide at least 24 hours notice when canceling any appointment, via phone, email, or by clicking the "Manage My Appointment" button in your appointment confirmation email and rescheduling the appointment yourself. Otherwise you will be responsible for the full cost of treatment.

If a patient does not show up for their scheduled appointment time they will be responsible for the cost of treatment. If a patient is a no-show to appointments 3 times, it may result in termination of care.

Patients with a balance on their account may not be allowed to book an appointment until their account balance has been paid.

+ Insurance

Sweet Beet Acupuncture is an out-of-network provider and is not in-network with any insurance provider. If you are seeking an in-network provider please contact your insurance provider directly for assistance.

If your insurance plan covers acupuncture treatment, it is possible it may not cover treatment for the condition you are seeking treatment for. Please contact your insurance provider directly for the details of your coverage.

Patients are responsible for paying in full at the time of service and may request a SuperBill to submit to their insurance provider for reimbursement.

Any herbal medicine which may be prescribed may not be covered by health insurance.

+ Payment Policies

All major credit cards (including FSA or HSA cards,) cash or check are accepted as formed of payment.

Patients are responsible for paying fees in full at the time of service.

The fee for acupuncture treatment does not include cost of herbal medicine or other supplements which may be prescribed and/or recommended.

In the event payment is declined, due to insufficient funds or bounced check, an additional $25 service charge may be applied to cover bank fees.

Patients with open balances on their account may be prohibited from booking future appointments until all fees have been paid.

+ Privacy Policies

Sweet Beet Acupuncture is required by federal law to protect your Protected Health Information (PHI) and to provide you with this Notice outlining our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI. When we use or disclose PHI, we are required to abide by the terms of this Notice (or other notice in effect at the time of the use or disclosure.) You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.

How & When Your PHI is Used

Your PHI includes any information identifying you as an individual or pertaining to your health or health care, past, present or future. Sweet Beet Acupuncture may use and/or disclose your PHI in the following instances:

• Treatment: in providing, coordinating and/or managing health care and related services for you. For example, to other providers involved in your treatment.
• Communication: in order to provide appointment reminders or information about your treatment we may contact you at the phone, email, or address you provided in your initial paperwork (you may change how you would like to be contacted at any time.)
• Health Care Operations: we may use and disclose your PHI for our health care operations; or the business aspects of running our practice. This includes internal planning, administration, and conducting of quality assessments and activities that improve the quality and cost effectiveness of care that we deliver to you. Your PHI is never released externally for these purposes. With Your Authorization: you may give us written authorization to use your PHI or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose. If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time. Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect.
• Public Health Activities: we may disclose PHI for the following public health activities and purposes:
  • To report health information to public health authorities for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability
  • To report child abuse and neglect to public health authorities or other government authorities authorized by law to receive such reports
  • To report information about products under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration
  • To alert a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or may otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
• Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence: if we reasonably believe you are a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence, we may disclose PHI to a government authority, including a social service or protective services agency, authorized by law to receive report of such abuse, neglect or domestic violence.
• Health Oversight Activities: we may disclose PHI to a health oversight agency that oversees the health care system and is charged with responsibility for ensuring compliance with the rules of government health programs such as Medicare or Medicaid.
• Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: we may disclose PHI in the course of a judicial or administrative proceeding in response to legal order or other lawful process.
• Law Enforcement Officials: we may disclose PHI to the police or other law enforcement officials as required or permitted by law or in compliance with a court order or a grand jury or administrative subpoena.
• Decedents: we may disclose PHI to a medical examiner as authorized by law.
• Organ and Tissue Procurement: we may disclose PHI to organizations that facilitate organ, eye or tissue procurement, banking or transplantation.
• Research: we may use or disclose PHI without your consent or authorization if an Institutional Review Board approves a waiver or authorization for disclosure.
• Health or Safety: we may use or disclose PHI to prevent or lessen a threat of imminent, serious physical violence against you or another readily identifiable individual.
• Specialized Government Functions: we may use and disclose PHI to units of the government with special functions, such as the U. S. military or the U.S. Department of State under certain circumstances. Workers' Compensation: we may disclose PHI as authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers' compensation or other similar programs.
• As required by Law: we may use and disclose PHI when required to do so by any other law not already referred to in the preceding categories.
• Change of Ownership: in the event that Sweet Beet Acupuncture is sold or merged with another organization, your health information/record will become the property of the new owner. You have the following rights with respect to your protected health information, which you can exercise by presenting a written request to the HIPAA Compliance Officer.

Your PHI Rights

You have the following rights with respect to your PHI:

• Right to Request Additional Restrictions: you may request restrictions on our use and disclosure of PHI (1) for treatment, payment and health care operations; (2) to individuals (such as a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person identified by you) involved with your care or with payment related to your care; or (3) to notify or assist in the notification of such individual regarding your location and general condition. While we will consider all requests for additional restrictions carefully, we are not required to agree to a requested restriction. If you wish to request additional restrictions, please obtain a request form from our office and submit the completed form to the HIPAA Compliance Officer. We will send you a written response.
• Right to Receive Confidential Communications: you may request, and we will accommodate, any reasonable written request for you to receive PHI by alternative means of communication or at alternative locations. Your request must specify the alternative means, or location, and provide satisfactory explanation of how payments will be handled under the alternative means or location you request. Right to Inspect and Copy Your Health Information: you may request access to your medical record file and billing records maintained by us in order to inspect and obtain copies of the records. If you desire access to your records, please obtain a record request form from the HIPAA Compliance Officer and submit the completed form by mail or in person. (Parents and legal guardians please note: certain portions of a minor’s medical record will not be accessible to you per applicable federal and/or state law, including records relating to pregnancy, abortion, sexually transmitted disease, substance use and abuse and contraception and/or family planning services.)
• Right to Amend Your Records: you have the right to request that we amend PHI maintained in your medical record file or billing record. If you desire to amend your records, please obtain an amendment request form from the HIPAA Compliance Officer and submit the completed form to the HIPAA Compliance Officer. We will comply with your request unless we believe that the information that would be amended is accurate and complete or other special circumstances apply.
• Right to Receive An Accounting of Disclosures: upon request, you may obtain an accounting of certain disclosures of PHI made by us during any period of time prior to the date of your request provided such period does not exceed six years.
• Right to Revoke Your Authorization: you may revoke your authorization except to the extent that we have taken action in reliance upon it, by delivering a written revocation statement to the HIPAA Compliance Officer identified below. A form is available upon request from our office.
• Electronic Notice: if you receive this Notice digitally, you are entitled to receive this Notice a hard copy.
• Further Information/Complaints: if you desire further information about your privacy rights, are concerned that we have violated your privacy rights or disagree with a decision that we made about access to PHI, you may contact our HIPAA Compliance Officer in writing or by phone. You may also file written complaints to the Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your rights as described herein have been violated. Complaints made to the DHHS must be filed in writing and include a description of the acts or omissions you believe have resulted in a violation of your rights. A complaint must be made within 180 days of when you found out about the violation, unless you have good cause for filing later. We will not retaliate against you in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the government.

Effective Date & Duration of this Notice

This Notice is effective on December 15th, 2016 and will remain in effect until replaced. We are required to abide by the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices currently in effect. We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We will make the new provisions effective for all information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made changes. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice, post, and make it available upon request. Until such amendment is made, Sweet Beet Acupuncture is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information.

Contact

You may contact us regarding our privacy practices by calling 323-418-2282 or writing to: Sweet Beet Acupuncture 3273 Casitas Ave. #106 Los Angeles, CA 90039

You may also contact the Los Angeles Department of Health Services: L.A. County Department of Health Services 313 N. Figueroa Street Los Angeles, 90012