Our Mission Statement
Morbid or “Severe” Obesity is a common problem in the United States population. Attendant with this condition are a myriad of serious medical and psychological conditions that profoundly affect an individual’s length and quality of the life. Unfortunately, despite conscientious and diligent medically controlled dietary methods, many people are unable to maintain a healthy body weight.
Surgical Management of Morbid or Severe Obesity has been shown to provide the most effective long-term weight loss and weight maintenance. Several surgical techniques have been developed which avoid the uncertain outcomes of older procedures. At the same time, surgical technology has evolved to provide reliable minimally invasive techniques that impart many important benefits: significant reduction in surgical stress; less pain; quicker recovery; and fewer complications.
Our Goal is to optimize the medical and surgical management of the Morbidly Obese patient by using several criteria:
- Maintain the highest standards of medical and surgical care in the treatment of the Morbidly Obese patient.
- Provide medical supervision by experienced bariatric physicians.
- Utilize bariatric, nutritional, exercise, and psychiatric counseling and monitoring of the Morbidly Obese patient.
- Refer patients for surgical intervention using accepted guidelines provided by the National Institute Of Health, the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, and consensus agreement between the patient's medical and surgical practitioners.
- Provide care by surgeons experienced with complex surgical techniques, whether traditional or laparoscopic, in conjunction with experience in complicated perioperative patient care.
- Coordinate the medical and surgical care in the post-operative phase.
- Maintain prospective information with routine review of outcome data for comparison with national standards provided by other experienced practitioners.
Patient Care Policies
Some of the information you obtain may be difficult to understand. Sometimes it may even seem as if the information you receive from one physician disagrees with that from another. But, remember all of your physicians have your well-being as their top priority.
We respect our patient's privacy and confidentiality.
We also respect decisions you make for yourself. Although many people attempt to put Weight Loss Surgery in the same context as "cosmetic" surgery, this is truly unfortunate. The decision by the physician and the patient to proceed with surgery is based on sound clinical criteria in an effort to achieve predictable health benefits.
We're dedicated to bringing patients the latest advances in general surgical techniques.
These techniques are designed to provide patients the best results with minimal impairment and disfigurement.
We want to help you protect yourself with as much information as possible.
We will make available to you emotional and educational support in various formats. We've developed a division of SALSA called WOW, dedicated solely to your long-term well-being and to assist you to gain phase specific information. All you have to do is utilize the resources.
Finally, we want to be your team mate in these life changes you are embarking on.
This is our passion.
Notice of Privacy Practices
SACRAMENTO ADVANCED LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY ASSOCIATES
A MEDICAL CORPORATION
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED BY SACRAMENTO ADVANCED LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY ASSOCIATES AND HOW YOU CAN OBTAIN ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY
This notice is required by law to inform you of how Sacramento Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery Associates will protect your health information, how Sacramento Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery Associates may use or disclose your health information and your rights regarding your health information. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact our office at (916) 797-7555.
Understanding Your Health Information
Each time you visit a healthcare provider, a record of your visit is made. This record may contain a description of your symptoms, medical history, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care. This information, often referred to as your medical record, serves as a basis for planning your care and treatment, means for communicating among the health care professionals who contribute to your care, a tool with which we can assess and work to improve the care we provide, legal documentation of the care you receive and means by which a third-party payer can verify that services you received were appropriately billed.
Your Health Information Rights
You have the following rights related to your medical and billing records kept by Sacramento Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery Associates:
Obtain a copy of this notice. You will receive a copy of this notice at your first visit after its publication. Thereafter you may request a copy of this notice or any revisions by calling (916) 797-7555.
Authorization to use your health information. Before we use or disclose your health information, other than as described below, we will obtain your written authorization, which you may revoke at any time to prevent future use or disclosure.
Access to your health information. You may request a copy of your health information that we keep in your medical or billing record. Your request must be submitted in writing. We may charge for the costs of providing you access and for your copies.
Amend your health information. If you believe the information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may request that we amend or add information. Your request must be in writing. We will provide a form for this purpose.
Request confidential communications. You may request that, when we communicate with you about your health information, we do so in a specific way (e.g. at a certain mail address or phone number). We will make every reasonable effort to agree to your request.
Limit our use or disclosure of your health information. You may request in writing that we restrict the use or disclosure of your health information for treatment, payment, health care operations, or any other purpose except when specifically authorized by you, when we are required by law, or in an emergency situation in order to treat you. We will consider your request and respond, but we are not legally required to agree if we believe your request would interfere with our ability to treat you or collect payment for our services.
Accounting of disclosures. You may request a list of disclosures of your health information that we have made for reasons other than treatment, payment or healthcare operations. Disclosures that we make with your authorization will not be listed. We will provide one list per year free of charge, but may charge for subsequent lists in the same year.
Our Responsibilities
We are required by law to protect the privacy of your health information, establish policies and procedures that govern the behavior of our workforce and businesses associates, and provide this notice about our privacy practices, and abide by the terms of this notice.
We reserve the right to change our policies and procedures for protecting health information. When we make a significant change in how we use or disclosure your health information, we will also change this notice. The current notice will be available in our reception area and we will offer you a copy at each appointment.
Except for the purposes related to your treatment, to collect payment for our services, to perform necessary business functions, or when otherwise permitted or required by law, we will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization. You have the right to revoke your authorization at any time. We are unable to take back any disclosure we have already made with your authorization.
Examples of Uses and Disclosures for Treatment, Payment and Healthcare Operations
We will use your health information to facilitate your medical treatment.
Information we obtain will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of your medical treatment. We disclose information to our employees and others who are involved in providing the care you need. For example, we may share your medical information with other healthcare providers involved with your treatment (e.g. specialists, consulting physicians, anesthesiologists, therapists, etc.) Or we may share this information with a pharmacist who needs it to dispense a prescription to you, or a laboratory that performs tests.
We will use your health information to collect payment for health care services that we provide.
We may send a bill to you or your health insurance company. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, your diagnosis, procedures and supplies used. In some cases, information from your medical record is sent to your insurance company to explain the need for or to provide additional information about your treatment.
We will use your health information to facilitate routine healthcare operations.
We may use and disclose medical information about you to operate this medical practice. For example, we may use and disclose this information to review and improve the quality of care we provide. Or we may use and disclose this information to obtain authorization for services or referrals. We may also use and disclose this information as necessary for medical reviews, legal services and audits, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance programs and business management. We may also share your medical information with our “Business Associates” who perform administrative services for us. We may use and disclose medical information to contact and remind you about appointments and we may leave this information on your answering machine or in a message left with the person answering the phone. We may use and disclose medical information about you by having you sign in when you arrive at our office and we may call out your name when we are ready to see you.
We will use your health information to notify your family and friends about your condition.
We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person responsible for your care or your general condition. We may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person you identify, relevant health information to facilitate the person’s ability to assist in your care or make arrangements for payment of your care. If you are able and available to agree or object, we will give you the opportunity to object prior to making these disclosures, although we may disclose this information in a disaster even over your objection if we believe it is necessary to respond to the emergency circumstances.
We may use your health information to inform persons about your death.
We may disclose health information to funeral directors, coroners, and medical examiners consistent with applicable law to carry out their duties.
Workers compensation, Disability or FMLA.
We may disclose your health information to the extent authorized by and necessary to comply with laws relating to workers’ compensation, disability, FMLA or other similar programs established by law.
Public Health
We may disclose your health information as required by law to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability.
To avert a serious threat to health or safety
We may use and disclose your health information when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or to the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure would be made only to someone able to help prevent the threat.
Law Enforcement
We may disclose your health information if required by federal, state, or local law; judicial board, or administrative proceedings; or, law enforcement.
Business Associates
There are some services provided in our organization through contracts with business associates. Examples include transcribing your medical record, surveying for patient satisfaction, and a copy service we use when making copies of your health record. When these services are provided by a contracted business associates, we may disclose the appropriate portions of your health information to our business associates so they can perform the job we have asked them to do. To protect your health information, however, we require all business associates to sign a confidentiality agreement verifying they will appropriately safeguard your information.
For More Information or to Report a Problem
If you have questions, would like additional information, or want to request an updated copy of this notice, you may contact our office at (916) 797-7555.
If you believe we have not properly protected your privacy, have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we have made about your rights, please contact our Privacy Officer.
You may also send a written complaint to:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Civil Rights
Hubert H. Humphrey Bldg.
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Room 509F HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201
You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
Financial Policies & Procedures
Good News From The IRS
Uncompensated amounts paid by individuals for participation in a weight-loss program for the primary purpose of treating a disease or diseases diagnosed by a physician are deductible as medical care. Obesity is medically accepted to be a disease in its own right. (IRC Section 213; Rev.Rul. 2002-19)
To be eligible for the medical care tax deduction, you must itemize your deductions and the uncompensated amounts must exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
The above is general information and is not meant as tax advice. Please check with your own tax adviser to determine if you may take advantage of the medical care deduction.
Payment Options
Please contact our office for more information on payment options.