Notice of Privacy Practices

This Notice of Privacy Practices applies to Meridian Medical Group, including Meridian Primary Care, Meridian Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine, Meridian Nephrology, Meridian Behavioral Health, Meridian Labs, Meridian Diagnostic Imaging, Meridian Weight Loss & Metabolic Health, Allergy Testing & Immunotherapy, and all of our locations, physicians, clinicians, staff, and workforce members. We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information (“health information”), to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.

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

• Get a copy of your health and claims records. You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this. We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
• Ask us to correct your medical record. You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this. We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.
• Request confidential communications. You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or 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 to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
• Get a list of those with whom we have shared information. You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we have shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why. We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We will provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
• Get a copy of this privacy notice. You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
• 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 and can act for you before we take any action.
• File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated. You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting our Privacy Officer using the information on this page. 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 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

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 described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care.
• 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. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes.
• Sale of your information.
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes.

In the case of fundraising, we may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways:

• Treat you. We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example: A Meridian Primary Care physician shares information with a Meridian specialist, laboratory, or an outside physician involved in your care.
• Run our organization. We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary. Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services, schedule appointments, and evaluate quality.
• Bill for your services. We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

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

• Help with public health and safety issues, such as preventing disease, helping with product recalls, reporting adverse reactions to medications, reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, and preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.
• Do research, subject to applicable legal protections.
• Comply with the law, including sharing information with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we are complying with federal privacy law.
• Respond to organ and tissue donation requests and work with a medical examiner or funeral director.
• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests, including for workers’ compensation claims, law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official, health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law, and special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions, including in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

We may use secure electronic systems, such as electronic health records, patient portals, and health information exchanges, to share information for treatment and other permitted purposes.

Some of the health information we create or receive may be protected by federal regulations at 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (“Part 2 records”), which apply to records of substance use disorder treatment from federally assisted programs. If we receive or maintain Part 2 records:

• We may use and disclose your Part 2 records for treatment, payment, and health care operations after you provide a single written consent for all such future uses and disclosures. You may revoke that consent in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance on it.
• Once Part 2 records are disclosed with your consent for treatment, payment, or health care operations, the recipient may further use or disclose them as permitted by HIPAA, except as described below.
• Part 2 records, or testimony relaying their content, will not be used or disclosed in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigation or proceeding against you unless you give specific written consent or a court issues an order after you are given notice and an opportunity to be heard, as required by 42 C.F.R. Part 2. A court order authorizing such use must be accompanied by a subpoena or similar legal mandate.
• If we use Part 2 records for fundraising, you will be given a clear and conspicuous opportunity to opt out of receiving fundraising communications.

Maryland law, including the Maryland Confidentiality of Medical Records Act, may provide additional protections for certain health information, such as mental health records, HIV/AIDS information, genetic information, and records of care that minors may legally consent to on their own. When Maryland law is more protective of your privacy than federal law, we follow Maryland law.

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• 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. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information, see the HHS website: www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/notice-privacy-practices.

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 upon request, in our offices, and on our website.

Privacy Officer, Meridian Medical Group, 950 Harry S Truman Drive North, Suite 550, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774. Phone: 301-627-3500. Fax: 833-559-0865.

Effective date of this notice: October 3, 2026.