Patient Policies and Notice of Privacy Practices for NP Empowered Wellness
Patient Policies and Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective September 12, 2026
This page explains how NP Empowered Wellness PC handles patient privacy, appointments, payments, prescriptions, memberships, electronic communication, telehealth, photography, and other administrative matters.
Treatment-specific risks, benefits, alternatives, and consent requirements are addressed in separate clinical consent forms.
Practice: NP Empowered Wellness PC
Privacy Contact: Sarah Sanchez, FNP-C
Email: np@npempoweredwellness.com
Phone: 916-280-0949
Website: www.npempoweredwellness.com
Notice of Privacy Practices
Your Information Your Rights Our Responsibilities
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you may obtain access to this information. Please review it carefully.
Who This Notice Covers
This notice applies to NP Empowered Wellness PC and its workforce. It covers care provided at our Roseville location, approved satellite locations, and through telehealth.
It applies to medical and health information created, received, or maintained by the practice.
Our Legal Responsibilities
NP Empowered Wellness PC is required to:
Maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
Provide you with this notice describing our legal duties and privacy practices.
Follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.
Notify you as required if a breach may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
Your Privacy Rights
Receive a Copy of Your Medical Record
You may ask to inspect or receive an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information maintained by the practice.
Federal law generally requires action within 30 days. California law may provide faster access. Inspection is generally permitted within five working days after receipt of a compliant written request, and copies are generally provided within 15 days.
Reasonable identity verification and legally permitted fees may apply.
To request your records, contact np@npempoweredwellness.com.
Request a Correction
You may ask us to correct health information you believe is incorrect or incomplete.
We may deny the request under circumstances allowed by law. If we deny your request, we will explain the decision in writing and describe any additional rights available to you.
Request Confidential Communications
You may ask us to contact you using a particular method, telephone number, email address, or mailing address. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
Request Restrictions
You may ask us not to use or share certain information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. We are not always required to agree to the request.
If you pay out of pocket in full for a service or healthcare item, you may ask us not to disclose information about that service or item to your health plan for payment or healthcare operations. We will honor the request unless disclosure is required by law.
Receive an Accounting of Disclosures
You may request a list of certain disclosures of your health information made during the six years before your request.
The accounting does not include every disclosure. For example, many disclosures for treatment, payment, healthcare operations, and disclosures you authorized are excluded.
We will provide one accounting during a 12-month period without charge. A reasonable cost-based fee may apply to additional requests.
Receive a Copy of This Notice
You may ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically.
Choose Someone to Act for You
A person with verified legal authority, such as a healthcare agent, legal guardian, or authorized personal representative, may exercise privacy rights on your behalf.
We will verify that the person has the appropriate authority before taking action.
File a Privacy Complaint
You may file a complaint with NP Empowered Wellness PC by contacting:
Sarah Sanchez, FNP-C
np@npempoweredwellness.com
916-280-0949
You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights:
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201
1-877-696-6775
www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint
NP Empowered Wellness PC will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Your Choices
When appropriate, you may tell us whether we may share information with family members, close friends, or other individuals involved in your care or payment for your care.
You may also tell us your preferences concerning disclosures during a disaster-relief situation.
If you cannot express a preference, we may disclose information when we believe it is in your best interest or when necessary to reduce a serious and imminent threat to health or safety, as permitted by law.
We will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing your information when authorization is required, including:
Certain marketing activities.
The sale of protected health information.
Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes.
Identifiable patient photographs, videos, or testimonials used for marketing.
NP Empowered Wellness PC does not sell patient information.
You may revoke a written authorization at any time by notifying us in writing. Revocation will apply to future uses and disclosures but cannot undo actions already taken in reliance on the authorization.
How We May Use and Disclose Your Information
Treatment
We may use and share your information with professionals involved in your care, including laboratories, pharmacies, consultants, referring clinicians, and other treating providers.
Healthcare Operations
We may use and share information to operate the practice, improve quality, manage treatment and services, conduct audits, manage risk, train workforce members, and contact you about your care.
Payment
We may use and share information to process payments, verify benefits when applicable, obtain payment, manage transactions, or collect amounts due.
Public Health and Safety
We may disclose information for legally permitted public-health activities, including:
Preventing or controlling disease.
Reporting adverse reactions to medications or products.
Assisting with product recalls.
Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
Preventing or reducing a serious threat to health or safety.
Compliance With the Law
We may disclose information when required or permitted by federal or California law, including disclosures for:
Health oversight activities.
Workers’ compensation claims.
Certain lawful law-enforcement requests.
Court or administrative orders.
Subpoenas when applicable legal requirements are satisfied.
Special government functions.
Research
We may use or disclose information for research only when applicable legal safeguards, authorizations, and approvals have been satisfied.
Coroners Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors
We may disclose information to coroners, medical examiners, funeral directors, or organ-procurement organizations when permitted by law.
Sensitive Health Information
Certain records may receive additional protection under federal or California law, including certain substance-use-disorder, mental-health, HIV, genetic, and reproductive-health information.
We will follow the law that provides the greater protection when it applies.
To the extent NP Empowered Wellness PC receives substance-use-disorder patient records protected by 42 CFR Part 2, those records will not be used or disclosed in a civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigation or proceeding against you unless you provide written consent or a qualifying court order and subpoena authorize the disclosure.
Changes to This Privacy Notice
We may revise this notice. A revised notice may apply to information we already maintain.
The current notice will be available on our website, in our office, and upon request.
Appointments and Scheduling
Booking and Deposits
A $25 deposit may be required to reserve a consultation or appointment. The deposit will be applied according to the terms provided at booking.
An appointment is not confirmed until the required deposit, forms, and requested information have been received.
Treatment recommendations and exact pricing are provided after an appropriate assessment. We do not guarantee treatment quotes by telephone because treatment needs vary.
Cancellations and Missed Appointments
Please provide at least 48 hours’ notice when canceling or rescheduling an appointment.
The first missed-appointment fee may be waived as a one-time courtesy. A $100 fee may be charged for subsequent no-shows or late cancellations.
Patients with repeated missed appointments may be required to pay in full before scheduling another appointment and may lose online-booking privileges.
We understand that emergencies happen. Please contact us as soon as possible. Exceptions may be considered individually.
Late Arrivals
Arriving late may shorten your appointment or require rescheduling. We will not rush treatment or delay the care of patients scheduled after you.
Payment and Financial Responsibility
NP Empowered Wellness PC is primarily a self-pay practice. Payment is due at the time of service unless a separate written agreement states otherwise.
We do not guarantee reimbursement from an insurance company. Patients are responsible for determining whether their insurance plan offers out-of-network benefits.
NP Empowered Wellness PC has opted out of Medicare. Medicare claims are not submitted by the practice. Services provided under an applicable private contract are the patient’s financial responsibility.
Required visit charges, medication charges, laboratory charges, and outstanding balances must be paid before a prescription or order is released unless another arrangement has been approved.
Paying for an appointment, medication, membership, or service does not guarantee that a prescription or treatment will be clinically appropriate.
Refunds
Professional services are not refundable after they have been performed.
Prescription and compounded medications cannot be returned to the practice.
Opened products and products prohibited from return by law or vendor policy are nonreturnable.
Treatment results vary. Dissatisfaction with an outcome does not automatically create a right to a refund.
Unused prepaid services, packages, deposits, and retail products are handled according to the written terms provided at purchase and applicable law.
If the practice cannot provide a paid service, an appropriate credit, substitution, or refund will be offered as required by the applicable agreement and law.
Prescriptions and Pharmacies
Prescriptions are issued only when Sarah Sanchez, FNP-C determines they are clinically appropriate.
A request, payment, membership, previous prescription, or prior dose does not guarantee approval, renewal, dose escalation, or continued treatment.
We may require an examination, follow-up appointment, laboratory testing, vital signs, pregnancy testing, outside medical records, or information from a primary-care clinician or specialist.
Compounded Medications
A compounded medication may be prescribed when an individualized formulation is clinically appropriate.
Compounded medications are not FDA-approved. The FDA does not review compounded medications for safety, effectiveness, or manufacturing quality before marketing in the same manner as FDA-approved medications.
Available formulations, pricing, and pharmacies may change.
Pharmacy Processing and Shipping
The practice sends a prescription after required payment and clinical requirements are complete.
The dispensing pharmacy controls processing, availability, packaging, shipping, delivery, and replacement decisions. Shipping estimates are not guarantees.
Patients should request renewals approximately two weeks before medication is needed. Red Rock Pharmacy orders may take approximately 3 to 10 days after the pharmacy receives and processes the prescription.
Applicable overnight or warm-weather shipping charges, including a $15 fee when required, are the patient’s responsibility unless otherwise stated.
Inspect deliveries promptly. Contact the pharmacy regarding damage, temperature concerns, missing items, or delivery errors. Contact NP Empowered Wellness PC about clinical questions or interruptions in treatment.
Medication Safety
Use medications only as prescribed.
Never share prescription medications.
Use a new syringe and needle for every injection.
Dispose of needles in an appropriate sharps container.
Do not change your dose, frequency, route, or storage conditions without instructions.
Lost, stolen, damaged, discarded, expired, or improperly stored medication may not be replaced without charge.
Refills may be delayed or denied when required follow-up, laboratory testing, payment, identification, or monitoring is incomplete.
Memberships Packages and Promotions
Memberships, packages, treatment series, financing arrangements, and promotional offers may have separate written terms.
Those terms control pricing, commitment periods, recurring charges, banked funds, included services, expiration, cancellation, transferability, and refunds.
Clinical eligibility is always determined separately from financial eligibility.
Banked membership funds are account credits and are not cash. Benefits cannot be transferred, combined, or redeemed outside the applicable membership terms unless expressly permitted.
Prepayment does not guarantee a particular appointment date, product availability, treatment result, or clinical suitability.
Promotional offers are subject to the published dates, eligibility requirements, inventory, exclusions, and booking requirements. Promotional offers have no cash value and may not be combined unless expressly stated.
Clinical Follow Up and Patient Responsibilities
NP Empowered Wellness PC provides selected wellness, weight-management, hormone, skin, hair, laser, and aesthetic services.
The practice does not replace a primary-care provider, emergency department, or specialist. Patients should maintain appropriate primary and preventive care and inform other treating clinicians about medications and treatments received through NP Empowered Wellness PC.
Patients are responsible for providing accurate and current information about:
Medical history.
Allergies.
Pregnancy or breastfeeding status.
Prescription and nonprescription medications.
Supplements.
Prior treatments and procedures.
Current symptoms.
Care received from other healthcare professionals.
Safe treatment may require photographs, measurements, vital signs, body-composition scans, laboratory testing, follow-up visits, or outside medical records.
For medical weight management, laboratory review may be required approximately every six months, follow-up is generally expected at least every eight weeks, and body measurements may be recommended monthly. Requirements may be individualized.
No particular aesthetic, weight, hormone, hair, or wellness result is guaranteed.
The clinician may postpone, modify, decline, or discontinue nonurgent treatment when it is unsafe, outside the practice’s scope, unlikely to help, inconsistent with professional standards, or when required monitoring is incomplete.
Electronic Communication
With your permission, NP Empowered Wellness PC may use the patient portal, telephone, voicemail, text message, or email for scheduling, reminders, education, billing, pharmacy updates, follow-up, and limited clinical communication.
Standard email and text messaging may not be fully secure. Messages may appear on a device lock screen, shared account, carrier record, or another location accessible to others.
Patients are responsible for keeping their contact information current and protecting their devices and portal credentials.
The practice generally responds within 48 business hours.
Electronic messages are not continuously monitored and should not be used for:
Medical emergencies.
Rapidly worsening symptoms.
Complex new medical complaints.
Serious treatment reactions.
Time-sensitive medication problems.
A message or appointment request is not confirmed until the practice responds.
Telehealth
Telehealth is available only when legally permitted and clinically appropriate.
Patients must generally be physically located in California at the time of a telehealth appointment. The practice may verify identity, physical location, contact information, and an emergency contact.
Telehealth may involve electronic audio, video, messaging, photographs, or other data transmission. Risks include interruptions, technical failures, delays, unauthorized access, and limitations on physical examination.
Patients should participate from a private, well-lit location with a reliable connection. Patients may not drive during a telehealth appointment.
The clinician may require an in-person examination, laboratory testing, imaging, urgent care, emergency care, primary-care evaluation, or specialist consultation.
Telehealth and portal messages are not emergency services.
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department for severe symptoms, difficulty breathing, chest pain, stroke symptoms, a severe allergic reaction, uncontrolled bleeding, loss of consciousness, or another emergency.
Photography Recording and Marketing
Clinical photographs and imaging may be recommended or required for assessment, treatment planning, safety, documentation, and comparison of results.
Clinical images become part of the medical record and are protected accordingly.
NP Empowered Wellness PC will obtain a separate written authorization before using identifiable photographs, videos, testimonials, or protected health information for marketing when authorization is required.
Declining marketing authorization will not affect your treatment.
Patients and guests may not photograph, record, livestream, or publish images or recordings of other patients, clinical conversations, workforce members, or treatment areas without express permission.
Safety and Respectful Conduct
Patients, guests, and workforce members are expected to communicate respectfully.
Threats, harassment, discrimination, intimidation, sexual misconduct, theft, deliberate property damage, unsafe conduct, or interference with patient care may result in removal from the premises, termination of nonurgent services, or contact with law enforcement when appropriate.
Treatment may be postponed when a patient appears impaired, cannot provide informed consent, cannot safely follow instructions, or lacks required transportation following a procedure.
NP Empowered Wellness PC provides reasonable access and accommodations as required by law. Please contact us in advance when an accommodation is needed.
Emergencies
NP Empowered Wellness PC is not an emergency service.
For a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
For an urgent concern following treatment, follow your written aftercare instructions and contact the practice using the designated clinical number.
If the practice cannot be reached promptly and your symptoms may be serious, seek urgent or emergency medical care.
Changes to These Policies
NP Empowered Wellness PC may revise these policies when its services, operations, contracts, professional standards, or legal obligations change.
The version in effect at the time of service applies unless a separate signed agreement states otherwise.
The current policies will be available through our website, patient portal, office, or upon request.
Contact NP Empowered Wellness PC
Sarah Sanchez, FNP-C
Email: np@npempoweredwellness.com
Phone: 916-280-0949
Website: www.npempoweredwellness.com
Patients may request a printed copy of these policies or the Notice of Privacy Practices by contacting the practice.