|
|
HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices |
Effective Date: April 14, 2003
Revised Date: September 18, 2008
This notice descripes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Logansport Memorial Hospital Privacy/Corporate Compliance Officer at 574-753-1767.
WHO WILL FOLLOW THIS NOTICE
• This notice describes our Logansport Memorial Hospital's practices and that of:
• Any health care professional authorized to enter information into your hospital chart;
• All departments and units of the hospital;
• Any member of a volunteer group we allow to help you while you are in the hospital;
• All employees, staff and other hospital personnel; and
• Physician practices owned by Logansport Memorial Hospital.
DEFINITION
Protected Health Information (PHI) is individually identifiable health information that is maintained or transmitted either electronically or in any other form or medium. Protected Health Information includes demographic information collected from an individual and is created or received by a health care provider, and relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual; the provision of health care to an individual; or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to an individual.
OUR PLEDGE REGARDING PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
We understand that Protected Health Information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive at the hospital. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by the hospital, whether made by hospital personnel or your personal doctor. Your personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor's use and disclosure of your Protected Health Information created in the doctor's office or clinic.
This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose Protected Health Information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information.
We are required by law to:
• make sure that Protected Health Information that identifies you is kept private;
• give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to Protected Health Information about you; and
• follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose Protected Health Information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.
► For Treatment. We may use Protected Health Information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose Protected Health Information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other hospital personnel who are involved in taking care of you at the hospital. We may disclose Protected Health Information about you to doctors from other hospitals when we are coordinating your care. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietitian if you have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different departments of the hospital also may share PHI about you in order to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work, and x-rays. We also may disclose PHI about you to people outside the hospital who may be involved in your medical care after you leave the hospital, such as family members, clergy or others we use to provide services that are part of your care.
We may share Protected Health Information with you at the time of your treatment. You are responsible for protecting your Protected Health Information. Logansport Memorial Hospital and its staff will not be liable for any loss of the Protected Health Information shared with you.
► For Payment. We may use and disclose Protected Health Information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the hospital may be billed for and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, we may need to give your insurance company information about surgery you received at the hospital so your insurance company will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery. We may also tell your insurance company about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.
► For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose Protected Health Information about you for hospital operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the hospital and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use Protected Health Information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine Protected Health Information about many hospital patients to decide what additional services the hospital should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other hospital personnel for review and learning purposes. We may also combine the Protected Health Information we have with medical information from other hospitals to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are.
► Appointment Reminders. We may use and disclose Protected Health Information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care at the hospital.
► Treatment Alternatives. We may use and disclose Protected Health Information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
► Health-Related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose Protected Health Information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
► Fundraising Activities. Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation of Cass County, Inc. may contact individuals in an effort to raise money for the hospital and its operations. If an individual does not want the foundation to contact them for fundraising efforts, the individual must notify the Logansport Memorial Hospital Foundation Director in writing.
► Facility Directory. We may include certain limited information about you in the hospital directory while you are a patient at Logansport Memorial Hospital. This information may include your name, location in the hospital, and your religious affiliation. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may also be released to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don’t ask for you by name. This is so your family, friends, and clergy can visit you in the hospital.
► Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. We may release Protected Health Information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care. We may also tell your family or friends your condition and that you are in the hospital. In addition, we may disclose Protected Health Information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your condition, status, and location.
► Research. Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes. For example, a research project may involve comparing the health and recovery of all patients who received one medication to those who received another, for the same condition. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of medical information, trying to balance the research needs with patients’ need for privacy of their medical information. Before we use or disclose medical information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process, but we may, however, disclose medical information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, for example, to help them look for patients with specific medical needs, so long as the medical information they review does not leave the hospital. We will almost always ask for your specific permission if the researcher will have access to your name, address, or other information that reveals who you are, or will be involved in your care at the hospital.
► As Required By Law. We will disclose Protected Health Information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
► Organ and Tissue Donation. If you are an organ donor, we may release Protected Health Information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.
► Military and Veterans. If you are a member of the armed forces, foreign or domestic, we may release Protected Health Information about you as required by military command authorities.
► Workers’ Compensation. We may release Protected Health Information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
► Public Health Risks. We may disclose Protected Health Information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include the following:
- to prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
- to report births and deaths;
- to report child abuse or neglect;
- to report reactions to medications or problems with products;
- to notify people of recalls of products they may be using;
- to notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will only make this disclosure if you agree or when required or authorized by law; and
- we may use and disclose Protected Health Information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.
► Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose Protected Health Information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
► Lawsuits and Disputes. If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose Protected Health Information about you in response to a court or administrative order.
We may also disclose Protected Health Information about you in response to a subpoena by someone else involved in the dispute, which requires a signed authorization by you.
► Law Enforcement. We may release Protected Health Information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official as authorized by law:
- in response to a court order, subpoena, or similar process;
- or about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct.
► Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. We may release Protected Health Information to a coroner or medical examiner as authorized by law. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release Protected Health Information about patients of the hospital to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.
► National Security and Intelligence Activities. We may release Protected Health Information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.
► Protective Services for the President and Others. We may disclose Protected Health Information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.
► Inmates. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may release Protected Health Information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official. This release would be necessary (1) for the institution to provide you with health care; (2) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; or (3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING PHI ABOUT YOU
You have the following rights regarding Protected Health Information we maintain about you:
► Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy Protected Health Information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes.
To inspect and copy Protected Health Information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to Medical Records. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.
We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to Protected Health Information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by the hospital will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.
► Right to Amend. If you feel that Protected Health Information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for the hospital.
To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to Logansport Memorial Hospital Medical Records. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request.
We may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:
- was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment;
- is not part of the Protected Health Information kept by or for the hospital;
- is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
- is accurate and complete.
► Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." This is a list of the disclosures we made of Protected Health Information about you.
To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to Logansport Memorial Hospital Medical Records. Your request must state a time period that may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred.
► Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the Protected Health Information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the Protected Health Information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not use or disclose information about a surgery you had.
We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment.
To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to the Logansport Memorial Hospital Privacy Officer. In your request, you must tell us (1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example, disclosures to your spouse.
► Right to Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail.
To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to the Logansport Memorial Hospital Privacy Officer. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.
► Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice.
You may obtain a copy of this notice at our website, www.logansportmemorial.org.
To obtain a paper copy of this notice, please visit any registration desk.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for Protected Health Information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in the hospital. The notice will contain on the first page, in the top right-hand corner, the effective date. In addition, each time you register at or are admitted to Logansport Memorial Hospital for treatment or health care services as an inpatient or outpatient, we will offer you a copy of the current notice in effect.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Logansport Memorial Hospital or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with the hospital, contact our Privacy Officer by calling 574-753-1767 or toll free 1-877-780-9368, or by writing to Privacy Officer, Logansport Memorial Hospital, 1101 Michigan Avenue, Logansport, IN 46947. All complaints must be submitted in writing.
You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
OTHER USES OF MEDICAL INFORMATION
Other uses and disclosure of Protected Health Information not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission.
If you provide us permission to use or disclose Protected Health Information about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose Protected Health Information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosure we have already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.
|
|
HIPAA
