Privacy Practices
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
HealthCare Partners (HCP) and its affiliates are required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with notice of their legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your Protected Health Information (PHI). PHI is any health information that is identifiable to you. If you have questions about any part of this notice or if you want more information about the privacy practices at HCP, please contact the Site Administrator of this office.
Effective date of this notice: April 14, 2003
I. How HCP May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
HCP collects PHI from you and stores it in a chart and on a computer. This is your medical record. The medical record is the property of HCP, but the information in the medical record belongs to you. HCP protects the privacy of your PHI. The law permits HCP to use or disclose without written authorization your PHI for the following purposes:
1. Treatment. HCP is a primary care medical group that offers a full spectrum of health care treatment and services, using a provider network of employed and contracted physicians, as well as contracted hospitals and specialty medical/surgical services (“Business Associates”). Medical treatment includes but is not limited to:
· Preventive care (immunizations, flu shots, histories and physicals, screening exams, etc.);
· Diagnostic treatment (x-rays, lab tests, etc.);
· Specialty care (home health, dialysis, physical therapy);
· Surgery;
· Palliative/hospice care.
2. Payment. We may use and disclose PHI to provide payment for services that we provide to you. Payors are: insurance companies (including HMOs, PPOs, Medicare, etc.) employers, and others who arrange or pay the cost of some or all of your health care. Your insurance company may release some or all of your PHI to the primary policy holder.
3. Regular Health Care Operations. Your PHI will be provided to HCP employees or “business associates” who participate in meeting your health care needs. This includes but is not limited to: scheduling appointments, appointment reminders, greeting you on arrival, assisting your physician during the office visit, arranging referrals, and transcribing and maintaining your records. We may use your PHI to evaluate the quality and competence of our physicians, nurses, and other health care workers.
4. Information Provided to You. Upon your signed authorization, information will be released to you.
5. Notification and Communication with Family. We may disclose your PHI to a family member, your personal/legal representative (one who has a valid Power of Attorney for health care, a conservator, or a guardian) or another person responsible for your care. If you are able and available to agree or object, we will give you the opportunity to object prior to making this notification. If you are unable or unavailable to agree or object, our health professionals will use their best judgment in communication with your family and others.
6. Required by Law. As required by law, we may use and disclose your PHI.
7. Public Health. As required by law, we may disclose your PHI to public health authorities for purposes related to: preventing or controlling disease; injury or disability; reporting child abuse or neglect; reporting domestic violence; reporting to the Food and Drug Administration problems with products and reactions to medications; and reporting disease or infection exposure.
8. Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose your PHI to health agencies during the course of audits, investigations, inspections, licensure, and other proceedings.
9. Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may disclose your PHI in the course of any administrative or judicial proceeding.
10. Law Enforcement. We may disclose your PHI to a law enforcement official for purposes such as identifying of locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, complying with a court order or subpoena and other law enforcement purposes.
11. Deceased Person Information. We may disclose your PHI to coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors.
12. Organ Donation. We may disclose your PHI to organizations involved in procuring, banking, or transplanting organs and tissues.
13. Research. We may disclose your PHI to researchers conducting research that has been approved by an Institutional Review Board.
14. Public Safety. We may disclose your PHI to appropriate persons in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or the general public.
15. Worker’s Compensation. We may disclose your PHI as necessary to comply with worker’s compensation laws.
16. Marketing. We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or to give you information about other treatments or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
17. Change of Ownership. In the event that HCP is sold or merged with another organization, your PHI/record will become the property of the new owner.
II. When HCP May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information
Except as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices, HCP will not use or disclose your PHI without your written authorization. If you do authorize HCP to use or disclose your PHI for another purpose, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.
III. Your Health Information Rights
- You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your PHI. However, HCP is not required to agree to the restriction that you requested.
2. Upon written request, you have the right to receive your PHI through a reasonable alternative means or at an alternative location.
3. You have the right to inspect and request a copy of your PHI. You should take note that, if you are a parent or a legal guardian of a minor, certain portions of the minor’s medical record will not be accessible to you.
4. You have a right to request that HCP amend your PHI that is incorrect or incomplete. HCP is not required to change your PHI and will provide you with information about the HCP denial process, and how you can disagree with the denial.
5. You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your PHI made by HCP, except that HCP does not have to account for the disclosures described in parts 1 (treatment), 2 (payment), 3 (health care operations), and 4 (information provided to you), of section I of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
6. You have a right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
If you would like to have a more detailed explanation of these rights or if you would like to exercise one or more of these rights, contact the Site Administrator of this office.
IV. Changes to this Notice of Privacy Practices
HealthCare Partners reserves the right to amend this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time in the future, and to make the new provisions effective for all information that it maintains, including information that was created or received prior to the date of such amendment. Until such amendment is made, HealthCare Partners is required by law to comply with this Notice.
V. Complaints
Complaints about this Notice of Privacy Practices or how HealthCare Partners handles your PHI should be directed to the HealthCare Partners Patient Services Department.
If you are not satisfied with the manner in which this office handles a complaint, you may submit a formal complaint to:
Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Civil Rights
Hubert H. Humphrey Bldg.
Room 509F,
You may also address your complaint to one of the regional Offices for Civil Rights. A list of these offices can be found online at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/regmail.html.