This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.

If you have any questions about this notice please contact: our Privacy Contact who is Diane Savage, RN, Director of Inservice Education.

This Notice of privacy practices describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. “Protected health information”, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services.

Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information

We use health information about you for treatment, to obtain payment for treatment, for administrative purposes, and to evaluate the quality of care that you receive. We may use or disclose identifiable health information about you without your authorization for several other reasons. Subject to certain requirements, we may give out health information without your authorization for public health purposes, for auditing purposes, for research studies, and for emergencies. We provide information when other wise required by law, such as for law enforcement in specific circumstances. In any other situation, we will ask for your written authorization before using or disclosing any identifiable health information about you. If you choose to sign and authorize to disclose information, you can later revoke that authorization to stop any future uses and disclosures.

We may change our policies at any time. Before we make a significant change in our policies, we will change our notice and post the new notice. You can also request a copy of our notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, contact the person listed above.

The Federal regulations that govern the use and disclosure of protected health information may require us to disclose your health information in any of the following situations:

Required By Law: We may use or disclose your protected health information to the extent that law requires use or disclosure. The use or disclosure will be made in compliance with the law and will be limited to the relevant requirements of the law. You will be notified, as required by law, of any such uses or disclosures.

Public Health. We may disclose your protected health information for public health activities and purposes to a public health authority that is permitted by law to collect or receive the information. The disclosure will be made for the purpose of controlling disease, injury, or disability. We may also disclose your protected health information if directed by the public health authority, to a foreign government agency that is collaborating with the public health authority.

Communicable Disease. We may disclose your protected health information, if authorized by law, to a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or may otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading the disease or condition.

Health Oversight. We may disclose protected health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, and inspections. Oversight agencies seeking this information include government agencies that oversee the health care system, government benefit programs, other government regulatory programs, and civil rights laws.

Abuse or Neglect. If we believe that you have been a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. We may disclose your protected health information to the governmental entity or agency authorized to receive such information. In this case, the disclosure will be made consistent with the requirements of applicable federal and state laws.

Food and Drug Administration. We may disclose your protected health information to a person or company as directed or required by the food and drug administration (i) To report adverse events (or similar activities with respect to food of dietary supplements), product defects or problems (including problems with the use of labeling of a product), or biological product deviations, (ii) to track FDA-regulated products, (iii) to enable product recalls, repairs or replacement, or look back (including location and notification of individuals who have received products that have been recalled, withdrawn), or are the subject of look back.

Legal proceedings. We may disclose protected health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding, in response to an order of court or administrative tribunal (to the extent such disclosure is expressly authorized), in certain conditions in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process.

Law Enforcement. We may also disclose protected health information, so long as applicable legal requirements are met, for law enforcement purposes. These law enforcement purposes include (1) legal processes and otherwise required by law, (2) limited information requests for identification and location purposes, (3) pertaining to victims of a crime, (4) suspicion that death has occurred as a result of criminal conduct, (5) in the event that a crime occurs on the premises of the home, and (6) medical emergencies (not on the home’s premises) with the likelihood that a crime has occurred.

Coroners, Funeral Directors, and Organ Donation. We may disclose protected health information to a coroner or medical examiner for identification purposes, determining cause of death or for the coroner or medical examiner to perform other duties authorized by law. We may also disclose protected health information to a funeral director, as authorized by law, in order to permit the funeral director to carry out their duties. Protected health information may be used and disclosed for cadaveric organ, eye or tissue donation purposes.

Research. We may disclose your protected health information to researchers when institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your protected health information has approved their research.

Criminal Activity. Consistent with applicable federal and state laws, we may disclose your protected health information, if we believe that the use of disclose is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public. We may also disclose protected health information if it necessary for law enforcement authorities to identify or apprehend an individual.

Military Activity and National Security. When the appropriate conditions apply, we may use or disclose protected health information of individuals who are armed forces personnel (1) for activities deemed necessary by appropriate military command authorities; (2) for the purpose of a determination by the department of Veterans Affairs of your eligibility for benefits, or (3) to foreign military authority if you are a member of that foreign military services. We may also disclose your protected health information to authorized federal officials for conducting national security and intelligence activities including for the provision of protective services to the President or others legally authorized.

Workers’ Compensation. We may disclose your protected health information as authorized to comply with workers’ compensation laws and other similar legally established programs.

Required Uses and Disclosures. Under the law, we must make disclosures to you and when required by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our compliance with the requirements of Section 164.500 et. Seq.

Your Rights

The following is a statement of your rights with respect to your protected health information and a brief description of how you may exercise these rights.

You have the right to inspect and copy your protected health information. This means you may inspect and obtain a copy of protected health information about you that is contained in a designated record set for as long as we maintain the protected health information. A “designated record set” contains medical and billing records and any other record that this facility uses for making decisions about you. Under federal law, however, you may not inspect or copy the following records, psychotherapy notes, information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or use in a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding, and protected health information that is subject to law that prohibits access to protected health information. Depending on the circumstances, a decision to deny access may be reviewed. In some circumstance you may have a right to have this decision reviewed. Please contact our Privacy Contact if you have questions about access to your medical record.

You have the right to request a restriction of your protected health information. This means you may ask us not to use or disclose any part of your protected health information for the purposes of treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. You may also request that any part of your protected health information not be disclosed to family members or friends who may be involved in your care or for notification purposes as described in the Notice of Privacy. Your request must state the specific restriction request and to whom you want the restriction to apply. We are not required to agree to a restriction that you may request, but if we do agree to the request restriction, we may not use or disclose your protected health information in violation of that restriction unless it is needed to provide emergency treatment.

You have the right to request to receive confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternative location. We will accommodate reasonable requests. We may also condition this accommodation by asking you for information as to how payment will be handled or specification of an alternative address or other method of contact. We will not request an explanation from you as to the basis for the request. Please make this request in writing to our Privacy Contact.

You may have the right to have your physician amend your protected health information. This means you may request an amendment of protected health information about you in a designed record set for as long as we maintain this information. In certain cases, we may deny your request for an amendment. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us and we may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy of any such rebuttal. Please contact our Privacy Contact to determine if you have questions about amending your medical record.

You have the right to receive an account of certain disclosures we have made, if any, of your protected health information. This right applies to disclosures for purposes other than treatment, payment, or healthcare operation as described in the Notice of Privacy. It excludes disclosures we may have made to you, or a facility directory, to family members or friends involved in you care, or for notification purposes. You have the right to receive specific information regarding these disclosures that occurred after April 14, 2003. You may request a shorter timeframe. The right to receive this information is subject to a certain exceptions, restrictions and limitations.

Complaints

You may complain to us or to the Secretary of Health and Human Services if you believe we have violated your privacy rights. You may file a complaint with us by notifying our Privacy Contact of your complaint. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.