NOTICE OF HOME CARE PRIVACY PRACTICES
USE
AND DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH INFORMATION
NURSECARE,INC may
use your health information, information that constitutes protected health
information as defined in the Privacy Rule of the Administrative Simplification
provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996,
for purposes of providing you treatment, obtaining payment for your care and
conducting health care operations. The Agency has established policies to guard
against unnecessary disclosure of your health information. THE FOLLOWING
IS A SUMMARY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH AND PURPOSES FOR WHICH YOUR
HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED .
To
Provide Treatment. The Agency may use your health information to
coordinate care within the Agency and with others involved in your care, such
as your attending physician and other health care professionals who have agreed
to assist the Agency in coordinating care.
For example, physicians involved in your care will need information
about your symptoms in order to prescribe appropriate medications. The Agency also may disclose your health care
information to individuals outside of the Agency involved in your care
including family members, pharmacists, suppliers of medical equipment or other
health care professionals.
To
Obtain Payment. The Agency may include your health
information in invoices to collect payment from third parties for the care you
receive from the Agency. For example,
the Agency may be required by your health insurer to provide information
regarding your health care status so that the insurer will reimburse you or the
Agency. The Agency also may need to
obtain prior approval from your insurer and may need to explain to the insurer
your need for home care and the services that will be provided to you.
To
Conduct Health Care Operations. The Agency may use and disclose health
information for its own operations in order to facilitate the function of the
Agency and as necessary to provide quality care to all of the Agency ‘s
patients. Health care
operations includes such activities as: - Quality assessment and improvement
activities. - Activities designed to
improve health or reduce health care costs.
- Protocol development, case management and care coordination. - Contacting health care providers and
patients with information about treatment alternatives and other related
functions that do not include treatment.
- Professional review and performance evaluation. - Training programs including those in which
students, trainees or practitioners in health care learn under supervision. - Training of non-health care
professionals. - Accreditation,
certification, licensing or credentialing activities. - Review and auditing, including compliance
reviews, medical reviews, legal services and compliance programs. - Business planning and development including
cost management and planning related analyses and formulary development. - Business management and general
administrative activities of the Agency.
-
Fundraising for the benefit of the Agency and certain
marketing activities. For example
the Agency may use your health information to evaluate its staff performance,
combine your health information with other Agency patients in evaluating how to
more effectively serve all Agency patients, disclose your health information to
Agency staff and contracted personnel for training purposes, use your health
information to contact you as a reminder regarding a visit to you, or contact
you as part of general fundraising and community information mailings (unless
you tell us you do not want to be contacted).
For
Fundraising Activities. The Agency may use information about you
including your name, address, phone number and the dates you received care in
order to contact you to raise money for the Agency. The Agency may also release this information
to a related Agency foundation. If you
do not want the Agency to contact you, notify ADMINISTRATOR/D.O.N.,
For Appointment Reminders. The Agency may use and disclose your health
information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for a
home visit.
For
Treatment Alternatives. The Agency may use and disclose your health
information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or
alternatives that may be of interest to you.
THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE
CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH AND PURPOSES FOR WHICH YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE
USED AND DISCLOSED WITHOUT FIRST RECEIVING YOUR WRITTEN CONSENT
When
Legally Required. The Agency will disclose your health
information when it is required to do so by any Federal, State or local law.
When
There Are Risks to Public Health. The
Agency may disclose your health information for public activities and purposes
in order to: - Prevent or control
disease, injury or disability, report disease, injury, vital events such as
birth or death and the conduct of public health surveillance, investigations
and interventions. - Report adverse
events, product defects, to track products or enable product recalls, repairs
and replacements and to conduct post-marketing surveillance and compliance with
requirements of the Food and Drug Administration. - Notify a person who has been exposed to a
communicable disease or who may be at risk of contracting or spreading a
disease. - Notify
an employer about an individual who is a member of the workforce as legally
required.
To
Report Abuse, Neglect Or Domestic Violence. The Agency is allowed to notify government
authorities if the Agency believes a patient is the victim of abuse, neglect or
domestic violence. The Agency will make
this disclosure only when specifically required or authorized by law or when
the patient agrees to the disclosure.
To
Conduct Health Oversight Activities. The Agency may disclose your health
information to a health oversight agency for activities including audits, civil
administrative or criminal investigations, inspections, licensure or
disciplinary action. The Agency,
however, may not disclose your health information if you are the subject of an
investigation and your health information is not
directly related to your receipt of health care or public benefits.
In
Connection With Judicial And Administrative
Proceedings. The
Agency may disclose your health information in the course of any judicial or
administrative proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative
tribunal as expressly authorized by such order or in response to a subpoena,
discovery request or other lawful process, but only when the Agency makes
reasonable efforts to either notify you about the request or to obtain an order
protecting your health information.
For Law Enforcement
Purposes. As permitted or required by State law, the
Agency may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for
certain law enforcement purposes as follows: - As required by law
for reporting of certain types of wounds or other physical injuries pursuant to
the court order, warrant, subpoena or summons or similar process. - For the purpose of identifying or locating
a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person. - Under certain limited circumstances, when
you are the victim of a crime. - To a
law enforcement official if the Agency has a suspicion that your death was the
result of criminal conduct including criminal conduct at the Agency. - In an emergency in order to report a crime.
To
Coroners And Medical Examiners. The Agency may disclose your health
information to coroners and medical examiners for purposes of determining your
cause of death or for other duties, as authorized by law.
To
Funeral Directors. The Agency may disclose your health
information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law and if
necessary, to carry out their duties with respect to your funeral
arrangements. If necessary to carry out
their duties, the Agency may disclose your health information prior to and in
reasonable anticipation of your death.
For
Organ, Eye Or Tissue Donation. The Agency may use or disclose your health
information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the
procurement, banking or transplantation of organs, eyes or tissue for the
purpose of facilitating the donation and transplantation.
For
Research Purposes. The Agency may, under very select
circumstances, use your health information for research. Before the Agency discloses any of your
health information for such research purposes, the project will be subject to
an extensive approval process. The
Agency will almost always request your written authorization before granting
access to your individually identifiable health information.
In
the Event of A Serious Threat To Health Or Safety. The Agency may, consistent with applicable
law and ethical standards of conduct, disclose your health information if the
Agency, in good faith, believes that such disclosure is necessary to prevent or
lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or to the health
and safety of the public.
For Specified Government Functions. In certain circumstances, the Federal
regulations authorize the Agency to use or disclose your health information to
facilitate specified government functions relating to military and veterans,
national security and intelligence activities, protective services for the
President and others, medical suitability determinations and inmates and law
enforcement custody.
For
Worker's Compensation. The Agency may release your health
information for worker's compensation or similar programs.
AUTHORIZATION
TO USE OR DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION Other than is stated above,
the Agency will not disclose your health information other than with your
written authorization. If you or your
representative authorizes the Agency to use or disclose your health
information, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time.
YOUR
RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION You have the following rights regarding your
health information that the Agency maintains:
-
Right to
request restrictions. You may request restrictions on certain uses
and disclosures of your health information.
You have the right to request a limit on the Agency ‘s
disclosure of your health information to someone who is involved in your care
or the payment of your care. However,
the Agency is not required to agree to your request. If you wish to make a request for
restrictions, please contact ADMINISTRATOR OR D.O.N. -
Right
to receive confidential communications. You have the right to request that the Agency
communicate with you in a certain way.
For example, you may ask that the Agency only conduct communications
pertaining to your health information with you privately with no other family
members present. If you wish to receive
confidential communications, please contact ADMINISTRATOR OR D.O.N., (954)463-1100. The Agency will not request that you
provide any reasons for your request and will attempt to honor your reasonable
requests for confidential communications.
Right
to inspect and copy your health information. You have the right to inspect and copy your
health information, including billing records.
A request to inspect and copy records containing your health information
may be made to ADMINISTRATOR OR D.O.N., (954) 463-1100.. If you request a copy of your health
information, the Agency may charge a reasonable fee for copying and assembling
costs associated with your request. -
Right
to amend health care information. You or your representative
have the right to request that the Agency amend your records, if you
believe that your health information is incorrect or incomplete. That request may be made as long as the
information is maintained by the Agency.
A request for an amendment of records must be made in writing to ADMINISTRATOR
OR D.O.N.,
Right
to an accounting. You or your representative have the right to
request an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by the
Agency for any reason other than for treatment, payment or health
operations. The request for an
accounting must be made in writing to ADMINISTATOR OR D.O.N.,
Right
to a paper copy of this notice. You or your representative
have a right to a separate paper copy of this Notice at any time even if
you or your representative have received this Notice previously. To obtain a separate paper copy, please
contact ADMINISTRATOR OR D.O.N., (954)463-1100. The patient or a patient’s representative may also obtain a copy of the
current version of the Agency’s Notice of Privacy Practices at its website,
www.NURSECARE.ORG
DUTIES
OF THE AGENCY The
Agency is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information
and to provide to you and your representative this Notice of its duties and
privacy practices. The Agency is
required to abide by the terms of this Notice as may be amended from time to
time. The Agency reserves the right to
change the terms of its Notice and to make the new Notice provisions effective
for all health information that it maintains.
If the Agency changes its Notice, the Agency will provide a copy of the
revised Notice to you or your appointed representative. You or your personal representative
have the right to express complaints to the Agency and to the Secretary
of DHHS if you or your representative believe that your privacy rights have
been violated. Any complaints to the
Agency should be made in writing to ADMINISTRATOR OR D.O.N.,
CONTACT
PERSON The Agency has designated
the ADMINISTARTOR
OR D.O.N. as its contact person for all issues regarding patient
privacy and your rights under the Federal privacy standards. You may contact this person at
EFFECTIVE
DATE This Notice is effective