Notice of 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. For purposes of this Notice, when we refer to “you” or “your,” we mean you as a patient or, in certain cases, you as the provider of information about a minor patient.

OVERVIEW

I. Your Rights

• You have the right to:
  Get a copy of your paper or electronic medical record
• Correct your paper or electronic medical record
• Request confidential communication
• Ask us to limit the information we share
• Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your information
• Get a copy of this privacy notice
• Choose someone to act for you
• File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated

II. Your Choices

You have some choices in the way that we use and share information:

• Tell family and friends about your condition
• Provide health care
• Market our services and exchange your information
• Raise funds

III. Our Uses and Disclosures

We may use and share your information as we:

• Treat you
• Run our organization
• Bill for your services
• Help with public health and safety issues
• Do research
• Comply with the law
• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

IV. Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

1. Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record

• You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
• We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

2. Ask us to correct your medical record

• You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete.
• Ask us how to do this.
• We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

3. Request confidential communications

• You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
• We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

4. Ask us to limit what we use or share

• You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
• If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

5. Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

• You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
• We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

6. Get a copy of this privacy notice

• This policy is available on our website and within the patient portal for you to save or reference as needed.

7. Choose someone to act for you

• If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
• We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

8. File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

• You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us using the information at the end of this notice.
• You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

V. Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
• Share information in a disaster relief situation
• Restrict information about self-paid services from being submitted to your insurance / health plan.

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your personal health information

In the case of fundraising:

• We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

VI. Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your health information?

We typically use or share your health information in the below ways. Also included are general examples from typical healthcare scenarios to help you better understand.

Treat you

• We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.
• Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.

Run our organization

• We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
• Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.

Bill for your services

• We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.
• Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see:
www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

• Preventing disease
• Helping with product recalls
• Reporting adverse reactions to medications
• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Do research
We can use or share your de-identified or anonymized information for health research.

Comply with the law
We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests

We can use or share health information about you:

• For workers’ compensation claims
• For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
• With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
• For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.

Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in
response to a subpoena.

Certain uses and disclosures require your authorization.

HIPAA is a federal law, which places limitations on how health care providers and others can use and disclose your health information. At times, state or other federal laws may afford more protection of your health information or provide additional patient rights that exceed those under HIPAA. Some examples of categories of information that are afforded such additional protections under state laws include information related to sexually-transmitted infections and reproductive health. In these and all other applicable cases, we will abide by the most stringent of the regulations as they pertain to your health information, including obtaining your prior written authorization, as required by law, before any such information is disclosed to a third party.

Information Specific to Patients in California

California law prohibits all recipients of healthcare information from further disclosing it except as specifically required or permitted by law.

If you are a minor under the age of 18, you may consent to her own medical care related to the prevention or treatment of pregnancy. The consent of your parent or guardian is not required, and your parent or guardian will not be authorized to access your health records.

Our Responsibilities

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.

We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the Terms of this Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available on our website and within the patient portal.

Contact Us

Choices Rising
www.choicesrising.com
info@choicesrising.com