NOTICE
OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
ABOUT YOU (PATIENT OF THIS PRACTICE) MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN
GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE HEALTH INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW
THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.
Required of PPCP by the Privacy Regulations created by
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)
A.
OUR
COMMITMENT TO YOUR PRIVACY: Our
Practice is dedicated to maintaining the privacy of your Protected Health
Information (PHI). Protected Health
Information is defined as individually identifiable health information. In
conducting our business, we will create records regarding you and the treatment
and services we provide you. We are
required by law to maintain the confidentiality of health information that
identifies you. We are required by law
to provide you with the notice of our legal duties and the privacy practices
that we maintain in our practice concerning your PHI. By federal and state law,
we must follow the terms of the notice of privacy practices that we have in
effect at the time.
We must provide you with the following information:
·
How we may use and disclose your PHI
·
Your privacy rights regarding your PHI
·
Our obligations concerning the use and
disclosure of your PHI
The terms of this notice apply to all records containing your PHI that
are created or retained by our practice. We reserve the right to revise or
amend this Notice of Privacy Practices. Any revision or amendment to this
notice will be effective for all of your records that our practice has created
or maintained in the past, and for any of your records that we may create or
maintain in the future. Our Practice
will post a copy of our current Notice of Privacy Practices in our offices(s)
in visible locations at all times, and you may request a copy of our most
current Notice at any time.
B.
IF YOU HAVE
QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS NOTICE, PLEASE CONTACT:
Jeremiah P.
Brown, Administrator
Palmetto
Primary Care Physicians
2550 Elms Center Rd.
North Charleston, SC
29406
843-572-7727
C. WE MAY USE AND DICLOSE YOUR PHI IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
1. Treatment. Our practice
may use your PHI to treat you. For example, we may ask you to have laboratory
tests (such as blood or urine tests), and we may use the results to help us
reach a diagnosis. We might use your PHI in order to write a prescription for
you, or we might disclose your PHI to a pharmacy when we order a prescription
for you. Many who work for our practice, including but not limited to, doctors
and nurses may use or disclose your PHI in order to treat you or to assist
others in your treatment. Additionally, we may disclose your PHI to others who
may assist in your care, such as your spouse, children or parents.
2. Payment. Our practice
may use and disclose your PHI in order to bill and collect payment for the
services and items you may receive from us. For example, we may contact your
health insurer to certify that you are eligible for benefits (and for what
range of benefits), and we may provide your insurer with details
regarding your treatment to determine if your insurer will cover, or pay for,
your treatment. We also may use and disclose your PHI to obtain payment from
third parties that may be responsible for such costs, such as family members.
Also, we may use your PHI to bill you directly for services and items.
3. Health Care Operations. Our
practice may use and disclose your PHI to operate our business. As examples of
the ways in which we may use and disclose your information for our operations,
our practice may use your PHI to evaluate the quality of care you received from
us, or to conduct cost-management and business planning activities for our
practice.
4. Appointment Reminders. Our
practice may use and disclose your PHI to contact you and remind you of an
appointment.
5. Treatment Options. Our
practice may use and disclose your PHI to inform you of potential treatment
options or alternatives.
6. Health-Related Benefits and
Services. Our practice may use and disclose your PHI to inform you of health-related
benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
7. Release of Information to Family/Friends. Our practice may release
your PHI to a friend or family member that is involved in your care, or who
assists in taking care of you. For example, a parent or guardian may ask that a
babysitter take their child to the pediatrician's office for treatment of a
cold. In this example, the babysitter may have access to this child's medical
information.
8. Disclosures Required By Law. Our practice will use and disclose
your PHI when required by federal, state or local law.
D. USE AND DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PHI IN
CERTAIN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
The following categories describe unique scenarios in which we may use
or disclose your identifiable health information:
1. Public Health Risks. Our practice may disclose your PHI to public
health authorities that are authorized by law to collect information for the
purpose of:
·
maintaining vital records, such as births and
deaths reporting child abuse or neglect
·
preventing or controlling disease, injury or
disability
·
notifying a person regarding potential exposure
to a communicable disease
·
notifying a person regarding a potential risk
for spreading or contracting a disease or condition
·
reporting reactions to drugs or problems with
products or devices
·
notifying individuals if a product or device
they may be using has been recalled
·
notifying appropriate government agency(ies) and
authority(ies) regarding the potential
·
abuse or neglect of an adult patient (including
domestic violence); however, we will only disclose this information if the
patient agrees or we are required or authorized by law to disclose this
information
·
notifying your employer under limited
circumstances related primarily to workplace injury or illness or medical
surveillance.
2. Health Oversight Activities. Our practice may disclose your PHI to
a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. Oversight
activities can include, for example, investigations, inspections, audits,
surveys, licensure and disciplinary actions; civil, administrative, and
criminal procedures or actions; or other activities necessary for the
government to monitor government programs, compliance with civil rights laws
and the health care system in general.
3. Lawsuits and Similar
Proceedings. Our practice may use and disclose your PHI in response to a
court or administrative order, if you are involved in a lawsuit or similar
proceeding. We also may disclose your PHI in response to a discovery request,
subpoena, or other lawful process by another party involved in the dispute, but
only if we have made an effort to inform you of the request or to obtain an
order protecting the information the party has requested.
4. Law Enforcement. We may
release PHI if asked to do so by a law enforcement official: 1) regarding a
crime victim in certain situations, if we are unable to obtain the person's
agreement. 2) concerning a death we believe has resulted from criminal conduct.
3) regarding criminal conduct at our offices. 4) in response to a warrant,
summons, court order, subpoena or similar legal process 5) to identify/locate a
suspect, material witness, fugitive or missing person 5) In an emergency, to
report a crime (including the location or victim(s) of the crime, or the description,
identity or location of the perpetrator)
5. Deceased Patients. Our
practice may release PHI to a medical examiner or coroner to identify a
deceased individual or to identify the cause of death. If necessary, we also
may release information in order for funeral directors to perform their jobs.
6. Research. Our practice may use and disclose your PHI for research
purposes in certain limited circumstances. We will obtain your written
authorization to use your PHI for research purposes except when : (a)
our use or disclosure was approved by an Institutional Review Board or a
Privacy Board; (b) we obtain the oral or written agreement of a researcher that
(1) the information being sought is necessary for the research study; (ii) the
use or disclosure of your PHI is being used only for the research and (iii) the
researcher will not remove any of your PHI from our practice; or (c) the PHI
sought by the researcher only relates to decedents and the researcher agrees
either orally or in writing that the use or disclosure is necessary for the
research and, if we request it, to provide us with proof of death prior to
access to the PHI of the decedents.
8. Serious Threats to Health or
Safety. Our practice may use and disclose your PHI when necessary to reduce
or prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety
of another individual or the public. Under these circumstances, we will only
make disclosures to a person or organization able to help prevent the threat.
9. Military. Our practice may disclose your PHI if you are a member of
U.S.
or foreign military forces (including veterans) and if required by the
appropriate authorities.
10. National Security. Our
practice may disclose your PHI to federal officials for intelligence and
national security activities authorized by law. We also may disclose your PHI
to federal officials in order to protect the President, other officials or
foreign heads of state, or to conduct investigations.
11. Inmates. Our practice
may disclose your PHI to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials
if you are an inmate or under the custody of a law enforcement official.
Disclosure for these purposes would be necessary: (a) for the institution to
provide health care services to you, (b) for the safety and security of the
institution, and/or (c) to protect your health and safety or the health and
safety of other individuals.
12. Workers' Compensation. Our
practice may release your PHI for workers' compensation and similar programs.
E. YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING
YOUR PHI- You have the following
rights regarding the PHI that we maintain about you:
1. Confidential Communications.
You have the right to request that our practice communicate with you about
your health and related issues in a particular manner or at a certain location.
For instance, you may ask that we contact you at home, rather than work. In
order to request a type of confidential communication, you must make a written
request to The Practice Manager specifying the requested method of contact, or
the location where you wish to be contacted. Our practice will accommodate reasonable requests. You do not need to
give a reason for your request.
2. Requesting Restrictions. You have the
right to request a restriction in our use or disclosure of your PHI for
treatment, payment or health care operations. Additionally, you have the right
to request that we restrict our disclosure of your PHI to only certain
individuals involved in your care or the payment for your care, such as family
members and friends. We are not required
to agree to your request; however, if we do agree, we are bound by our
agreement except when otherwise required by law, in emergencies, or when the
information is necessary to treat you. In order to request a restriction in our
use or disclosure of your PHI, you must make your request in writing to The
Practice Manger. Your request must be clear and concise: (a) information you
wish restricted; (b) whether you are requesting to limit practice use,
disclosure or both; and (c) who you want the limits to apply.
3. Inspection and Copies. You
have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of the PHI that may be used to make
decisions about you, including patient medical records and billing records, but
not including psychotherapy notes. You must submit your request in writing to
the Practice Manger in order to inspect and/or obtain a copy of your PHI. Our
practice may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, labor and supplies
associated with your request. Our practice may deny your request to inspect
and/or copy in certain limited circumstances; however, you may request a review
of our denial. Another licensed health care professional chosen by us will
conduct reviews.
4. Amendment. You may ask us to amend your
health information if you believe it is incorrect or incomplete, and you may
request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for our
practice. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and
submitted to the Practice Manager. You must provide us with a reason that
supports your request for amendment. Our practice will deny your request if you
fail to submit your request (and the reason supporting your request) in
writing. Also, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that
is in our opinion: (a) accurate and complete; (b) not part of the PHI kept by
or for the practice; (c) not part of the PHI which you would be permitted to
inspect and copy; or (d) not created by our practice, unless the individual or
entity that created the information is not available to amend the information.
5. Accounting of Disclosures. All of our
patients have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." An
"accounting of disclosures" is a list of certain non-routine
disclosures our practice has made of your PHI for non-treatment or operations
purposes. Use of your PHI as part of the routine patient care in our practice
is not required documentation i.e., the doctor sharing information with the
nurse; or the billing department using your information to file your insurance
claim. To obtain an accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in
writing to the Practice Manager. All requests for an accounting of
disclosures" must state a time period, which may not be longer than six (6)
years from the date of disclosure and may not include dates before April 14,
2003. The first list you request within
a 12-month period is free of charge, but our practice may charge you for
additional lists within the same 12-month period. Our practice will notify you
of the costs involved with additional requests, and you may withdraw your
request before you incur any costs.
6. Right to a Paper Copy of
This Notice. You are entitled to receive a paper copy of our notice of
privacy practices. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any
time. To obtain a paper copy of this notice, contact the Practice Manager or
our Front Desk personnel.
7. Right to File a Complaint. If
you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with
our practice or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services. To file a complaint with our practice, contact the Practice Manager.
All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
8. Right to Provide an
Authorization for Other Uses and Disclosures. Our practice will obtain your
written authorization for uses and disclosures that are not identified by this
notice or permitted by applicable law. Any authorization you provide to us
regarding the use and disclosure of your PHI may be revoked at any time in writing.
After you revoke your authorization, We will no longer use or disclose your
PHI for the reasons described in the authorization. Please note, we are
required to retain records of your care.
Again,
if you have any questions regarding this notice or our health information
privacy policies, please contact our Office Manager.
