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MSH
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 read it carefully.
We have a legal duty to safeguard your protected health information
(PHI).
We
are required to protect the privacy of your health information. We call
this information "protected health information," or "PHI"
for short, and it includes information that can be used to identify
you. We must provide you with this notice about our privacy practices
that explains how, when and why we use and disclose your PHI. With some
exceptions, we may not use or disclose any more of your PHI than is
necessary to accomplish the purpose of the use or disclosure.
However,
we reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and our privacy
policies at any time. Any changes will apply to the PHI we already have.
Before we make an important change to our policies, we will promptly
change this notice and post a new notice on public bulletin boards and
in the lobbies within our facilities. You can also request a copy of
this notice from the admissions or marketing office at any time.
How
We May Use & Disclose Your Protected Health Information:
We use and disclose health information for many different reasons. For
some of these uses or disclosures, we need your prior consent or specific
authorization. Below, we describe the different categories of our uses
and disclosures and give you some examples of each category.
Uses
and Disclosures Relating to Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations:
We may use and disclose your PHI with or without your consent
for the following reasons:
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For treatment.
We may disclose your PHI to physicians, nurses, medical students and
other health care personnel who provide you with health care services
or are involved in your care. For example, if you're being treated
for a knee injury, we may disclose your PHI to the rehabilitation
department in order to coordinate your care.
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To obtain payment for treatment.
We may use and disclose your PHI in order to bill and collect payment
for the treatment and services provided to you. For example, we may
provide portions of your PHI to our billing department and your health
plan to get paid for the health care services we provided to you.
We may also provide your PHI to our business associates, such as billing
companies, claims processing companies and others that process our
health care claims.
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For health care operations.
We may disclose your PHI in order to operate this facility. For example,
we may use your PHI in order to evaluate the quality of health care
services that you received or to evaluate the performance of the health
care professionals who provided health care services to you. We may
also provide your PHI to our accountants, attorneys, consultants and
others in order to make sure we're complying with the laws that affect
us.
We
may use and disclose your PHI without your consent or authorization
for the following reasons:
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When federal, state or local law; judicial or administrative proceedings;
or law enforcement require disclosure. For example, we make disclosures
when a law requires that we report information to government agencies
and law enforcement personnel about victims of abuse, neglect or domestic
violence; when dealing with gunshot and other wounds; or when ordered
in judicial or administrative proceedings.
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For public health activities. For example, we report information about
births, deaths and various diseases to government officials in charge
of collecting that information; and we provide coroners, medical examiners
and funeral directors necessary information relating to an individual's
death.
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For health oversight activities. For example, we will provide information
to assist the government when it conducts an investigation or inspection
of a health care provider or organization.
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For purpose of organ donation. We may notify organ procurement organizations
to assist them in organ, eye or tissue donation and transplants.
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For research purposes. In certain circumstances, we may provide PHI
in order to conduct medical research.
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To avoid harm. In order to avoid a serious threat to the health or
safety of a person or the public, we may provide PHI to law enforcement
personnel or persons able to prevent or lessen such harm.
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For specific government functions. We may disclose PHI of military
personnel and veterans in certain situations. And we may disclose
PHI for national security purposes, such as protecting the President
of the United States or conducting intelligence operations.
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For workers' compensation purposes. We may provide PHI in order to
comply with workers' compensation laws.
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For appointment reminders and health-related benefits or services.
We may use PHI to provide appointment reminders or give you information
about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits
we offer.
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For fundraising activities. We may use PHI to raise funds for our
organization. The money raised through these activities is used to
expand and support the healthcare services and educational programs
we provide to the community. If you do not wish to be contacted as
part of our fundraising efforts, please contact the marketing and
development department at extension 1970.
Two
Uses and Disclosures Require You to Have the Opportunity to Object:
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Patient directories. We may include your name, location in
this facility, general condition and religious affiliation in our
patient directory for use by clergy and visitors who ask for you by
name, unless you object in whole or part. The opportunity to consent
may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.
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Disclosures to family, friends or others. We may provide your
PHI to a family member, friend or other person that you indicate is
involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless
you object in whole or in part. The opportunity to consent may be
obtained retroactively in emergency situations.
All
Other Uses and Disclosures Require Your Prior Written Authorization:
In
any other situation not described in the sections above, we will ask
for your written authorization before using or disclosing any of your
PHI. If you choose to sign an authorization to disclose your PHI, you
can later revoke that authorization in writing to stop any future uses
and disclosures (to the extent that we haven't taken any action relying
on the authorization).
What
Rights You Have Regarding Your PHI:
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The Right To Request Limits On Uses And Disclosures Of Your PHI.
You have the right to ask that we limit how we use and disclose your
PHI. We will consider your request but are not legally required to
accept it. If we accept your request, we will put any limits in writing
and abide by them except in emergency situations. You may not limit
the uses and disclosures that we are legally required or allowed to
make.
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The Right To Choose How We Send PHI To You. You have the right
to ask that we send information to you to an alternate address or
by alternate means (for example, e-mail instead of regular mail).
We must agree to your request so long as we can easily provide it
in the format you requested.
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The Right To See and Request Copies Of Your PHI. In most cases,
you have the right to look at or get copies of your PHI that we have,
but you must make the request in writing. In certain situations, we
may deny your request; i.e., if you are a ward of the state (inmate),
your physician has deemed access to your records may be detrimental
to your health, or adjudication of incompetence. If we do, we will
explain to you and put in writing our reasons for the denial along
with other alternatives available to have your records released directly
to the state, physician, guardian and explain your right to have the
denial reviewed. There may be charges for copies made.
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The Right To Receive A List of Disclosures We Have Made. You
have the right to get a list of instances in which we have disclosed
your PHI. The list will not include uses or disclosures that you have
already consented to, such as those made for treatment, payment, or
health care operations; directly to you, to your family, or in our
facility directory. The list also will not include uses and disclosures
made for national security purposes, to corrections or law enforcement
personnel.
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The Right To Correct Or Update Your PHI. If you believe there
is a mistake in your PHI or that a piece of important information
is missing, you have the right to request that we correct the existing
information or add the missing information. You must provide the request
and your reason for the request in writing. We will respond within
60 days of receiving your request. We may deny your request in writing
if the PHI is: 1) correct and complete, 2) not created by us, 3) not
allowed to be disclosed, or 4) not part of our records. Our written
denial will state the reasons for the denial and explain your right
to file a written statement of disagreement with the denial. If you
don't file one, you have the right to request that your request and
our denial be attached to all future disclosures of your PHI. If we
approve your request, we will make the change to your PHI, tell you
that we have done it, and tell others that need to know about the
change to your PHI.
How
To Complain About Your Privacy Practices:
If you think that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree
with a decision we made about access to your PHI, you may file a complaint
with the person listed below. You also may send a written complaint
to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. We
will take no retaliatory action against you if you file a complaint
about our privacy practices.
Person
To Contact For Information About This Notice Or To Complain About Our
Privacy Practices:
If you have any questions about this notice or any complaints about
our privacy practices, or would like to know how to file a complaint
with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, please
contact the quality assurance/risk management office at extension 1924.
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