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 READ IT CAREFULLY
Each time you visit a hospital, physician, or other
healthcare provider, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains your
symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for
future care or treatments. This
information is often referred to as your health or medical records and serves
as a:
·
Basis of planning your care and treatment
·
Means of communication among the health
professionals participating in your care
·
Legal document describing the care you
received
·
Means by which you or a third-party payer
can certify that the services billed were actually provided
·
A source of information for public health
officials charged with improving the health of the nation
·
A tool with which we can assess and
continually work on to improve the care we deliver and the outcomes we achieve
Understanding what is in your record and how your
health information is used helps you to ensure its accuracy; make more informed
decisions when authorizing disclosure to others; and better understand who,
what, when, where, and why others may access your health information.
Understanding Your
Health Information Rights
Although your health record is the physical
property of the healthcare provider, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:
- Request
a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information (45 CFR
164.522)
- Obtain
a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request
- Inspect
and obtain a copy of your health record (45 CFR 164.524)
- Request
to amend your health record (45 CFR 164.528)
- Obtain
an accounting of disclosures of your health information (45 CFR 164.528)
- Request
communications of your health information by alternative means or at
alternative locations
- Revoke
your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the
extent that action has already been taken
Our
Responsibilities
We are required to:
- Maintain
privacy of your health information
- Provide
you with a notice as to our legal duties & privacy practices with
respect to your information
- Abide
by the terms of this notice
- Notify
you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction on disclosure or
amendment to your record
- Accommodate
reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by
alternative means or locations
We reserve the right to change our practices and to
make the changes effective for all protected health information we maintain. If
our information practices change, we will notify you the next time you come to
our office for treatment.
If you have questions and would like additional
information, you may contact our Privacy Officer at Missoula Physical Therapy,
Inc. If you believe your privacy rights
have been violated, you can file a complaint with the Privacy Officer or with
the secretary of Health and Human Services.
We will not retaliate if you file a complaint.
Examples of Disclosures for Treatment,
Payment and Health Operations
We will use and disclose
your health information for treatment. For example, information
obtained by us will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course
of treatment that should work best for you. Members of your healthcare team
will then record the actions they took and their observations. In that way, your physicians and other
providers will know how you are responding to treatment. Copies of these records, as well as other
reports will be provided to other providers participating in your care to
assist them in treating you if you are referred to them for consultation.
We will use and disclose
your health information for payment. For example, a bill may be
sent to you or a third-party payer. The
information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies
you, as well as your diagnosis, procedures, and supplies used. Additionally, we may be required to forward
additional information to substantiate the medical necessity of the care
delivered and that the care for which the claim was submitted was actually
delivered. Further, we may disclose
health information to the extent authorized and to the extent necessary to
comply with workers compensation or other similar programs established by law.
We will use your health information for
regular health operations. For example,
members of our quality improvement team may use the information in your health
record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. The information will then be used to
continually improve the quality & effectiveness of the healthcare and
service we provide.
Business Associates. There are some services
provided in our organization through contracts with business associates. Examples include services by laboratories,
copy services, and transcription services.
When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health
information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we’ve
asked them to do. However, to protect
your health information we require the business associate to appropriately
safeguard your information.
Notification. We may use or
disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal
representative, or another person responsible for your care, of your location
and general condition.
Family communication. After careful
judgment, we may disclose to a family member or other person you designate,
health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or
payment related to your care.
Public Health. As required by law, we may
disclose health information to public health or legal authorities charged with
preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability.
Law Enforcement and
Correctional Institution. We may disclose health information for law
enforcement purposes as required by law.
Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose
to the institution or agents thereof health information necessary for your
health and the health and safety of other individuals.
Federal
law makes provision for your health information to be released to an
appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority, provided that we
or our business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in
unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards
and are potentially endangering one or more patients, workers, or the public.
EFFECTIVE
DATE 4/14/03