Privacy Notice

HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

Effective Date: October 1, 2002

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

This notice is provided to you pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"). It is designed to tell you how we may, under federal law, use or disclose your health information.

  1. We may use or disclose you health information for purposes of treatment, payment of healthcare operations [with/without] a consent and here is one example of each:
  • The health care professionals in our facility may access your information for purposes of providing you care.
  • Our billing department may access your information – and send relevant parts – to your insurance company to allow us to be paid for the services we render to you.
  • We may access or send your information to our attorneys or accountants in the event we need the information in order to address one of our own business functions.
  • We may use or disclose your health information under the following circumstance without obtaining your prior consent or authorization:
  • For treatment, payment or healthcare operations. See above.
  • To provide it to you.
  • To notify and/or communicate with your family. Unless you put in writing that you object, we may use or disclose your health information in order to notify your family or assist in notifying your family, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care about your location, your general condition or in the event of your death. IF requested, our agency will provide you with a sample authorization for release of information for your use. If you are unable or unavailable to agree or object, our health professionals will use their best judgement in any communications with your family and others.
I. As Required by Law
  1. For Public Health Purposes: We may use or disclose your health information to provide information to state or federal public health authorities; as required by law to prevent or control disease, injury or disability; to report child abuse or neglect; report domestic violence; to report to the Food and Drug Administration problems with products and reactions to medications; and to report disease or infection exposure.
  2. For Public Health Purposes: We may use or disclose your health information to provide information to state or federal public health authorities; as required by law to prevent or control disease, injury or disability; to report child abuse or neglect; report domestic violence; to report to the Food and Drug Administration problems with products and reactions to medications; and to report disease or infection exposure.
  3. For Health Oversight Activities: We may use or disclose your health information to health agencies during the course of audits, investigations, inspections, licensure and other proceedings.
  4. In Response to Subpoenas or for Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may use or disclose your health information in the course of any administrative or judicial proceedings. However, in general, we will attempt to ensure that you have been made aware of the use or disclosure of your health information prior to providing it to another person.
  5. To Law Enforcement Personnel. We may use or disclose your health information to a law enforcement official to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, comply with a court order or subpoena and other law enforcement purposes.
  6. To Coroners or Funeral Directors. We may use or disclose your health information for purposes of communicating with coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors.
  7. In Order to Conduct Research. We may use or disclose your health information in order to conduct research that has been approved by our Institutional Review Board.
  8. For Public Safety. We may use or disclose your health information in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or the general public.
  9. To Aid Specialized Government Functions. If necessary, we may use or disclose your health information for military or national security purposes.
  10. For Worker's Compensation. We may use or disclose your health information as necessary to comply with worker's compensation laws.
  11. To Correctional Institutions or Law Enforcement Officials, if you are an inmate.
II. For All Other Circumstances,

We May Only Use or Disclose Your Health Information After You Have Signed an Authorization. If you authorize us to use or disclose your health information for another purpose, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.

III. We May Also Use or Disclose Your Health information for the Following Purposes:
  1. Appointment Reminders. We may use your health information in order to contact you to provide appointment reminders or to give information about other treatments or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
  2. Fund Raising. We may contact you or next of kin to participate in our fund-raising activities.
  3. Providing Information to Our Plan Sponsor (Health Plan). We may disclose your health information to our Plan Sponsor.
IV. Your Rights.
  1. You have the right to request restrictions on the uses and disclosures of your health information. We are not required to comply with your request.
  2. You have the right to receive your health information through confidential means, through a reasonable alternative means or at an alternative location.
  3. You have the right to inspect and copy your health information. We may charge you a reasonable cost-based fee to cover copying, postage and/or preparation of a summary.
  4. You have a right to request that we amend your health information that is incorrect or incomplete. We are not required to change your health information and will provide you with information about our denial and how you can disagree with the denial.
  5. You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by us, except that we do not have to account for disclosures made for treatment, payment, health care operations, information provided to you, directory listing, notification and communicate with family, certain government functions, appointment reminders and fund raising as described in section I of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
  6. You have a right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices. If you would like to have a more detailed explanation of these rights or if you would like to exercise one or more of these rights, contact the CEO of Home Health Services.
  7. I understand that I have the right to revoke this authorization at any time provided that the revocation is in writing.
V. Our Duties.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with a copy of this notice.

We are also required to abide by this notice.

We reserve the right to amend this notice at any time in the future and to make the new notice provisions applicable to all your health information – even if it was created prior to the change in the notice. If such amendment is made, we will immediately display the revised notice at our office and provide you with a copy of the amended notice. We will also provide you with a copy, at any time, upon request.

VI. Complaints to the Government

You may make complaints to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) if you believe your rights have been violated.

We Promise not to retaliate against you for any complaint you make to the government about our privacy practices.

VII. Contact Information.

You may contact us about our privacy practices by calling the Privacy Officer at:
570-421-5390

You may contact the DHHS at:
1-800-MEDICARE

Concerns & Complaints

Feel free to contact VNA/Hospice of Monroe County if you are unsatisfied in any way at (570) 421-5390 or info@vnahospiceofmc.org . If the issue is of major concern and you don't feel it was appropriately addressed a formal complaint may be filed with our accrediting body the Joint Commission.

Joint Commission

Any person has the right to contact the Joint Commission directly with concerns about the safety or quality of care provided by the VNA/Hospice. No disciplinary action or retaliatory disciplinary action will be taken against an employee for reporting their concerns related to safety or quality of care to the Joint Commission.

The contact information for the Joint Commission:

Mail: The Joint Commission
 One Renaissance Boulevard
 Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181

Phone: 800-994-6610

Email: complaint@jointcommission.org

Website: www.jointcommission.org