|
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS
TO THIS INFORMATION.
Introduction
At Valley View Nursing Center, we are committed to protecting your health
information. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes the personal information
we collect, and how and when we use or disclose that information. It also
describes your rights as they relate to your protected health information.
This Notice is effective April 14, 2003, and applies to all protected health
information as defined by federal regulations. Please sign the acknowledgement
of receipt found on the last page of this document.
Understanding Your Health Record/Information
Each time you are admitted to our facility, a record is made. Typically,
this record will contain your diagnosis, examination and test results, treatment
and a plan for future care or treatment. This information, often referred
to as your health or medical record, serves as a:
-
basis for planning your care and
treatment;
-
means of communication among the
many health professionals who contribute to your care;
-
legal document describing the
care you received;
-
means by which you or a third-party
payer can verify that services billed were actually provided;
-
tool in educating heath professionals;
-
source of information for medical
research;
-
source of information for public
health officials charged with improving the health of this state and
the nation;
-
source of information for our
planning and marketing;
-
tool with which we can assess
and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes
we achieve.
Understanding what is in your record
and how your health information is used helps you to:
-
ensure its accuracy;
-
better understand who, what, when,
where and why others may access your health information;
-
make more informed decisions when
you allow Valley View Nursing Center to share your health information
with others.
Your Health Information Rights
Although your health record is the physical property of Valley View Nursing
Center, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:
-
obtain a paper copy of this Notice
of Privacy Practices upon request;
-
inspect and obtain a copy of your
health record as permitted by law;
-
amend your protected health information
as permitted by law;
-
receive confidential communications
of protected health information as permitted by law;
-
obtain an accounting of disclosures
of your protected health information as permitted by law, although an
accounting will not contain disclosures that were made for treatment,
payment or health care operations purposes, or disclosures that were
made with your authorization;
-
request communications of your
protected health information by alternative means or at alternative
locations;
-
request a restriction on certain
uses and disclosures of your protected health information as permitted
by law, although Valley View Nursing Center is not required to agree
on a requested restriction;
-
revoke your authorization to use
or disclose protected health information except to the extent that action
has already been taken.
Please contact the HIPAA Coordinator
at (570) 433-3161, for more information if you would like to exercise any
of the rights listed above.
Our Responsibilities
Valley View Nursing Center is required to:
-
maintain the privacy of your protected
health information;
-
provide you with this notice as
to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected
health information we collect and maintain about you;
-
abide by the terms of this notice;
-
notify you if we are unable to
agree to a requested restriction;
-
accommodate reasonable requests
you may have to communicate protected health information by alternative
means or at alternative locations.
We reserve the right to change our
privacy practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected
health information we maintain. Should our privacy practices change, you
may obtain the revised Notice of Privacy Practices by notifying the Admission
Director, Social Services or the HIPAA Coordinator and requesting that you
receive the revised Notice.
We will not use or disclose your protected health information without your
authorization, except as described in this notice. We will also stop using
or disclosing your protected health information after we have received a
written termination of authorization, according to the procedures included
in the authorization.
For More Information or to Report a Problem
If you have questions and would like additional information, you may request
to speak to the HIPAA Coordinator at Valley View Nursing Center.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint
with the HIPAA Coordinator at Valley View Nursing Center, or with the secretary
of Health and Human Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint with either
the HIPAA Coordinator or the Office for Civil Rights.
Examples of Disclosures for Treatment, Payment and Health Operations
We will use or disclose your protected health information for the purpose
of treatment.
For example: Information obtained by a nurse, doctor or other member
of your healthcare team will be recorded in your record and used to determine
the course of treatment that should work best for you. Your doctor will
document in your record his or her expectations of the members of your healthcare
team. Members of your healthcare team will then record the actions they
took and their observations. In that way, the doctor will know how you are
responding to treatment.
We will also provide your doctor or a subsequent healthcare provider with
copies of various reports that should assist him or her in treating you.
We will use or disclose your protected health information for the purpose
of 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.
We will use or disclose your protected health information for the purpose
of regular health care operations.
For example: Members of the medical staff, the Director of Quality
Assurance or members of the quality improvement committee at Valley View
Nursing Center may use information in your health record to assess the care
and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information will then
be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness
of the health care and service we provide.
Other Purposes for which Uses or Disclosures may be Made Without Authorization
Business Associates: There are some services provided in our organization
through contacts with business associates. Examples of business associates
include certain healthcare quality improvement services, certain laboratory
tests and a copy service we use when making copies of your health record.
When these services are contracted, we may disclose your protected health
information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we've
asked them to do and bill you or your third-party payer for services rendered.
To protect your health information, however, we require the business associate
to appropriately safeguard your information.
Workforce Members: Valley View
Nursing Center employees, volunteers, trainees and other persons who work
at Valley View Nursing Center.
Facility Directory: Unless you notify us that you object, we will
use your name and location in the facility, for directory purposes. This
information may be provided to members of the clergy and, except for religious
affiliation, to other people who ask for you by name.
Notification: Unless you object, we may use or disclose protected
health information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal
representative or another person responsible for your care, your location
and general condition.
Communication with Family: Unless you object, health professionals,
using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member, other relative,
close personal friend or any other person you identify, protected health
information relevant to that person's involvement in your care or payment
related to your care.
As Required by Law: We will disclose protected health information
about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.
Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we
may release protected health information about you as required by military
command authorities. We may also release protected health information to
components of the Department of Veterans Affairs to determine whether you
are eligible for certain benefits.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose protected health information
to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight
activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, and
licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor
the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights
laws.
Lawsuits and Disputes: We may disclose medical information about
you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose
medical information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request,
or other lawful process by someone else involved in a lawsuit or dispute,
but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain
an order protecting the information requested.
Law Enforcement: We may release medical information if asked to do
so by a law enforcement official:
-
In response to a court order,
subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process;
-
To identify or locate a suspect,
fugitive, material witness, or missing person;
-
About the victim of a crime if,
under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person's
agreement;
-
About a death we believe may be
the result of criminal conduct;
-
About criminal conduct at the
facility; and
-
In emergency circumstances to
report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity,
description or location of the person who committed the crime.
National Security and Intelligence
Activities: We may release protected health information about you to
authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and
other national security activities authorized by law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose
protected health information about you when we determine it is necessary
to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and
safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only
be to someone able to help prevent the threat.
Funeral Directors: We may disclose protected health information to
funeral directors consistent with applicable law to carry out their duties.
Organ Procurement Organizations: Consistent with applicable law,
we may disclose protected health information to organ procurement organizations
or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking or transplantation
of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.
Appointments: We may contact you to provide appointment reminders
or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits
and services that may be of interest to you.
Resident and Family Newsletter: Unless you object, we may use your
name and birthdate in our newsletter. The Valley View Express is a monthly
publication for residents and families of Valley View Nursing Center.
Posting of Names Outside Doors:
As part of facility operations, your name will be posted outside your doorway.
Posting of Birthdays: Unless
you object, resident birthdays for the month will be posted on the nursing
units.
Pennsylvania Department of Aging: The local Area Agency on Aging
may send an Ombudsman to review your medical records in order to provide
services to you.
Treatment in Emergency Situations: In an emergency situation, your
health information may be shared with non-facility emergency personnel to
facilitate your care and treatment.
Intraoral Photos: The facility dentist may request intraoral photographs
as a function of your dental care treatment.
Fundraising: We may use certain protected health information (name,
address, telephone number, dates of service, age and gender) to contact
you in the future to raise money for Valley View Nursing Center.
Food And Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA protected
health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements,
product and product defects or post-marketing surveillance information to
enable product recalls, repairs or replacement.
Workers Compensation: We may disclose protected health information
to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws
relating to workers compensation or other similar programs established by
law.
Public Health: As required by law, we may disclose your protected
health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing
or controlling disease, injury or disability.
Federal law makes provisions for your protected health information to be
released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority
or attorney, provided that a workforce member or 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 residents, workers or the public.
This policy supersedes and rescinds all previous policies on this subject
matter.
Last updated
06/23/2008.
|
