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.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule
requires that we protect the privacy of health information that identifies a
patient, or where there is a reasonable basis to believe the information can be
used to identify a patient. This information is called “protected health
information” or “PHI.” This Notice describes your rights as our patient and our
obligations regarding the use and disclosure of PHI. We are required by law to:
Maintain the privacy of PHI about you; Give you this Notice of our legal duties
and privacy practices with respect to PHI; and Comply with the terms of our
Notice of Privacy Practices that is currently in effect.
You will be asked to sign
a form to show that you received this Notice. Even if you do not sign this
form, we will still provide you with treatment.
II. USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED
HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
Treatment: We may use and disclose PHI
about you to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and related
services. We may consult with other health care providers regarding your
treatment and coordinate and manage your health care with others. For example,
we may use and disclose PHI when you need a prescription, lab work, an X-ray,
or other health care services. In addition, we may use and disclose PHI about
you when referring you to another health care provider. For example, if you are
referred to another physician, we may send a report about you to a physician so
that the other physician may treat you.
Payment: We may use and disclose PHI so
that we can bill and collect payment for the treatment and services provided to
you. Before providing treatment or services, we may share details with your
health plan concerning the services you are scheduled to receive. For example,
we may ask for payment approval from your health plan before we provide care or
services. We may use and disclose PHI to find out if your health plan will
cover the cost of care and services we provide. We may use and disclose PHI for
billing, claims management, and collection activities. We may disclose PHI to
insurance companies providing you with additional coverage. We may disclose
limited PHI to consumer reporting agencies relating to collection of payments
owed to us.
Health Care Operations: We may use and
disclose PHI in performing business activities that are called health care
operations. Health care operations include doing things that allow us to
improve the quality of care we provide and to reduce health care costs. We may
use and disclose PHI about you in the following health care operations:
If another
health care provider, company, or health plan that is required to comply with
the HIPAA Privacy Rule also has or once had a relationship with you, we may
disclose PHI about you for certain health care operations of that health care
provider or company. For example, such health care operations may include:
reviewing and improving the quality, efficiency, and cost of care provided to
you; reviewing and evaluating the skills, qualifications, and performance of
health care providers; providing training programs for students, trainees,
health care providers, or non-health care professionals; cooperating with
outside organizations that evaluate, certify, or license health care providers
or staff in a particular field or specialty; and assisting with legal
compliance activities of that health care provider or company.
Communication from Our Office: I
authorize New Coast Cardiology, PLLC to use an automated telephone system
and/or email and you use my name, address, and phone number; the name of my
scheduled treating physician; and the time and place of my scheduled
appointment(s), for the limited purpose of contacting me to notify me of a
pending appointment or other healthcare related communication. I also authorize my healthcare provider to
disclose to third parties who answer the phone limited protected health
information regarding pending appointments, and to leave a reminder message on
my voice mail system or answering machine.
Other permitted and Required Uses and Disclosures
Will be made only with your Consent, Authorization or
OTHER
USES AND DISCLOSURES WE CAN MAKE WITHOUT YOUR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION For Which You Have The
Research: We may use and disclose PHI
about you for research purposes under certain limited circumstances. We must
obtain a written authorization to use and disclose PHI about you for research
purposes, except in situations where a research project meets specific,
detailed criteria established by the HIPAA Privacy Rule to ensure the privacy
of PHI.
Disclosures Required by HIPAA Privacy Rule:
We are required to disclose PHI to the Secretary of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services when requested by the Secretary to
review our compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. We are also required in
certain cases to disclose PHI to you upon your request to access PHI or for an
accounting of certain disclosures of PHI about you (these requests are
described in Section III of this Notice).
Incidental Disclosures: We may use or
disclose PHI incident to a use or disclosure permitted by the HIPAA Privacy
Rule so long as we have reasonably safeguarded against such incidental uses and
disclosures and have limited them to the minimum necessary information.
III. YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING PROTECTED HEALTH
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
Right to Request Restrictions: You have
the right to request additional restrictions on the PHI that we may use or
disclose for treatment, payment, and health care operations. You may also
request additional restrictions on our disclosure of PHI to certain individuals
involved in your care that otherwise are permitted by the Privacy Rule. We
are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree to your request, we are required to comply with
our agreement except in certain cases, including where the information is
needed to treat you in the case of an emergency. To request restrictions, you
must make your request in writing to our Privacy Official.
Right to Receive Confidential
Communications: You have the right to request that you receive
communications regarding PHI in a certain manner or at a certain location. For
example, you may request that we contact you at home, rather than at work. You
must make your request in writing. You must specify how you would like to be
contacted (for example, by regular mail to your post office box and not your
home). We are required to accommodate only reasonable
requests.
Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the
right to request the opportunity to inspect and receive a copy of PHI about you
in certain records that we maintain. To inspect and copy PHI, please contact
our Privacy Official. If you request a copy of PHI about you, we may charge you
a reasonable fee for the copying, postage, labor, and supplies used in meeting
your request.
Right to Amend: You have the right to
request that we amend PHI about you as long as such information is kept by or
for our office. To make this type of request, you must submit your request in
writing to our Privacy Official. You must also give us a reason for your
request. We may deny your request in certain cases, including if it is not in
writing or if you do not give us a reason for the request.
Right to Receive an Accounting of Disclosures:
You have the right to request an “accounting” of certain disclosures that we
have made of PHI about you.
If you
believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with
us or the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human
Services. To file a complaint with our office, please contact our Privacy
Official at the address and number listed below. We will not retaliate or take
action against you for filing a complaint.
If you have any
questions about this Notice, please contact our Privacy Official at the address
and telephone number listed below.
You may
contact our Privacy Official at the following address and phone number: