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NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
At Independent Nursing Care, LLC (INC), we have always put a high priority on protecting our participant’Äôs Health Information. As part of a new privacy rule established by the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), INC has revised our privacy and security standards and processes, our administrative, physical and technical safeguards. Please take time to read and understand our privacy notice.
OUR LEGAL DUTY
INC is a licensed Home Health Care, Workplace Wellness and Adult & Travel Immunization company providing home care, health screenings and immunizations to help you promote, maintain, and restore your personal optimal level of health. We work with several HMO’Äôs and other third party payers to bring you these services. We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this notice while it is in effect. This notice takes effect March 1, 2008, and will remain in effect until we replace it.
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
INC may use and disclose your health information for treatment, payment, and health care operations. Under the law, we may perform these functions without your specific authorization ("approval") because that is the intent of our relationship. In performing these functions, we may use or disclose information necessary to carry out our operations and receive payment for services and to bring information to you regarding health promotional activities available to you and the payer of services.
- TREATMENT: We may use and/or disclose your health information to your health care providers to help them provide, or inform them of, services provided to you.
- PAYMENT: We may use and/or disclose your health information, including results from screening services, to receive payment for services we have provided to you.
- HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS: We may use and/or disclose your health information in connection with our health care operations to conduct quality assessment, quality improvement, utilization review, evaluation or audits of services provided.
- ABUSE OR NEGLECT: We may use and/or disclose your health information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may disclose your Health Information to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others.
- LEGAL REQUIREMENTS: We may use and/or disclose your health information for public health efforts, for law enforcement activities, for regulatory bodies, such as the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the New York State Department of Insurance, and the New York State Department of Health, or as otherwise required by law. To report public health activities, to entities that track certain illnesses or diseases such as influenza or heart disease.
- NATIONAL SECURITY: We may use and/or disclose to military authorities the health information of Armed Forces personnel under certain circumstances. We may use and/or disclose to authorized federal officials health information required for lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may use and/or disclose to correctional institution or law enforcement official having lawful custody of protected health information of inmate or patient under certain circumstances.
- FOR APPOINTMENT REMINDERS: Such as voice mail messages, postcards or letters.
- TO INFORM YOU OF OTHER HEALTH-RELATED BENEFITS OR PROGRAMS: Such as medical treatments, health-related products and services. For example, you may receive information about smoking cessation (stop-smoking) or weight loss programs, from either INC or the payer of services.
- FOR RESEARCH: If we use and/or disclose your health information for a research project that contributes to knowledge generally, we take certain steps to keep your information private and secure (De-identifying information). De-identifying information means removing parts of your information that could identify you.
- TO INFORM YOU OF OTHER HEALTH-RELATED BENEFITS OR PROGRAMS: Such as medical treatments, health-related products and services. For example, you may receive information about smoking cessation (stop-smoking) or weight loss programs, from either INC or the payer of services.
De-identifying information means removing parts of your information that could identify you.
- IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY: We will use and/or disclose your Health Information based on a determination, using our professional judgment, disclosing only health information that is directly relevant to the person’Äôs involvement in your healthcare.
- TO YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS: We must disclose your health information to you, as described in the Patient Rights section of this Notice. We may use and/or disclose your health information to a family member, friend or other person to the extent necessary to help with your healthcare or with payment for your healthcare. We may use and/or disclose health information to notify, or assist in the notification of (including identifying or locating) a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care, of your location, or your general condition. If you are present, then prior to use or disclosure of your health information, we will provide you with an opportunity to object to such uses or disclosures.
YOUR AUTHORIZATION
If we use and/or disclose your information for a reason that does not fit in one of the general categories listed above, we must get your written permission. This written permission is called an "authorization". If you give us permission and then change your mind about that permission, you may take back "revoke" your written permission at any time, except if we have already acted based on your permission.
PATIENT RIGHTS
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
By law you have several important rights with respect to your health information. You may exercise any of the rights described below, or ask any questions about these rights by calling INC at (716) 655-8776.
- You have the right to request a copy of or request your health information. We may ask you to request copies of your health information in person and/or in writing and to specify the information you are requesting. We also may charge a reasonable fee for copying and mailing your health information.
- You have the right to ask us to make changes to your health information we maintain about you in your file if you believe it is wrong or if information is missing.
- You have the right to ask for an accounting of disclosures we have made for reasons other than treatment, payment, and health care operations after April 14, 2003.
- You have the right to receive a paper copy of this notice.
- You have the right to complain if you believe your privacy rights have been violated or if you disagree with a decision we made about your access to your health information.
- You have the right to ask us to restrict how we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations. You may also ask that we limit the information we give to others who are involved in your health care or payment for your health care, such as a family member or a friend. Please note that while we will try to honor your request, we are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will honor your request unless it is an emergency situation.
CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including information we have created or received before we made the changes. Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this notice and make the new notice available upon request. Our privacy notice is also available on our website at www.independentnursingcare.com.
QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
If you want more information about our privacy practices or have questions or concerns, please contact us.
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