|
PETER
BECKER COMMUNITY
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 REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. |
| A.
Purpose Of Notice |
| Peter
Becker Community is committed to safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality
of your protected health information including all records and information
created and/or maintained at our organization. This also includes any information
that we receive from other providers or facilities.
We are required by law to protect the privacy of your personal health
information and to provide you with this Notice to tell you how we may
use and disclose your personal medical information.
This Notice describes the ways in which we may use and disclose your
protected health information, and describes your rights regarding your
information, as well as our legal duties and privacy practices with respect
to protected health information. With respect to certain disclosures of
certain types of protected health information, there may be specific requirements
under the laws of Pennsylvania which are more stringent than the requirements
under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
In such cases the more stringent state requirement must be followed.
We reserve the right to change this Notice and to make the revised or
new Notice changes effective for all protected health information that
we already maintain about you, as well as information we may receive in
the future. A current copy of the Notice will be posted in our facility.
The first page of the Notice contains the effective date and any dates
of revision.
We will abide
by the terms of this Notice, including any future revisions made to the
Notice as required or authorized by law.
|
| B.
We May Use And Disclose Your Personal Health Information For Treatment,
Payment And Health Care Operations Without Needing To Obtain Your Consent
Or Authorization |
- For Purposes of Treatment:
We may use and disclose your protected health information to facility
and non-facility personnel who may be involved in your care such as
physicians, therapists, nurses, nurse aides, students in various health
studies, family members or other persons. For example, a nurse will
need to call the attending physician to report any changes in your condition
or communicate with hospital staff when transfers to acute care are
ordered. We may also need to communicate with individuals who will be
involved in your care after you leave Peter Becker Community such as
home health agencies.
- For Purposes of Payment:
We may use and disclose your protected health information so that we
may bill and receive payment from you, an insurance company or other
third party payor for the health care services that you received at
Peter Becker Community. For example, we may need to give information
to Medicare or your health plan to obtain prior approval for services
or treatments that are ordered for you to receive.
- For Health Care Operations:
We may use and disclose your protected health information in order to
operate our facility. For example, we may use it to evaluate staff performance
or our treatment and service procedures
through various quality improvement methods. We may also combine our
information with other
health care providers’ information to compare how we are doing
and learn ways to improve our services to you. We may remove information
from this data that may identify you.
|
| C.
We May Use And Disclose Personal Health Information About You For Other
Specific Purposes |
| Peter
Becker Community Directory
Unless you notify us that you object, we will use your name, your location
and telephone number in our telephone directory. The directory information
may be given to people who ask for you by name. We may disclose certain
limited protected health information about you to a member of the clergy,
such as your religious affiliation.
Family and friends
We may disclose your protected health information to individuals, such
as family, friends, or any other person you tell us that are involved
in your care or who help pay for your care. Disclosures may be face to
face, by telephone or by electronic mail.
As permitted or required
by law:
We may use and disclose your protected health information to you, someone
who has the legal right to act for you (personal representative), or to
the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, if necessary
to make sure your privacy is protected, and where required by law for:
- Oversight by State
and federal agencies that may include audits and investigations, inspections
or licensure and certification surveys.
- Public health
activities and protective services agencies such as reporting fraud
or suspected abuse or neglect; disease outbreaks, adverse reactions
to medications, or problems with health care products.
- Workers compensation
to the extent authorized by law related to workers compensation or other
similar programs established by law.
- Judicial and
administrative proceedings as response to court orders, summons, warrants
or subpoenas.
- Law enforcement
officials request for the purpose to locate a missing person, a suspect,
or material witness, to report criminal conduct on our premises or in
an emergency to report the commission of a crime or imminent threat
to health or safety of staff or residents.
- Coroners, medical
examiners, funeral directors or organ procurement organizations for
the purpose of identifying a deceased individual, to determine the cause
of death, or facilitate organ or tissue donation. Also to provide funeral
directors with information in order to carry out their duties.
- National security,
military and veterans for purposes of intelligence, counterintelligence
and other national security activities.
- Fund raising
activities: you may be contacted for fund raising activities for the
facility and its operations. You will be given the opportunity to “opt
out” (not participate) if you do not want to receive any further
fundraising communications.
|
| D.
Your Written Authorization Is Required For All Other Uses Of Protected Health
Information |
We
may use and disclose your protected health information (other than as described
in this notice or if not permitted or required by law) ONLY with your written
Authorization. You may revoke your authorization
at any time as long as it is in writing. If you revoke your authorization,
we will no longer use or disclose your information as you had specified,
except where we have already acted upon your authorization.
- Examples that
may require your written authorization include disclosure of psychotherapy
notes or use of your protected health information for marketing.
|
| E.
Your rights regarding your protected health information |
- Right to request
restrictions
You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on our use
and disclosure of your protected health information for treatment, payment
or health care operations. You also have the right to restrict the protected
health information to be disclosed about you to someone, such as a family
member or friend who is involved in your care or in payment for your
care. For example, you may ask not to give information on a particular
treatment that you receive. We are not required to agree to your request.
We
are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will
comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide
emergency treatment to you.
You must make your request for restrictions in writing to the
Risk Management Officer. You must tell us what information you
want to limit, whether you want us to limit our use, disclosure
or both, and to whom you want the limits to apply (for example
disclosures to a family member).
- Right of access
to Protected Health Information. You have the right to inspect and obtain
a copy of your medical information and billing records. This does not
include psychotherapy notes.
- If you want to
inspect or obtain copies of your protected health information or billing
records, you must submit your request orally or in writing to the Risk
Management Officer. If you request a copy of this information you will
be charged a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies
associated with your request.
- We may deny your
request to inspect or obtain copies in certain limited circumstances.
If you are denied access, you may request a review of the denial. Another
licensed professional at Peter Becker Community will review your request
and the denial. This will be a different person than the one who initially
denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of this review.
- Right to request
an amendment. You have the right to request to amend your protected
health information if you think it is wrong or incomplete, as long as
the information is kept by or for Peter Becker Community.
- Your request for
an amendment must be requested in writing and submitted to the Risk
Management Officer. We may deny your request if it is not in writing
or does not include a reason to support the request. Also your request
to amend may be denied if the information:
- Was not created
by us, unless you can show that the originator of the information is
no longer available to act on your request,
- Is not part of
the protected health information kept by or for Peter Becker Community,
- Is accurate and
complete.
- Is not part of
the information that you have a right to inspect or copy,
- If your request
is denied a written reason for the denial will be given to you and instructions
on how you can give us a statement of disagreement. Your statement of
disagreement may be added to your protected health information.
- Right to an accounting
of disclosures. You have the right to request a listing (accounting)
of the disclosures of your protected health information that we made
except for
those that we
made to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations,
those that were given to you or your personal representative
those that were given in accordance with an authorization signed by
you
or your representative,or those that were given out for law enforcement
purposes.
- To request a
listing of disclosures you must submit your request in writing to the
Risk Management Officer and state a time period (it cannot be longer
than six (6) years prior to the date of your request). It cannot include
dates before April 14, 2003. You need to tell us in what form you want
to receive the listing; for example, on paper or via electronic means.
- You will not
be charged for the disclosure for the first time in a twelve (12) month
period. You may be charged for any additional requests you make within
that time frame and will be told the cost of each. You can then decide
whether to withdraw or modify your request before any costs are incurred.
- Right to request
confidential communications. You have the right to request that we communicate
with you about your health care in a certain way or at a certain location.
We will accommodate all reasonable requests. For example, you can ask
that we contact you by mail.
- To request confidential
communications, you must make your request in writing to the Risk Management
Officer and tell us how or where you wish to be contacted. You do not
need to give us a reason for your request.
- Right to receive
a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us for a copy of this Notice
at any time. If you have agreed to receive this notice electronically,
you may also have a paper copy of this Notice.
- To receive a
copy of the Notice, contact the Risk Management Officer.
|
| F.
Complaints |
| If you believe that your privacy rights have been
violated, you may file a complaint in writing to the individual listed below
at Peter Becker Community or with the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services. You will not be penalized in any way for filing a complaint.
To file a complaint or if you have any questions about this Notice, contact: |
Carol DeLancey, NHA, Risk Management Officer
Peter Becker Community
800 Maple Ave.
Harleysville, Pa. 19438
215-256-9501 |
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
(202)619-0257
Toll Free: 1-877-696-6775
|