Notice of Privacy Practices - Waccamaw Oncology, PA
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. If you have
any questions about this Notice please contact the Waccamaw Oncology
Privacy Officer.
This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we
may
use and disclose your protected health information to carry out
treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes
that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to
access and control your protected health information. "Protected health
information" is information about you, including demographic
information, that may identify you and that relates to your past,
present or future physical or mental health or condition and related
health care services.
We are required to abide by the terms of this
Notice of
Privacy Practices. We may change the terms of our notice, at any time.
The new notice will be effective for all protected health information
that we maintain at that time. Upon your request, we will provide you
with any revised Notice of Privacy Practices by accessing our web site
www.WaccamawOncology.com, calling the office and requesting that a
revised copy be sent to you in the mail or asking for one at the time
of your next appointment.
1. Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health
Information
Uses and
Disclosures of Protected Health Information:
Your protected health information may be used and
disclosed by your physician, our office staff and others outside of our
office that are involved in your care and treatment for the purpose of
providing health care services to you. Your protected health
information may also be used and disclosed to pay your health care
bills and to support the operation of the physician's practice.
Following are examples of the types of uses and disclosures of your
protected health care information that the physician's office is
permitted to make. These examples are not meant to be exhaustive, but
to describe the types of uses and disclosures that may be made by our
office.
Treatment:
We will use and disclose your protected health
information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any
related services. This includes the coordination or management of your
health care with a third party that has already obtained your
permission to have access to your protected health information. For
example, we would disclose your protected health information, as
necessary, to a home health agency that provides care to you. We will
also disclose protected health information to other physicians who may
be treating you when we have the necessary permission from you to
disclose your protected health information. For example, your protected
health information may be provided to a physician to whom you have been
referred to ensure that the physician has the necessary information to
diagnose or treat you.
In addition, we may disclose your protected health
information from time-to-time to another physician or health care
provider (e.g., a specialist or laboratory) who, at the request of your
physician, becomes involved in your care by providing assistance with
your health care diagnosis or treatment to your physician.
Payment:
Your protected health information will be used, as
needed, to obtain payment for your health care services. This may
include certain activities that your health insurance plan may
undertake before it approves or pays for the health care services we
recommend for you such as; making a determination of eligibility or
coverage for insurance benefits, reviewing services provided to you for
medical necessity, and undertaking utilization review activities. For
example, obtaining approval for a hospital stay may require that your
relevant protected health information be disclosed to the health plan
to obtain approval for the hospital admission.
Healthcare
Operations:
We may use or disclose, as-needed, your protected
health
information in order to support the business activities of your
physician's practice. These activities include, but are not limited to,
quality assessment activities, employee review activities, training of
medical students, licensing, marketing and fundraising activities, and
conducting or arranging for other business activities.
For example, we may disclose your protected health
information to medical school students that see patients at our office.
In addition, we may use a sign-in sheet at the registration desk where
you will be asked to sign your name and indicate your physician. We may
also call you by name in the waiting room when your physician is ready
to see you. We may use or disclose your protected health information,
as necessary, to contact you to remind you of your appointment.
We will share your protected health information
with
third party "business associates" that perform various activities
(e.g., billing, transcription services) for the practice. Whenever an
arrangement between our office and a business associate involves the
use or disclosure of your protected health information, we will have a
written contract that contains terms that will protect the privacy of
your protected health information.
We may use or disclose your protected health
information, as necessary, to provide you with information about
treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services
that may be of interest to you. We may also use and disclose your
protected health information for other marketing activities. For
example, your name and address may be used to send you a newsletter
about our practice and the services we offer. We may also send you
information about products or services that we believe may be
beneficial to you. You may contact our Privacy Contact to request that
these materials not be sent to you.
Uses and
Disclosures of Protected Health Information Based upon Your Written
Authorization
Other uses and disclosures of your protected
health
information will be made only with your written authorization, unless
otherwise permitted or required by law as described below. You may
revoke this authorization, at any time, in writing, except to the
extent that your physician or the physician's practice has taken an
action in reliance on the use or disclosure indicated in the
authorization.
Other Permitted
and Required Uses and Disclosures That May Be Made With Your Consent,
Authorization or Opportunity to Object
We may use and disclose your protected health
information in the following instances. You have the opportunity to
agree or object to the use or disclosure of all or part of your
protected health information. If you are not present or able to agree
or object to the use or disclosure of the protected health information,
then your physician may, using professional judgement, determine
whether the disclosure is in your best interest. In this case, only the
protected health information that is relevant to your health care will
be disclosed.
Others Involved
in Your Healthcare:
Unless you object, we may disclose to a member of
your
family, a relative, a close friend or any other person you identify,
your protected health information that directly relates to that
person's involvement in your health care. If you are unable to agree or
object to such a disclosure, we may disclose such information as
necessary if we determine that it is in your best interest based on our
professional judgment. We may use or disclose protected health
information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal
representative or any other person that is responsible for your care of
your location, general condition or death. Finally, we may use or
disclose your protected health information to an authorized public or
private entity to assist in disaster relief efforts and to coordinate
uses and disclosures to family or other individuals involved in your
health care.
Emergencies:
We may use or disclose your protected health
information
in an emergency treatment situation. If this happens, your physician
shall try to obtain your consent as soon as reasonably practicable
after the delivery of treatment. If your physician or another physician
in the practice is required by law to treat you and the physician has
attempted to obtain your consent but is unable to obtain your consent,
he or she may still use or disclose your protected health information
to treat you.
Communication
Barriers:
We may use and disclose your protected health
information if your physician or another physician in the practice
attempts to obtain consent from you but is unable to do so due to
substantial communication barriers and the physician determines, using
professional judgement, that you intend to consent to use or disclosure
under the circumstances.
Other Permitted
and Required Uses and Disclosures That May Be Made Without Your
Consent, Authorization or Opportunity to Object
We may use or disclose your protected health
information
in the following situations without your consent or authorization.
These situations include:
Required By Law:
We may use or disclose your protected health
information
to the extent that the use or disclosure is required by law. The use or
disclosure will be made in compliance with the law and will be limited
to the relevant requirements of the law. You will be notified, as
required by law, of any such uses or disclosures.
Public Health:
We may disclose your protected health information
for
public health activities and purposes to a public health authority that
is permitted by law to collect or receive the information. The
disclosure will be made for the purpose of controlling disease, injury
or disability. We may also disclose your protected health information,
if directed by the public health authority, to a foreign government
agency that is collaborating with the public health authority.
Communicable
Diseases:
We may disclose your protected health information,
if
authorized by law, to a person who may have been exposed to a
communicable disease or may otherwise be at risk of contracting or
spreading the disease or condition.
Health Oversight:
We may disclose protected health information to a
health
oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits,
investigations, and inspections. Oversight agencies seeking this
information include government agencies that oversee the health care
system, government benefit programs, other government regulatory
programs and civil rights laws.
Abuse or Neglect:
We may disclose your protected health information
to a
public health authority that is authorized by law to receive reports of
child abuse or neglect. In addition, we may disclose your protected
health information if we believe that you have been a victim of abuse,
neglect or domestic violence to the governmental entity or agency
authorized to receive such information. In this case, the disclosure
will be made consistent with the requirements of applicable federal and
state laws.
Food and Drug
Administration:
We may disclose your protected health information
to a
person or company required by the Food and Drug Administration to
report adverse events, product defects or problems, biologic product
deviations, track products; to enable product recalls; to make repairs
or replacements, or to conduct post marketing surveillance, as required.
Legal
Proceedings:
We may disclose protected health information in
the
course of any judicial or administrative proceeding, in response to an
order of a court or administrative tribunal (to the extent such
disclosure is expressly authorized), in certain conditions in response
to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process.
Law Enforcement:
We may also disclose protected health information,
so
long as applicable legal requirements are met, for law enforcement
purposes. These law enforcement purposes include (1) legal processes
and otherwise required by law, (2) limited information requests for
identification and location purposes, (3) pertaining to victims of a
crime, (4) suspicion that death has occurred as a result of criminal
conduct, (5) in the event that a crime occurs on the premises of the
practice, and (6) medical emergency (not on the Practice's premises)
and it is likely that a crime has occurred.
Coroners,
Funeral Directors, and Organ Donation:
We may disclose protected health information to a
coroner or medical examiner for identification purposes, determining
cause of death or for the coroner or medical examiner to perform other
duties authorized by law. We may also disclose protected health
information to a funeral director, as authorized by law, in order to
permit the funeral director to carry out their duties. We may disclose
such information in reasonable anticipation of death. Protected health
information may be used and disclosed for cadaveric organ, eye or
tissue donation purposes.
Research:
We may disclose your protected health information
to
researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional
review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established
protocols to ensure the privacy of your protected health information.
Criminal
Activity:
Consistent with applicable federal and state laws,
we
may disclose your protected health information, if we believe that the
use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and
imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public. We
may also disclose protected health information if it is necessary for
law enforcement authorities to identify or apprehend an individual.
Military
Activity and National Security:
When the appropriate conditions apply, we may use
or
disclose protected health information of individuals who are Armed
Forces personnel (1) for activities deemed necessary by appropriate
military command authorities; (2) for the purpose of a determination by
the Department of Veterans Affairs of your eligibility for benefits, or
(3) to foreign military authority if you are a member of that foreign
military services. We may also disclose your protected health
information to authorized federal officials for conducting national
security and intelligence activities, including for the provision of
protective services to the President or others legally authorized.
Workers'
Compensation:
Your protected health information may be disclosed
by us
as authorized to comply with workers' compensation laws and other
similar legally-established programs.
Inmates:
We may use or disclose your protected health
information
if you are an inmate of a correctional facility and your physician
created or received your protected health information in the course of
providing care to you. Required Uses and Disclosures: Under the law, we
must make disclosures to you and when required by the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our
compliance with the requirements of Section 164.500 et. seq.
2. Your Rights
Following is a
statement of
your rights with respect to your protected health information and a
brief description of how you may exercise these rights.
You
have the right to inspect and copy your protected health information.
This means you may inspect and obtain a copy of protected health
information about you that is contained in a designated record set for
as long as we maintain the protected health information. A "designated
record set" contains medical and billing records and any other records
that your physician and the practice uses for making decisions about
you. Under federal law, however, you may not inspect or copy the
following records; psychotherapy notes; information compiled in
reasonable anticipation of, or use in, a civil, criminal, or
administrative action or proceeding, and protected health information
that is subject to law that prohibits access to protected health
information. Depending on the circumstances, a decision to deny access
may be reviewable. In some circumstances, you may have a right to have
this decision reviewed. Please contact our Privacy Contact if you have
questions about access to your medical record.
You
have the right to request a restriction of your protected health
information.
This means you may ask us not to use or disclose any part of your
protected health information for the purposes of treatment, payment or
healthcare operations. You may also request that any part of your
protected health information not be disclosed to family members or
friends who may be involved in your care or for notification purposes
as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices. Your request must
state the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the
restriction to apply.
Your
physician is not required to agree to a restriction that you may request.
If physician believes it is in your best interest to permit use and
disclosure of your protected health information, your protected health
information will not be restricted. If your physician does agree to the
requested restriction, we may not use or disclose your protected health
information in violation of that restriction unless it is needed to
provide emergency treatment. With this in mind, please discuss any
restriction you wish to request with your physician. You may request a
restriction by making a request in writing to our Privacy Officer.
You
have the right to request to receive confidential communications from
us by alternative means or at an alternative location.
We will accommodate reasonable requests. We may also condition this
accommodation by asking you for information as to how payment will be
handled or specification of an alternative address or other method of
contact. We will not request an explanation from you as to the basis
for the request. Please make this request in writing to our Privacy
Contact.
You
may have the right to have your physician amend your protected health
information.
This means you may request an amendment of protected health information
about you in a designated record set for as long as we maintain this
information. In certain cases, we may deny your request for an
amendment. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to
file a statement of disagreement with us and we may prepare a rebuttal
to your statement and will provide you with a copy of any such
rebuttal. Please contact our Privacy Contact to determine if you have
questions about amending your medical record.
You
have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have
made, if any, of your protected health information.
This right applies to disclosures for purposes other than treatment,
payment or healthcare operations as described in this Notice of Privacy
Practices. It excludes disclosures we may have made to you, for a
facility directory, to family members or friends involved in your care,
or for notification purposes. You have the right to receive specific
information regarding these disclosures that occurred after April 14,
2003. You may request a shorter timeframe. The right to receive this
information is subject to certain exceptions, restrictions and
limitations.
You have the
right to obtain
a paper copy of this notice from us, upon request, even if you have
agreed to accept this notice electronically.
3. Complaints
You may complain to us or to the Secretary of
Health and
Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated by
us. You may file a complaint with us by notifying our privacy contact
of your complaint. We will not retaliate against you for filing a
complaint.
You may contact our Privacy Contact at
(843)545-7274 for further information about the complaint process.
This notice was published and becomes effective on
April 1, 2003.
