Privacy Policy / HIPAA for Cameron Regional Medical Center

NOTICE OF PRIVACY
CAMERON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

PRIVACY PRACTICES

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE DISCLOSED AND USED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW THIS INFORMATION CAREFULLY.

Cameron Regional Medical Center (“CRMC”) provides health care services in partnership with physicians and other professionals and organizations. The following individuals and organizations follow this Notice of Privacy Practices:

All individuals employed by CRMC

All hospital inpatient and outpatient departments (including physician clinics)

Volunteers working at any CRMC facility

Medical, nursing, and other students present at any CRMC facility

Any health care professional who examines or treats you at any CRMC facility

References to “CRMC” and “we” in this notice includes each of these individuals and organizations.

You will be asked to provide a written acknowledgement of your receipt of this privacy policy / HIPPA Notice. We are required by law to make a good-faith effort to provide you with our Notice and obtain such acknowledgement from you. However, your receipt of care and treatment from CRMC is not conditioned upon your providing the written acknowledgement.

If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact:

Jessica Lykins, Privacy Officer
Cameron Regional Medical Center
1600 E. Evergreen
Cameron, MO 64429
(816) 649-3256
E-Mail: jlykins@cameronregional.org

How CRMC may use and disclose health information about you

CRMC may use and disclose your health information for the following purposes without your express consent or authorization. We will obtain your express written authorization before using or disclosing your information for any other purpose, including most uses and disclosures of: (1) psychotherapy notes; (2) health information for marketing purposes; and (3) health information that constitutes a sale of the health information. You may revoke such authorization, in writing, at any time to the extent CRMC has not relied on it.

Treatment:  We may use your health information to provide you with medical treatment. We may disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other personnel involved in your care. We also may disclose information to persons outside CRMC involved in your treatment, such as other health care providers, family members, and friends.

We may use and disclose health information to discuss with you treatment options or health-related benefits or services or to provide you with promotional gifts of nominal value. We may use and disclose your health information to remind you of upcoming appointments. Unless you direct us otherwise, we may leave messages on your telephone answering machine identifying CRMC and asking for you to return our call. We will not disclose any health information to any person other than you except to leave a message for you to return the call.

Payment: We may use and disclose your health information as necessary to collect payment for services we provide to you. We also may provide information to other health care providers to assist them in obtaining payment for services they provide to you.

Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose your health information for our internal operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary for our day-to-day operations and to make sure patients receive quality care. We may disclose health information about you to another health care provider or health plan with which you also have had a relationship for purposes of that provider’s or plan’s internal operations.

Business Associates: Cameron Regional Medical Center provides some services through contracts or arrangements with business associates. We require our business associates to appropriately safeguard your information.

Creation of De-identified Health Information. We may use your health information to create de-identified health information. This means that all data items that would help identify you are removed or modified.

Uses and Disclosures Required by Law. We will use and/or disclose your information when required by law to do so.

Disclosures for Public Health Activities. We may disclose your health information to a government agency authorized (a) to collect data for the purpose of preventing or control disease, injury, or disability; or (b) to receive reports of child abuse or neglect. We also may disclose such information to a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease if permitted by law.

Disclosures About Victims of Neglect, Abuse, or Domestic Violence. Cameron Regional Medical Center may disclose your health information to a government authority if we reasonably believe you are a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

Disclosures for Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. Your protected health information may be disclosed in response to a court order or in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process if certain legal requirements are satisfied.

Disclosures for Law Enforcement Purposes: We may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official as required by law or court-ordered warrant, a subpoena, in compliance with a court order, or summons issued by a judicial officer; a grand jury subpoena; or an administrative request related to a legitimate law enforcement inquiry.

Disclosures Regarding Victims of a Crime. In response to a law enforcement official’s request, we may disclose information about you with your approval. We may also disclose information in an emergency situation or if you are incapacitated if it appears you were the victim of a crime.

Disclosures to Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may disclose information to prevent or lessen a serious threat to the safety and health of a person or the public or as necessary for law enforcement authorities to identify or apprehend an individual.

Disclosures for Specialized Government Functions. We may disclose your protected health information as required to comply with governmental requirements for national security reasons or for protection of certain government personnel or foreign dignitaries.

Disclosure for Fundraising. We may disclose demographic information and dates of service to an affiliated foundation or a business associate that may contact you to raise funds for CRMC. You have a right to opt out of receiving such fundraising communications.

Disclosure for Remunerated Treatment Communications. We may disclose your information for the purposes of communicating treatment alternatives or health-related products or services when CRMC receives payment for your information in exchange for making the communication. You have a right to opt out of receiving such communications.

Other Uses and Disclosures

We will obtain your express written authorization before using or disclosing your information for any other purpose not described in this notice. You may revoke such authorization, in writing, at any time to the extent CRMC has not relied on it.

Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information

Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy health information maintained by CRMC. To do so, you must complete a specific form providing information needed to process your request. You also have a right to an electronic copy of your health information. If you request copies, we may charge a reasonable fee. We may deny you access in certain limited circumstances. If we deny access, you may request review of that decision by a third party and we will comply with the outcome of the review.

Right To Request Amendment. Please ask us to amend the information If you believe your records contain inaccurate or incomplete information. To request an amendment, you must complete a specific form providing information we need to process your request, including the reason that supports your request.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures and Access Report: You have the right to request a list of disclosures of your health information we have made, with certain exceptions defined by law. You also may request an access report indicating who has accessed your PHI maintained by CRMC or its business associates in an electronic designated record set in the last three years. To request an accounting or an access report, you must complete a specific written form providing information we need to process your request.

Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction on our uses and disclosures of your health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We must accept certain requests to not disclose health information to your health plan for payment or healthcare operations purposes if you have paid in full out of your own pocket for the item or service. You must complete a specific written form providing information we need to process your request. CRMC’s Privacy Officer is the only person who has the authority to approve such a request.

Right to Request Alternative Methods of Communication. You have the right to request that we communicate with you in a certain way or at a certain location. You must complete a specific form providing information needed to process your request. CRMC’s Privacy Officer is the only person who has the authority to act on such a request. We will not ask you the reason for your request, and we will accommodate all reasonable requests.

Breach Notification. We are required to provide you with written notice concerning any breach of your health information. You will receive such notice via first-class mail, unless you agree to an alternative form of notice or we do not have a current address for you. If you have any concerns regarding any possible unauthorized use or disclosure of your health information and/or any breach notification made by CRMC, you should contact CRMC’s Privacy Officer.

Health Information Technology

CRMC may participate in electronic health information technology or HIT. This technology allows a provider or a health plan to make a single request through a health information organization or HIO to obtain electronic records for a specific patient from other HIT participants for purposes of treatment, payment, or health care operations. HIOs are required to use appropriate safeguards to prevent unauthorized uses and disclosures.

If you have questions regarding HIT or HIOs, please visit http://www.dss.mo.gov/hie in Missouri.

Complaints

If you believe your rights with respect to health information have been violated, you may file a complaint with CRMC or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with CRMC, please contact CRMC’s Privacy Officer. All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

CRMC reserves the right to change the terms of this Notice and to make the revised Notice effective with respect to all protected health information regardless of when the information was created.

Health Information

In accordance with HIPAA regulations, you should be prepared to tell us your wishes regarding privacy and release of information; i.e., with which of your family members and/or friends should we disclose/discuss your personal information (“Protected Health Information”), whether these designated individuals can receive medical information and/or billing/insurance information, and your wishes regarding visitors and callers. If you are admitting a child, you will need to sign a written consent allowing us to provide your child with medical care. Guardians must bring legal proof of guardianship.