HIPPA
Family Hospice abides by the laws of HIPAA Administrative Simplification Regulations found at 45 CFR 160, 162, and 164.
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU M AY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
USE AND DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH INFORMATION
Family Hospice of Belleville Area (the “Hospice”) may use your health information, information that constitutes protected health information as defined in the Privacy Rule of the Administration Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, for purposes of providing you treatment, obtaining payment for your care and conducting health care operations. The Hospice has established a policy to guard against unnecessary disclosure of your health information.
The following is a summary of the circumstances under which and purposes for which your health information may be used and disclosed after you have provided your written consent:
To provide treatment. The Hospice may use your health information to coordinate care within the Hospice and with others involved in your care, such as your attending physician, members of the Hospice interdisciplinary team and other health care professionals who have agreed to assist the Hospice in coordinating care. For example, physicians involved in your care will need information about your symptoms in order to prescribe appropriate medications. The Hospice also may disclose your health care information to individuals outside of the Hospice involved in your care including family members, clergy who you have designated, pharmacists, suppliers of medical equipment or other health care professionals.
To Obtain Payment. The Hospice may include your health information invoices to collect payment from third parties for the care you may receive from the Hospice. For example, the Hospice may be required by your health insurer to provide information regarding your health care status so that the insurer will reimburse you or the Hospice. The Hospice also may need to obtain prior approval from your insurer and may need to explain to the insurer your need for hospice care and the services that will be provided to you.
To Conduct Health Care Operations. The Hospice may use and disclose health care information for its own operations in order to facilitate the function of the Hospice and as necessary to provide quality care to all of the Hospice patients. Health care operations include such activities as:
- Quality Assessment and improvement activities.
- Activities designed to improve health or reduce health care costs.
- Protocol development, case management and care coordination.
- Professional review and performance evaluation.
- Training of non-health care professionals.
- Family Support within the community.
- Contacting health care providers and patients with information about treatment alternatives and other related functions that do not include treatment.
- Training programs including those in which students, trainees or practitioners in health care learn under supervision.
- Accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities.
- Review and auditing, including compliance reviews, medical reviews, legal services and compliance programs.
- Business planning and development including cost management and planning related analyses and formulary development.
- Business management and general administrative activities of the Hospice.
- Family support within the community.
For example, the Hospice may use your health information to evaluate its staff performance, combine your health information with other Hospice patients in evaluating how to more effectively serve all Hospice patients, disclose your health information to Hospice staff and contracted personnel for training purposes, use your health information to contact you as a reminder regarding a visit to you, or contact you as part of general fundraising and community information mailings (unless you tell us you do not want to be contacted).
The Hospice may disclose certain information about you including your name, your general health status, and your religious affiliation as well as where you are located in the facility’s directory while you are in the Hospice’s contracted inpatient facility. The Hospice may disclose this information to people who ask for you by name. Please inform us if you do not want your information disclosed. Health information may also be used and disclosed:
For Fundraising Activities. The Hospice may use information about you including your name, address, phone number and the dates you received care in order to contact you or your family to raise money for the Hospice. The Hospice may also release this information to a related Hospice foundation. Please contact the Social Service Department at 618-277-1800 or email us at info@familyhospice.org if you wish to have your name or your family’s name removed from the list to receive fund-raising requests supporting Family Hospice in the future.
For Appointment Reminders. The Hospice may use and disclose your health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for a home visit.
For Treatment Alternatives. The Hospice may use and disclose your health information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
When Legally Required. The Hospice will disclose your health information when it is required to do so by any Federal, State, or local law.
When There Are Risks to Public Health. The Hospice may disclose your health information for public activities and purposes in order to:
- Prevent or control disease, injury or disability, report disease, injury, vital events such as birth or death and the conduct of public health surveillance, investigations and interventions.
- Report adverse events, product defects, to track products or enable product recalls, repairs and replacements and to conduct post-marketing surveillance and compliance with requirements of the Food and Drug Administration.
- Notify a person who has been exposed to a communicable disease or who may be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease.
- Notify an employer about an individual who is a member of the workforce as legally required.
To Report Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence. The Hospice is allowed to notify government authorities if the Hospice believes a patient is the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. The Hospice will make this disclosure only when specifically required or authorized by law or when the patient agrees to the disclosure.
To Conduct Health Oversight Activities. The Hospice may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for activities including audits, civil, administrative or criminal investigations, inspections, licensure or disciplinary action. The Hospice, however, may not disclose your health information if you are the subject of an investigation and your health information are not directly related to your receipt of health care or public benefits.
In Connection with Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. The Hospice may disclose your health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal as expressly authorized by such order or in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process, but only when the Hospice makes reasonable efforts to either notify you about the request and/or to obtain an order protecting your health information as required by the State of Illinois.
For Law Enforcement Purposes. As permitted or required by State Law, the Hospice may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for law enforcement purposes as follows:
- As required by law for reporting of certain types of wounds or other physical injuries pursuant to the court order, warrant, subpoena or summons or similar process.
- For the purposes of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.
- Under certain limited circumstances, when you are the victim of a crime.
- To a law enforcement official if the Hospice has a suspicion that your death was the result of criminal conduct including criminal conduct at the Hospice.
- In an emergency in order to report a crime.
To Coroners and Medical Examiners. The Hospice may disclose your health information to coroners and medical examiners for purposes of determining your cause of death or for other duties, as authorized by law.
To Funeral Directors. The Hospice may disclose your health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law and if necessary to carry out their duties with respect to your funeral arrangements. If necessary to carry out their duties, the Hospice may disclose your health information prior to and in reasonable anticipation of your death.
For Organ, Eye or Tissue Donation. The Hospice may use or disclose your health information to organ procurement organization or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking or transplantation of organs, eyes or tissue for the purpose of facilitating the donation and transplantation.
For Research Purposes. The Hospice may, under very select circumstances, use your health information for research. Before the Hospice discloses any of your health information for such research purposes, the project will be subject to an extensive approval process as required by state and federal law.
In the Event of a Serious Threat to Health and Safety. The Hospice may, consistent with applicable law and ethical standards of conduct, disclose your health information if the Hospice, in good faith, believes that such discloser is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or to the health and safety of the public.
For Specified Government Functions. In certain circumstances, the Federal regulations authorize the Hospice to use or disclose your health information to facilitate specified government functions relating to military and veterans, national security and intelligence activities, protective services for the President and others, medical suitability determinations and inmates and law enforcement custody.
For Worker’s Compensation. The Hospice may release your health information for workers’ compensation or similar programs.
For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html
AUTHORIZATION TO USE OR DISCLOSE HEATLH INFORMATION
Other than is stated above, the Hospice will not disclose your health information other than with your written authorization. If you or your representative authorizes the Hospice to use or disclose your health information, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time.
YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
You have the following rights regarding your health information that the Hospice maintains:
- Right to request restrictions. You may request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information. You have the right to request a limit on the Hospice’s disclosure of your health information to someone who is involved in your care or the payment of your care. However, the Hospice is not required to agree to your request. If you wish to request for restrictions, please contact the Hospice Social Services Department at (618) 277-1800.
- Right to receive confidential communications. You have the right to request that the Hospice communicate with you in a certain way. For example, you may ask that the Hospice only conduct communications pertaining to your health information with you privately with no other family members present. If you wish to receive confidential communications, please contact the Hospice Social Services Department at (618) 277-1800. The Hospice will not request that you provide any reasons for your request and will attempt to honor your reasonable requests for confidential communications.
- Right to inspect and copy your health information. You have the right to inspect or receive an electronic or paper copy your health information, including billing records. A request to inspect and copy records containing your health information may be made to the Hospice Executive Director at (618) 277-1800. The Hospice will provide a copy or a summary of your health information usually within 30 days of your request. The Hospice may charge a reasonable fee for copying and assembling costs associated with your request.
- Right to amend health care information. You or your representatives have the right to request that the Hospice amend your records, if you believe that your health information is incorrect or incomplete. That request may be made as long as the information is maintained by the Hospice. A request for an amendment of records must be made in writing to the Hospice Executive Director at (618) 277-1800. The Hospice may deny the request if it is not in writing or does not include a reason for the amendment. The request also may be denied if your health information records were not created by the Hospice, if the records you are requesting are not part of the Hospice’s records, if the health information you wish to amend is not part of the health information you or your representative are permitted to inspect and copy, or if in the opinion of the Hospice, the records containing your health information are accurate and complete. If your request is denied the Hospice will inform you of the reason in writing within 60 days of your request.
- Right to an accounting. You or your representative have the right to request an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by the Hospice for certain reasons, including reasons related to public purposes authorized by law and certain research. The request for an accounting must be made in writing to the Hospice Executive Director. The request should specify the time period for the accounting. Accounting requests may not be made for periods of time in excess of six years. The Hospice would provide the first accounting request during a 12-month period without charge. Subsequent accounting requests may be subject to a reasonable cost-based fee.
- Right to an electronic or paper copy of this notice. You or your representative has a right to a separate copy of this notice at any time even if you or your representative received this notice previously. To obtain a separate paper copy, please make your request at the time of admission or contact the Hospice Social Services Director at (618) 277-1800.
- Right to choose someone to act for you. If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. The hospice will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
DUTIES OF THE HOSPICE
The Hospice is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide to you and your representative this Notice of its duties and privacy practices. The Hospice is required to abide by terms of this Notice as may be amended from time to time. The Hospice reserves the right to change the terms of its Notice and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all health information that it maintains. If the Hospice changes its Notice, the Hospice will provide a copy of the revised Notice to you or your appointed representative.
The Hospice will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information. You or your personal representative has the right to express complaints if you or your representative believes that your privacy rights have been violated. Any complaints to the Hospice should be made in writing to the Hospice Executive Director at 5110 W. Main St., Belleville, IL 62226-4729. You can file a complaint with the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washing ton, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/ . The Hospice encourages you to express any concerns you may have regarding the privacy of your information. You will not be retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint.
CONTACT PERSON
The Hospice has designated a Privacy Official as its contact person for all issues regarding patient privacy and your rights under the Federal privacy Standards. You may contact this person at 5110 West Main Street, Belleville, Illinois 62226-4729. The phone number is (618) 277-1800.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective September 23, 2013.
If you have any questions regarding this Notice, please contact Executive Director, at 5110 West Main Street, Belleville, Illinois 62226-4729. The phone number is (618) 277-1800.
