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NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Minnie Hamilton Health System
186 Hospital Drive
Grantsville, WV 26147-7100
(304) 354 9244
Effective date of this notice: April 14, 2003
If you have questions about this notice, please contact the person listed
under "Whom to Contact" at the end of this notice.
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.
SUMMARY
In the course of receiving services from Minnie Hamilton Health System (MHHS) Glenville Office,
Calhoun Co. School Based System, Gilmer Co. School Based System and Dental Office, you will provide us with personal information
about your health, with the understanding that this information will be
kept confidential. We may also obtain information about your health from
examinations, tests, or from others who have provided you with care. This
notice of our privacy practices is intended to inform you of the ways
we may use your information and the occasions on which we may disclose
this information to others.
We use patients' information when providing treatment, and we disclose
patients' information to other health care providers to assist them to
provide you with treatment. We may disclose information to insurance companies
as necessary to receive payment. In addition, we may use the information
within our organization to evaluate quality and improve health care operations,
and we may make other uses and disclosures of patients' information as
required by law or as permitted by the covered entity policies.
KINDS OF INFORMATION THAT THIS NOTICE APPLIES TO
This notice applies to your personal health information, consisting of
any information in our possession that would allow someone to identify
you and learn something about your health.
WHO MUST ABIDE BY THIS NOTICE
- Minnie Hamilton Health System, Inc. (MHHS) and its satellites
(Gilmer Primary Care Center, Calhoun Co. School Based System, Gilmer
Co. School Based System, Calhoun Dental/Medical Center).
- All employees, staff, students, volunteers and other personnel whose
work is under the direct control of MHHS and its satellites.
The people and organizations to which this notice applies (referred to
as "we," "our," and "us") have agreed to
abide by its terms. We may share your information with each other for
purposes of treatment, and as necessary for payment and operations activities
as described below.
OUR LEGAL DUTIES
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information.
- We are required to provide this notice of our privacy practices and
legal duties regarding health information to anyone who asks for it.
- We are required to abide by the terms of this notice until we officially
adopt a new notice.
HOW WE MAY USE OR DISCLOSE YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
We may use your health information, or disclose it to others, for a number
of different reasons. This notice describes these reasons. For each reason,
we have written a brief explanation. We also provide some examples. These
examples do not include all of the specific ways we may use or disclose
your information. But any time we use your information, or disclose it
to someone else, it will fit one of the reasons listed here.
- Treatment. We will use your health information to provide you
with medical care and services. This means that our employees, staff,
students, volunteers and others whose work is under our direct control,
may read your health information to learn about your medical condition
and use it to make decisions about your care. For instance, a hospital
nurse may read your medical chart in order to care for you properly.
We will also disclose your information to others who need it in order
to provide you with medical treatment or services. For instance, we
may send your doctor the results of laboratory tests we perform.
- Payment. We will use your health information, and disclose
it to others, as necessary to obtain payment for the services we provide
to you. For instance, an employee in our business office may use your
health information to prepare a bill. And we may send that bill, and
any health information it contains, to your insurance company. We may
also disclose some of your health information to companies with whom
we contract for payment-related services. For instance, we may give
information about you to a collection company that we contract with
to collect bills for us. We will not use or disclose more information
for payment purposes than is necessary.
- Health Care Operations. We may use your health information
for activities that are necessary to operate this organization. This
includes reading your health information to review the performance of
our staff. We may also use your information and the information of other
patients to plan what services we need to provide, expand, or reduce.
We may also provide health information to students who are authorized
to receive training here. We may disclose your health information as
necessary to others who we contract with to provide administrative services.
This includes our lawyers, auditors, accreditation services, and consultants,
for instance.
- Legal Requirement to Disclose Information. We will disclose
your information when we are required by law to do so. This includes
reporting information to government agencies that have the legal responsibility
to monitor the health care system. For instance, we may be required
to disclose your health information, and the information of others,
if we are audited by Medicare or Medicaid. We will also disclose your
health information when we are required to do so by a court order or
other judicial or administrative process.
- Public Health Activities. We will disclose your health information
when required to do so for public health purposes. This includes reporting
certain diseases, births, deaths, and reactions to certain medications.
It may also include notifying people who have been exposed to a disease.
- To Report Abuse. We may disclose your health information when
the information relates to a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.
We will make this report only in accordance with laws that require or
allow such reporting, or with your permission.
- Law Enforcement. We may disclose your health information for
law enforcement purposes. This includes providing information to help
locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, or in
connection with suspected criminal activity. We must also disclose your
health information to a federal agency investigating our compliance
with federal privacy regulations.
- Specialized Purposes. We may disclose the health information
of members of the armed forces as authorized by military command authorities.
We may disclose your health information for a number of other specialized
purposes. We will only disclose as much information as is necessary
for the purpose. For instance, we may disclose your information to coroners,
medical examiners and funeral directors; to organ procurement organizations
(for organ, eye, or tissue donation); or for national security, intelligence,
and protection of the president. We also may disclose health information
about an inmate to a correctional institution or to law enforcement
officials, to provide the inmate with health care, to protect the health
and safety of the inmate and others, and for the safety, administration,
and maintenance of the correctional institution. We may also disclose
your health information to your employer for purposes of workers' compensation
and work site safety laws (OSHA, for instance).
- To Avert a Serious Threat. We may disclose your health information
if we decide that the disclosure is necessary to prevent serious harm
to the public or to an individual. The disclosure will only be made
to someone who is able to prevent or reduce the threat.
- Family and Friends. We may disclose your health information
to a member of your family or to someone else who is involved in your
medical care or payment for care. We may notify family or friends if
you are in the hospital, and tell them your general condition. In the
event of a disaster, we may provide information about you to a disaster
relief organization so they can notify your family of your condition
and location. We will not disclose your information to family or friends
if you object.
- Facility Directory. We may list you in our directory if you
are admitted to the hospital. The directory listing includes name and
location in the hospital. We will also list your religion in the directory,
but will disclose that information only to members of the clergy. Except
for members of the clergy, we will only disclose the information in
the directory to visitors who ask for you by name. If you ask, we will
not list you in the directory, or we will omit any information you ask
us to omit.
- Research. We may disclose your health information in connection
with medical research projects. Federal rules govern any disclosure
of your health information for research purposes without your authorization.
- Information to Patients. We may use your health information
to provide you with additional information. This may include sending
appointment reminders to your address. This may also include giving
you information about treatment options or other health-related services
that we provide.
- Fund Raising. We may use your information to contact you to
ask for donations to the covered entity. We may disclose your information
to a related foundation for the same purpose. If you do not want us
to do this, contact the person listed under "Whom to Contact"
at the end of this notice.
- Health Benefits Information. Your health information may be
disclosed by the MHHS employee health benefit program to the Human
Resource Director or his designee, as necessary for the administration
of the health benefit program. Employees who receive this information
have special rules to prevent the misuse of your information for other
purposes.
YOUR RIGHTS
- Authorization. We will not use or disclose your health information
for any purpose that is not listed in this notice without your written
authorization. If you authorize us to use or disclose your health information,
you have the right to revoke the authorization at any time. For information
about how to authorize us to use or disclose your health information,
or about how to revoke an authorization, contact the person listed under
"Whom to Contact" at the end of this notice. You may not revoke
an authorization for us to use and disclose your information to the
extent that we have taken action in reliance on the authorization. If
the authorization is to permit disclosure of your information to an
insurance company, as a condition of obtaining coverage, other law may
allow the insurer to continue to use your information to contest claims
or your coverage, even after you have revoked the authorization.
- Request Restrictions. You have the right to ask us to restrict
how we use or disclose your health information. We will consider your
request. But we are not required to agree. If we do agree, we will comply
with the request unless the information is needed to provide you with
emergency treatment. We cannot agree to restrict disclosures that are
required by law.
- Confidential Communication. You have the right to ask us to
communicate with you at a special address or by a special means. For
example, you may ask us to send mail to a different address rather than
to your home. Or you may ask us to speak to you personally on the telephone
rather than sending your health information by mail. We will not ask
you to explain why you are making the request. We will agree to any
reasonable request.
- Inspect And Receive a Copy of Health Information. You have
a right to inspect the health information about you that we have in
our records, and to receive a copy of it. This right is limited to information
about you that is kept in records that are used to make decisions about
you. For instance, this includes medical and billing records. If you
want to review or receive a copy of these records, you must make the
request in writing. We may charge a fee for the cost of copying and
mailing the records. To ask to inspect your records, or to receive a
copy, contact the person listed under "Whom to Contact" at
the end of this notice. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
We may deny you access to certain information. If we do, we will give
you the reason, in writing. We will also explain how you may appeal
the decision.
- Amend Health Information. You have the right to ask us to amend
health information about you which you believe is not correct, or not
complete. You must make this request in writing, and give us the reason
you believe the information is not correct or complete. We will respond
to your request in writing within 30 days. We may deny your request
if we did not create the information, if it is not part of the records
we use to make decisions about you, if the information is something
you would not be permitted to inspect or copy, or if it is complete
and accurate.
- Accounting of Disclosures. You have a right to receive an accounting
of certain disclosures of your information to others. This accounting
will list the times we have given your health information to others.
The list will include dates of the disclosures, the names of the people
or organizations to whom the information was disclosed, a description
of the information, and the reason. We will provide the first list of
disclosures you request at no charge. We may charge you for any additional
lists you request during the following 12 months. You must tell us the
time period you want the list to cover. You may not request a time period
longer than six years. We cannot include disclosures made before April
14, 2003. Disclosures for the following reasons will not be included
on the list: disclosures for treatment, payment, health care operations;
disclosures of information in a facility directory, disclosures for
national security purposes, disclosures to correctional or law enforcement
personnel, disclosures that you have authorized, and disclosures made
directly to you.
- Paper Copy of this Privacy Notice. You have a right to receive
a paper copy this notice. If you have
received this notice electronically, you may receive a paper copy by
contacting the person listed under "Whom to Contact" at the
end of this notice.
- Complaints. You have a right to complain about our privacy
practices, if you think your privacy has been violated. You may file
your complaint with the person listed under "Whom
to Contact" at the end of this notice. You may also file a
complaint directly with the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Health
and Human Services, at the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 509F
HHH Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20201. All complaints must be in writing.
We will not take any retaliation against you if you file a complaint.
OUR RIGHT TO CHANGE THIS NOTICE
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices, as described in
this notice, at any time. We reserve the right to apply these changes
to any health information which we already have, as well as to health
information we receive in the future. Before we make any change in the
privacy practices described in this notice, we will write a new notice
that includes the change. We will post the new notice in our registration
area as well as on our web site. The new notice will include an effective
date.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Contact the person listed below:
Copies of this notice are also available at our registration area. This
notice is also available by e-mail. Contact the person named above, or
send e-mail to: privacyofficer@mhhcc
This notice is also available on our Web site: www.mhhcc.com.
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