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
Effective Date:
We comply with all applicable Federal and State HIPPA Regulations. A copy of our most current HIPPA Regulation Pamphlet is available upon request. Your HIPPA Compliance Officer is Gabriele Whyard, Chief Executive Officer, contact info is Phone: VAMED (540) 215-2211 or Fax: (866) 984-3777 Email: management@vamedgroup.com.
VAMED and its business associates (collectively “Facility”) are committed to providing you with quality behavioral healthcare services. An important part of that commitment is protecting your health information according to applicable law. This notice (“Notice of Privacy Practices”) describes your rights and our duties under Federal Law. Protected health information (“PHI”) is information about you, including demographic information that may identify you and that related to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; the provision of healthcare services; or the past, present or future payment for the provision of healthcare services to you.
Our Duties
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI; provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI; and to notify you following a breach of unsecured PHI related to you. We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices. This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective as of the date listed on the first page of his Notice of Privacy Practices. This Notice of Privacy Practices will remain in effect until it is revised. We are required to modify this Notice of Privacy Practices will remain in effect until it is revised. We are required to modify this Notice of Privacy Practices when there are material changes to your rights, our duties, or other practices contained herein.
We reserve the right to change our privacy policy and practices and the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices, consistent with applicable law and our current business processes, at any time. Any new Notice of Privacy Practices will be effective for all PHI that we maintain at that time. Notification of revisions of this Notice of Privacy Practices will be provided as follows: (l) upon request; (2) electronically via our website or via other electronic means; and (3) as posted in our place of business.
In addition to the above, we have a duty to respond to your requests (e.g. those corresponding to your rights) in a timely and appropriate manner. We support and value your right to privacy and are committed to maintaining reasonable and appropriate safeguards for your PHI.
Confidentiality of Substance Abuse Disorder Records
The confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records maintained by us is protected by Federal law and regulations. Generally, we may not say to a person outside the treatment center that you are a patient of the treatment center, or disclose any information identifying you as an alcohol or drug abuser unless:
- You consent in writing (as discussed below in “Authorization to Use or Disclose PHI”);
- The disclosure is allowed by a court order (as discussed below in “Uses and Disclosures”); or
- The disclosure is made to medical personnel in a medical emergency or to qualified personnel for research, audit, or program evaluation (as discussed below in “Uses and Disclosures”).
Violation of the Federal law and regulations by the treatment center is a crime. Suspected violations may be reported to the United States Attorney, Department of Justice, in which the Facility is located.
Federal law and regulations do not protect any information about a crime committed by you either at the treatment center or about any threat to commit such a crime (as discussed below in “Uses and Disclosures”).
Federal laws and regulations to no protect any information about suspected child abuse or neglect from being reported under State law to appropriate State or local authorities (as discussed below in “Uses and Disclosures”).
See 42 U.S.C. 290dd-3 and 42 U.S.C. 290ee-3 for Federal laws and 42 CFR part 2 for Federal regulations.
Uses and Disclosures. Uses and disclosures of your PHI may be permitted, required, or authorized. The following categories describe various ways that we use and disclose PHI.
For Treatment. We may use or disclose information between or among personnel having a need for the information in connection with their duties that arise out of the provision of diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment of alcohol or drug abuse, provided such communication is: (i) within the treatment center; or (ii) between the treatment center and a business associate. For example, our staff, including doctors, nurses, and clinicians, will use your PHI to provide your treatment care.
For Payment. We may use or disclose your PHI in connection with obtaining payment for the services we provide to you. For example, your PHI may be used in connection with billing statements we send you and in connection with tracking charges and credits to your account. Your PHI will be used to check for eligibility for Insurance coverage and prepare claims for your Insurance company where appropriate.
For Healthcare Operations. We may use and disclose your PHI in order to conduct our healthcare business and to perform functions associated with our business activities, including accreditation and licensing.
When Required by Law. We will disclose your PHI when we are required by state or federal law to do so.
Secretary of Health and Human Services. We are required to disclose PHI to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services when the Secretary is investigating or determining our compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rules.
Business Associates. We may disclose your PHI to business associates that are contracted by us to perform services on our behalf which may involve receipt, use or disclose of your PHI. All of our business associated must agree to: (i) protect the privacy of your PHI; (ii) use and disclose the information only for the purposes for which the business associate was engaged (iii) be bound by 42 CFR Part 2; and (iv) if necessary, resist in judicial proceedings any efforts to obtain access to patient records except as permitted by law.
Crimes on Premises. We may disclose to law enforcement officers information that is directly related to the commission of a crime on the premises or against our personnel or to a threat to commit such a crime.
Reports of Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect. We may disclose information which we are required to report under state law incidents of suspected child abuse and neglect to the appropriate state or local authorities.
Court Order. We may disclose information required by a court order or in response to a subpoena, provided certain regulatory requirements are met.
Emergency Situations. We may disclose information to medical personnel for the purpose of treating you in an emergency.
Research. We may use and disclose your information for research if certain requirements are met, such as approval by an Institutional Review Board.
Audit and Evaluation Activities. We may disclose your information to persons conducting certain audit and evaluation activities, provided the person agrees to certam restrictions on disclosure of information.
Reporting of Death. We may disclose your information related to cause of death to a public health authority that is authorized to receive such information, including without limitation law enforcement and governmental officials, organ donation officials, or funeral directors.
AUTHORIZATION TO USE OR DISCLOSE PHI
Other than as stated above, we will not use or disclose your PHI other than with your written authorization. Subject to compliance with limited exceptions, we will not use or disclose psychotherapy notes, use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes, or sell your PHI unless you have signed an authorization. If you or your representative authorize us to use or disclose your PHI, you may revoke that authorization in writing (see below) at any time to stop future uses or disclosures. We will honor oral revocations upon authenticating your identity until a written revocation is obtained. Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect.
Patient/Client Rights. The following are the rights that you have regarding PHI that we maintain about you. Information regarding how to exercise those rights is also provided. Protecting your PHI is an important part of the services we provide to you. We want to ensure that you have access to your PHI when you need it and that you are clearly understand your rights as described below.
Right to Notice. You have the right to adequate notice of the uses and disclosures of your PHI, and our duties and responsibilities regarding same, as provided for herein. You have the right to request both a paper and electronic copy of this notice. You may ask us to provide a copy of this notice at any time.
Right to Access to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to access, inspect and obtain an electronic or paper copy of your PHI for as long as we maintain it as required by law. This right may be restricted only in certain limited circumstances as dictated by applicable law. All requests for access to your PHI must be made in writing (see below). Under a limited set of circumstances, we may deny your request. Any denial of a request to access will be communicated to you in writing. If you are denied access to your PHI, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by Facility will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the decision made by the designated professional. If you are further denied, you have a right to have a denial reviewed by a licensed third party healthcare professional (i.e. one not affiliated with us). We will comply with the decision made by the designated professional. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for the copying and/or mailing process of your request. As to PHI which may be maintained in electronic form and format, you may request a copy to which you are otherwise entitled in that electronic form and format if it is readily producible, but if not, then in any readable form and format as we may agree (e.g. PDF). Your request may also include transmittal directions to another individual or entity.
Right to Amend. If you believe the PHI that we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you have the right to request that we amend your PHI for as long as it is maintained by us. The request must me made in writing (see below) and you must provide a reason to support the requested amendment. Under certain circumstances we may deny your request to amend, including but not limited to, when the PHI: (1) was not created by us; (2) is excluded from access and inspection under applicable law; or (3) is accurate and complete. If we deny amendment, we will provide the rationale for denial to you in writing. You may write a statement of disagreement if your request is denied. This statement will be maintained as part of your PHI and will be included with any disclosure. If we accept the amendment we will work with you to identify other healthcare stakeholders that require notification and provide the notification.
Right to Request an Accounting of Disclosures. We are required to create and maintain an accounting (list) of
certain disclosures we make of your PHI. You have the right to request a copy of such an accounting during a time period specified by applicable law prior to the date on which the accounting is requested (up to six years). You must make any request for an accounting in writing (see below). We are not required by law to record certain types of disclosures (such as disclosures made pursuant to an authorization signed by you), and a listing of these disclosures will not be provided. If you request this accounting more than once m a 12-month period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to these additional requests. We will notify you of the fee to be charged (if any) at the time of the request.
Right to Request Restrictions — Generally. You have the right to request restrictions or limitations on how we use and disclose your PHI for treatment, payment, and operations. We are not required to agree to restrictions for treatment, payment and healthcare operations except to limited circumstances as described below. This request must be in writing (see below) If we do agree to the restriction, we will comply with restriction going forward, unless you take affirmative steps to revoke it or we believe, in our professional judgment, that an emergency warrants circumventing the restriction in order to provide the appropriate care or unless the use or disclosure is otherwise permitted by law. In rare circumstances, we reserve the right to terminate a restriction that we have previously agreed to, but only after providing notice of termination to you.
Right to Request Restrictions on Communication to Your Health Plan. If you have paid out-of-pocket (or in other words, you or someone besides your health plan has paid for your care) in full for a specific item or service, you have the right to request that your PHI will respect to that item or service not be disclosed to a health plan for purposes or payment or healthcare operations, and we are required by law to honor that request unless affirmatively terminated by you in writing and when the disclosures are not required by law. This request must be made in writing (see below)
Right to Request Alternative Communication. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your PHI and health matters by alternative means or alternative locations. Your requests must be made in writing (see below) and must specify the alternative means or location. We will accommodate all reasonable requests consistent with our duty to ensure that you PHI is appropriately protected.
Right to Notification of a Breach. A breach is, with certain limited exceptions, an unauthorized disclosure or your PHI. You have the right to be notified if we (or one of our business associates) discover a breach involving unsecured PHI.
Right to Voice Concerns. You have the right to file a complaint in writing with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you believe we have violated your privacy rights. Any complaints to us should be made in writing to our Privacy Official at the address listed below. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Questions, Requests, Complaints. For questions, more information about our privacy policy or concerns, or revoke an authorization, to request to inspect or obtain a copy of your PHI, to amend your PHI, to obtain an accounting of disclosures of your PHI, or for additional restrictions on uses and disclosures of your PHI (Including disclosures to your Insurer), please contact us.
Additional Information
- Patient Portal and Other Patient Electronic Correspondence. VAMED may use and disclose your PHI through a secure patient portal that allows you to view, download and transmit certain medical and billing information and communicate with certain health care providers in a secure manner through the portal.
- Your Contact Information: Home and Email Addresses/Phone Numbers. If you provide us with a home or email address, home/work/cell telephone number, or other contact information during any registration or administrative process we will assume the information you provided us is accurate and that you consent to out use of this information to communicate with you about your treatment, payment for services and health care operations. You are responsible to notify us of any change of this information.
- Email or Downloading PHI. If you email us medical or billing information from a private email address (such as a Yahoo, Gmail, etc. account), your information may not be secure in transmission. We therefore recommend you use your VAMED patient portal to communicate with us regarding your care and/or billing issues. VAMED is not responsible for the privacy or security of your PHI if you request that we send it to you in an unsecured manner or download, or post it on a dropbox, unencrypted USB drive, CD or other unsecure medium. In addition, VAMED is not responsible if your PHI is redisclosed, damaged, altered or otherwise misused by an authorized recipient. In addition, if you share an email account with another person (for example, your spouse/partner/roommate) or you choose to store, print, email, or post your PHI, it may not be private or secure.
If you believe you rights have been violated and would like to submit a complaint directly to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, then you may submit a formal written complaint to the following address:
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Office of Civil Rights
90 7th Street, Suite 4-100
San Francisco, CA 94103
Email: OCRComplaint@hhs.gov
We support your right to the privacy of your protected health information. You may not be retaliated against in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.