Patient Privacy

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose medical information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories

DISCLOSURE AT YOUR REQUEST

We may disclose information when requested by you. This disclosure at your request may require a written authorization by you.

FOR TREATMENT

We may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, health care students, or other hospital personnel who are involved in taking care of you at the hospital. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietitian if you have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different departments of the hospital also may share medical information about you in order to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and X-rays. We also may disclose medical information about you to people outside the hospital who may be involved in your medical care after you leave the hospital, such as skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and physicians or other practitioners. For example, we may give your physician access to your health information to assist your physician in treating you.

FOR PAYMENT

We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the hospital may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, we may need to give information about surgery you received at the hospital to your health plan so it will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment. We may also provide basic information about you and your health plan, insurance company or other source of payment to practitioners outside the hospital who are involved in your care, to assist them in obtaining payment for services they provide to you.

FOR HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS

We may use and disclose medical information about you for health care operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the hospital and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine medical information about many hospital patients to decide what additional services the hospital should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other hospital personnel for review and learning purposes. We may also combine the medical information we have with medical information from other hospitals to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are.

Psychotherapy notes as defined in HIPAA are maintained separately from the rest of the medical record and so are not part the medical record described here.

FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES

We may use information about you, or disclose such information to a foundation related to the hospital, to contact you in an effort to raise money for the hospital and its operations. You have the right to opt out of receiving fundraising communications. If you receive a fundraising communication, it will tell you how to opt out.

HOSPITAL DIRECTORY

We may include certain limited information about you in the hospital directory while you are a patient at the hospital. This information may include your name, location in the hospital, your general condition (e.g., good, fair, etc.) and your religious affiliation. Unless there is a specific written request from you to the contrary, this directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may also be released to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don’t ask for you by name. This information is released so your family, friends and clergy can visit you in the hospital and generally know how you are doing.

MARKETING AND SALE

Most uses and disclosures of medical information for marketing purposes, and disclosures that constitute a sale of medical information, require your authorization.

TO INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN YOUR CARE OR PAYMENT FOR YOUR CARE

We may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care. Unless there is a specific written request from you to the contrary, we may also tell your family or friends your condition and that you are in the hospital.

FOR RESEARCH

Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes. For example, a research project may involve comparing the health and recovery of all patients who received one medication to those who received another, for the same condition. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of medical information, trying to balance the research needs with patients’ need for privacy of their medical information. Before we use or disclose medical information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process, but we may, however, disclose medical information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, for example, to help them look for patients with specific medical needs, as long as the medical information they review does not leave the hospital.

AS REQUIRED BY LAW

We will disclose medical information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.

TO AVERT A SERIOUS THREAT TO HEALTH OR SAFETY

We may use and disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

SPECIAL SITUATIONS ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION

We may release medical information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.

MILITARY AND VETERANS

If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release medical information about you as required by military command authorities. We may also release medical information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

We may release medical information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.

We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include the following:

To prevent or control disease, injury or disability
To report regarding the abuse or neglect of children, elders and dependent adults
To report reactions to medications or problems with products
To notify people of recalls of products they may be using
To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition
To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will only make this disclosure if you agree or when required or authorized by law
To notify emergency response employees regarding possible exposure to HIV/AIDS, to the Extent necessary to comply with state and federal laws

HEALTH OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES

We may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs and compliance with civil rights laws.

LAWSUITS AND DISPUTES

If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose medical information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose medical information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request (which may include written notice to you) or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

We may release medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official:

In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process
To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person
About the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement
About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct
About criminal conduct at the hospital
In emergency circumstances to report crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime
To a public health authority in certain situations such as reporting a birth, death or disease as required by law, as part of a public health investigation, to report child or adult abuse or neglect or domestic violence, to report adverse event such as product defects, or to notify a person about expose to a possible communicable disease as required by law
For health oversight activities including audits or government investigations, inspections, disciplinary proceedings, and other administrative or judicial actions undertaken by the government (or their contractors) by law to oversee the health care system
For law enforcement activities in limited situations, such as when there is a warrant for the request, or when the information is needed to locate a suspect or stop a crime
For military, national defense and security and other special government functions
To avert a serious threat to the health and safety of a person or the public at large
For workers’ compensation purposes, and in compliance with workers’ compensation laws
To coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors for identifying a deceased person, determining cause of death, or carrying on their duties as authorized by law
If you are an organ donor, we may release health information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ donation and transplantation
For research projects, but this will be subject to strict oversight and approvals and health information will be released only when there is minimal risk to your privacy and adequate safeguards are in place in accordance with the law
We may use or disclose health information about you in a way that does not personally identify you or reveal who you are

CORONERS, MEDICAL EXAMINERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS

We may release medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release medical information about patients of the hospital to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.

NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES

We may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.

PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR THE PRESIDENT AND OTHERS

We may disclose medical information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.

INMATES

If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may disclose medical information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official

This disclosure would be necessary 1) for the institution to provide you with health care; 2) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; or 3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSONNEL TEAMS

We may disclose health information to a multidisciplinary personnel team relevant to the prevention, identification, management or treatment of an abused child and the child’s parents, or elder abuse and neglect.

SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF INFORMATION

In some circumstances, your health information may be subject to restrictions that may limit or preclude some uses or disclosures described in this notice. For example, there are special restrictions on the use or disclosure of certain categories of information — e.g., tests for HIV or treatment for mental health conditions or alcohol and drug abuse. Government health benefit programs, such as Medi-Cal, may also limit the disclosure of beneficiary information for purposes unrelated to the program.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

You have the following rights regarding medical information we maintain about you.

RIGHT TO INSPECT AND COPY

You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records, but may not include some mental health information.

To inspect and obtain a copy of medical information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to

[insert contact information]. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request. We may deny your request to inspect and obtain a copy in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by the hospital 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 outcome of the review.

If you feel that medical information we have about you is incorrect or may be incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for the hospital.

To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to the Director of Health Information Management. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:

Even if we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to submit a written addendum, not to exceed 250 words, with respect to any item or statement in your record you believe is incomplete or incorrect. If you clearly indicate in writing that you want the addendum to be made part of your medical record we will attach it to your records and include it whenever we make a disclosure of the item or statement you believe to be incomplete or incorrect.

RIGHT TO AN ACCOUNTING OF DISCLOSURES

You have the right to request an “accounting of disclosures.” This is a list of the disclosures we made of medical information about you other than for our own uses for treatment, payment and health care operations (as those functions are described above), and with other exceptions pursuant to the law. To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to the Director of Health Information Management. Your request must state a time period which may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper or electronically). The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred. In addition, we will notify you as required by law following a breach of your unsecured protected health information.

RIGHT TO REQUEST RESTRICTIONS

You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not use or disclose information about a surgery you had. We are not required to agree to your request, except to the extent that you request us to restrict disclosure to a health plan or insurer for payment or health care operations purposes if you, or someone else on your behalf (other than the health plan or insurer), has paid for the item or service out of pocket in full.

Even if you request this special restriction, we can disclose the information to a health plan or insurer for purposes of treating you.

If we agree to another special restriction, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment.

To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to the Director of Health Information Management. In your request, you must tell us 1) what information you want to limit; 2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both; and 3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example, disclosures to your spouse.

RIGHT TO REQUEST CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS

You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to [insert contact information]. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.

RIGHT TO A PAPER COPY OF THIS NOTICE

You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice. You may obtain a copy of this notice at our website: www.glennmed.org To obtain a paper copy of this notice: Contact the Registration Office at 530-934-1860.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in the hospital. The notice will contain the effective date on the first page, in the top right-hand corner. In addition, each time you register at or are admitted to the hospital for treatment or health care services as an inpatient or outpatient, we will offer you a copy of the current notice in effect.

COMPLAINTS

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the hospital or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with the hospital, contact Barbara Rydgren, Administrator at Glenn Medical Center. All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

OTHER USES OF MEDICAL INFORMATION

Other uses and disclosures of medical information not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission. If you provide us permission to use or disclose medical information about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, this will stop any further use or disclosure of your medical information for the purposes covered by your written authorization, except if we have already acted in reliance on your permission. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.

Effective Date of this notice: 9/23/13

POLICY ON ADVANCE DIRECTIVES:

It is the policy of this organization to respect and encourage patient self-determination. Through education and inquiry about Advance Directives GMC encourages our patients to communicate their health care preferences and values to others in advance. Such communication will guide health care decision-making for the incapacitated.

Glenn Medical Center shall provide to each adult individual, at the time of his or her Outpatient admission or Inpatient admission within 24-hours or 48-hours on weekends, or Holidays, written information regarding their rights under California statutes and court decisions to accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment and to formulate Advance Directives; and GMC’s policies regarding these rights and the way such decisions and directives will be implemented in the hospital.
GMC will document in your medical record whether or not you have executed an Advance Directive.
GMC will comply with California Statutes regarding Advance Directives.
GMC does not condition the providing of care or otherwise discriminate against an individual based on whether or not the individual has executed an Advance Directive.
GMC will provide education to our community members on issues that concern Advance Directives.
Adult patients may revoke or renew existing Advance Directives at any time.

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