HIPAA

On December 20, 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services published the final privacy regulations for health information as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA. HIPAA establishes a set of basic national privacy standards and fair information practices that provide all Americans with a basic level of protection and peace of mind that is essential to their full participation in their care.

HIPAA provides for:

• Standardized patient health, administrative and financial information.
• Creation of unique health identifiers.
• Protection and security of confidential patient health information.

INFORMATION PROTECTED

Protected health information means any individually identifiable health information protected under the Federal Privacy Rules. Protected health information cannot be used or disclosed unless the patient authorizes or consents to disclosure of the information, except when disclosure is specifically permitted under the HIPAA regulations. HIPAA permits limited use and disclosure of protected health information without a patient's authorization or consent where there is overriding public interest. Examples include quality assurance activities, public health use, emergencies, limited law enforcement activities, reporting abuse and infectious diseases.

YOUR RIGHTS

YOU have the right to receive notice of our policies and procedures used to protect your Protected Health Information;
YOU have the right to request that certain uses and disclosures of your Protected Health Information be restricted; provided, however, in certain limited circumstances such as if we were required by law, we have the right to refuse your request;
YOU have the right to access your Protected Health Information; provided, however, the request must be in writing and may be denied in certain limited situations;
YOU have the right to request that your Protected Health Information be amended;
YOU have the right to obtain an accounting of certain disclosures by us of your Protected Health Information for the past six-years;
YOU have the right to revoke any prior authorization or consents for use of disclosure of Protected Health Information, except to the extent that action has already been taken;
and YOU have the right to request that communications of your Protected Health Information are done by alternative means or at alternative locations.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

WE will provide you with notice of our legal duties and our community's policies regarding the use and disclosure of your Protected Health Information;
WE will maintain the confidentiality of your Protected Health Information in accordance with state and federal law;
WE will honor your requested restrictions regarding the use and disclosure of your Protected Health Information unless under the law we are authorized to release your Protected Health Information without your authorization or consent, in which case you will be notified within a reasonable period of time;
WE will allow you to inspect and copy your Protected Health Information during our regular business hours;
WE will act on your request to amend Protected Health Information within sixty (60) days and notify you of any delay which would require us to extend the deadline by the permitted thirty (30) day extension;
WE will accommodate reasonable requests to communicate Protected Health Information by alternative means or methods;
WE will abide by the terms of this notice; and WE will be happy to provide you with any additional information regarding the HIPAA regulations and your privacy.

Please contact our administrative offices (317) 524-6511 for further information.