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Kevin A. Workman, MPT, ATC, ECS
Medworks Building
111 Davis Stuart Road
Ronceverte, WV 24970
(304) 647-3987 FAX (304) 647-3990 |
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OUR PROMISE OF PRIVACY AND CONSENT
TO PATIENT RECORDS AND INFORMATION (HIPAA) |
Our office is fully committed to compliance with HIPAA guidelines by:
Providing appropriate security for our patient records.
Protecting the privacy of our patients’ medical information.
Providing our patients with proper access to their medical
records.
Appropriately maintaining our patient information and billing processes in
compliance with national HIPAA standards.
If you ever have any concerns or questions about your privacy, please call
and ask to speak with our Compliance Officer.
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OUR NOTICE
OF PRIVACY PRACTICES |
We consider the privacy of our patients’ personal/medical
information to be of the greatest importance. Our patients have a right to a
copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP). If you would like a copy
of our Notice of Privacy Practices, you may call (304) 647-3987 and speak with
our Compliance Officer to request one. Our Notice of Privacy Practices is
posted below:
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NOTICE OF
PRIVACY PRACTICES FOR GREENBRIER VALLEY PHYSICAL THERAPY & FITNESS |
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.
This notice takes effect on
April 14, 2003 and remains in effect until
we replace it.
1. OUR PLEDGE REGARDING MEDICAL
INFORMATION
The privacy of your medical information is important to us. We understand
that your medical information is personal and we are committed to protecting it.
We create a record of the care and services you receive at our organization. We
need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain
legal requirements. This notice will tell you about the ways we may use and
share medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain
duties we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.
2. OUR LEGAL DUTY
Law Requires Us to
:
- Keep your medical information private.
- Give you this notice describing our legal duties,
privacy practices, and your rights regarding your medical information.
- Follow the terms of the notice that is now in effect.
We Have the Right to
:
- Change our privacy practices and the terms of this
notice at any time, provided that the changes are permitted by law.
- Make the changes in our privacy practices and the new
terms of our notice effective for all medical information that we keep,
including information previously created or received before the changes.
Notice of Change to Privacy Practices
:
Before we make an important change in our privacy
practices, we will change this notice and make the new notice available upon
request.
3. USE AND DISCLOSURE OF
YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
The following section describes different ways that we use and disclose
medical information. Not every use or disclosure will be listed. However, we
have listed all of the different ways we are permitted to use and disclose
medical information. We will not use or disclose your medical information for
any purpose not listed below, without your specific written authorization. Any
specific written authorization you provide may be revoked at any time by writing
to us.
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, medical students, or
other people who are taking care of you. We may also share medical information
about you to your other health care providers to assist them in treating you.
FOR PAYMENT
We may use and disclose your
medical information for payment purposes.
FOR HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS
We may use and disclose your medical
information for our health care operations. This might include measuring and
improving quality, evaluating the performance of employees, conducting training
programs, and getting the accreditation, certificates, licenses and credentials
we need to serve you.
ADDITIONAL USES AND DISCLOSURES
In addition to using and disclosing your medical
information treatment, payment, and health care operations, we may use and
disclose medical information for the following purposes.
Facility Directory:
Unless you notify us that you object, the
following medical information about you will be placed in our facilities’
directories: your name; your location in our facility; your condition
described in general terms; your religious affiliation, if any. We may
disclose this information to members of the clergy or, except your religious
affiliation, to others who contact us and ask information about you by name.
Notification: Medical
information to notify or help notify: a family member, your personal
representative or other person responsible for your care. We will share
information about your location, general condition, or death. If you are
present, we will get your permission if possible before we share, or give you
the opportunity to refuse permission. In case of emergency, and if you are not
able to give or refuse permission, we will share only the health information
that is directly necessary for your health care, according to our professional
judgment. We will also use our professional judgment to make decisions in your
best interest about allowing someone to pick up medicine, medical supplies,
x-ray or medical information for you.
Disaster Relief:
Medical information with a public or private organization or person who can
legally assist in disaster relief efforts.
Fundraising: We may
provide medical information to one of our affiliated fundraising foundations
to contact you for fundraising purposes. We will limit our use and sharing to
information that describes you in general, not personal, terms and the dates
of your health care. In any fundraising materials, we will provide you a
description of how you may choose not receive future fundraising
communications.
Research in Limited Circumstances:
Medical information for research purposes
in limited circumstances where the research has been approved by a review
board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to
ensure the privacy of medical information.
Funeral Director, Coroner, Medical Examiner:
To help them carry out their
duties, we may share the medical information of a person who has died with a
coroner, medical examiner, funeral director, or an organ procurement
organization.
Specialized Government Functions:
Subject to certain requirements, we may disclose or use
health information for military personnel and veterans, for national security
and intelligence activities, for protective services for the President and
others, for medical suitability determinations for the Department of State,
for correctional institutions and other law enforcement custodial situations,
and for government programs providing public benefits.
Court Orders and Judicial and Administrative
Proceedings: We may disclose medical
information in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena,
discovery request, or other lawful process, under certain circumstances. Under
limited circumstances, such as a court order, warrant, or grand jury subpoena,
we may share your medical information with law enforcement officials. We may
share limited information with a law enforcement official concerning the
medical information of a suspect, fugitive, material witness, crime victim or
missing person. We may share the medical information of an inmate or other
person in lawful custody with a law enforcement official or correctional
institution under certain circumstances.
Public Health Activities:
As required by law, we may
disclose your medical information to public health or legal authorities
charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability,
including child abuse or neglect. We may also disclose your medical
information to persons subject to jurisdiction of the Food and Drug
Administration for purposes of reporting adverse events associated with
product defects or problems, to enable product recalls, repairs or
replacements, to track products, or to conduct activities required by the Food
and Drug Administration. We may also, when we are authorized by law to do so,
notify a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or
otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence:
We may disclose medical information to appropriate
authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse,
neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may
share your medical information if it is necessary to prevent a serious threat
to your health or safety or the health or safety of others. We may share
medical information when necessary to help law enforcement officials capture a
person who has admitted to being a part of a crime or has escaped from legal
custody.
Workers Compensation:
We may disclose health information
when authorized and necessary to comply with laws relating to workers
compensation or other similar programs.
Health Oversight Activities:
We may disclose medical information to an agency providing health oversight
for oversight activities authorized by law, including audits, civil,
administrative, or criminal investigations or proceedings, inspections,
licensure or disciplinary actions, or other authorized activities.
Law Enforcement:
Under certain circumstances,
we may disclose health information to law enforcement officials. These
circumstances include reporting required by certain laws (such as the
reporting of certain types of wounds), pursuant to certain subpoenas or court
orders, reporting limited information concerning identification and location
at the request of a law enforcement official, reports regarding suspected
victims of crimes at the request of a law enforcement official, reporting
death, crimes on our premises, and crimes in emergencies.
4. YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
You Have a Right to:
- Look at or get copies of your medical information. You
may request that we provide copies in a format other than photocopies. We will
use the format you request unless it is not practical for us to do so. You
must make your request in writing. You may get the form to request access by
using the contact information listed at the end of this notice. You may also
request access by sending a letter to the contact person listed at the end of
this notice. If you request copies, we will charge you $ 0.75 for each page,
and postage if you want the copies mailed to you. Contact us using the
information listed at the end of this notice for a full explanation of our fee
structure.
- Receive a list of all the times we or our business
associates shared your medical information for purposes other than treatment,
payment, and health care operations and other specified exceptions.
- Request that we place additional restrictions on our
use or disclosure of your medical information. We are not required to agree to
these additional restrictions, but if we do, we will abide by our agreement
(except in the case of an emergency).
- Request that we communicate with you about your medical
information by different means or to different locations. Your request that we
communicate your medical information to you by different means or at different
locations must be made in writing to the contact person listed at the end of
this notice.
- Request that we change your medical information. We may
deny your request if we did not create the information you want changed or for
certain other reasons. If we deny your request, we will provide you a written
explanation. You may respond with a statement of disagreement that will be
added to the information you wanted changed. If we accept your request to
change the information, we will make reasonable efforts to tell others,
including people you name, of the change and to include the changes in any
future sharing of that information.
If you have received this notice electronically, and wish
to receive a paper copy, you have the right to obtain a paper copy by making a
request in writing to Privacy Officer at your office.
5. QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
If you have any questions about this notice or if you
think that we may have violated your privacy rights, please contact us. To file
a complaint with this facility, contact Cindy Evans, Privacy Officer,
Greenbrier Valley Physical Therapy and Fitness, 111 Davis Stuart Road,
Ronceverte, WV 24970 or by phone at 304-647-3987. You may also submit a written
complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence
Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201 or by phone at 1-877-696-6775. You will not
be retaliated against or penalized in any way for filing a complaint.