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.
OUR PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION:
We understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. We maintain a record of the care and services you receive from us. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by Palms Medical Group. This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose health information about you. We also describe your rights to health information we keep about you, and describe certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your health information.
We are required by law to:
Make sure that health information that identifies you is kept private.
Give you notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information about you.
Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose health information. 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 disclose information will fall within one of the categories:
For Treatment: We may use health information about you to provide you with health care treatment or services. We may disclose health information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, health students, or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you. They may work at our offices, at the hospital if you are hospitalized under our supervision, or at another doctor’s office, lab, pharmacy or other health care provider to whom we may refer you for consultation to take x-rays, to perform lab tests, to have prescriptions filled, or for other treatment purposes. 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 at the hospital if you have diabetes so that we can arrange for the appropriate meals. We may also disclose health information about you to personnel assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location.
For Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose health information about you for operations of our health care practice. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run our practice and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine health information about many patients to decide what additional services we should offer, what services are not needed, whether certain new treatments are effective, or to compare how we are doing with others and to see where we can make improvements. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of health information so others may use it to study health care delivery without learning who our patients are.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose health 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.
Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces or separated/discharged from military services, we may release health information about you as required by military command authorities or the Department of Veterans Affairs as may be applicable. We may also release health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authorities.
Workers’ Compensation: We may release health information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
Public Health Risks: We may disclose health information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include the following:
To prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
To report birth or deaths;
To report child abuse or neglect;
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.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose health 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 health information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health 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 or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
Law Enforcement: We may release health 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 a victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement;
About criminal conduct at our facility; and
In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description, or location of the person who committed the crime.
Coroners, Health Examiners and Funeral Directors: We may release health information to a coroner or health examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release health information about patients to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.
National Security and Intelligence Activities: We may release health information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, or other national security activities authorized by law.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU.
You have the following rights regarding health information we obtain about you:
Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes health and billing records. This does not include psychotherapy notes. To inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to our Clinical Compliance Officer. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs associated with your request.
Right to Amend: If you feel that health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend this information. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing, submitted to our Clinical Compliance Officer. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request for an amendment.
We may deny your request for the 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:
Was not created by us;
Is not part of the health information kept by or for our organization;
Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
Is accurate and complete.
Any amendment we make to your health information will be disclosed to those with whom we disclose information as previously specified.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an accounting for any disclosures of your health information we have made, except for uses and disclosures for treatment, payment and health care operations, as previously described.
To request this list of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to our Clinical Compliance Officer. Your request must state a time period which may not be longer than six years. The first list you request within a 12 month period is free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost in advance. We will mail you a list of disclosures in paper format within 30 days of your request.
Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health 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 health information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care, such as a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we restrict a specified nurse from use of your information, or that we do not disclose information to your spouse about a surgery you had. You have the right to restrict disclosure of protected health information to a health plan, if the disclosure is for payment or health care operations AND pertains to a service you have paid for 100% out of pocket, as long as such a disclosure is not otherwise required by law.
We are not required to agree to your request for restrictions if it is not possible for us to ensure our compliance or believe it will negatively impact the care we may provide you. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment. To request a restriction, make your request in writing to our Clinical Compliance Officer. In your request, you must tell us what information you want to limit and to whom you want the limits to apply; for example, use of any information by a specified nurse, or disclosure of specified surgery to your spouse.
Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about health 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 a post office box.
To request confidential communications, make your request in writing to our Clinical Compliance Officer. 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/electronic copy of this Notice: You have the right to obtain a paper/electronic copy of this notice at any time. To obtain a copy, please request it from the front desk staff.
Right to be Notified: You have the right to be notified in the event of a breach affecting your protected health information.
Other: Any uses and disclosures of patient information not described in this notice will require PMG to obtain authorization or have the right to revoke the authorization.
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 health 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 our facility. The notice will contain on the first page, the effective date of this Notice.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with us contact the EVP of Clinical Compliance at (386) 454-0698. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
OTHER USES OF HEALTH INFORMATION
Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission. As required by law, psychotherapy notes, disclosures for marketing purposes, and/or use of protected health information for sale, require a written authorization by you, and will only be made with such. If you provide us permission to use or disclose health information about, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. 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 you.