Notice of Privacy Practices

Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. This Notice of Privacy Practices applies to One Community Health.

Please review it carefully.

Protected health information (“PHI”) is health information that could identify you. This includes information such as your name, address, phone number, date of birth, information collected and recorded in this office, as well as information received from other health care providers. PHI may be in written, electronic, or spoken form. PHI may include information about your health history, health status, symptoms, examinations, test results, diagnoses, treatments, procedures, prescriptions, related billing activity, and similar types of health-related information.

Our Responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your PHI.

• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your PHI.

• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.

• We will not use or share your PHI other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

One Community Health is part of an organized health care arrangement including participants in OCHIN. A current list of OCHIN participants is available at www.ochin.org as a business associate of One Community Health OCHIN supplies information technology and related services to One Community Health and other OCHIN participants. OCHIN also engages in quality assessment and improvement activities on behalf of its participants. For example, OCHIN coordinates clinical review activities on behalf of participating organizations to establish best practice standards and assess clinical benefits that may be derived from the use of electronic health record systems. OCHIN also helps participants work collaboratively to improve the management of internal and external patient referrals. Your personal health information may be shared by One Community Health with other OCHIN participants or a health information exchange only when necessary for medical treatment or for the health care operations purposes of the organized health care arrangement. Health care operations can include, among other things, geocoding your residence location to improve the clinical benefits you receive.

The personal health information may include past, present, and future medical information as well as information outlined in the Privacy Rules. The information, to the extent disclosed, will be disclosed consistent with the Privacy Rules or any other applicable law as amended from time to time. You have the right to change your mind and withdraw this consent, however, the information may have already been provided as allowed by you. This consent will remain in effect until revoked by you in writing. If requested, you will be provided a list of entities to which your information has been disclosed.

Changes to the Terms of This Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all PHI we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request in our office and on our website.

Our Uses and Disclosures

We may use or share your PHI, without obtaining your permission, in the following ways:

Treat you             

We can use your PHI and share it with other professionals who are treating you.

Example: Your health care provider may ask another provider about care you have received in the past to help treat you.

Run our organization

We can use and share your PHI to run our organization, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.

Example: We use your PHI to manage your treatment and services.

Bill for your services

We can use and share your PHI to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. 

Example: We share PHI about care provided to you with your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

How else can we use or share your PHI?

We may use and share your PHI without asking your permission in certain circumstances outlined below:

Public health and safety issues

We can use and share your PHI in certain situations such as for:

•   Preventing disease

•   Helping with product recalls

•   Reporting adverse reactions to medications

•   Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence

•   Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Research                  

We can use or share your PHI for health research, if certain requirements are met.

Compliance             

We can use or share your PHI with health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law, such as audits and investigations, or as we are otherwise legally required.

Organ and tissue donation

We can share your PHI with procurement organizations.

Medical examiner or funeral director

We can share your PHI with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director if you die.

Workers’ compensation

We can use or share your PHI with employers, insurers, and others to comply with workers’ compensation and employment safety laws.

Law enforcement     

• We can share your PHI with law enforcement in limited circumstances, such as:

• To report a crime that occurs in One Community Health facilities

• To assist with identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person (but only certain PHI may be shared)

• To make legally-required reports, such as for gunshots or stab wounds

• To report suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence

• To prevent or reduce a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Other government requests

Lawsuits and legal actions

• We can use and share your PHI for special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.

• We can use and share your PHI to respond to a court or administrative order, warrant, or subpoena.

Your Rights

When it comes to your PHI, you have certain rights.

If you would like to exercise any of the rights described below, you must do so by submitting your request in writing to the One Community Health Privacy Officer using the information at the bottom of this page. In some cases, we may charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for providing materials to you.

Get an electronic or paper copy of your health records

• You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your health records and other PHI that we use to make decisions about you.

• In certain circumstances, we may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why and you may ask that this decision be reviewed. Ask us how to do this.

• We will provide a copy or a summary of the PHI we use to make decisions about you, usually within 30 days of your request.

Ask us to correct your health records

•   You can ask us to correct PHI we use to make decisions about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete.

•   In certain circumstances, we may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why and you may ask that this decision be reviewed.

Request confidential communications

•   You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.

•   We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

• You can ask us not to use or share certain PHI for treatment, payment, or our operations.

• We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.

• If you pay for a service or health care item out of pocket in full, you can ask us not to share PHI related to that service or item for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer.

• We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared PHI

• You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your PHI with third parties for reasons other than treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other circumstances in the six years prior to your request. 

Get a copy of this privacy notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically.

Choose someone to act for you

• If you have given someone power of attorney for health care or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your PHI. 

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

• You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting the One Community Health Privacy Officer using the information at the end of this page.

• You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.

• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain PHI, you have choices about what we share.

You may tell us to:    

• Share your PHI with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care

• Share your PHI in a disaster relief situation

If you are not able to consent or object to our sharing your PHI (for example, because you are unconscious), we may share your PHI if we believe it is in your best interest.

Without your written permission, we may not:

• Share your PHI for marketing purposes

• Sell your PHI

• Share any psychotherapy notes

Sensitive Information:

• Federal and state laws impose special protections for certain kinds of PHI and require us to obtain your permission before we can share it unless special circumstances apply. For example, psychotherapy notes, genetic testing information, HIV/AIDS test results, behavioral health, and substance abuse-related information may be specially protected. Before sharing these types of information, we will contact you for your permission, if necessary.

Fundraising:

• We may use your PHI to contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.