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.
WHO WILL FOLLOW THIS NOTICE
This notice describes the information privacy practices followed by our employees, staff, volunteers, students, interns, and other personnel affiliated with Cascade Health.
YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
This notice applies to the information and records we have about you, your health, health status, and the health care and services you receive from Cascade Health. Your health information may include information created and received by Cascade Health, may be in the form of written or electronic records or spoken words, and may include information about your health history, health status, symptoms, examinations, test results, diagnoses, treatments, procedures, prescriptions, related billing activity, and other similar types of health-related information.
We are required by law to give you this notice. It will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose health information about you and describes your rights and our obligations regarding the use and disclosure of that information.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
We may use and disclose health information for the following purposes:
For Treatment
We may use health information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose health information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, staff, or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you and your health. For example, health care professionals treating you will document information about services you receive. This record will be released to other health professionals assisting in your treatment to ensure that they are fully informed about your medical condition and treatment needs.
Different personnel in our organization may share information about you and disclose information to people who do not work for Cascade Health to coordinate your care, such as phoning in prescriptions to your pharmacy, scheduling lab work, and ordering x-rays. Family members and other health care providers may be part of your medical care outside this facility and may require information about you that we have. We will request your permission before sharing health information with your family or friends unless you are unable to give permission to such disclosures due to your health condition, in which case we will use professional judgment in the interest of your health.
For Payment
We may use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at Cascade Health may be billed to, and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about a service you received here so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the service. 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 pay for the treatment.
For Health Care Operations
We may use and disclose health information about you to run Cascade Health and make sure that you and our other patients receive quality care. For example, we may use your health information to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also use health information about all or many of our patients to help us decide what additional services we should offer, how we can become more efficient, or whether certain new treatments are effective.
We may also disclose your health information to health plans that provide you with insurance coverage and other health care providers that care for you. Our disclosures of your health information to plans and other providers may be for the purpose of helping these plans and providers provide or improve care, reduce cost, coordinate and manage health care and services, train staff, and comply with the law.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
We may use or disclose health information about you for the following purposes, subject to applicable legal requirements and limitations:
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.
Required by law
We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
Research
We may use and disclose health information about you for research projects that are subject to a special approval process. We will ask you for your permission if the researcher will have access to your name, address, or other information that reveals who you are, or will be involved in your care at this organization.
Organ and tissue donation
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 such donation and transplantation.
Military, veterans, national security, and intelligence
If you are or were a member of the armed forces, or part of the national security or intelligence communities, we may be required by military command or other government authorities to release health information about you. We may also release information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.
Workers’ compensation
We may release health information about you to workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses.
Public health risks
We may disclose health information about you for public health reasons in order to prevent or control disease, injury, or disability, or report births, deaths, suspected abuse or neglect, non-accidental physical injuries, reactions to medications, or problems with products.
Health oversight activities
We may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for audits, investigations, inspections, or licensing purposes. These disclosures may be necessary for certain state and federal agencies 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. Subject to all applicable legal requirements, we may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena.
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, subject to applicable legal requirements.
Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors
We may release health information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death.
Information not personally identifiable
We may use or disclose health information about you in a way that does not personally identify you or reveal who you are.
Family and friends
We may disclose health information about you to your family members or friends if we obtain your verbal agreement to do so or if we give you an opportunity to object to such a disclosure and you do not raise an objection. We may also disclose health information to your family or friends if we can infer from the circumstances, based on our professional judgment that you would not object. For example, we may assume you agree to our disclosure of your personal health information to your spouse when you bring your spouse with you into the exam room or while treatment is discussed.
In situations where you are not capable of giving consent (because you are not present or due to your incapacity or in a medical emergency), we may, using our professional judgment, determine that a disclosure to your family member or friend is in your best interest. In that situation, we will disclose only health information relevant to the person’s involvement in your care. For example, we may inform the person who accompanied you to the emergency room that you suffered a heart attack and provide updates on your progress and prognosis. We may also use our professional judgment and experience to make reasonable inferences that it is in your best interest to allow another person to act on your behalf to pick up, for example, filled prescriptions, medical supplies, or x-rays.
OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION
We will not use or disclose your health information for any purpose other than those identified in the previous sections without your specific, written authorization. Examples of disclosures requiring your authorization include disclosures to your partner, your spouse, your children, and your legal counsel.
If you give us authorization to use or disclose health information about you, you may revoke that authorization, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization, but we cannot take back any uses or disclosures already made with your permission.
In some instances, we may need specific, written authorization from you to disclose certain types of protected information such as HIV, substance abuse, mental health, and genetic testing information for purposes such as treatment, payment, and healthcare operations.
We also will not use or disclose your health information for the following purposes without your specific, written authorization:
For our marketing purposes
This does not include face-to-face communication about products or services that may be of benefit to you and about prescriptions you may have already been prescribed.
For the purpose of selling your health information
We may receive payment for sharing your information for, as an example, public health purposes, research, and release to you or others you authorize a release to as long as payment is reasonable and related to the cost of providing your health information.
For any disclosure of your psychotherapy notes
These are the notes that your behavioral health provider maintains that record your appointments with your provider and are not stored with your medical record.
USES AND DISCLOSURES THAT REQUIRE US TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT
Disclosures to those involved in your care
Unless you object, we may disclose to a member of your family, a relative, a close friend, or any other person you identify, your Protected Health Information that directly relates to that person’s involvement in your health care. If you are unable to agree or object to such a disclosure, we may disclose such information, as necessary, if we determine that it is in your best interest based on our professional judgment.
Disclosures in the case of disaster
We may disclose your Protected Health Information to disaster relief organizations that seek your Protected Health Information to coordinate your care or notify family and friends of your location or condition in a disaster. We will provide you with an opportunity to agree or object to such a disclosure whenever we practically can do so.
Participation in a Health Information Exchange
Cascade Health may participate in a Health Information Exchange (“HIE”) to access and share information about you electronically with other organizations and providers involved in your care. Individual information that requires a signed authorization by you for release through an HIE will not be made available to an HIE without your authorization unless we are required by law to submit information about you. If you do not want information about you to be accessed or shared in this way, you can opt-out by contacting Cascade Health’s Privacy Officer using the contact information below to request a Health Information Exchange Opt-Out Form. If you opt-out, your health care providers can still ask for information about you in another way instead of accessing that information through the HIE.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
You have the following rights regarding health information we maintain about you:
Right to inspect and copy
You have the right to inspect and copy your health information, such as medical and billing records, that we keep and use to make decisions about your care. You must submit a written request to the Privacy Officer to inspect and/or copy records of your health information. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other associated supplies. 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. A modified request may include a summary of your medical record instead of the full record.
If you request to view a copy of your health information, we will not charge you for inspecting your health information. If you wish to inspect your health information, please submit your request in writing to the Privacy Officer. You have the right to request a copy of your health information in electronic form if we store your health information electronically.
We may deny your request to inspect and/or copy your record or parts of your record in certain limited circumstances. If you are denied copies of, or access to, health information that we keep about you, you may ask that our denial be reviewed. If the law gives you a right to have our denial reviewed, we will select a licensed health care professional to review your request and our denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request, and we will comply with the outcome of the review.
Right to amend
If you believe the health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment if the information is kept by Cascade Health. To request an amendment, complete and submit a Medical Record Amendment/Correction form to the Privacy Officer.
We may deny your request for an amendment if your request is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny or partially deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:
· We did not create, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment.
· Is not part of the health information that we keep.
· You would not be permitted to inspect and copy.
· Is accurate and complete.
If we deny or partially deny your request for amendment, you have the right to submit a rebuttal and request the rebuttal be made a part of your medical record. Your rebuttal needs to be two pages in length or less and we have the right to file a rebuttal responding to yours in your medical record. You also have the right to request that all documents associated with the amendment request (including rebuttal) be transmitted to any other party any time that portion of the medical record is disclosed.
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 for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, when specifically authorized by you, and a limited number of special circumstances involving national security, correctional institutions, and law enforcement.
To obtain this list, you must submit your request in writing to the Privacy Officer. It must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years. 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.
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 or the payment for 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 always required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment or we are required by law to use or disclose the information.
We are required to agree to your request if you pay for treatment, services, supplies, and prescriptions “out of pocket” and you request the information not be communicated to your health plan for payment or health care operation purposes. There may be instances where we are required to release this information if required by law.
To request restrictions, you may complete and submit the Request to Restrict Use and Disclosure of Medical Information Form to the Privacy Officer at the address below. These forms can be requested on your next visit, or by contacting the Privacy Officer with the contact information below.
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 may complete and submit the Request for Confidential Communications Form to the Privacy Officer. You can request this form from Cascade Health’s Privacy Officer using the contact information below. 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 it electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy. You may also find a copy of this notice on our web site. To obtain a paper copy, contact the Privacy Officer with the contact information below.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We reserve the right to change this notice, and 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 the current notice at our locations with its effective date in the bottom left-hand corner. You are entitled to a copy of the notice currently in effect.
We will inform you of any material changes to this notice. This may be through a sign prominently posted at our locations, a notice posted on our web site, or other means of communication.
BREACH OF HEALTH INFORMATION
We will inform you if there is a breach of your unsecured health information.
COMPLAINTS
If you have any questions or concerns about this notice or our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy Officer, at 541-228-3056. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Cascade Health at the following address. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
Cascade Health
ATTN: Privacy Officer
2650 Suzanne Way, Suite 200
Eugene, OR 97408
You may also contact the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights at their toll-free telephone number 1-800-368-1019, fax 202-619-3818, or TDD 800-537-7697, Email ocrmail@hhs.gov or at the following mailing address:
Regional Manager
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
90 7th St., Suite 4-100
San Francisco, CA 94103