Please read Carefully:
This Notice of Privacy Practices is NOT authorization. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we, H.E.A.L. Mississippi, our business associates and their subcontractors, may use and disclose you protected health information (PHI) to carry out treatment, payment or healthcare operations and for other purposes permitted by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. “Protected Health Information” is information about you, including information that may identify you and information that may relate to your past, present, and future health conditions and related healthcare services.
Our Legal Duty:
H.E.A.L. Mississippi is required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We understand your medical information is personal and we are committed to protecting it. We create a record of care and services that you receive to ensure we are providing quality care and are complying with legal requirements. This Notice applies to all your health information that we maintain, whether created by our staff or others, and tells you about the ways in which we may use or disclose you protected health information.
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all health information we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made changes. H.E.A.L. Mississippi Notice of Privacy Practices are available upon request and on H.E.A.L. Mississippi’s website.
Our Uses ad Disclosures:
How do we normally use or share your health information? We typically use your health information in the following ways:
- To treat you. We can use your health information to share it with other health professionals who are or will be treating you.
- To run our organization. We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve our care, and contact you when necessary.
- To bill for your services. WE can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.
How else can we use or share your health information? We are allowed or required to share your health information in other ways that – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. Here are some examples:
- Help with public health and safety issues. We can share information for certain situations such as:
- Preventing disease
- Helping with product recalls
- Reporting adverse reactions to medications
- Reporting abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
- Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.
- We can share your information for health research.
- We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
- We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
- We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.
- We can use or share health information about you for workers’ compensation claims, for law enforcement purposes or with a law official. With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
- For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services
- We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.
Our responsibilities:
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
- 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 information 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.
Your rights:
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. You have the right to the following:
- Get an electronic copy or paper copy of your medical record.
- You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy or your medical record and other health information we have about you. we will provide a copy or a summary of your health information usually within 30 days of your request.
- Ask us to correct your medical record.
- You can ask us to correct your health information about you if you think it may be incomplete or incorrect. We may say “no” to your request, but we will notify you in writing within 60 days of your request, the reason behind our decision.
- Request confidential communications.
- You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (i.e., home phone, cell phone) or to send mail to a different address. We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.
- Ask us to limit what we share.
- You can ask us not to use or share certain health information 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 a health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information 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 have shared information.
- You can ask for a list of the times we have shared your information for 6 years prior to the date you ask. We will include all disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and our health care operations, and certain other disclosures.
- Gey a copy of this privacy notice.
- You can ask for a paper copy of this privacy notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
- Choose someone to act for you.
- If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure that person has this authority and can act for you before we take action.
- File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated.
- You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us directly.
- You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington D.C. 20201, or by calling 1-877-696-6775, or by visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/. We will not retaliate against you in any way for filing a complaint.
Your Choices:
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. tell us what you want to do, and we will follow your instructions.
- In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
- Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care.
- Share information in a disaster relief situation
- Include your information in a hospital directory
- Contact you for fundraising efforts.
If you are unable to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
- In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
- Marketing purposes
- Sale of your information
- Most sharing of psychotherapy notes
- In the case of fundraising:
- We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.