Privacy

• Make sure that health information that identifies you is kept private.
• Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information about you.
• Follow the terms of this Notice that are currently in effect.

* Protected Health Information (PHI) is any individually identifiable health information, whether oral, written, electronic, magnetic or recorded in any form that is created or received by the F&CH Affiliate as a health care provider. PHI is individually identifiable under HIPAA if it includes the name, address, zip code, geographical codes, date of birth, other elements of dates, telephone or fax numbers, email address, social security number, insurance information, medical record number, member or account number, certificate/license numbers, voice or finger prints, photos or any other unique identifying numbers, characteristics or codes of you, your relatives, employers, or household members.

When releasing your PHI, the F&CH Affiliates will follow a “Minimum Necessary” standard, whereby we will make reasonable efforts to limit the use and disclosure of your PHI in order to accomplish the intended purpose or job.

Uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this Notice or the laws that apply to the F&CH Affiliate will be made only with your authorization.  

IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU WITHOUT YOUR WRITTEN CONSENT

• For Treatment: We will use health information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We will disclose health information about you to doctors, residents, nurses, technicians, students in health care training programs, or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes might slow the healing process. In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietitian if you have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different departments of the F&CH Affiliate may share health information about you in order to coordinate the services you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and x-rays. We may disclose health information about you to people outside the F&CH Affiliate who provide your medical care. For example, we may provide information about your care and treatment to a doctor or nursing home that provides your care following your hospital or clinic services.
  
  
• For Payment: We will use and disclose your health information to send bills and collect payment from you, your insurance company, or other payers, such as Medicare, for the care, treatment, and other related services you receive. We may provide your name, address and insurance information to other health care providers related to your care. We may tell your health insurer about a treatment your doctor has recommended to obtain prior approval to determine whether your plan will cover the cost of the treatment. For billing information, contact the Patient Financial Services department.
  
  
• For Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose health information about you for the purpose of our business operations. These business uses and disclosures are necessary to make sure that our patients receive quality care and cost effective services. For example, we may use health information to review the quality of our treatment and services, and to evaluate the performance of our staff, contracted employees and students in caring for you. We may use or disclose your health information to an outside company that assists us in operating our hospital or clinic. For example, when your doctor dictates a summary of the visit with you, an outside company types up the document for our medical records. These outside companies are called “business associates”, who have contracted with us to keep any health information received from us confidential in the same way we do.
  
  
• Family Members and Friends: We may disclose health information about you to a family member, relative, or another person identified by you who is involved in your health care or payment for your health care.
  
  
• Appointments: We may contact you for appointment reminders and to communicate necessary information about your appointment.
  
  
• Hospital Directory: When you are an inpatient, the F&CH Affiliate hospitals may list certain information about you, such as your name, your location in the hospital, and your religious affiliation, in a hospital directory. The hospitals can disclose this information, except for your religious affiliation, to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to members of the clergy even if they do not ask for you by name. You may request that no information contained in the directory be disclosed. To restrict use of information listed in the directory, please inform the admitting staff or your nurse. They will assist you in this request.
  
  
• Fundraising Activities: We may use health information, such as your name, address, phone number and the dates you received services, to contact you to raise money for the F&CH Affiliate. We may share this information with a foundation associated with the F&CH Affiliate to work on its behalf. If you do not want the F&CH Affiliates to contact you for our fundraising, you must notify us in writing. Please contact the designated Privacy Officer to help you with this request.
  
  
• Future Communications: We may use your name, address, and phone number to contact you to provide you general health information, information about new programs or other services we offer, or the F&CH Affiliate newsletters. An example of this would be mailers to all patients regarding a walk or run for breast cancer. This same information may be used to develop new programs as part of promoting health.
  
  
• Public Health and Government Functions: We will disclose your health information in certain circumstances to:
  
  
  • Control or prevent a communicable disease, injury or disability, to report births and deaths, and for public health oversight activities or interventions.
  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to report adverse events or product defects, to track products, to enable product recalls, or to conduct post-market surveillance as required by law.
  • To a state or federal government agency to facilitate their functions.
  
  
• Required or Permitted by Law: We will disclose your health information when required to do so by federal, state, or local law. We are permitted, and required in some cases, to release your health information in certain circumstances to:
  
  
  • Report suspected elder or child abuse to law enforcement agencies responsible to investigate or prosecute abuse.
  • Respond to a valid court order.
  • The Department of Health Services (DHS), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), a protection or advocacy agency, law enforcement authorities investigating abuse, neglect, physical injury, death, and suspicious wounds, burns, or gunshot wounds.
  • Your court appointed guardian or agent you have appointed under a health care power of attorney.
  • A prisoner's health care provider.
  • A medical examiner or coroner regarding a death.
  
  
• Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation: We will disclose health information to organizations that obtain, bank or transplant organs or tissues.
  
  
• Research: We may use and share your health information for certain kinds of research. There are research review boards that review and approve research projects. A review board may approve using your health information without your written authorization when the board determines that the researcher will follow all privacy rules. Other research projects that identify you with your health information will require your written authorization for their use and disclosure. If you choose not to participate in a research project your care and treatment will not be affected.
  
  
• Workers’ Compensation: We may provide health information regarding your work-related injury or illness to your workers’ compensation carrier. This is so you may receive benefits for work-related injuries or illness.

YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS

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