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 NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES Effective Date: 1/01/08 This Notice conforms to the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law that provides privacy protections and patient rights with regard to the use and disclosure of your Protected Health Information (PHI) used for the purpose of treatment, payment, and health care operations. ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY OUR LEGAL DUTY We are required by applicable federal and state law and the standards of our profession to maintain the privacy of your Protected Health Information (PHI). We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your right concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This notice takes effects 1/01/08, and will remain in effect until we replace it. 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 changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made the changes, Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and make the new Notice available upon request. For more information about this privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice. Confidentiality and Limits of Confidentiality Your records are considered confidential and will not be released to others without your written consent. This written consent must meet HIPPA requirements. There are some situations where we are permitted or required to disclose information with out your consent or authorization. EXAMPLES OF USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION Treatment: • If you give us consent, we will use your health information for treatment. Example: A physician, nurse, counselor, or another member therapist of your health care team will use information in your record to diagnose your condition and determine the best course of treatment for you. Payment: • We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for services we provide to you. Example: We may send a bill to you or to a third-party payer, such as a health insurer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, your diagnosis, and treatment received. Health Care Operations: • We may use and disclose your health information for health operations. Example: Healthcare operations include quality/risk assessment and improvement activities, reviewing the competence or qualifications or healthcare professionals, evaluation of practitioner and provider performance, conducting training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing, or credentialing activities. Your Authorization: • In addition to our use of your health information for treatment, payment or health care operations, you may give us written authorization to use your health information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose. Only with an appropriate signed release(s), may this material may be released to another qualified professional designated by the patient. If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time. You revocation will not affect any use or disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect. Unless you give us a written authorization, we cannot use or disclose you health information for any reason except those described in this Notice. Notification of Persons Involved in Your Care: • We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, a personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, your location, and general condition. Communication with Family and Friends: • Unless you object, we may disclose health information to a family member, another relative, a close personal friend, or any other person that you identify when it is relevant to that person's involvement in your care or payment related to your care. Associated Care: • Unless you object, we may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. We may phone your home. If you are not home, we may leave the date and time of your appointment on our answering machine or in a message left with the person answering the phone. Unless you object we may have you sign in when you arrive at our office. Unless you object we may also call out your name when we are ready to see you. Workers Compensation: • We may disclose health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs established by law. Example: If a patient files a worker's compensation claim, we may disclose relevant information to that claim to the appropriate parties, including the Administrator of the Worker's Compensation Court. Public Health: • As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability. Example: By Oklahoma law we are required to notify you that your health information used or disclosed as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices may include records which may indicate the presence of a communicable or venereal disease which may include, but are not limited to diseases such as hepatitis, syphilis, gonorrhea and the human immunodeficiency virus, also known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Legal Representation: • If you are involved in any legal or court proceedings and a request is made for information concerning your diagnosis and treatment, such information is protected by the health professional-patient privilege law. We cannot provide any information without your Legal representative's written authorization, or a court order. Law Enforcement: • We may use or disclose your health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a valid subpoena. Health oversight agencies and public health authorities: • If a government agency is requesting the information for health oversight activities, we may be required to provide it for them. Example: If a member of our work force or a business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering one or more patients, workers, or the public, they may disclose your health information to health oversight agencies and/or public health authorities, such as the department of health. Abuse or Neglect: • If we have reason to believe that a child under age 18 is the victim of abuse or neglect, the law requires that we report to the appropriate government agency. If such a report is filed, we may be required to provide additional information. • If we have reason to believe that a vulnerable adult is suffering abuse, neglect, or exploitation, the law requires that we report to the appropriate government agency. If such a report is filed, we may be required to provide additional information. • If the patient communicates an explicit threat to kill or inflict serious bodily injury upon an identified victim, action may include notifying a potential victim, contact legal authorities such as the police, contacting a family member, and/or seeking hospitalization for the client. • If the patient threatens to harm himself/herself, we may seek hospitalization for him/her, or to contact family members or others who can help provide protection. If any of these situations arise, we would make every effort to fully discuss it with you, before taking any action, and we would limit disclosure to what is necessary. The federal Department of Health and Human Services ("DHHS"): • Under the privacy standards, we must disclose your health information to DHHS as necessary to determine our compliance with those standards. National Security: • We may disclose to military authorities the health information of Armed Forces personnel under certain circumstances. We may disclose to authorized federal officials health information required for lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may disclose to correctional institution or law enforcement official having lawful custody of protected health information of inmate or patient under certain circumstances. PATIENT RIGHTS: • You may request a copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices at any time. • You may obtain access to or a copy of your health information, with limited exceptions. Because health records are documents intended for professionals, they can be misinterpreted and/or upsetting to patients; but not other health practitioners. For this reason, Oklahoma law allows the professional to determine if it is appropriate for the patient to directly view or have a copy of their records, as is your right in any health or medical setting. If we deny your request for access or copies, you will be informed of your rights to appeal our decision. • You may request that you receive health information in a specific way or at a specific location. (You must make a request in writing to obtain access to your health information.) You may obtain a form to request access by using the contact information at the end of this notice. You may request that we provide copies in a format other than photocopies. We will use the format you request unless we cannot practicably do so. If you request copies, we will charge you 25 cents per page and an applicable hourly rate for staff time required to locate and copy your health information, and postage if you want the copies mailed to you. If you request an alternative format, we will charge a cost-based fee for providing your health information in that format. • You may request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information by written request specifying what information you want to limit and what limitations on our use or disclosure of that information you wish information to have imposed. You have the right to revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that this use or disclosure has already occurred. We reserve the right to accept or reject your request and will notify you of our decision. • You may request that we amend your health information you believe is incorrect or incomplete. Your request to amend must be in writing and include the reasons you believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete. You may also have the right to request that we add to your record a statement of up to two hundred and fifty (250) words concerning any statement or item you believe to be incomplete or incorrect. We may deny your request under certain circumstances. • You may receive an accounting of disclosures made of your health information by Eastern Healing Arts for the purposes other than treatment, payment, health care operations, certain government functions, and those pursuant to your written authorization, for the last six years, but not prior to April 14, 2003. If you request this accounting more than once in a 12-month period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to these additional requests. • If you receive this Notice on our web site or by electronic mail (email), you are entitled to receive this Notice in written form. It is important that we discuss any questions or concerns you may have now or in the future. If you would like to have a more detailed explanation of these rights, or it you would like to exercise one or more of these rights, contact our privacy officer at 405-401-6380 QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS: If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, or would like to submit a comment, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your health information or in response to a request made to amend or restrict the use or disclosure of your health information, or to have us communicate with you by alternative mean or at alternative locations, you should call the matter to our attention by calling or sending a letter describing the cause of your concern or comment to: Eastern Healing Arts c/o K.J.G. Singleton, Dipl.Ac. 1117 N.W. 50th St. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118 405-401-6380 You may also submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the address to file your complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upon request. | Eastern Healing Arts - Trad'l Chinese Medicine | Testimonials | Common Questions | Privacy Practices | | Return Home | PATIENT ORIENTATION | SERVICES | CONTACT INFO | RESOURCES | News & Events | |
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