Privacy Practice and Notice
Effective Date: September 1, 2013
Last Revision Date: September 1, 2013
Notice of Privacy Practices
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. It also includes our legal obligations concerning your protected health information Please review it carefully.
This Notice serves as a notice for Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice of the Florida Keys (collectively referred to as VNA/Hospice in this Notice). If you have questions about this Notice or you would like help understanding any part of your rights or our obligations to protect your health information, please contact the David Robb, Director of MIS, at VNA/Hospice at the following telephone number: 305-294-8812. You may request this Notice in Large Print.
This notice describes VNA/Hospice practices and that of:
- Any health care professional (doctors, nurses, social workers, etc.) authorized to enter information into your VNA/Hospice record. All employees, staff and other VNA/Hospice personnel.
- Any member of a volunteer group we allow to help you while you are in the care of VNA/Hospice.
- Any contracted health care professional that assists in your care on behalf of VNA/Hospice.
OUR COMMITMENT REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION
Below is a description, including at least one (1) example, of the types of uses and disclosures that the above organization is permitted to make for each of the following purposes: treatment, payment and health care operations.
Disclosures to other health care providers, including, for example, to patients' attending physicians. Submission of claims and supporting documentation including, for example, to organizations responsible to pay for services provided by the organization. Disclosures to conduct the operations of the organization, including, for example, sharing information to supervisors of staff members who provide care to patients.
Below is a description of each of the other purposes for which the organization is permitted or required to use or disclose protected health information without an individual's written consent or authorization.
To patients, incident to another permitted use or disclosure, by agreement, to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as required by law, for public health activities, information about victims of abuse, neglect or domestic violence, health oversight activities, for judicial and administrative proceedings, for law enforcement proceedings, about decedents, for cadaveric organ, eye or tissue donation, for research purposes, to avert a serious threat to health or safety, for specific government functions, to business associates of the organization, to personal representatives, de-identified information, to workforce members who are victims of crimes, to workers' compensation programs, for involvement in the individual's care and for notification purposes, with the individual present, for limited uses and disclosures when the individual is not present, and for disaster relief purposes.
The organization may contact the individual to schedule visits and for other coordination of care activities.
The individual has the right to request further restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information, but the organization is not required to agree to any requested restriction(s), except disclosures must be restricted to health plans if the disclosure is for the purpose of carrying out payment or health care operations and is not otherwise required by law and the protected health information pertains solely to a health care item or service for which the individual or person other than the health plan on behalf of the individual has paid the organization in full.
The individual has the right to receive confidential communications of protected health information, the right to inspect and copy protected health information, the right to amend protected health information, the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information and the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice from the organization upon request.
The organization is required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information and to provide individuals with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information.The organization is required to abide by the terms of this Notice currently in effect.
The organization reserves the right to change the terms of its Notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all protected health information that it maintains. Individuals may obtain a revised copy of this Notice upon request.
COMPLAINTS
How to file concerns and complaints about the privacy of your information
We are committed to excellence in patient care and would appreciate an opportunity to address your concerns. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the organization and to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if they believe their privacy rights have been violated. Complaints should be directed to Jody Gross, President & CEO at VNA & Hospice of the Florida Keys at the following telephone number: 305-294-8812.
You will not be penalized for filing a complaint, nor will your care be affected in any way for filing a complaint.
OTHER USES OF HEALTH INFORMATION
Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this Notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission. If you provide us permission to use or disclose health information about you, you may revoke that permission in writing at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose health information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. We are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission; and we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.