Notice of Privacy Practices for Arizona Heart Institute
(referred to in this document as “the provider”)
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.
This Notice of Privacy Practices is being provided to you as a requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information in some cases. Your "protected health information" means any of your written and oral health information, including demographic data that can be used to identify you. This is health information that is created or received by your health care provider, and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition.
I. Uses and Disclosures of Protected Health Information
The provider may use your protected health information for purposes of providing treatment, obtaining payment for treatment, and conducting health care operations. Your protected health information may be used or disclosed only for these purposes unless the Provider has obtained your authorization or the use or disclosure is otherwise permitted by the HIPAA Privacy Regulations or State law. Disclosures of your protected health information for the purposes described in this Notice may be made in writing, orally, or by facsimile.
A. Treatment: We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your health care with a third party for treatment purposes. For example, we may disclose your protected health information to a pharmacy to fulfill a prescription, to a laboratory to order a blood test, or to a home health agency that is providing care in your home. We may also disclose protected health information to other physicians who may be treating you or consulting with your physician with respect to your care. In some cases, we may also disclose your protected health information to an outside treatment provider for purposes of the treatment activities of the other provider.
B. Payment: Your protected health information will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for the services that we provide. This may include certain communications to your health insurer to get approval for the treatment that we recommend. For example, if a hospital admission is recommended, we may need to disclose information to your health insurer to get prior approval for the hospitalization. We may also disclose protected health information to your insurance company to determine whether you are eligible for benefits or whether a particular service is covered under your health plan. In order to get payment for your services, we may also need to disclose your protected health information to your insurance company to demonstrate the medical necessity of the services or, as required by your insurance company, for utilization review. We may also disclose patient information to another provider involved in your care for the other provider's payment activities.
C. Operations: We may use or disclose your protected health information, as necessary, for our own health care operations in order to facilitate the function of the provider and to provide quality care to all patients. Health care operations include such activities as:
• Quality assessment and improvement activities.
• Employee review activities.
• Training programs including those in which students, trainees, or practitioners in health care learn under supervision.
• Accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities. Review and auditing, including compliance reviews, medical reviews, legal services and maintaining compliance programs.
• Business management and general administrative activities
In certain situations, we may also disclose patient information to another provider or health plan for their health care operations.
D. Other Uses and Disclosures: As part of treatment, payment and healthcare operations, we may also use or disclose your protected health information for the following purposes:
• To remind you of an appointment.
• To inform you of potential treatment alternatives or options.
• To inform you of health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
II. Uses and Disclosures Beyond Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations Permitted Without Authorization or Opportunity to Object
Federal privacy rules allow us to use or disclose your protected health information without your permission or authorization for a number of reasons including the following:
A. When Legally Required: We will disclose your protected health information when we are required to do so by any Federal, State or local law.
B. When There Are Risks to Public Health: We may disclose your protected health information for the following public activities and purposes:
• To prevent, control, or report disease, injury or disability as permitted by law.
• To report vital events such as birth or death as permitted or required by law.
• To conduct public health surveillance, investigations and interventions as permitted or required by law.
• To collect or report adverse events and product defects, track FDA regulated products, enable product recalls, repairs or replacements to the FDA and to conduct post marketing surveillance.
• To notify a person who has been exposed to a communicable disease or who may be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease as authorized by law.
• To report to an employer information about an individual who is a member of the workforce as legally permitted or required.
C. To Report Abuse, Neglect Or Domestic Violence: We may notify government authorities if we believe that a patient is the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will make this disclosure only when specifically required or authorized by law or when the patient agrees to the disclosure.
D. To Conduct Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your protected health information to a health oversight agency for activities including audits; civil, administrative, or criminal investigations, proceedings, or actions; inspections; licensure or disciplinary actions; or other activities necessary for appropriate oversight as authorized by law. We will not disclose your health information if you are the subject of an investigation and your health information is not directly related to your receipt of health care or public benefits.
E. In Connection With Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: We may disclose your protected health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal as expressly authorized by such order or in response to a subpoena in some circumstances.
III. Uses and Disclosures Permitted Without Authorization But With Opportunity to Object
We may disclose your protected health information to your family member or a close personal friend if it is directly relevant to the person's involvement in your care or payment related to your care. We can also disclose your information in connection with trying to locate or notify family members or others involved in your care concerning your location, condition or death.
You may object to these disclosures. If you do not object to these disclosures or we can infer from the circumstances that you do not object or we determine, in the exercise of our professional judgment, that it is in your best interests for us to make disclosure of information that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your care, we may disclose your protected health information as described.
IV. Uses and Disclosures Which You Authorize
Other than as stated above, we will not disclose your health information other than with your written authorization. You may revoke your authorization in writing at any time except to the extent that we have taken action in reliance upon the authorization.
V. Your Rights
You have the following rights regarding your health information:
A. The right to inspect and copy your protected health information: You may inspect and obtain a copy of your protected health information that is contained in a designated record set for as long as we maintain the protected health information. A "designated record set" contains medical and billing records and any other records that your physician and the provider uses for making decisions about you.
Under Federal law, however, you may not inspect or copy the following records:
psychotherapy notes; information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or for use in, a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding; and protected health information that is subject to a law that prohibits access to protected health information. Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to have a decision to deny access reviewed.
We may deny your request to inspect or copy your protected health information if, in our professional judgment, we determine that the access requested is likely to endanger your life or safety or that of another person, or that it is likely to cause substantial harm to another person referenced within the information. You have the right to request a review of this decision.
To inspect and copy your medical information, you must submit a written request to the Privacy Contact whose contact information is listed on the last pages of this Notice. If you request a copy of your information, we may charge you a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other costs incurred by us in complying with your request.
B. The right to obtain a paper copy of this notice: Upon request, we will provide a separate paper copy of this notice even if you have already received a copy of the notice or have agreed to accept this notice electronically.
VI. Our Duties
The provider is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with this Notice of our duties and privacy practices. We are required to abide by terms of this Notice as may be amended from time to time. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all protected health information that we maintain. If the provider changes its Notice, we will provide a copy of the revised Notice by sending a copy of the Revised Notice via regular mail or through in-person contact.
VII. Complaints
You have the right to express complaints to the provider and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services if you believe that your privacy rights have been violated.
You may complain to the provider by contacting the Privacy Contact using the contact information below. We encourage you to express any concerns you may have regarding the privacy of your information. You will not be refused treatment or retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint.
Arizona Heart Institute
ATTN: Privacy Contact
2632 North 20th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Telephone: 602.604.6104
Fax: 602.604.5056
VIII. Effective Date - This Notice is effective April 14, 2003.
Revision Date: October 4, 2011.