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Privacy Policy Hot Spring County Medical Center THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU MAY GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY. Hot Spring County Medical Center is dedicated to protecting your medical information. We create a record of the care and services you receive at the hospital. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by the hospital, whether made by hospital personnel or your personal doctor. Your personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor's use and disclosure of your medical information created in the doctor's office or clinic. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your medical information and to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your medical information. Hot Spring County Medical Center is required by law to abide by the terms of this notice. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Hot Spring County Medical Center Privacy Officer at (501) 332-1000. PERSONS OBLIGATED TO FOLLOW THIS NOTICE This notice describes the practices of Hot Spring County Medical Center and those of (i) any health care professional authorized to enter information into your hospital chart; (ii) all departments and units of the hospital; (iii) any member of a volunteer group which the hospital allows to help you while you are in the hospital; and (iv) all employees, staff and other hospital personnel. HOW YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION WILL BE USED AND DISCLOSED We will use your medical information as part of rendering patient care. For example, your medical information may be used by the doctor or nurse treating you, by the business office to process your payment for the services rendered and by administrative personnel reviewing the quality of the care you receive. We may also use and/or disclose your medical information in accordance with federal and state laws for the following purposes: For Treatment . We may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other hospital personnel who are involved in taking care of you at the hospital. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may 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 hospital also may share medical information about you in order to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and x?rays. We also may disclose medical information about you to people outside the hospital who may be involved in your medical care after you leave the hospital, such as family members, clergy or others we use to provide services that are part of your care. For Payment . We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the hospital may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about surgery you received at the hospital so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment. For Health Care Operations . We may use and disclose medical information about you for hospital operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the hospital and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine medical information about many hospital patients to decide what additional services the hospital should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other hospital personnel for review and learning purposes. We may also combine the medical information we have with medical information from other hospitals to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are. Appointment Reminders . We may use and disclose medical information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care at the hospital. Treatment Alternatives . We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you. Health?Related Benefits and Services . We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about health?related benefits or services that may be of interest to you. Fundraising Activities . We may disclose medical information to a hospital related foundation so that the foundation may contact you in raising money for the hospital. We only would release contact information, such as your name, address and phone number and the dates you received treatment or services at the hospital. Hospital Directory . Unless you notify us that you object, we will include certain limited information about you in the hospital directory while you are a patient at the hospital. This information includes your name, location in the hospital, your general condition (e.g., fair, stable, etc.) and your religious affiliation. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may also be released to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don't ask for you by name. This is so your family, friends and clergy can visit you in the hospital and generally know how you are doing. Communication With Family . Health care professionals, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member, a close personal friend or any other person you identify, health information needed for that person to be involved in your care or payment related to your care. Research . We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research project and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information. For example, a research project may involve comparing the health and recovery of all patients who received one medication to those who received another, for the same condition. We may also disclose medical information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, for example, to help them look for patients with specific medical needs, so long as the medical information they review does not leave the hospital. As Required By Law . We will disclose medical information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law. To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety . We may use and disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat. Organ and Tissue Donation . If you are an organ donor, we may release medical information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation. Military and Veterans . If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release medical information about you as required by military command authorities. We may also release medical information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority. Workers' Compensation . We may release medical information about you for workers' compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work?related injuries or illness. Public Health Risks . As required by law, we may disclose medical information about you to authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease or disability. Health Oversight Activities . We may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws. Lawsuits and Disputes . If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose medical information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose medical information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested. Law Enforcement . We may release medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process; to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; about the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person's agreement; about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct; about criminal conduct at the hospital; and in emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime. Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors . We may release medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release medical information about patients of the hospital to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties. National Security and Intelligence Activities . We may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law. Protective Services for the President and Others . We may disclose medical information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations. Inmates . If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may release medical information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official. This release would be necessary (1) for the institution to provide you with health care; (2) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; or (3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution. AUTHORIZATIONS: We will not use or disclose your medical information for any other purpose without your written authorization except as otherwise permitted or required by law. Once given, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time except to the extent that Hot Spring County Medical Center has taken an action in reliance on the use or disclosure as indicated in the authorization. To request a Revocation of Authorization form, you may contact: Hot Spring County Medical Center YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION: You have the following rights with respect to your medical information: Right to Inspect and Copy . You have the right to inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes. To inspect and obtain a copy of medical information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to the Hot Spring County Medical Center, Medical Records Department, 1001 Schneider Drive , Malvern , AR 72104 . If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request. We may deny your request to inspect and obtain a copy of your medical information in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by the hospital will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review. Right to Amend . If you feel that medical information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for the hospital. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to the Hot Spring County Medical Center, Medical Records Department, 1001 Schneider Drive , Malvern , AR 72104 . In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that (i) was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment; (ii) is not part of the medical information kept by or for the hospital; (iii) is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or (iv) is accurate and complete. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures . You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." This is a list of some of the disclosures we made of medical information about you. To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to Hot Spring County Medical Center, Medical Records, 1001 Schneider Drive , Malvern , AR 72104 . Your request must state a time period which may not be longer than six (6) years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003 . Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper, electronically). The first list you request within a twelve (12) month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred. Right to Request Restrictions . You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limitation on the medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not use or disclose information about a surgery you had. We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to the Privacy Officer. In your request, you must tell us (1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example, disclosures to your spouse. Right to Request Confidential Communications . You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to the Privacy Officer. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice . You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice. You may obtain a copy of this notice at our website: www.hscmc.org To obtain a paper copy of this notice, inquire at the hospital admission desk. COMPLAINTS You have the right to complain to us and/or to the United States Department of Health and Human Services if you believe that we have violated your privacy rights. If you choose to file a complaint, you will not be retaliated against in any way. To complain to us, please contact: Hot Spring County Medical Center FURTHER INFORMATION If you would like further information regarding your rights or regarding the uses and disclosures of your medical information, you may contact: Hot Spring County Medical Center THIS NOTICE IS EFFECTIVE AS OF September 1, 2005 . REVISION OF NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES:We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice, making any revision applicable to all the protected health information we maintain. If we revise the terms of this Notice, we will post a revised notice at Hot Spring County Medical Center and will make paper copies of the revised Notice of Privacy Practices available upon request.
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