VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION
SUMMARY OF 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.
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
Uses and disclosures of information without your authorization
VNA may use and disclose your medical information for the following reasons:
|
|
Where State or federal law restricts one of the described uses or disclosures, we follow the requirements of such State or federal law. Other uses and disclosures of your medical information not covered above will be made only with your written permission. If you authorize us to use and disclose your information, you may revoke that authorization at any time. Such revocation will not affect any action we have taken in reliance on your authorization.
You have the right to:
|
|
You Can Exercise These Rights by submitting your request in writing to the VNA Privacy Officer.
VNA is required by law to:
- Maintain the privacy of your medical information, to provide you with notice of our legal duties, privacy practices and your rights with respect to your medical information
- Follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect.
- Post this Notice on our website at www.vnam.org.
We reserve the right to change our practices and the terms of this Notice and to make the new practices and notice provisions effective for all medical information that we maintain.
Complaints. If you have concerns about any of our privacy practices or believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the VNA Privacy Officer at the address listed below. You may also submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.
Contact Information. Privacy Officer, Visiting Nurse Association, 1941 So 42nd St., Suite 225, Omaha, NE 68105. Phone: 342-5566.
Effective Date: April 14, 2003.
PLEASE SEE THE ENTIRE VNA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES ATTACHED TO THIS SUMMARY.
VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION
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.
PLEASE REVIEW IT
CAREFULLY.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your medical information, to provide you with notice of our legal duties, privacy practices and your rights with respect to your medical information. Medical information includes medical, insurance and medical payment information, such as your diagnosis, medications or medical payment history, which identifies you.
Visiting Nurse Association (VNA). This Notice describes the privacy practices of VNA which includes Visiting Nurse Health Services and its Subsidiary Corporations, Visiting Nurse Association of the Midlands and Visiting Nurse Foundation and all of its programs and departments. This includes all employees, staff, and other VNA personnel including any health care professional authorized to enter or review information in your medical record, and any volunteer or health care student involved in your care.
The following are the types of uses and disclosures we may make of your medical information without your permission. Medical information includes medical, insurance and medical payment information, such as your diagnosis, medications or medical payment history, which identifies you. This information, often referred to as your health record, serves as a basis for planning your care and treatment and is a vital means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care. Where State or federal law restricts one of the described uses or disclosures, we follow the requirements of such State or federal law. These are general descriptions only. They do not cover every example of disclosure within a category.
Treatment. We will use and disclose your medical information for treatment. For example, we will share medical information about you with our staff, your physicians, volunteers, health care students and others who are involved in your care. Different departments of the VNA also may share health information about you to coordinate the things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work, hospitalizations, and home care visits. We will also disclose your medical information to other practitioners, providers and health care facilities for their use in treating you in the future. For example, if you are transferred to a hospital or nursing facility, we will send medical information about you to that facility. We also may disclose information about you to people outside the VNA who may be involved in your medical care, such as family members, clergy or others who provide services that are part of your care. We may disclose information received from another entity for treatment purposes.
Payment. We will use and disclose your medical information for payment purposes. For example, we will use your medical information to prepare your bill and we will send medical information to your insurance company with your bill. We may also disclose medical information about you to other medical care providers, medical plans and health care clearinghouses for their payment purposes. For example, we may tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive (such as physical therapy) to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment. If State law requires, we will obtain your permission prior to disclosing to other providers or health insurance companies for payment purposes.
Health Care Operations. We may use or disclose your medical information for our health care operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the VNA and make sure that all of our clients receive quality care. For example, we may use health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine health information about many clients to decide what additional services should be offered, determine which services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, healthcare students, and other VNA personnel for review and learning purposes. We may combine the health information we have with health information from other providers 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 clients are. Disclosures for the health care operations of another covered entity or provider may only be made with your authorization. If State law requires, we will obtain your permission prior to disclosing to other providers or health insurance companies for their operations
Business Associates. We will disclose your medical information to our business
associates and allow them to create, use and disclose your medical information
to perform their job. For example, one of our business associates is an off-site
storage facility that houses medical records of discharged clients. We require
that company, as we do all of our business associates, to protect the medical
information we provide to them.
Appointment Reminders. We may contact you and/or your family or caregiver
as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical services.
Treatment Alternatives. We may contact you to provide information about treatment
alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of
interest to you.
Health-Related Benefits and Services: We may use and disclose health information
to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest
to you.
Fundraising. We may disclose general health information about you, such as your name, address, phone number, and the dates you received services, to the Visiting Nurse Association Foundation so that the Foundation may contact you in an effort to raise money for the VNA and its operations. If you do not want the Foundation to contact you for fundraising efforts, you must notify the VNA Foundation in writing.
Agency Roster. When individuals call our office and ask about you by name,
we may disclose your name and direct inquiries about you to the VNA staff
involved in your care. We will not disclose this information if you object
or if we are prohibited by State or federal law.
Family and Friends. We may release health information, about you to a friend,
caregiver or family member or any other person you say who is involved in
your medical care. For example, we may tell your family, caregiver or friends
your condition and that you are receiving services. We may release this information
if you agree, are given the opportunity to object and do not, or if in our
professional judgment, it would be in your best interest to allow the person
to receive the information or act on your behalf. For example, we may allow
a family member to pick up your medical supplies. We may also disclose your
information to an entity assisting in disaster relief efforts so that your
family or individual responsible for your care may be notified of your location
and condition. If you object to VNA disclosing information to any of these
individuals, please submit your request to any VNA staff member.
Required by Law. We will use and disclose your information as required by federal, State or local law.
Public Health Activities. We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities. These activities may include disclosures:
- To a public health authority authorized by law to collect or receive such information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability;
- To Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated entities for purposes of monitoring or reporting the quality, safety or effectiveness of FDA-regulated products or post marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs or replacement;
- To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition;
- to report births and deaths; or
- to report reactions to medications or problems with products; to notify people of recalls of products they may be using.
Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence. We may notify the appropriate government
authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of adult abuse or neglect
as required law. We are required to report any situation that involves a
minor, vulnerable adult or any individual with certain reportable injuries
and wounds. We will only disclose information about domestic violence with
your permission unless we are required to by law as outlined above.
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. For example,
your protected health information may be disclosed to state or federal surveyors.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. 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 reasonable efforts have been made to notify you of the request or to obtain an order from the court protecting the information requested.
Law Enforcement. We may release certain medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official:
- As required by law, including reporting wounds and physical injuries;
- 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 we obtain the individual's agreement or, under certain limited circumstances, if we are unable to obtain the individual's agreement;
- To alert authorities of a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;
- Information we believe is evidence of criminal conduct; 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.
Where limited by State or federal law, we will use and disclose your medical information within limits of such law.
Deceased Individuals. We may release medical information to a coroner, medical
examiner or funeral director as necessary for them to carry out their duties.
Organ, Eye or Tissue Donation: We may release medical information to organ, eye or tissue procurement, transplantation or banking organizations or entities as necessary to facilitate organ, eye or tissue donation and transplantation.
Research: Under certain circumstances, we may use or disclose your medical information for research, subject to certain safeguards. For example, we may disclose information to outside researchers when their research has been approved by a special committee that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your medical information and conducting that research at the VNA has received VNA administrative approval. We may disclose medical information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, but the information will stay on site.
Threats to Health or Safety. Under certain circumstances, we may use or disclose your medical information to avert a serious threat to health and safety if we, in good faith, believe the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen the threat and is to a person reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat (including the target) or is necessary for law enforcement authorities to identify or apprehend an individual involved in a crime.
Specialized Government Functions. We may use and disclose your medical information for national security and intelligence activities authorized by law or for protective services of the President. If you are a military member, we may disclose to military authorities under certain circumstances. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may disclose to the institution, its agents or the law enforcement official your medical information necessary for your health and the health and safety of other individuals.
Workers' Compensation: We may release medical information about you as authorized by law for workers' compensation or similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
Incidental Uses and Disclosures. There are certain incidental uses or disclosures of your information that occur while we are providing service to you or conducting our business. For example, we may discuss your condition over the phone with another provider or other individuals may be present during our visit and overhear our conversation. Or we may call your home and leave a message about an appointment for a visit; other individuals may hear that message that was intended for you. We will make reasonable efforts to limit these incidental uses and disclosures.
Other Uses and Disclosures. Other uses and disclosures of your medical information not covered above will be made only with your written permission. If you authorize us to use and disclose your information, you may revoke that authorization at any time. Such revocation will not affect any action we have taken in reliance on your authorization.
Request for Voluntary Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction on how we use and disclose your medical information for treatment, payment and health care operations, or to certain family members or friends identified by you who are involved in your care or the payment for your care. We are not required to agree to your request, and will notify you if we are unable to agree.
Access to Medical Information. You may request to inspect and copy much of the medical information we maintain about you, with some exceptions. If you request copies, we may charge you a copying fee plus postage. If we agree to prepare a summary of your medical information, we will charge a fee to prepare the summary. We may sometimes deny your request to look at and copy medical information. If we do not let you look at your medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. A licensed health care professional chosen by the VNA will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will follow the outcome of the review.
Amendment. You may request that we amend certain medical information that we keep in your records. We are not required to make all requested amendments, but will give each request careful consideration. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request for a change. If we deny your request, we will provide you with a written explanation of the reasons and your rights.
Accounting. You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures of your medical information made by us or our business associates. You have the right to ask for a list of the disclosures we made of protected health information about you except: for treatment, payment, and health care operations, or as described in this Notice. Your request must state a time period that may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. The first accounting in any 12-month period is free; you may be charged a fee for each subsequent accounting you request within the same 12-month period.
Confidential Communications. You may request that we communicate with you about your medical information in a certain way or at a certain location. We must agree to your request if it is reasonable and specifies the alternate means or location.
How to Exercise These Rights. All requests to exercise these rights must be in writing. We will follow written polices to handle requests and notify you of our decision or actions and your rights. Contact the Privacy Officer at the Visiting Nurse Association, Phone: 342-5566; Address: 1941 So 42nd St., Suite 225, Omaha, NE 68105 for more information or to obtain request forms.
We are required to follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect. We reserve the right to change our practices and the terms of this Notice and to make the new practices and notice provisions effective for all medical information that we maintain. Before we make such changes effective, we will make available the revised Notice by posting it at the VNA Office where copies will also be available. The revised Notice will also be posted on our website at www.vnam.org. You are entitled to receive this Notice in written form. Please contact the Privacy Officer at the address listed below to obtain a written copy.
If you have concerns about any of our privacy practices or believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the VNA Privacy Officer at the at the address listed below. You may also submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.
Privacy Officer, Visiting Nurse Association, 1941 So 42nd St., Suite 225,
Omaha, NE 68105.
Phone: 3425566.
Effective Date: April 14, 2003.
This document is based on templates provided by Baird, Holm, for use by
the Visiting Nurse
Association and its affiliates. Sharing this document with any other agencies
is prohibited
© 2003 Baird, Holm, McEachen, Pedersen, Hamann & Strasheim LLP
