HEAR In America Privacy Notice Updated: January 1, 2016
This notice describes Hear In America’s policies of how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
You have the right to the confidentiality of your medical information and the right to approve or refuse the release of specific information except when the release is required by law. This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information. If the practices described in this notice meet your expectations, there is nothing you need to do. If you prefer that we not share information about you, we may honor your written request in certain circumstances.
Our Pledge Regarding Medical Information
We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal, and we are committed to protecting its confidentiality. As part of our routine operations, we create a record of the care and services you receive. 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 Hear In America, whether made by our 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.
Federal law requires us to make sure that medical information that identifies you is kept private, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to medical information about you, and to follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
How We May Use and Disclose Medical Information About You
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose medical information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and give examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories. In all cases, when we do share your information, we will only provide the minimum information necessary, and will keep your best interests as a very high priority.
· For Treatment. We may use medical information about you to help provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, audiologists, or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you. For example, we may share information about you in order to coordinate the different services you need, such as hearing aid repairs and adjustments.
· For Payment. We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the facility 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 information about your hearing loss and hearing aids to your health insurance plan so you can be reimbursed for part of the cost of your hearing aids.
· For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose medical information about you for facility operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the facility and make sure that all of our clients 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 information about many of our clients to decide what additional services we should offer, and what services are not needed. We may also disclose information to our staff for review and learning purposes.
· Appointment Reminders. We may contact you by phone or mail as a reminder that you have an appointment with one of our hearing centers, or it is time to make an appointment.
· Health-Related Benefits and Services, Treatment Alternatives. We may use medical information to tell you about health-related benefits or services or treatment alternatives that may be of interest to you. We may send you occasional newsletters with hearing care information.
· Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. We may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care.
· 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 would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.
· Other Uses. We are also legally permitted to use your information for fundraising activities, a facility directory, and for research purposes, although our company is not involved in any of these activities.
Special Disclosure Situations
· 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. We may release information about you to the Veterans’ Administration if they are involved in your care.
· Workers' Compensation. We may release medical information about you to Workers' Compensation or similar programs, which provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
· Public Health Risks. We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include the following:
- To prevent or control disease, injury or disability
- To notify people of recalls of products they may be using
- To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.
· 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, including the following situations:
- In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process;
- About the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person's agreement;
- About criminal conduct at the facility; 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.
· 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.
· 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.
· Other Uses. We are also permitted to disclose your medical information for the purposes of organ and tissue donation, to coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors (for instance, to identify someone who is deceased), and for protective services for the President and others. However, we do not anticipate being called upon for any of these functions.
Your Rights Regarding Medical Information About You
· 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. To inspect and copy this information, you must submit your request in writing to your specialist. If you request a copy we may charge a nominal fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies associated with your request.
We may deny your request to inspect and copy 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 our company 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 facility. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to your specialist. 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:
- Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment;
- Is not part of the medical information kept by or for the facility;
- Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
- 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 the disclosures we made of medical information about you, other than for treatment, payment, or health care operations as previously described. To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to your specialist. Your request must state a time period that may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before February 26, 2003. We may charge you for the costs of providing the list.
· 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 limit on the medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care, like a family member or friend. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing. 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.
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.
· 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. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. 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. We will accommodate all reasonable requests.
· Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. To obtain a paper copy of this notice, print it off of our website.
Changes to this Notice
We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in the facility. The notice will contain on the first page, in the top right-hand corner, the effective date.
Other Uses of Medical Information
Other uses and disclosures of medical 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 medical 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 medical 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.
Questions
If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Notice, please ask any of our staff. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Hear In America or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Hear In America, submit your complaint in writing to “Privacy Officer, Hear In America, P.O. Box 436828, Louisville, KY 40253.” You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
This notice describes Hear In America’s policies of how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
You have the right to the confidentiality of your medical information and the right to approve or refuse the release of specific information except when the release is required by law. This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information. If the practices described in this notice meet your expectations, there is nothing you need to do. If you prefer that we not share information about you, we may honor your written request in certain circumstances.
Our Pledge Regarding Medical Information
We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal, and we are committed to protecting its confidentiality. As part of our routine operations, we create a record of the care and services you receive. 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 Hear In America, whether made by our 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.
Federal law requires us to make sure that medical information that identifies you is kept private, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to medical information about you, and to follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
How We May Use and Disclose Medical Information About You
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose medical information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and give examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories. In all cases, when we do share your information, we will only provide the minimum information necessary, and will keep your best interests as a very high priority.
· For Treatment. We may use medical information about you to help provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, audiologists, or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you. For example, we may share information about you in order to coordinate the different services you need, such as hearing aid repairs and adjustments.
· For Payment. We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the facility 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 information about your hearing loss and hearing aids to your health insurance plan so you can be reimbursed for part of the cost of your hearing aids.
· For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose medical information about you for facility operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the facility and make sure that all of our clients 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 information about many of our clients to decide what additional services we should offer, and what services are not needed. We may also disclose information to our staff for review and learning purposes.
· Appointment Reminders. We may contact you by phone or mail as a reminder that you have an appointment with one of our hearing centers, or it is time to make an appointment.
· Health-Related Benefits and Services, Treatment Alternatives. We may use medical information to tell you about health-related benefits or services or treatment alternatives that may be of interest to you. We may send you occasional newsletters with hearing care information.
· Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. We may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care.
· 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 would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.
· Other Uses. We are also legally permitted to use your information for fundraising activities, a facility directory, and for research purposes, although our company is not involved in any of these activities.
Special Disclosure Situations
· 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. We may release information about you to the Veterans’ Administration if they are involved in your care.
· Workers' Compensation. We may release medical information about you to Workers' Compensation or similar programs, which provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
· Public Health Risks. We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include the following:
- To prevent or control disease, injury or disability
- To notify people of recalls of products they may be using
- To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.
· 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, including the following situations:
- In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process;
- About the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person's agreement;
- About criminal conduct at the facility; 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.
· 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.
· 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.
· Other Uses. We are also permitted to disclose your medical information for the purposes of organ and tissue donation, to coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors (for instance, to identify someone who is deceased), and for protective services for the President and others. However, we do not anticipate being called upon for any of these functions.
Your Rights Regarding Medical Information About You
· 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. To inspect and copy this information, you must submit your request in writing to your specialist. If you request a copy we may charge a nominal fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies associated with your request.
We may deny your request to inspect and copy 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 our company 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 facility. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to your specialist. 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:
- Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment;
- Is not part of the medical information kept by or for the facility;
- Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
- 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 the disclosures we made of medical information about you, other than for treatment, payment, or health care operations as previously described. To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to your specialist. Your request must state a time period that may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before February 26, 2003. We may charge you for the costs of providing the list.
· 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 limit on the medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care, like a family member or friend. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing. 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.
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.
· 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. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. 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. We will accommodate all reasonable requests.
· Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. To obtain a paper copy of this notice, print it off of our website.
Changes to this Notice
We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in the facility. The notice will contain on the first page, in the top right-hand corner, the effective date.
Other Uses of Medical Information
Other uses and disclosures of medical 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 medical 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 medical 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.
Questions
If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Notice, please ask any of our staff. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Hear In America or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Hear In America, submit your complaint in writing to “Privacy Officer, Hear In America, P.O. Box 436828, Louisville, KY 40253.” You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.