THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW THIS CAREFULLY.

Understanding Your Health Record / Information:

Each time you visit a health facility, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or treatment. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record serves any of the following:

• Basis for planning your care and treatment


• Means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care


• Legal documentation of care received


• Means by which you or a third party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided


• A tool in educating health professionals


• A source of date for medical research


• A source of information for public health officials who oversee the delivery of health care in the United States


• A source of date for facility planning and marketing


• A tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:

• Ensure its accuracy


• Better understand who, what, when, where and why others may access your health information


• Make better decisions when authorizing disclosure to others

Our Responsibilities:

Our facility is required to:

• maintain the privacy of your health information


• provide you with a notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you


• abide by the terms of this notice


• notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction


• accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. A revised notice will be posted and available for copy upon request.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

How We Will Use or Disclose Your Health Information:

Treatment. We will use your health information for treatment. For example, information obtained by a nurse, physician, or other member of your health care team will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. Your physician will document in your record his or her expectations of the members of your health care team. Members of your health care team will then record what actions they took and their observations. In that way, the physician will know how you are responding to treatment. We will also provide your physician or a subsequent health care provider with copies of various reports that should assist him or her in treating you once you’re discharged from our facility.

Payment. We will use your health information for payment. For example, a bill may be sent to your or a third-party payer, including Medicare or Medicaid. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identified you, as well as your diagnosis, procedures, and supplies used.

Health care operations. We will use your health information for regular health operations. For example, members of the medical staff may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care and service we provide.

Business associates. There are some services provided in our organization through contacts with business associates. Examples include accountants, consultants, and attorneys. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associates so that they can perform the job we’ve asked them to do. To protect your health information, however, we require the business associates to appropriately safeguard your information.

Publications. Unless you object. We may use your name in publications intended for facility and family information such as newsletters, care plan meeting notifications or special events newspaper articles.

Notification. We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, or your location, and general condition. If we are unable to reach your family member or personal representative, then we may leave a message for them at the phone number that they have provided us, e.g., on an answering machine.

Communication with family. Health professionals, using their best judgement, may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or payment related to your care.

Marketing. We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

Fund raising. We may contact you as part of a fund raising effort.

Workers compensation. We may disclose health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs established by law.

Public health. As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.

Correctional institution. Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution or agents thereof health information necessary for your health and the health and safety of other individuals.

Law enforcement. We may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a valid subpoena.

Reports. Federal law makes provision for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a work force member or business associate believes in good faith that we have engage in the unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering one or more patient, workers or the public.

Your Health Information Rights

Although your health record is the physical property of the facility, the information in our health record belongs to you. You have the following rights:

• You may request that we not use or disclose your health information for a particular reason related to treatment, payment, the Facility’s general health care operations, and/or to a particular family member, other relative or close personal friend. We ask that such requests be made in writing or a form provided by our facility. Although we will consider your request, please be aware that we have no obligation to accept or to abide by it. For more information about this right, see 45 Code of Federal Regulation (C.F.R.) §164.522(a).


• If you are dissatisfied with the manner in which or the location where you are receiving communication from us that are related to your health information, you may request that we provide you with such information by alternative means or at alternative locations. Such a request must be made in writing. We will attempt to accommodate all reasonable requests. For more information about this right, see 45 Code of Federal Regulation (C.F.R.) §164.522(a).


• You may request to inspect and/or obtain copies of health information about you, which will be provided to you in the time frames established by law. If you request copies, we will charge you a reasonable fee. For more information about this right, see 45 Code of Federal Regulation (C.F.R.) §164.522(a).


• If you believe that any health information in your record is incorrect or if you believe that important information is missing, you may request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. Such requests must be made in writing, and must provide a reason to support the amendment. For more information about this right, see 45 Code of Federal Regulation (C.F.R.) §164.522(a).


• You may request that we provide you with a written accounting of all disclosures made by us during the time period for which you request (not to exceed 6 years). We ask that such request be made in writing. Please note that an accounting will not apply to any of the following types of disclosures: disclosures made for reasons of treatment, payment or health care operations; disclosure made to you or your legal representative, or any other individual with your care; disclosure to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials; and disclosure for national security purposes. However, for any requests that you make thereafter, you will be charged a reasonable, cost based fee. For more information about this right, see 45 Code of Federal Regulation (C.F.R.) §164.522(a).


• You have the right to obtain a paper copy of our Notice of Information Practices upon request.


• You may revoke an authorization to use or disclose health information, except to the extent that action has already been taken. Such a request must be made in writing.

For More Information or to Report a Problem:

If you have questions and would like additional information, you may contact our facility at:

903-677-8300

If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us. These complaints must be filed in writing. You may also file a complaint with the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.