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Notice of Privacy Practices Policy

As Required by the Privacy Regulations Created as a Result of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA)

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.

Understanding your health record

A record is made each time you visit a hospital, physician, or other health care provider. Your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care are recorded. This information is most often referred to as your “health or medical record,” and serves as a basis for planning your care and treatment.

It also serves as a means of communication among any and all other health professionals who may contribute to your care. Understanding what information is retained in your record and how that information may be used will help you to ensure its accuracy, and enable you to relate to who, what, when, where and why others may be allowed access to your health information. This effort is being made to assist you in making informed decisions before authorizing the disclosure of your medical information to others.

Understanding your health information rights

Your health record is the physical property of the health care practitioner or facility that compiled it but the content is about you, and therefore belongs to you. You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your information, and to request amendments be made to your health record. Your rights include being able to review or obtain a paper copy of your health information (there is a fee for this), and to be given an account of certain non-routine disclosures (i.e. for non-treatment, non-payment or non-operations purposes). You may also request communications of your health information be made by alternative means or to alternative locations. Other than activity that has already occurred, you may revoke any further authorizations to use or disclose your health information. You are entitled to receive a paper copy of our privacy practices.

Our responsibilities

This office is required to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with notice of our legal commitment and privacy practices with respect to the information we collect and maintain about you. This office is required to abide by the terms of this notice and to notify you if we are unable to grant your restrictions or reasonable desires to communicate your health information by alternative means or to alternative locations.

This office reserves the right to revise or amend this Notice of Privacy Practices. Any revision or amendment to this notice will be effective for all your records that our practice has created or maintained in the past, and for any of your records that we may create or maintain in the future. Our practice will post a copy of our current Notice in our office, in a visible location at all times, and you may request a copy of our most current Notice at any time. If applicable, this office will post changes on our web site that provides information about our customer service and/or benefits. Other than for reasons described in this notice, this office agrees not to use or disclose your health information without your authorization.

To receive additional information or report a problem

For further explanation of this notice you may contact our Privacy Officer, John Elliott at 215-321-8321. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated you have the right to file a complaint with our medical office or with the Secretary of Health and Human Services with no fear of retaliation by this office.

Your health information will be used for treatment, payment, and health care operations.

Treatment – information obtained by your health practitioner in this office will be recorded in your medical record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. This consists of your physician recording his/her expectations and those of others involved in providing you care. The sharing of health information may progress to others involved in your care, such as your spouse, children or parents.

Payment – Your health care information will be used in order to receive payment for services rendered by this office. A bill may be sent to either you or a third party payer with accompanying documentation that identifies you, your diagnosis, procedures performed and supplies used. We may disclose your health information to other health care providers and entities to assist in their billing and collection efforts.

Health Care Operations - The medical staff in this office will use your health information to assess the care you received and the outcome of your case compared to others like it. Your information may be reviewed for risk management or quality improvement purposes in our efforts to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the care and services we provide. We may disclose your health information to other health care providers and entities to assist in their health care operations.

Optional items:

Our practice may use and disclose your health information to contact you and remind you of an appointment.

Understanding our office policy for specific disclosures

Ø Business Associates – Some or all of your health information may be subjected to disclosure through contracts for services to assist this office in providing health care. To protect your health information, we require these Business Associates to follow the same standards held by this office through terms detailed in a written agreement.

Ø Communications with Family/Friends – Using best judgement, a family member, or close personal friend, identified by you, may be given information relevant to your care and/or recovery.

Ø Deceased Patients – Your health information may be disclosed to a medical examiner or coroner to identify a deceased individual or to identify the cause of death. If necessary, we also may release information in order for funeral directors to perform their jobs consistent with laws governing their services.

Ø Organ Procurement Organization – Your health information may be disclosed consistent with laws governing entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation or transplant.

Ø Marketing – This office reserves the right to contact you with information about treatment alternative and other health-related benefits that may be appropriate to you.

Ø Research (optional) – Your information will be disclosed to researchers upon Institutional Review Board approval, and upon the assurance that established protocol to ensure the privacy of your health information has been obtained.

Ø Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – This office is required by law to disclose health information to the FDA related to any adverse effects of food, supplements, products, and products defects for surveillance to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacements.

Ø Worker’s Compensation – This office will release information to the extent authorized by law in matters of worker’s compensation.

Ø Public Health – This office is required by law to disclose health information to public health and/or legal authorities charged with tracking reports of birth and morbidity. This office is further required by law to report communicable disease, child abuse or neglect, injury, or disability.

Ø Serious Threats to Health or Safety – Our practice may use and disclose your health information when necessary to reduce or prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of another individual or the public. Under these circumstances, we will only make disclosures to a person or organization able to help prevent the threat.

Ø Military – Our practice may disclose your health information if you are a member of U.S. or foreign military forces (including veterans) and if required by the appropriate authorities.

Ø National Security – Our practice may disclose your health information to federal officials in order to protect the President, other officials or foreign heads of state, or to conduct investigations.

Ø Lawsuits and Similar Proceedings – Our practice may use and disclose your health information in response to a court administrative order, if you are involved in a lawsuit or similar proceeding. We may also disclose your health information in response to a discovery request, subpoena, or other lawful process by another party involved in the dispute, but only if we have made an effort to inform you of the request or to obtain an order protecting the information the party has requested.

Ø Correctional Facilities – This office will release medical information on incarcerated individuals to correctional agents or institutions for the necessary welfare of the individual or for the health and safety of other individuals. The rights outlined in this Notice of Privacy Practices will not be extended to incarcerated individuals.

Ø Disclosures Required By Law – Our practice will use and disclose your health information when we are required to do so by federal, state or local law.

Ø Law Enforcement – Your health information will be disclosed for law enforcement purposes as required under state law or in response to a valid subpoena.

Ø Health Oversight Activities – Provisions of federal law permit the disclosure of your health information to appropriate health oversight agencies, public health authorities, or attorneys in the event that a staff member or business associate of this office believes in good faith that there has been unlawful conduct or violations of professional or clinical standards that may endanger one or more patients, workers, or the general public.

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES AVAILABILITY: The terms described in this notice will be posted where registration occurs. All individuals receiving care will be given a hard copy.

This notice will be maintained and available for downloading at the following web site address: www.thehealingpartnership.org

You may print this page for review at a later time or you may click on the following link to request a copy of this notice via email: Privacy Practices Notice

The Healing Partnership web site is designed for educational purposes. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or prescribe but rather to provide material to help the reader better cooperate with his or her doctor in the natural goal of building health.

The Healing Partnership does not endorse any form of medical treatment. In times of serious illness, it is suggested that one obtain the professional advise of one's doctor.