HIPAA Privacy Practice

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 understand that health information about you is personal and we are committed to protecting your information. We create a record of the care and services you receive at GHC. The information we collect is called Protected Health Information (“PHI”). We need this record to provide care (treatment), for payment of care provided, for health care operations, and to comply with certain legal requirements. This Notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose your PHI. It also describes your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your PHI. When we use or disclose your PHI, we are bound by the terms of this Notice. This Notice applies to all electronic or paper records we create, obtain, and/or maintain that contain your PHI.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS NOTICE: The effective date of this Notice is July 1st, 2022. We must follow the privacy practices described in this notice while it is in effect. We may change the terms of this Notice at any time. A revised Notice will apply to PHI we already have about you, as well as any PHI we may get in the future. We may tell you about any changes to our notice through a newsletter, member portal, website, or a letter. You have the right to get a new copy of this Notice at any time, even if you agreed to get this Notice by electronic means, you still have the right to ask for a paper copy.

WHAT IS PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION (PHI):
PHI is information that individually identifies you. We create a record or get from you or from another health care provider, health plan, your employer, or a health care clearinghouse that relates to:

Your past, present, or future physical or mental health or conditions,
The provision of health care to you, or
The past, present, or future payment for your health care.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PHI: We may use and disclose your PHI in the following circumstances:

Treatment. We may use or disclose your PHI to give you medical treatment or services and to manage and coordinate your medical care. For example, your PHI may be provided to a physician or other health care provider (e.g., a specialist or laboratory) to whom you have been referred to ensure that the physician or other health care provider has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you or provide you with a service.
Payment. We may use and disclose your PHI so that we can bill for the treatment and services you receive from us and can collect payment from you, a health plan, or a third party, This use and disclosure may include certain activities that your health insurance plan may undertake before it approves or pays for the health care services we recommend for you, such as making a determination of eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits, reviewing services provided to you for medical necessity, and undertaking utilization review activities. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about your treatment in order for your health plan to agree to pay for that treatment.
Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose PHI for our health care operations. For example, we may use your PHI to internally review the quality of the treatment and services you receive and to evaluate the performance of our team members in caring for you. We also may disclose information to physicians, nurses, medical technicians, medical students, and other authorized personnel for educational and learning purposes.
Appointment Reminders/Treatment Alternatives/Health-Related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose PHI to contact you to remind you that you have an appointment for medical care, or to contact you to tell you about possible treatment options or alternatives or health related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
Research. We may use and disclose your PHi for research purposes, but we will only do that if the research has been specially approved by an authorized institutional review board or a privacy board that has reviewed the research proposal and has set up protocols to ensure the privacy of your PHI. Even without that special approval, we may permit researchers to look at PHI to help them prepare for research, for example, to allow them to identify patients who may be included in their research project, as long as they do not remove, or take a copy of, any PHI. We may disclose PHI to be used in collaborative research initiatives amongst GHC providers. We may use and disclose a limited data set that does not contain specific readily identifiable information about you for research, However, we will only disclose the limited data set if we enter into a data use agreement with the recipient who must agree to (1) use the data set only for the purposes for which it was provided, (2) ensure the confidentiality and security of the data, and (3) not identify the information or use it to contact any individual.
As Required by Law. We will disclose PHI about you when required to do so by international, federal, state, or local law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use and disclose PHil when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health or safety or to the health or safety of others. But we will only disclose the information to someone who may be able to help prevent the threat.
Business Associates. We may disclose PHI to our business associates who perform functions on our behalf or provide us with services if the PHI is necessary for those functions or services. For example, we may use another company to do our billing, or to provide transcription or consulting services for us. All of our business associates are obligated, under contract with us, to protect the privacy and ensure the security of your PHI.
Organ and Tissue Donation. If you are an organ or tissue donor, we may use or disclose your PHI to organizations that handle organ procurement or transplantation – such as 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 disclose PHI as required by military command authorities. We also may disclose PHI to the appropriate foreign military authority if you are a member of a foreign military. Workers’ Compensation. We may use or disclose PHI for workers’ compensation or similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
Public Health Risks, We may disclose PHI for public health activities. This includes disclosures to: (1) a person subject to the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for purposes related to the quality, safety or effectiveness of an FDA-regulated product or activity; (2) prevent or control disease, injury or disability; (3) report births and deaths; (4) report child abuse or neglect; (5) report reactions to medications or problems with products; (6) notify people of recalls of products they may be using; and (7) a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence. We may disclose PHI to the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence and the patient agrees or we are required or authorized by law to make that disclosure.
Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose PHI to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, licensure, and similar activities that are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
Data Breach Notification Purposes. We may use or disclose your PHI to provide legally required notices of unauthorized access to or disclosure of your health information.
Lawsuits and Disputes. If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose PHI in response to a court or administrative order. We also may disclose PHI in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other legal process from someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to get an order protecting the information requested. We may also use or disclose your PHI to defend ourselves in the event of a lawsuit.
Law Enforcement. We may disclose PHI, so long as applicable legal requirements are met, for law enforcement purposes.
Military Activity and National Security. If you are involved with military, national security or intelligence activities or if you are in law enforcement custody, we may disclose your PHI to authorized officials so they may carry out their legal duties under the law.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors, We may disclose PHI to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director so that they can carry out their duties.
Uses and Disclosures That Require Us to Give You an Opportunity to Object and Opt Out.
Individuals Involved in Your Care, Unless you object in writing, we may disclose to a member of your family, a relative, a close friend or any other person you identify, your PHI that directly relates to that person’s involvement in your health care. If you are unable to agree or object to such a disclosure, we may disclose such information as necessary if we determine that it is in your best interest based on our professional judgment.
Payment for Your Care. Unless you object in writing, you can exercise your rights under HIPAA that your healthcare provider not disclose information about services received when you pay in full out of pocket for the service and refuse to file a claim with your health plan.
Disaster Relief. We may disclose your PHI to disaster relief organizations that seek your PHI to coordinate your care, or notify family and friends of your location or condition in a disaster. We will provide you with an opportunity to agree or object to such a disclosure whenever we practicably can do so.
Fundraising Activities. We may use or disclose your PHI, as necessary, in order to contact you for fundraising activities. You have the right to opt out of receiving fundraising communications.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PHI THAT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION: The following uses and disclosures of your PHI will be made only with your written authorization:

Uses and disclosures of PHI for marketing purposes; and
Disclosures that constitute a sale of your PHI.
Use and disclose genetic information of your or your dependents for underwriting purposes.

For certain kinds of PHI, federal and state law may require enhanced privacy protection and we can only disclose such information with your written permission except when specifically permitted or required by law. This includes PHI that is:

Maintained in psychotherapy notes and mental health notes.
About alcohol and drug abuse prevention, treatment and referral.
About HIV/AIDS testing, diagnosis or treatment.
About venereal and/or communicable diseases(s).
About genetic testing.

You may revoke your authorization at any time by submitting a written revocation to us, GHC, and we will no longer disclose PHI under the authorization. But disclosure that we made in reliance on your authorization before you revoked it will not be affected by the revocation.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PHI: You have the following rights, subject to certain limitations, regarding your PHI:

Inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI that is included in paper or electronic records we maintain. If the PHI is not readily producible in the form or format you request your record will be provided in a readable hard copy form.
Request restrictions in how the PHI we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required by law to agree to your request. If we do agree with your request, we will comply unless the information is needed to provide emergency treatment. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to GHC. Your request must state the specific restriction requested, whether you want to limit our use and/or disclosure; and to whom you want the restriction to apply. Further, we will honor your request, to the extent permitted by law, not to disclose information to us, an insurer or a third party about a medical visit, service or prescription for which you pay the full amount out of your pocket at the time of service.
Request an accounting of disclosures we have made of your PHI. To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to us, GHC.
Request confidential communications whereby we communicate with you only in certain ways to preserve your privacy. For example, you may request that we contact you by mail at a specific address or call you only at your work number. You must make any such request in writing and you must specify how or where we are to contact you.
Receive notice of a breach in the event of a breach of any of your PHI.
Request an amendment of your PHI that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for us. A request for amendment must be made in writing to us GHC, at the address provided below and it must tell us the reason for your request. In certain cases, we may deny your request for an amendment and will inform you of the reason for the decision within 60 days.
Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice electronically.
Changes to This Notice.

You may also contact the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. Your complain can be sent by email, fax or mail to the Office of Civil Rights. U.S. Department of Health, OCR, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington D.C., 20201. For more information visit their website at: http:/www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/

No action will be taken against you for filing a complaint.

If you have questions about your privacy rights, believe that we may have violated your privacy rights or disagree with a decision that we made about your PHI, you may contact us at the following address or telephone number.