-
Measuring and
improving quality of care
- Activities
designed to improve health or reduce health care costs
- Protocol
development, case management and care coordination
- Evaluating the
performance of employees
- Conducting or
participating in health education training programs
- Acquiring
accreditation, certificates or licenses we may need to serve
you
- Coordination of
benefits or claims adjudication
-
Fraud and abuse
detection programs
-
Audit services and
other administration activities.Disclosures Required by Law:
Franklin County Home Health Agency may use or disclose your protected health
information when it is
required to do so by law.
For example, your health
information may be disclosed when there
are risks
to public health, to report
abuse or domestic violence, to conduct health oversight activities, or to comply
with a court order,
an administrative order, a subpoena, a discovery request or
other lawful process.
For Appointment Reminders: We may use or disclose your
protected health information to contact you
as a reminder that
you have an
appointment.
Notification: We may use or disclose your protected
health information to your family and friends who are
involved in your care
or
who help pay for your care.
We may also disclose your protected health
information
to a disaster relief organization
for the purpose
of notifying your
family and/or friends about your general condition, location, and/or status. You
may object to the release of this information. You may
use our
Request to
Restrict the Use or
Disclosure of Protected Health Information form
to notify us
of
your objection
or your objection may be made orally.
Fundraising: We may use or disclose a limited amount of
your protected health information for fundraising
purposes for our organization.
The information will be limited to name, address
and telephone number.
If you do
not wish to be contacted in fundraising activities you must provide us with
written notification.
Research in Limited Circumstances: We may use or disclose
protected health information for research
purposes in limited circumstances
where the research has been approved by a review board that has reviewed
the
research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of protected
health information.
Funeral Director, Coroner, Medical Examiner: We may use
and disclose the protected health information
of a person who has died with a
coroner, medical examiner, funeral director, or an organ procurement
organization to help them carry out their duties.
For Organ, Eye or Tissue Donation: We may use or disclose
your protected health
information to organ procurement organizations or other
entities engaged in the procurement, banking or transplantation of organs,
eyes
or tissue for facilitating the donation and transplantation.
Specialized Government Functions: Subject to certain
requirements, we may use or
disclose protected health information
of military
personnel and veterans, for national security and intelligence activities, for
protective services,
for medical suitability determinations for
the Department
of State, for correctional institutions and other law enforcement custodial
situations, and for government programs providing public benefits.
Court Orders and Judicial and Administrative Proceedings:
We may use and disclose protected health
information in response
to a court or
administrative order, subpoena,
discovery request, or other lawful process, under certain circumstances. Under limited
circumstances, such as a court order,
warrant, or grand jury subpoena,
we may share your protected health information
with law enforcement officials. We may share limited information
with a law
enforcement official concerning the protected health information of
a suspect,
fugitive, material witness,
crime victim or missing person.
We may share the
protected
health information of an inmate or other person in lawful
custody with
a law enforcement official or correctional institution under certain
circumstances.
Public Health Activities: As required by law, we may use
and disclose your protected health information to public health
or legal
authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or
disability. We may also disclose your protected health information to
persons
subject to jurisdiction of the Food and Drug
Administration for purposes of
reporting adverse events associated with product defects or problems.
We may
also, when we are
authorized by law
to do so, notify a person who may have been
exposed to a communicable disease or otherwise be at risk of contracting or
spreading a disease or condition.
Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence: We may
disclose protected health information to appropriate
authorities if we
reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence or the possible victim
of other crimes. We may share
your protected
health information if it is necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health
or safety or the health or safety of others.
Workers’ Compensation: We may disclose protected health
information when authorized and necessary
to comply
with laws relating to
workers’ compensation.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose protected
health information to an agency providing health oversight
for oversight
activities authorized by law, including audits; civil,
administrative,
or
criminal investigations or proceedings, inspections, accreditation, licensure,
or disciplinary actions.
Law Enforcement: Under certain circumstances, we may
disclose protected health information to law enforcement
officials. These
circumstances include reporting required by certain laws,
pursuant
to certain subpoenas or court orders, reporting limited information concerning
identification and location at the request of a law enforcement official,
reports
regarding suspected victims of crimes
at the request of law enforcement officials or reporting deaths and crimes.
Your Rights Regarding Protected Health Information
You have the following rights
regarding the protected health information we maintain about you:
Right to Inspect and Copy:
-
You have the right to review and copy your protected health
information including billing records.
You may request that we
provide copies
in a format other than photocopies. We will use the
format you
request unless
it is not practical to do so.
A request to
review or copy records containing
your protected
health information
may be made in writing to the Agency Privacy
Officer. If you request
a copy of
your protected health information, the
Agency will charge
a fee for the cost of copying, mailing or
other assembling
costs
associated with your request.
- You have the right to receive a list of all the times we share
your
protected health information for
purposes
other than treatment,
payment,
health care operations and
other specified exceptions.
- You have the right to request that we place additional
restrictions
on our use or disclosure of your protected
health information. We
are not required to agree to any additional restrictions, but if we
do,we
will abide by our agreement
(except in the case of any
emergency).
- You have the right to request that we communicate with you
about
your protected health
information by
different means or to different
locations. This request must be
made in writing to the Agency’s
Privacy
Officer.
- You have the right to amend your protected health care
information:
If you feel your protected health information
is incorrect or
incomplete, please contact the Agency’s
Privacy Officer. The
request must be
made in writing. The request may be denied if the
request does not include a reason to support the request. If we deny
your request we will provide you a
written explanation. If we
accept your request to change information,
we will make reasonable
efforts to tell others, including people you name, of the
change and
to include the changes in
any future sharing of that
information.
- You have a right to a paper copy of this notice. To obtain a
paper
copy of this notice, please contact the
Agency’s Privacy Officer. You
may also obtain a copy of the Privacy Notice by visiting our website
at
www.fchha.org.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosure:
You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures"
if any such disclosures were made for any purpose
other than treatment,
payment or healthcare operations. The request for an accounting of disclosure
must bemade in writing to Agency’s Privacy Officer and should specify a time
period which may not be longer than
six (6) years and may
not include dates
prior to April 14, 2003. The Agency will provide the first accounting
you
request without charge, subsequent accounting requests
will be subject to a
reasonable
cost-based fee.
How to file a Complaint
If
you believe your privacy rights have been violated by Franklin County Home
Health Agency,
you may file a written complaint with the Agency’s Privacy
Officer. The complaint must be made in writing. You may also file a written
complaint
with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department
of Health and Human
Services, Government Center, J.F. Kennedy Federal Building – Room 1875,
Boston, MA 02203. You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a
complaint.
If you have any questions about this notice or you would like an
additional copy, please contact:
Privacy Officer
Franklin County Home Health Agency, Inc.
3 Home Health Circle, Suite 1
St. Albans, VT 05478
Telephone (802) 527-7531
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