NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICE – HIM 20.1
Notice of Privacy Practices
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN ACCESS THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.
This is your Notice of Privacy Practices from The Barry Robinson Center. The Notice refers to The Barry Robinson Center by using the terms “we”, “our”, or “us”.
We are required to provide this Notice of Privacy Practices to you by the privacy regulations issued under the federal Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). We are required by law to provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices explaining our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your protected health information (PHI). Protected Health Information is medical and other information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services.
We may change the terms of this Notice at any time. The Notice may be revised if there is a material change to the uses or disclosures of protected health information, your rights, our legal duties, or other privacy practices stated in this Notice. The new notice will be effective for all protected health information that we maintain at that time. If we make changes to the Notice, we will:
- Post the new Notice in our waiting area and website
- Have copies of the new Notice available upon request. Please contact our Privacy Officer at (757) 455-6100 to obtain a copy of our current Notice.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
We use and disclose protected health information in many ways daily. The most common reasons for which we may use and disclose your PHI is to provide treatment, obtain payments for treatment, and to operate our organization effectively.
Treatment
We may use and disclose health information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, therapist, lab technicians, hospital personnel and medical students who are involved in taking care of you. For example, you may be asked to undergo laboratory test per your physicians order (such as blood or urine test), we will disclose your information to the lab technician to perform the required test. The lab technician will report the results back to the physician or nurse to be used in your treatment.
Payment
We may use and disclose protected health information about you to obtain payment for healthcare services that you received. This means that The Barry Robinson Center may use protected health information about you to arrange for payment (such as preparing bills and managing accounts). We also may disclose PHI about you to others (such as insurers, collection agencies, and consumer reporting agencies). In some instances, we may disclose PHI about you to an insurance plan before you receive certain healthcare services because; we must determine whether the insurance plan will pay for a particular service. For example, we may contact your health insurer to certify that you are eligible for benefits (and for what range of benefits), and we may provide your insurer with details regarding your treatment to determine if your insurer will cover, or pay for your treatment.
Healthcare Operations
We may use and disclose your protected health information in performing a variety of organizational related activities. These activities allow us to improve the quality of care we provide. For example, we may use PHI to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the level of performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine medical information about other clients to decide what additional services our organization should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, students, and other personnel for review and learning purposes.
Treatment Alternatives. We may use and disclose PHI to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
Health Related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose PHI to tell you about health related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
Individuals Involved in Your Care. In cases involving minors, we may disclose information to parents, guardians or other persons responsible for the minor except in limited circumstances. For information on the privacy of minors’ information, contact our Privacy Officer at (757) 455-6100.
As Required By Law. We will disclose health 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 PHI 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 or prevent the threat.
- For All Other Uses and Disclosures. All other uses and disclosure of information not contained in this Notice of Privacy Practices will not be disclosed without your authorization.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
Public Health Risks. We may disclose health information about you for public health activities. These activities include the following:
- To prevent or control diseases, injury or disability
- To report births and deaths
- To report child abuse or neglect
- To report reactions to medications or problems with products
- To notify a person of recalls of products that they may be using
- To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading the disease or condition
- To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe an individual has been the victim of domestic violence or abuse/neglect. We will only make this disclosure if you agree or when required or authorized by law.
- Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the healthcare civil rights laws.
- Lawsuits and Disputes. We may disclose health information about you to a court or an officer of the court (such as an attorney). For example, we would disclose health information about you to a court if a judge orders us to do so.
- Law Enforcement. We may disclose your health information to a law enforcement officer for specific law enforcement purposes (i.e. missing persons report).
- Coroners and others. We may disclose health information about you to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director. This may be necessary to identify a deceased person or determine cause of death.
- Certain government functions: We may disclose health information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.
RIGHTS REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
- Authorizations
Other than the uses and disclosures described above, we will not use or disclose protected health information about you without signed authorization by you or a legally authorized representative.
If you sign a written authorization allowing us to disclose health information about you, you may revoke (cancel) your authorization in writing at any time (except in limited circumstances related to obtaining insurance coverage). If you revoke your authorization, we will follow your instructions except to the extent that we have already relied upon your authorization and taken action.
The following uses and disclosures will be made only with written authorization from you or your legal representative.
- Uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes (if we maintain psychotherapy notes).
- Uses and disclosures of protected health information for marketing purposes, including subsidized treatment communication.
- Disclosures that constitute a sale of protected health information.
- Right to Access
You have the right to inspect (see or review) and receive a copy of your health information. To inspect or receive a copy of your information, you must submit your request in writing to the Health Information Services Department. If you are requesting a copy of your information, we may charge a fee for the cost of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.
We may deny your request to inspect and/or receive a copy in certain limited circumstances. If you are denied access to your health information, you may request, in writing, that the denial be reviewed by another licensed healthcare professional (of the same profession). We will comply with the outcome of the review.
- Right to Amend
You have the right to have us amend (correct) health information about you that we maintain. If you believe that we have information that is either inaccurate or incomplete, we may amend the information and notify others who may have received copies of the inaccurate information. You may write us a letter requesting an amendment or complete a Request to Amend Health Information Form. You may obtain a copy of this form from our Privacy Officer.
We may deny your request to amend your information for the following reasons:
- Request was not in writing
- Information was not created by The Barry Robinson Center
- The individual responsible for creating the information is no longer available to make the amendment
- If upon review, information is found to be accurate and complete
If we deny your request, we will explain our reason for the denial in writing. You will have the opportunity to send us a statement explaining why you disagree with our decision and we will share your statement whenever we disclose the information in the future.
- Right to an Accounting of Disclosure
You have the right to receive an accounting (a detailed list) of disclosures that we have made for the previous six (6) years. If you would like to receive an accounting, you must send the request in writing to our Privacy Officer.
The Accounting of Disclosure will not include disclosures made for treatment, payment or healthcare operations or any disclosures made prior to April 14, 2003.
- Right to Request Restrictions on Uses and Disclosures
You have the right to request that we limit the use and disclosure of health information concerning your for treatment, payment and healthcare operations. Under federal law, we must agree to your request and comply with your restriction(s) if:
- Except as otherwise required by law, the disclosure is to a health plan for purpose of carrying out payment of healthcare operations.
- The health information pertains solely to a healthcare item or service for which the healthcare provided involved has been paid out of pocket in full.
Once we agree to your request, we must follow your restrictions (except if the information is necessary for emergency treatment). You may cancel the restriction at any time. In addition, we may cancel a restriction at any time as long as we notify you of the cancellation and continue to apply the restriction to information collected before the cancellation.
You also have the right to request that we restrict disclosures of your health information and healthcare treatment(s) to a health plan or other party, when the information relates solely to a healthcare item or service for which you, or another person on your behalf (other than a health plan), has paid us in full. Once you have requested such restriction(s), and your payment in full has been received, we must follow your restriction.
- Right to Request an Alternative Method of Contact
You have the right to request that we contact you at a different location or by a different method. For example, you may ask that we only contact you by phone at home and not at your place of employment or you may wish to be contacted by mail only.
To request alternate methods of communication/contact, you must make your request in writing to our Privacy Officer. We will not ask you for a reason and will make the necessary accommodations for all reasonable requests. The request must tell us how or where you wish to be contacted.
- Right to Copy of this Notice
You have a right to have a copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time. In addition, a copy of this Notice will always be posted in various treatment areas. If you would like to have a copy of our Notice, you may request a copy from our Receptionist or Privacy Officer.
Filing a Complaint
- If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a written complaint with our Privacy Officer or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
- To file a complaint with us, please contact:
The Barry Robinson Center
ATTN: Privacy Officer
443 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, VA. 23502
- To file a complaint with the federal government please contact:
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth St. S.W.
Suite 3B70
Atlanta, GA 30303-8909
We will not penalize you nor will we retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Omnibus Final Rule
Final modification to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules mandated by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), are as follows:
- You have the right to be notified of a data breach.
- You have the right to ask for a copy of your electronic medical record in electronic form.
- Certain use of your medical data, such as use of patient information in marketing, requires your authorization prior to use. Uses and disclosures not described in this notice will be made only with your authorization.
Updated/Revised March 21, 2022