Your Privacy
This Privacy Notice is being provided to you as a requirement of a federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This Privacy Notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information in some cases. Your "protected health information" means any written and oral health information about you, including demographic data that can be used to identify you. This is health information that is created or received by your health care provider, and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition.
Surgery Center of Reno may use your protected health information for
purposes of providing treatment, obtaining payment for treatment, and
conducting health care operations. Your protected health information
may be used or disclosed only for these purposes unless the facility
has obtained your authorization or the use or disclosure is otherwise
permitted by the HIPAA privacy regulations or state law. Disclosures
of your protected health information for the purposes described in this
Privacy Notice may be made in writing, orally, or by facsimile.
We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your health care with a third party for treatment purposes. For example, we may disclose your protected health information to a pharmacy to fill a prescription or to a laboratory to order a blood test. We may also disclose protected health information to physicians who may be treating you or consulting with the facility with respect to your care. In some cases, we may also disclose your protected health information to an outside treatment provider for purposes of the treatment activities of the other provider.
Your protected health information will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for the services that we provide. This may include certain communications to your health insurance company to get approval for the procedure that we have scheduled. For example, we may need to disclose information to your health insurance company to get prior approval for the surgery. We may also disclose protected health information to your health insurance company to determine whether you are eligible for benefits or whether a particular service is covered under your health plan. In order to get payment for the services we provide to you, we may also need to disclose your protected health information to your health insurance company to demonstrate the medical necessity of the services or, as required by your insurance company, for utilization review. We may also disclose patient information to another provider involved in your care for the other provider's payment activities. This may include disclosure of demographic information to anesthesia care providers for payment of their services.
We may use or disclose your protected health information, as necessary,
for our own health care operations to facilitate the function of the
Surgery Center of Reno and to provide quality care to all patients.
Health care operations include such activities as: quality assessment
and improvement activities, employee review activities, training programs
including those in which students, trainees, or practitioners in health
care learn under supervision, accreditation, certification, licensing
or credentialing activities, review and auditing, including compliance
reviews, medical reviews, legal services and maintaining compliance
programs, and business management and general administrative activities.
In certain situations, we may also disclose patient information to another provider or health plan for their health care operations.
As part of treatment, payment and health care operations, we may also use or disclose your protected health information for the following purposes: to remind you of your surgery date, to inform you of potential treatment alternatives or options, to inform you of health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you, or to contact you to raise funds for the facility or an institutional foundation related to the facility. If you do not wish to be contacted regarding fundraising, please contact our Privacy Officer.
Federal privacy rules allow us to use or disclose your protected health information without your permission or authorization for a number of reasons including the following:
We will disclose your protected health information when we are required to do so by any federal, state or local law.
We may disclose your protected health information for the following public activities and purposes:
- To prevent, control, or report disease, injury or disability as permitted by law.
- To report vital events such as birth or death as permitted or required by law.
- To conduct public health surveillance, investigations and interventions as permitted or required by law.
- To collect or report adverse events and product defects, track FDA regulated products, enable product recalls, repairs or replacements to the FDA and to conduct post marketing surveillance.
- To notify a person who has been exposed to a communicable disease or who may be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease as authorized by law.
- To report to an employer information about an individual who is a member of the workforce as legally permitted or required.
We may notify government authorities if we believe that a patient is the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will make this disclosure only when specifically required or authorized by law or when the patient agrees to the disclosure.
We may disclose your protected health information to a health oversight agency for activities including audits; civil, administrative, or criminal investigations, proceedings, or actions; inspections; licensure or disciplinary actions; or other activities necessary for appropriate oversight as authorized by law. We will not disclose your health information under this authority if you are the subject of an investigation and your health information is not directly related to your receipt of health care or public benefits.
We may disclose your protected health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal as expressly authorized by such order. In certain circumstances, we may disclose your protected health information in response to a subpoena to the extent authorized by state law if we receive satisfactory assurances that you have been notified of the request or that an effort was made to secure a protective order.
We may disclose your protected health information to a law enforcement official for law enforcement purposes as follows: • As required by law for reporting of certain types of wounds or other physical injuries. • Pursuant to court order, court-ordered warrant, subpoena, summons or similar process. • For the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person. • Under certain limited circumstances, when you are the victim of a crime. • To a law enforcement official if the facility has a suspicion that your health condition was the result of criminal conduct. • In an emergency to report a crime.
We may disclose protected health information to a coroner or medical examiner for identification purposes, to determine cause of death or for the coroner or medical examiner to perform other duties authorized by law. We may also disclose protected health information to a funeral director, as authorized by law, in order to permit the funeral director to carry out their duties. We may disclose such information in reasonable anticipation of death. Authorization will be obtained prior to disclosing protected health information for cadaveric organ, eye or tissue donation purposes.
We may use or disclose your protected health information for research when the use or disclosure for research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and research protocols to address the privacy of your protected health information.
We may, consistent with applicable law and ethical standards of conduct, use or disclose your protected health information if we believe, in good faith, that such use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or to the health and safety of the public.
In certain circumstances, federal regulations authorize the facility to use or disclose your protected health information to facilitate specified government functions relating to military and veterans activities, national security and intelligence activities, protective services for the President and others, medical suitability determinations, correctional institutions, and law enforcement custodial situations.
The facility may release your health information to comply with worker's compensation laws or similar programs.
We may disclose your protected health information to your family member or a close personal friend if it is directly relevant to the person's involvement in your surgery or payment related to your surgery. We can also disclose your information in connection with trying to locate or notify family members or others involved in your care concerning your location, condition or death.
You may object to these disclosures. If you do not object to these disclosures or we can infer from the circumstances that you do not object or we determine, in the exercise of our professional judgment, that it is in your best interests for us to make disclosure of information that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your care, we may disclose your protected health information as described.
Other than as stated above, we will not disclose your health information other than with your written authorization. You may revoke your authorization in writing at any time except to the extent that we have taken action in reliance upon the authorization.
You have the following rights regarding your health information:
Receive the care necessary to help regain or maintain his or her maximum state of health.
Expect personnel who care for the patient to be friendly, considerate, respectful, and qualified through education
and experience and perform the services for which they are responsible with the highest quality of service.
Expect full recognition of individuality, including privacy in treatment and care. In addition, all communications
and records will be kept confidential.
Complete information, to the extent known by the physician, regarding diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, as well
as alternative treatments or procedures and the possible risks and side effects associated with treatment.
Be fully informed of the scope of the services available at the facility including but not limited to; provisions for
after-hours and emergency care, payment policies, fees for services rendered, the credentials of health care
professionals, information regarding the absence of malpractice insurance coverage, or their right to change their
provider if other providers are available.
Be a participant in decisions regarding the intensity and scope of treatment. If the patient is unable to participate
in those decisions, the patient’s rights shall be exercised by the patient’s designated representative or other legally
designated person.
Refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and be informed of the medical consequences of such a refusal.
The patient accepts responsibility for his or her actions should he or she refuse treatment or not follow the
instructions of the physician or facility.
Approve or refuse the release of medical records to any individual outside the facility, except in the case of
transfer to another health facility, or as required by law or third-party payment contract. Medical records are
accessible.
Be informed of human experimentation or other research/educational projects affecting his or her care or
treatment and can refuse participation in such experimentation or research without compromise to the patient’s
usual care.
Surgery Center of Reno
Attn. Administrator - Anne Roberts
343 Elm St. Suite 100
Reno, Nevada 89503
775-336-6900
Consumer Health Assistance
Bureau for Hospital Patients
Suite 4800
555 E Washington Ave,
Las Vegas, NV 89101
1-888-333-1597
For Medicare Beneficiaries - Medicare Ombudsman
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/center/ombudsman.asp
Change primary or specialty physicians or dentists if other qualified physicians or dentists are available and to be
informed if a physician does not have malpractice coverage. The Surgery Center of Reno requires that all physicians
possess malpractice coverage. The patient has a right to request his/her surgeon’s credentials.
Have an advance directive, such as a living will or healthcare proxy. A patient who has an advance directive must
provide a copy to the facility and his or her physician so that his or her wishes may be known and honored, upon
transfer to a higher level of care from the Surgery Center of Reno. The Surgery Center of Reno does not honor
advance directives pertaining to the termination of life support functions.
Express those spiritual beliefs and cultural practices that do not harm others or interfere with the planned course
of medical therapy for the patient.
Not to be subjected to misleading marketing or advertising regarding the competence and capabilities of the Surgery
Center of Reno.
The facility is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide you with this Privacy Notice of our duties and privacy practices. We are required to abide by terms of this Notice as may be amended from time to time. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all future protected health information that we maintain. If the facility changes its Notice, we will provide a copy of the revised Notice by sending a copy of the revised Notice via regular mail or through in-person contact.
You have the right to express complaints to the facility and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services if you believe that your privacy rights have been violated. You may complain to the facility by contacting the facility's Privacy Officer verbally or in writing, using the contact information below. You may also file a written complaint with the Secretary of the Health & Human Services by mailing or faxing it to: Region 5, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, 233 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 240, Chicago, IL 60601. Fax #312-886-1807. We encourage you to express any concerns you may have regarding the privacy of your information. You will not be retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint.
The facility's contact person for all issues regarding patient privacy and your rights under the federal privacy standards is the Privacy Officer. Information regarding matters covered by this Notice can be requested by contacting the Privacy Officer. If you feel that your privacy rights have been violated by this facility you may submit a complaint to our Privacy Officer by sending it to:
The Privacy Officer can be contacted by telephone at (775) 336-6900
This Notice is effective March 18, 2010.
About
Us | Contact Us | Our
Staff | Specialty Programs | Surgery
Center | Surgery
Procedures | Surgery
Preparations | Anesthesia | Physician
Members | For Physicians | Why
Surgery Center of Reno? | Resources | Downloads | Sitemap | Home | For Employees For vendor registration and login: Vendor Information
|
Click here for information on diet, nutrition and health resource books. Learn when to see the doctor and what causes symptoms.
Web design & Copyright 2005 © Prizm Development, Inc.
All rights reserved.
www.prizmdevelopment.com
|
|
|
