ST. CLAIR COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT NOTICE OF INFORMATION PRACTICES
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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.
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We are required by law to provide you with this written Notice of Information Practices.
This notice is provided to you so that you know what our legal duties are and what
we do to keep your protected health information ("PHI") private. It will also tell
you what your legal rights are concerning your PHI. We reserve the right to revise
this Notice of Information Practices in accordance with applicable law. Any revisions
will be effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any
information we may receive in the future. Revised Notices will be updated and posted
on our web site http://www.stclaircounty.org/offices/health/
. If the changes are material, a new notice will be mailed to you before it takes
effect.
Following are ways that we protect your personal information:
- We limit access to PHI to only those individuals and agencies who need that information
to provide services to you, to comply with legal, regulatory and accreditation standards,
and as required by law.
- We have procedures and physical safeguards in place to protect your PHI.
- We have a Health Information Committee (HIPAA) that oversees privacy/security policy
and procedure development, and confidentiality training and education of department
employees.
- We adhere to the policy and information contained in the Department of Health and
Human Services 42 CRF Part 2: Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient
Records: Final Rule.
Your Health Record and Your Rights
Whenever you visit St. Clair County Health Department, we make a record of your
visit. Typically, this record contains your health history, current symptoms, examination
and test results, diagnoses, treatment and plan for future care or treatment. Although
your health records are the physical property of our department, you have the following
rights with regard to the information contained in the record.
- You have the right to request restrictions on our use or disclosure of your PHI,
but we are not required to honor such a request. We will be bound by such restrictions
only if we agree to do so in writing signed by our Health Officer.
- You may request to inspect, copy and/or correct or make amendment (if necessary)
to your health record. Amendment may be denied if certain conditions exist. If we
deny your request, we will notify you in writing the reason for denial, how you
can attach a statement of disagreement and how you can complain.
- You may obtain an accounting of non-routine uses and disclosures, those other than
for treatment, payment, and health care operations.
- You may revoke your consent or authorization to use or disclose health information
except to the extent that we have taken action in reliance on the consent or authorization.
Our Privacy Protection Practices
We may use or disclose your PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations.
Examples follow:
- Treatment: We will provide your physician, other health care professional, or a
subsequent health care provider copies of your record to assist them in treating
you.
- Payment: Your PHI may be used or disclosed in order to collect payment for the medical
services we provide to you.
- Health Care Operations: This means that we may use PHI to assess the care and outcomes
of our clients and the competence of the caregivers. We use this information to
continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care and services
that we provide.
Authorizations
We will not use or disclose your medical information for any reason, except those
described in this Notice, unless you provide us with written authorization to do
so. We may request such an authorization to use or disclose your PHI for any purpose,
but you are not required to give us such authorization as a condition of your treatment.
If you give us permission, you have the right to change your mind and revoke it.
This must be in writing, too. We cannot take back any uses or disclosures already
made with your permission.
We may also share your information in the following ways:
- MCIR - Demographic and immunization data, including vaccine and date received,
for your child is entered into the Michigan Childhood Immunization Registry (MCIR)
and is available to providers in our region and throughout the State of Michigan.
- Appointment reminders - We may contact you to provide appointment reminders
or treatment follow-up.
- Law enforcement - We may disclose your PHI when we are required to do so
by law or in response to a valid subpoena.
- Health oversight agencies; Michigan Department of Community Health and other
Public Health Agencies - We may disclose your PHI to the extent reasonably necessary
to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others.
- The Federal Department of Health and Human Services - We must disclose your
health information to DHHS as necessary to determine our compliance with privacy
standards.
- Business Associates - Some of the services we provide are through contracts
with business associates. Examples may include diagnostic tests, nutritionist and
social worker services and the like. When we use these services, we may disclose
your health information to the business associates so that they can perform the
function(s) that we have contracted with them to do and bill you or your insurance
company.
- Deceased Persons - After your death, we may disclose your PHI to a coroner,
medical examiner, funeral director, or organ procurement organization in limited
circumstances.
If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you may complain to us or to
the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You may file
a complaint with us by contacting Jon Parsons, Director/Health Officer at (810)
987-5300. To file a complaint with the Secretary of HHS, call or write Tommy G.
Thompson, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue,
SW, Washington, DC 20201, 1-877-696-6775.
We support your right of privacy protection for medical information. We will not
retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
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We reserve the right to change our privacy protection practices and to make the new
provisions effective for Protected Health Information that we maintain. If we change
our information practices, we will provide you with a revised notice upon your next
visit.
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This notice is effective March 17, 2003.
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