USE OR DISCLOSURE OF YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION WITHOUT YOUR AUTHORIZATION
Without your authorization, HIPAA allows Provider to use or disclose your medical information in order to provide you with services and the treatment you require or request, or to collect payment for those services, and to conduct other related health care operations otherwise permitted or required by law. Also, Provider is permitted to disclose your medical information within and among its workforce and other entities that have agreed to be bound by these policies in order to accomplish these same purposes. However, even with your authorization, Provider is still required to limit such uses or disclosures to the minimal amount of medical information that is reasonably required to provide those services or complete those activities.
The following categories describe different ways that Provider uses and discloses medical information. For each category of uses or disclosures, this Notice will explain what Provider means and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways in which Provider is permitted to use and disclose information without your authorization should fall within one of the categories.
For Treatment:
Provider may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. Provider may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, volunteers, medical students, residents, other Provider personnel or members of its workforce who are involved in taking care of you on Provider's premises. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietitian if you have diabetes so that arrangements can be made for appropriate meals. Different departments of Provider also may share medical information about you in order to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and x-rays. Provider also may disclose medical information about you to people outside of Provider who may be involved in your medical care after you leave Provider, such as family members, clergy or others whom Provider uses or who you or another responsible party have selected to provide services that are part of your care.
For Payment:
Provider may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive from Provider can be billed to, and payment can be collected from, you, an insurance company or third party payer. For example, Provider may need to give your health plan information about surgery you received so your health plan will pay Provider or reimburse you for the surgery. Provider may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.
For Health Care Operations:
Provider may use and disclose medical information about you for Provider operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run Provider, to comply with accreditation and other standards and to make sure that all Provider patients receive quality care. For example, Provider may use your medical information to review its treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of Provider staff in caring for you. Provider may also combine medical information about many Provider patients to decide what additional services Provider should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. Provider may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, residents, professional students, trainees or practitioners in health care, non-health care professionals and other Provider personnel or members of its workforce for review, education, teaching and learning purposes. Provider may also combine the medical information it has with medical information from other providers to compare how Provider is doing and to see where Provider can make improvements in its care and services. Provider may remove information that identifies you from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning your identity or the identity of any specific patient.
In addition, under HIPAA, Provider may use and disclose medical information, without your authorization, as follows:
To Send You Treatment Reminders and Information About Treatment Alternatives or Health-Related Benefits and Services:
Provider may contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care with Provider or inform you about or recommend possible treatment options, alternatives or health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
Fundraising Activities:
Provider may contact you in an effort to raise money for Provider and its operations. Provider may disclose medical information to a foundation related to Provider so that the foundation may contact you in raising money for Provider. Provider would only release (i) contact information, such as your name, address and phone number; (ii) demographic information, such as your age, gender, insurance status and employer name; and (iii) the dates you received treatment or services from Provider. If you do not want Provider to contact you for fundraising efforts, you must notify the UHHS Privacy Officer in writing.
Provider Directory:
Provider may include certain limited information about you in the Provider directory while you are a patient on Provider's premises. This information may include your name, location in Provider (e.g., floor, unit or wing), your general condition (e.g., fair, stable, etc.) and your religious affiliation. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may also be released to people who ask for you by name (either in person or by telephone, electronic mail, etc.). This is so your family, friends and clergy can visit you and generally know how you are doing. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they do not ask for you by name. If you would like to restrict or prohibit Provider's use or disclosure of your information for the Provider directory, you must notify the UHHS Privacy Officer in writing, or, if Provider is a Hospital, you may notify Provider's Admissions Department orally at the time of your admission to Provider.
Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care:
Provider may release medical information about you to a family member, personal representative or friend who is involved in your medical care or who helps pay for your care. Provider may also tell these persons about your condition and your location in Provider or attempt to locate or identify your family, representative or friends. In addition, Provider may disclose medical information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location. Further, Provider may make disclosures to a parent, guardian or other person acting in place of a parent if such person has the authority to act on behalf of a minor. Additionally, Provider may make disclosures to a person appointed by you as your durable power of attorney for health care.
Research:
Under certain circumstances, Provider may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes. For example, a research project may involve comparing the health and recovery of all patients who received one medication to those who received another, for the same condition. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of medical information, trying to balance the research needs with patients' need for privacy of their medical information. Before Provider uses or discloses medical information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process. Provider may, however, disclose your medical information to people preparing to conduct a research project (for example, to help them look for patients with specific medical needs) so long as the medical information they review is not removed from Provider's premises. Provider may also disclosure the medical information of decedents for a research project, so long as the information is necessary for the research.
Public Health Activities:
Provider may disclose information about you for public health activities, such as:
- to prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
- to report births and deaths;
- to report child abuse or neglect;
- to collect or report reactions to medications, food supplements or dietary supplements;
- to collect or report product problems or defects;
- to notify persons of recalls, replacements or repairs relating to products they may be using; and
- to notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
Disclosures About Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence:
Provider may disclose medical information to notify the appropriate government authority if Provider believes a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. Provider will only make this disclosure if the patient agrees or when required or authorized by law.
Health Oversight Activities:
,Provider may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections and licensure or disciplinary actions. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs and compliance with civil rights laws.
As Required by Law:
Provider will disclose medical information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety:
Consistent with| Ohio law, Provider may use and disclose certain medical information 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. In addition, Provider may use and disclose medical information if Provider believes that the use or disclosure is necessary for law enforcement to identify or apprehend an individual who has escaped from a correctional institution or from custody.
Organ and Tissue Donation:
Provider may use or disclose information to an organ procurement or transplant organization or other similar entity.
Workers' Compensation:
Provider may release information about you as authorized by (or as necessary to comply with) workers' compensation laws. For example, Provider may release information to a party responsible for payment of workers' compensation benefits and to an agency responsible for administering and/or adjudicating claims for workers' compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
Law Enforcement or Judicial or Governmental Proceedings:
Provider may disclose medical information for law enforcement purposes or for judicial or governmental proceedings. For example, Provider may disclose medical information:
- to report certain types of wounds or injuries;
- in response to a court order or court-ordered subpoena (or court-ordered discovery request) or in response to a subpoena or discovery request if the patient privilege has been waived;
- in response to a court-ordered warrant, subpoena or summons issued by a judicial officer, or a governmental request (including a governmental subpoena or summons) if certain standards are satisfied;
- in response to a law enforcement official's request for the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, but only certain types of information may be disclosed;
- to provide information about the victim of a crime, although Provider would try to obtain the individual's consent unless the individual is incapacitated or except under certain limited circumstances;
- about an individual that has died to a law enforcement official for the purpose of alerting law enforcement of the death if the Provider has a suspicion that such death may have resulted from criminal conduct;
- about criminal conduct that occurred on Provider's premises; and
- in emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims of the crime; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime.
Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors:
Provider may release medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or to determine the cause of death. Provider may also release medical information to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.
For Specific Government Functions: Provider may release medical information of military personnel (and foreign military personnel) in certain situations, and Provider may release the medical information of inmates to correctional facilities in certain situations. Provider may also release medical information for national security reasons, such as the protection of the President of the United States or for national security activities.