Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective Date: April 14, 2003
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. If you have any questions about this notice,
please contact our HIPAA Privacy Officer at (870) 508-1037.
SCOPE OF THIS NOTICE
- This notice describes our hospital’s practices and that of:
- Any health care professional authorized to enter information into your
hospital chart.
- All departments and units of the hospital.
- Any member of a volunteer group we allow to help you while you are in the hospital.
- All employees, staff and other hospital personnel.
-
Baxter Regional Medical Center includes the following entities:
- Baxter Regional Hospital Foundation
- Hospice of the Ozarks
- BRMC Physicians
- All these entities, sites and locations will follow the terms of this notice.
In addition, these entities, sites and locations may share medical information
with each other for treatment, payment, or hospital operations purposes
described in this notice.
OUR PLEDGE REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION
We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal.
We are committed to protecting medical information about you. We create
a record of the care and services you receive at the hospital. We need
this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain
legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your
care generated by the hospital, whether made by hospital personnel or
your personal doctor or other practitioners involved in your care. Your
personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor’s
use and disclosure of your medical information created in the doctor’s
office or clinic.
This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose
medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain
obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.
We are required by law to:
- Make sure that medical information that identifies you is kept private;
- Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect
to medical information about you; and
- Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose
medical information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will
explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure
in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted
to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.
Some uses and disclosures not described in this notice, will be made only
with the authorization of the patient, legal guardian and/or personal
representative.
For Treatment: We may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment
or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors,
nurses, technicians, health care students, clergy, or others who are involved
in your care. 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 dietician if you
have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different
departments of the hospital also may share medical information about you
in order to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions,
lab work and x-rays. We also may disclose medical information about you
to people outside the hospital who may be involved in your medical care
after you leave the hospital, such as long term care facilities or others
we or your physician uses to provide services that are part of your care.
For Payment: We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment
and services you receive at the hospital may be billed to and payment
may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For
example, we may need to give your health plan information about surgery
you received at the hospital so your health plan will pay us or reimburse
you for the surgery. We 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.
If you request BRMC not file a claim in your behalf with your insurance
we must comply, provided you pay in full for the services.
For Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose medical information about you for hospital operations.
These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the hospital and make
sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may
use medical information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate
the performance of our staff in caring for you or we or our designee may
send you a patient satisfaction survey. We may also combine medical information
about many hospital patients to decide what additional services the hospital
should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments
are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians,
health care students, and other hospital personnel for review and learning
purposes. We may also combine the medical information we have with medical
information from other hospitals to compare how we are doing and see where
we can make improvements in the care and service we offer. We 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 who the specific patients are.
Health Related Benefits And Services: We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about health-related
benefits, services, or medical education classes that may be of interest to you.
Service Updates: We may include your name on mailings regarding hospital information and
services (i.e. newsletters, brochures, new services, etc.).
Fundraising Activities: We may use information about you to contact you in an effort to raise
money for the hospital and its operations. We may disclose information
to a foundation related to the hospital so that the foundation may contact
you in raising money for the hospital. We would only release contact information,
such as your name, address and phone number and the dates you received
treatment or services at the hospital. You may choose to opt out of fundraising
efforts by contacting the Privacy Officer at (870) 508-1075 or lmorris@baxterregional.org.
Hospital Directory: We may include certain limited information about you in the hospital directory
while you are a patient in the hospital. This information may include
your name, location in the hospital, your general condition (e.g.; undetermined,
good, fair, serious or critical) and your religious affiliation. The directory
information, except for your religious affiliation, may also be released
to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given
to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don’t
ask for you by name. This is so your family, friends and clergy can visit
you in the hospital and generally know how you are doing. In addition,
we 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.
Individuals Involved In Your Care Or Payment For Your Care: We may release medical information about you to a care giver who may be
a friend or family member. We may also give information to someone who
helps pay for your care (i.e. If you ask your health care provider a question
in the presence of your spouse and\or any other person, you are giving
implied consent for the health care provider to answer your question,
unless you state otherwise.).
Research: Under certain circumstances, we 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. We will ask for your
specific permission if the researcher will have access to your name, address
or other information that reveals who you are, or will be involved in
your care at the hospital.
As Required By Law: We will disclose medical information about you when
required to do so by federal, state or local law.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS
Organ And Tissue Donation: If you are an organ donor, we may release medical information to organizations
that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation
or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue
donation and transplantation.
Military: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release medical information
about you as required by military command authorities. We may also release
medical information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate
foreign military authority.
Workers’ Compensation: We may release medical information about you for workers’ compensation
or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related
injuries or illness.
Public Health Risks (Health And Safety To You And Or Others):We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities.
We may use and disclose medical information about you to agencies when
necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the
health and safety of the public or another person. These activities generally
include the following:
- To prevent or control disease, 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 people of recalls of products 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 a disease or condition.
- To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient
has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will only
make this disclosure when required or authorized by law.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities
authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits,
investigations, inspections, and licensing. These activities are necessary
for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs,
and compliance with civil rights laws.
Lawsuits And Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose medical
information about you in response to a court or administrative order.
We may also disclose medical information about you in response to a subpoena,
discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in
the dispute.
Law Enforcement: We may release medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official:
- In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process;
- To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person;
- About the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we
are unable to obtain the person’s agreement;
- About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;
- About criminal conduct at the hospital; and
- In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime
or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who
committed the crime.
Coroners, Medical Examiners And Funeral Directors: We may release medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. This
may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine
the cause of death. We may also release medical information about patients
of the hospital to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.
National Security And Intelligence Activities: We may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials
for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities
authorized by law.
Protective Services For The President And Others: We may disclose medical information about you to authorized federal officials
so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons
or foreign heads of state.
Inmates: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody
of a law enforcement official, we may release medical information about
you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official. This
release would be necessary (1) for the institution to provide you with
health care; (2) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety
of others; or (3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
You have the following rights regarding medical information we maintain
about you:
Right To Inspect And Copy: You have the right to inspect and copy medical information that may be
used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical
and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes.
To inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions
about you, contact the Medical Records Department at (870) 508-1286. If
you request a copy of information, we will charge a fee for the costs
of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.
If the health record is maintained in electronic format, you shall have
the right to obtain the record in electronic format.
We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances.
If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that
the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional, chosen
by the hospital, will review your request and the denial. The person conducting
the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply
with the outcome of the review.
Right To Amend: If you feel that medical information we have about you is incorrect or
incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right
to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for
the hospital.
To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted
to the Director of Medical Records. In addition, you must provide a reason
that supports your request.
We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does
not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny
your request if you ask us to amend information that:
- Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information
is no longer available to make the amendment;
- Is not part of the medical information kept by or for the hospital;
- Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect
and copy; or
- Is accurate and complete.
Right To An Accounting Of Disclosures: You have the right to request an “accounting of disclosures.”
This is a list of the disclosures we made of medical information about
you to others except for purposes of treatment, payment and operations
identified above.
To request a list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request
in writing to the Director of Medical Records. Your request must state
a time period which may not be longer than six years and may not include
dates before April 14, 2003. Your request should indicate in what form
you want the list (for example, on paper, or electronically). The first
list you request within a 12 month period will be free. For additional
lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will
notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify
your request at that time before any costs are incurred.
Right To Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical
information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health
care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the medical
information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care
or the payment for your care, like a family member of friend. For example,
you could ask that we not use or disclose information about a surgery
that you had.
We Are Not Required To Agree To Your Request: If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information
is needed to provide you with emergency treatment.
To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to the Director
of Medical Records. In your request, you must tell us (1) what information
you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or
both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example, disclosures
to your spouse.
Right to Restrict Disclosures of PHI to Health Plans: You have the right to request we not disclose your PHI to your health
plan, if you pay in full for the requested services.
Right To Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical
matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can
ask that we only contact you at work or by mail.
To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing
to the Director of Medical Records. We will not ask you the reason for
your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request
must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.
Right To A Paper Copy Of This Notice: You have the right to a paper copy of this privacy notice. You may ask
us to give you a copy of this privacy notice at any time by requesting
a copy from any member of our hospital personnel.
Right to be Notified in the Event of a Breach: You have the right to be notified in the event of a breach in the privacy
of your protected health information.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make
the revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already
have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We
will post a copy of the current notice in the hospital. The notice will
contain on the first page, in the top right-hand corner, the effective
date. In addition, each time you register at or are admitted to the hospital
for treatment or heath care services as an outpatient, we will offer you
a copy of the current notice in effect.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may contact
or submit your complaint in writing to the HIPAA Privacy Officer at the
hospital. If we cannot resolve your concern, you also have the right to
file a written complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services.
The quality of your care will not be jeopardized nor will you be penalized
for filing a complaint.
TELEMEDICINE
What is Telemedicine?
Telemedicine is a new terminology used in hospitals throughout the United
States, especially in rural settings. Telemedicine is a communication
and information tool used as an adjunct for providing another layer of
care to support our patients, our patients’ physicians, and the
bedside care team.
How does it work?
Telemedicine provides in-room audio, video, computer and high-speed data
links to connect our patients to specialists for their specific medical
condition.
Where are you using this technology?
Currently, Baxter Regional Medical Center Telemedicine is used on 2 South
Critical Care, Hensley Behavioral Health Center on 6 South, the Women
& Newborn Care Center on 2 East and in the Cline Emergency Center.
Will my health information be kept private?
Baxter Regional Medical Center and the telemedicine partners take special
care to be sure that each patient’s health information remains private.
Information access is limited to those with hospital authorization, and
no information is released to anyone other than those providing medical
care. Telemedicine partners only view patients when necessary. Your physician
is the ultimate decision-maker in the care you are provided. The patient’s
physician and the telemedicine partners discuss the patient’s medical
status and treatment plan, and modify as needed to ensure the best possible
medical status and treatment plan, and modify as needed to ensure the
best possible medical care for the patient.
OTHER USES OF MEDICAL INFORMATION
Other uses and disclosures of medical information not covered by this notice
or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission.
If you provide us with permission to use or disclose medical information
about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If
you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose medical
information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization.
You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have
already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain
our records of the care that we provided to you.
Click here to download BRMC's Notice of Privacy Practices.
8/13
We recognize that you may be concerned about our use and disclosure of
your personal information. Your privacy is very important to us, and the
following will inform you of the information that we, Baxter Regional
Medical Center, may collect from you, and how it is used. By using our
Web site, www.baxterregional.org, you are accepting the practices described
in this policy.
Information Collection
We may collect non-personal information, such as a domain name and IP Address.
The domain name and IP address reveals nothing personal about you other
than the IP address from which you have accessed our site. We may also
collect information about the type of Internet browser you are using,
operating system, what brought you to our Website, as well as which of
our Web pages you have accessed.
Additionally, if you communicate with us regarding our Website or our services,
we will collect any information that you provide to us in any such communication.
We may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials,
new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.
Information Use
We use the collected information primarily for our own internal purposes,
such as providing, maintaining, evaluating, and improving our services
and Website, fulfilling requests for information, and providing customer support.
Security
We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the information
submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it.
If we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information
is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this
by looking for a closed lock icon at the bottom of your web browser, or
looking for "https" at the beginning of the address of the web page.
While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online,
we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the
information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer
service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The
computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information
are kept in a secure environment.
Cookies
We use "cookies" on this site. A cookie is a piece of data stored
on a site visitor's hard drive to help us improve your access to our
site and identify repeat visitors to our site. For instance, when we use
a cookie to identify you, you would not have to log in a password more
than once, thereby saving time while on our site. Cookies can also enable
us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience
on our site. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable
information on our site.
Sharing
We will not sell or otherwise provide the information we collect to outside
third parties for the purpose of direct or indirect mass email marketing.
We will disclose personal information and/or an IP address, when required
by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to:
- Cooperate with the investigations of purported unlawful activities and
conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on
our company
- Protect and defend the rights or property of our Website and related properties
- Identify persons who may be violating the law, the rights of third parties,
or otherwise misusing our Website or its related properties
Please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information
online - for example through e-mail, discussion boards, or elsewhere -
that information can be collected and used by others. In short, if you
post personal information online that is accessible to the public, you
may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return.
Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your
personal information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you are online.
Links
This Website may contain links to other sites. Please be aware that we
are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other
sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and
to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally
identifiable information.
Surveys & Contests
From time-to-time our site may request information via surveys or contests.
Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and
you may choose whether or not to participate and therefore disclose this
information. Information requested may include contact information (such
as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip
code, age). Contact information will be used to notify the winners and
award prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring
or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.
Consent
By using this Website, you consent to the collection and use of information
as specified above. If we make changes to our Privacy Policy, we will
post those changes on this page. Please review this page frequently to
remain up-to-date with the information we collect, how we use it, and
under what circumstances we disclose it. You must review the new Privacy
Policy carefully to make sure you understand our practices and procedures.