NEEL RAYA MD INC.
PRIVACY
POLICY
NEEL
RAYA MD INC
PATIENT
NOTICE-OF-PRIVACY POLICY
This
notice describes how health information about you maybe used and disclosed and
how you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this
information. Please review it carefully. Our website www.rayamd.com will be current at any given
time.
INTRODUCTION
NEEL RAYA MD Inc. is committed to providing you with high
quality health care and to forming a relationship with you that is built on trust.
That means respecting your privacy and confidentiality of you medical
information. We protect your privacy and confidentiality rights by creating and
putting into practice policies and procedures that allow access to your
personal medical information only for legitimate reasons. We ensure that
Protected health information is protected during its collection, use,
disclosure, storage and destruction in the office of NEEL RAYA MD. We maintain
protocols to ensure the confidentiality of your personal information, Access to your information is limited to
those who need it to perform their jobs for your healthcare needs. This notice
is effective August 25, 2013, and applies to all protected health information
as defined by federal regulations.
WHAT
IS PHI – ‘PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION’
Protected
Health Information means all information, recorded or exchanged verbally about
an identifiable individual that relates to: the individual’s health, or health
care history, including genetic information and demographic about the
individual or the individual’s family. What NEEL RAYA MD has learned or
observed, including conduct or behavior that may be a result of illness or the
effect of treatment, the provision of health care to the individual. Individuals
include co-workers or families of co-workers when they are patients of NEEL
RAYA MD, for healthcare provided to the individual, and includes: the Protected
health identification number and any other identifying number, symbol, etc.
assigned to an individual, any identifying information about the individual
that is collected in the course of, and is incidental to, the provision of
health care or payment for health care. By law de-identified health information
which does not have specific identifiers to an individual or relative of the
individual would be considered non-protected.
UNDERSTANDING
YOUR MEDICAL RECORD
As we provide your health care, we are required to maintain
a complete copy of your medical history, current condition, treatment plan and
all treatment given, including the results of all tests, procedures and
therapies. Whether this information is stored in writing, on a computer, or
other means, we will keep this information in a safe and secure way that
protects your privacy and confidentiality. Typically this record contains your
symptoms, examination, test results, diagnosis, treatment, and a plan for
future care or treatment. This information serves as means of communication
among the many health professionals who contribute to your care. It is a legal
document describing the care you received. This document serves as a means by
which you or a third party payer can verify that services billed were actually
provided. This is a source of information for the public health officials
charged to improve the health of the state and nation.
YOU’RE
HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS
(Our office will make every effort to honor
reasonable restriction preferences from our patients, if it is made in writing)
·
Right
to request restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your health
information. (However we are not required by law to agree to a requested
restriction).
·
Right
to request that we communicate your health information in a certain way. You
may request that we only communicate your health information privately with no
other family member present.
·
Right
for a written notice of information practices
·
Right
for access to read, review, and copy your health information, including your
complete chart and billing records. We may need to charge you a reasonable fee
to duplicate and assemble your copy.
·
Right
to receive an accounting of disclosures
·
Right
to ask us to update or modify your medical records if you believe your health
information records are incorrect or incomplete. We will be happy to
accommodate you as long as our office maintains this information. We will need
the request in writing and the reason for the change. Your request may be
denied if the health information record in question was not created in this
office, is not part of our records or if the records containing your health
information are determined to be accurate and complete.
·
Right
to ask us for a description of how and where your health information was used
by our office for any reason other than for treatment, payment, or health
operations. Our documentation will enable us to provide information on health
information usage from April 14, 2003 and forward. Please let us know in
writing the time period for which you are interested. We may need to charge you
a reasonable fee for this.
·
Right
to timeliness of access to records.
·
Right
to expect respectful care and as much information about their condition as
possible.
·
Right
to obtain a copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices directly from our office
at any time.
OUR
RESPONSIBILITIES
Our Practice is required to:
·
Maintain
the privacy of your health information.
·
Provide
you with this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect
to information we collect and maintain about you.
·
Abide
by the terms of this notice.
·
Notify
you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction, and
·
Accommodate
reasonable requests you may have to communicate your health information.
·
We
reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions
effective for all protected health information we maintain. We will keep a
posted copy of the most current notice in our office containing the effective
date. You may obtain a copy of the same upon request.
·
We
will not use or disclose your health information in a manner other than
described in this notice without your written authorization, which you may
revoke, except to the extent that action has already been taken.
·
We
will make reasonable efforts to use,
disclose, and request only the minimum amount of protected health information
needed to accomplish the intended purpose of the use, disclosure, or request.
This minimum necessary requirement is not imposed in any of the following
circumstances: (a) disclosure to or a request by a health care provider for
treatment; (b) disclosure to an individual who is the subject of the
information, or the individual’s personal representative; (c) use or disclosure
made pursuant to an authorization; (d) disclosure to HHS for complaint
investigation, compliance review or enforcement; (e) use or disclosure that is
required by law; or (f) use or disclosure required for compliance with the
HIPAA Transactions Rule or other HIPAA Administrative Simplification Rules.
HOW
THE HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED
Permitted Uses and Disclosures. NEEL
RAYA MD INC is permitted, but not required, to use and disclose protected
health information, without an individual’s authorization, for the following
purposes or situations: (1) To the Individual (unless required for access or
accounting of disclosures); (2) Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations;
(3) Opportunity to Agree or Object; (4) Incident to an otherwise permitted use
and disclosure; (5) Public Interest and Benefit Activities; and (6) Limited
Data Set for the purposes of research, public health or health care operations.18
Covered entities may rely on professional ethics and best judgments in deciding
which of these permissive uses and disclosures to make.
(1) To the
Individual.
NEEL RAYA MD INC may disclose protected health information to the individual
who is the subject of the information.
(2)
Treatment, Payment, Health Care Operations. NEEL RAYA MD INC may use and disclose
protected health information for its own treatment, payment, and health care
operations activities. NEEL RAYA MD INC also may disclose protected health
information for the treatment activities of any health care provider, the
payment activities of another covered entity and of any health care provider,
or the health care operations of another covered entity involving either
quality or competency assurance activities or fraud and abuse detection and
compliance activities, if both covered entities have or had a relationship with
the individual and the protected health information pertains to the
relationship.
Treatment is the provision, coordination, or management of health
care and related services for an individual by one or more health care providers,
including consultation between providers regarding a patient and referral of a
patient by one provider to another.
Payment encompasses activities of a health plan to obtain
premiums, determine or fulfill responsibilities for coverage and provision of benefits,
and furnish or obtain reimbursement for health care delivered to an individual
and activities of a health care provider to obtain payment or be reimbursed for
the provision of health care to an individual.
Health care operations are any of the following activities: (a)
quality assessment and improvement activities, including case management and
care coordination; (b) competency assurance activities, including provider or
health plan performance evaluation, credentialing, and accreditation; (c) conducting
or arranging for medical reviews, audits, or legal services, including fraud
and abuse detection and compliance programs; (d) specified insurance functions,
such as underwriting, risk rating, and reinsuring risk; (e) business planning,
development, management, and administration; and (f) business management and
general administrative activities of the entity, including but not limited to:
de-identifying protected health information, creating a limited data set, and
certain fundraising for the benefit of the NEEL RAYA MD INC.
Most uses and
disclosures of psychotherapy notes for treatment, payment, and health care
operations purposes require an authorization as described below. Obtaining
“consent” (written permission from individuals to use and disclose their
protected health information for treatment, payment, and health care
operations) is optional under the Privacy Rule for all covered entities.The
content of a consent form, and the process for obtaining consent, are at the
discretion of the NEEL RAYA MD INC electing to seek consent.
(3) Uses
and Disclosures with Opportunity to Agree or Object. Informal permission
may be obtained by asking the individual outright, or by circumstances that
clearly give the individual the opportunity to agree, acquiesce, or object.
Where the individual is incapacitated, in an emergency situation, or not
available, covered entities generally may make such uses and disclosures, if in
the exercise of their professional judgment, the use or disclosure is
determined to be in the best interests of the individual.
Facility Directories. It is a common practice in many health
care facilities, such as hospitals, to maintain a directory of patient contact information.
A covered health care provider may rely on an individual’s informal permission
to list in its facility directory the individual’s name, general condition,
religious affiliation, and location in the provider’s facility. The provider
may then disclose the individual’s condition and location in the facility to
anyone asking for the individual by name, and also may disclose religious
affiliation to clergy. Members of the clergy are not required to ask for the
individual by name when inquiring about patient religious affiliation.
For Notification and Other Purposes. NEEL RAYA MD INC also
may rely on an individual’s informal permission to disclose to the individual’s
family, relatives, or friends, or to other persons whom the individual
identifies, protected health information directly relevant to that person’s
involvement in the individual’s care or payment for care. This provision, for example, allows a
pharmacist to dispense filled prescriptions to a person acting on behalf of the
patient. Similarly, a NEEL RAYA MD INC may rely on an individual’s informal
permission to use or disclose protected health information for the purpose of
notifying (including identifying or locating) family members, personal
representatives, or others responsible for the individual’s care of the
individual’s location, general condition, or death. In addition, protected
health information may be disclosed for notification purposes to public or
private entities authorized by law or charter to assist in disaster relief
efforts.
(4)
Incidental Use and Disclosure. The Privacy Rule does not require that every
risk of an incidental use or disclosure of protected health information be
eliminated. A use or disclosure of this information that occurs as a result of,
or as “incident to,” an otherwise permitted use or disclosure is permitted as
long as the NEEL RAYA MD INC has adopted reasonable safeguards as required by
the Privacy Rule, and the information being shared was limited to the “minimum
necessary,” as required by the Privacy Rule.
(5) Public
Interest and Benefit Activities. The Privacy Rule permits use and disclosure of
protected health information, without an individual’s authorization or
permission, for 12 national priority purposes. These disclosures are permitted,
although not required, by the Rule in recognition of the important uses made of
health information outside of the health care context. Specific conditions or
limitations apply to each public interest purpose, striking the balance between
the individual privacy interest and the public interest need for this
information.
Required by Law. Covered entities may use and disclose
protected health information without individual authorization as required by
law (including by statute, regulation, or court orders).
Public Health Activities. Covered entities may
disclose protected health information to: (1) public health authorities
authorized by law to collect or receive such information for preventing or
controlling disease, injury, or disability and to public health or other
government authorities authorized to receive reports of child abuse and
neglect; (2) entities subject to FDA regulation regarding FDA regulated
products or activities for purposes such as adverse event reporting, tracking
of products, product recalls, and post-marketing surveillance; (3) individuals
who may have contracted or been exposed to a communicable disease when
notification is authorized by law; and (4) employers, regarding employees, when
requested by employers, for information concerning a work-related illness or
injury or workplace related medical surveillance, because such information is
needed by the employer to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OHSA), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MHSA), or
similar state law.
Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence. In certain
circumstances, covered entities may disclose protected health information to
appropriate government authorities regarding victims of abuse, neglect, or
domestic violence.
Health Oversight Activities. Covered entities may
disclose protected health information to health oversight agencies (as defined
in the Rule) for purposes of legally authorized health oversight activities,
such as audits and investigations necessary for oversight of the health care
system and government benefit programs.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. Covered entities may
disclose protected health information in a judicial or administrative
proceeding if the request for the information is through an order from a court
or administrative tribunal. Such information may also be disclosed in response
to a subpoena or other lawful process if certain assurances regarding notice to
the individual or a protective order are provided.
Law Enforcement Purposes. Covered entities may
disclose protected health information to law enforcement officials for law
enforcement purposes under the following six circumstances, and subject to
specified conditions: (1) as required by law (including court orders,
court-ordered warrants, subpoenas) and administrative requests; (2) to identify
or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; (3) in
response to a law enforcement official’s request for information about a victim
or suspected victim of a crime; (4) to alert law enforcement of a person’s
death, if NEEL RAYA MD INC suspects that
criminal activity caused the death; (5) when NEEL RAYA MD INC believes that
protected health information is evidence of a crime that occurred on its premises;
and (6) by a covered health care provider in a medical emergency not occurring
on its premises, when necessary to inform law enforcement about the commission
and nature of a crime, the location of the crime or crime victims, and the
perpetrator of the crime.
Decedents. Covered entities may disclose protected health
information to funeral directors as needed, and to coroners or medical
examiners to identify a deceased person, determine the cause of death, and
perform other functions authorized by law.
Cadaveric Organ, Eye, or Tissue Donation. Covered entities may
use or disclose protected health information to facilitate the donation and
transplantation of cadaveric organs, eyes, and tissue.
Research. “Research” is any systematic investigation
designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.37 The
Privacy Rule permits NEEL RAYA MD INC to use and disclose protected health
information for research purposes, without an individual’s authorization,
provided NEEL RAYA MD INC obtains
either: (1) documentation that an alteration or waiver of individuals’
authorization for the use or disclosure of protected health information about
them for research purposes has been approved by an Institutional Review Board
or Privacy Board; (2) representations from the researcher that the use or disclosure
of the protected health information is solely to prepare a research protocol or
for similar purpose preparatory to research, that the researcher will not
remove any protected health information from NEEL RAYA MD INC, and that
protected health information for which access is sought is necessary for the
research; or (3) representations from the researcher that the use or disclosure
sought is solely for research on the protected health information of decedents,
that the protected health information sought is necessary for the research,
and, at the request of NEEL RAYA MD INC, documentation of the death of the
individuals about whom information is sought. NEEL RAYA MD INC also
may use or disclose, without an individuals’ authorization, a limited data set
of protected health information for research purposes.
Serious Threat to Health or Safety. Covered entities may
disclose protected health information that they believe is necessary to prevent
or lessen a serious and imminent threat to a person or the public, when such
disclosure is made to someone they believe can prevent or lessen the threat
(including the target of the threat). Covered entities may also disclose to law
enforcement if the information is needed to identify or apprehend an escapee or
violent criminal.
Essential Government Functions. An authorization is
not required to use or disclose protected health information for certain
essential government functions. Such functions include: assuring proper
execution of a military mission, conducting intelligence and national security
activities that are authorized by law, providing protective services to the
President, making medical suitability determinations for U.S. State Department
employees, protecting the health and safety of inmates or employees in a
correctional institution, and determining eligibility for or conducting
enrollment in certain government benefit programs.
Workers’ Compensation. Covered entities may
disclose protected health information as authorized by, and to comply with,
workers’ compensation laws and other similar programs providing benefits for
work-related injuries or illnesses.
(6) Limited
Data Set.
A limited data set is protected health information from which certain specified
direct identifiers of individuals and their relatives, household members, and
employers have been removed. A limited data set may be used and disclosed for
research, health care operations, and public health purposes, provided the
recipient enters into a data use agreement promising specified safeguards for
the protected health information within the limited data set.
RESTRICTION-REQUEST
Individuals have the right to request that a covered entity
restrict use or disclosure of protected health information for treatment,
payment or health care operations, disclosure to persons involved in the
individual’s health care or payment for health care, or disclosure to notify
family members or others about the individual’s general condition, location, or
death.61 NEEL RAYA MD INC is
under no obligation to agree to requests for restrictions. A covered entity
that does agree must comply with the agreed restrictions, except for purposes
of treating the individual in a medical emergency.
CONFIDENTIAL
COMMUNICATIONS REQUIREMENTS.
We will permit individuals to request an alternative means
or location for receiving communications of protected health information by
means other than those that we typically provide.
OTHER
THAN IS STATED ABOVE OR WHERE FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL LAW REQUIRES US, WE WILL
NOT DISCLOSE YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION OTHER THAN WITH YOUR WRITTEN
AUTHORIZATION. YOU MAY REVOKE THAT AUTHORIZATION IN WRITING AT ANY TIME.
QUESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS
·
If
you have questions about the privacy of your medical records, please contact
Dr.Raya at 740-6546596.
·
If
you believe your privacy rights have been compromised you have the right to express
complaints to Dr.Raya or to the Secretary of Human and Health Services. We
encourage you to express any concerns you may have regarding the privacy of
your information.
·
Please
let us know of your questions or complaints in writing.
Updated
August 25, 2013