Notice of Privacy Practices - HIPAA

Saint Peter's College
Office of Health Services
Jersey City, N.J. 07306
Phone (201) 915-9276 Fax (201) 451-0751

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

Effective Date 4/14/03

OUR PLEDGE REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION:

The Office of Health Services understands that Health Information and your health are personal. We are committed to protecting your Personal Health Information (PHI) in accordance with the federal law, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) OF 1996. We value the trust you have placed in the Office of Health Services to provide health care for you, and give our commitment to treat all of the information you give us responsibly.

The Law requires us 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 PHI
• Follow the terms of the notice that are currently in effect.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION:

Described as follows are different ways that we use and disclose medical information.
Not every use or disclosure will be listed. However, we have listed all of the different ways we are permitted to use and disclose medical information. We will not use or disclose your PHI for any purpose not listed below without your specific written authorization. You may revoke such permission anytime by writing to the Director of Health Services, Anna M. Stacey,R.N.

Treatment: We may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical treatment about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other personnel, including people outside our office, who are involved in your medical care and need the information to assist them in treating you.

Health Care Operations- We may use and disclose health information for health care operation purposes. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run our office and make sure that all our patients receive quality medical care. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services, we may combine this information we have with information from other health care providers to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we provide.

Notification: Medical information to notify or help notify: a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care. We will share information about your location, general condition or death. If you are present we will get your permission or refusal of permission. In case of emergency, and if you are not able to give or refuse permission, we will share only the health information that is directly necessary for your health care, according to our professional judgment.

Public Health Activities: As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability. We may also disclose your health information to persons subject to jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration for purposes of reporting adverse events associated with product defects or problems, to enable product recalls, repairs or replacements, to track products, or to conduct activities required by the FDA. We may also, when authorized by law, notify a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or condition.

To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose health information when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

As Required By Law: We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.

SPECIAL SITUATIONS:

Law Enforcement: We may release health information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official if the information is: 1) a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process. 2) to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person. 3) about the victim of a crime if under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the persons agreement.4) about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct. 5) about criminal conduct on our premises, and 6) in emergency circumstances to report a crime, the location of a crime or victims: or the identity, description, or location of the person who committed the crime.

Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

Worker’s Compensation: We may release health information for worker’s compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work related injuries or illness.

YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION:

• Right to Inspect and Copy
• Right to Amend
• Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
• Right to Request Restrictions
• Right to Request Confidential Communications
• Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice

All requests pertaining to your rights must be written and submitted to the Office of Health Services

*Detailed explanations of your individual rights are available at the Office of Health Services.

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 with the effective date in our office reception area. In addition, each time you register for treatment, you will be offered a copy of the current notice in effect.

COMPLAINTS:

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Dean of Students in the Office of Student Affairs. All complaints must be submitted in writing.

OTHER USES OF MEDICAL INFORMATION:

Other uses and disclosures of health 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 permission to use or disclose health information, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose health information 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 you.