Protection of Patient Health Information and Privacy Practices

 At Affinity Home Hospice services, we are totally focused on the delivery of consistently exceptional end-of-life care for our patients and their families. As care is delivered, we obviously come in contact with the personal health information of the patient. We take seriously our obligation to maintain the confidentiality of all personal health information that we learn about. This notice describes how Affinity uses and manages the personal health information of our patients. It also details how patients and their authorized representatives can gain access to this information.

 

USE AND DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH INFORMATION

Affinity Home Hospice Services may use your health information, information that constitutes protected health information as defined in the Privacy Rule of the Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (commonly known as “HIPAA” regulations or rules) for purposes of providing you treatment, obtaining payment for your care and conducting health care operations.  Affinity Home Hospice Services has established policies to guard against unnecessary disclosure of your health information.


THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH AND PURPOSES FOR WHICH YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED:


To Provide Treatment:  Affinity Home Hospice Services may use your health information to coordinate care within the Hospice and with others involved in your care, such as your attending physician, member of the Hospice interdisciplinary team and other health care professionals who have agreed to assist Affinity Home Hospice Services in coordinating care.  For example, physicians involved in your care will need information about your symptoms in order to prescribe appropriate medications.  Affinity Home Hospice Services also may disclose your health care information to individuals outside of the hospice involved in your care including family members, pharmacists, suppliers of medical equipment or other health care professionals.


To Obtain Payment:  Affinity Home Hospice Services may include your health information in invoices to collect from third parties for the care you receive from Hospice.  For example, Affinity Home Hospice Services may be required by your health insurer to provide information regarding your health care status so that the insurer will reimburse you or the Hospice.  Affinity Home Hospice Services also may need to obtain prior approval from your insurer and may need to explain to the insurer your need for hospice and the services that will be provided to you.


To Conduct Health Care Operations:  Affinity Home Hospice Services may use and disclose health information for its own operations in order to facilitate the function of the hospice and as necessary to provide quality care to all of the hospice’s patients.  Health care operations include such activities as:

  • Quality assessment and improvement activities
  • Activities designed to improve health or reduce health care costs
  • Protocol development, case management and care coordination
  • Contacting health care providers and patient with information about treatment alternatives and other related functions that do not include treatment
  • Professional review and performance evaluation
  • Training programs including those in which students, trainees or practitioners in health care learn under supervision
  • Training of non-health care professionals
  • Accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities
  • Review and auditing, including compliance reviews, medical reviews, legal services and compliance programs
  • Business planning and development including cost management and planning related analyses and formulary development
  • Business management and general administrative activities of Affinity Home Hospice Services
  • Fundraising for the benefit of Hospice

For example, Affinity may use your health information to evaluate its staff performance, combine your health information with other Hospice patients in evaluating how to more effectively serve all Hospice patients, disclose your health information to Hospice staff and contracted personnel for training purposes, use your health information to contact you as a reminder regarding a visit to you, or contact you as part of general fundraising and community information mailings (unless you tell us you do not want to be contacted).


For Fundraising Activities: Affinity may use information about you including your name, address, phone number and the dates your received care in order to contact you or your family to raise money for the Hospice.  The Hospice may also release this information to a related Hospice foundation.  If you do not want the Hospice to contact you or your family, notify the Privacy Officer at (205) 949-0400 and indicate that you do not wish to be contacted.


For Appointment Reminders:  Affinity may use and disclose your health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for a home visit.


For Treatment Alternatives:  Affinity may use and disclose your health information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.


THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH AND PURPOSES FOR WHICH YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY ALSO BE USED AND DISCLOSED


When Legally Required:  Affinity will disclose your health information when it is required to do so by any Federal, State or local law.


When There Are Risks to Public Health:  Affinity may disclose your health information for public activities and purposes in order to:

  • Prevent or control disease, injury or disability, report disease, injury, vital events such as birth or death and the conduct of public health surveillance, investigations and interventions.
  • Report adverse events, product defects, to track products or enable product recalls, repairs and replacements and to conduct post-marketing surveillance and compliance with requirements of the Food and Drug Administration.
  • Notify a person who has been exposed to a communicable disease or who may be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease.
  • Notify an employer about an individual who is a member of the workforce as legally required.

To Report Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence:  Affinity is allowed to notify government authorities if the Hospice believes a patient is the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.  The Hospice will make this disclosure only when specifically required or authorized by law or when the patient agrees to the disclosure.


To Conduct Health Oversight Activities:  Affinity may disclose your health information to a health oversight hospice for activities including audits, civil administrative or criminal investigations, inspections, licensure or disciplinary action.

Affinity, however, may not disclose your health information if you are the subject of an investigation and your health information is not directly related to your receipt of health care or public benefits.


In Connection With Judicial And Administrative Proceedings:  Affinity may disclose your health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal as expressly authorized by such order or in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process, but only when the Hospice makes reasonable efforts to either notify you about the request or to obtain an order protecting your health information


For Law Enforcement Purposes:  As permitted or required by State law, Hospice providers may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for certain law enforcement purposes as follows:

  • As required by law for reporting of certain types of wounds or other physical injuries pursuant to the court order, warrant, subpoena or summons or similar process.
  • For the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.
  • Under certain limited circumstances, when you are the victim of a crime.
  • To a law enforcement official if the Hospice has a suspicion that your death was the result of criminal conduct including criminal conduct at the Hospice.
  • In an emergency in order to report a crime.

To Coroners and Medical Examiners:  Affinity may disclose your health information to coroners and medical examiners for purposes of determining your cause of death or for other duties, as authorized by law.


To Funeral Directors:  Affinity may disclose your health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law and if necessary, to carry out their duties with respect to your funeral arrangements.  If necessary to carry out their duties, the Hospice may disclose your health information prior to and in reasonable anticipation of your death.


For Organ, Eye Or Tissue Donation:  Affinity may use or disclose your health information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking or transplantation of organs, eyes or tissue for the purpose of facilitating the donation and transplantation.


For Research Purposes:  Affinity may, under very select circumstances, use your health information for research.  Before the Hospice discloses any of your health information for such research purposes, the project will be subject to an extensive approval process.


In the Event of A Serious Threat To Health or Safety:  Affinity may, consistent with applicable law and ethical standards of conduct, disclose your health information if the Hospice, in good faith, believes that such disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or to the health and safety of the public.


For Specified Government Functions:  In certain circumstances, the Federal regulations authorize  Hospice providers to use or disclose your health information to facilitate specified government functions relating to military and veterans, national security and intelligence activities, protective services for the President and others, medical suitability determinations and inmates and law enforcement custody.


For Worker’s Compensation: Affinity may release your health information for worker’s compensation or similar programs.


AUTHORIZATION TO USE OR DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION

Other than is stated above, Affinity will not disclose your health information other than with your written authorization.  If you or your representative authorizes the Hospice to use or disclose your health information, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time.


YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION

You have the following rights regarding your health information that the hospice maintains:

  • Right to request restrictions:  You may request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information.  You have the right to request a limit on Affinity’s disclosure of your health information to someone who is involved in your care or the payment of your care.  However, Affinity is not required to agree to your request.  If you wish to make a request for restrictions, please contact the Affinity Home Hospice Services Privacy Officer at (205) 949-0400.
  • Right to receive confidential communications:  You have the right to request that Affinity communicate with you in a certain way.  For example, you may ask that hospice only conduct communications pertaining to your health information with you privately with no other family member present.  If you wish to receive confidential communications, please contact Privacy Officer at (205) 949-0400.  Affinity will not request that you provide any reasons for your request and will attempt to honor your reasonable request for confidential communications.
  • Right to Inspect and Copy Your Health Information:  You have the right to inspect and copy your health information, including billing records.  A request to inspect and copy records containing your health information may be made to our Privacy Officer at (205) 949-0400.  If you request a copy of your health information, Affinity will charge a reasonable fee for copying and assembling costs associated with your request.
  • Right to amend health care information:  You or your representative have the right to request that Affinity amend your records, if you believe that your health information is incorrect or incomplete.  That request may be made as long as the information is maintained by Affinity Home Hospice Services.  A request for an amendment of records must be made in writing to Affinity Home Hospice Services, Privacy Officer; 216 Aquarius Drive, Suite 315; Birmingham, AL  35209.  Hospice may deny the request if it is not in writing or does not include a reason for the amendment.  The request also may be denied if your health information records were not created by Hospice, if the records you are requesting are not part of Affinity’s records, if the health information you wish to amend is not part of the health information you or your representative are permitted to inspect and copy, or if, in the opinion of Affinity, the records containing your health information are accurate and complete.
  • Right to an accounting:  You or your representative have the right to request an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by Affinity for certain reasons, including reasons related to public purposes authorized by law and certain research.  The request for an accounting must be made in writing to Affinity Home Hospice Services, Privacy Officer; (205) 949-0400.  The request should specify the time period for the accounting starting on or after December 1, 2004.  Accounting requests may not be made for periods of time in excess of six (6) years. 

Affinity Home Hospice Services would provide the first accounting you request during any 12 month period without charge.
Subsequent accounting requests may be subject to a reasonable cost-based fee.

  • Right to a paper copy of this notice:  You or your representative has a right to a separate paper copy of this Notice at any time even if you or your representative has received this Notice previously.  To obtain another copy, please contact Privacy Officer, (205) 949-0400.

DUTIES OF AFFINITY HOME HOSPICE SERVICES

Affinity is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide to you and your representative this Notice of its duties and privacy practices.  Affinity is required to abide by the terms of this Notice as may be amended from time to time.  We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all health information that it maintains.  If Affinity changes its Notice, it will provide a copy of the revised Notice to you or your appointed representative.  You or your personal representative has the right to express complaints to Affinity Home Hospice Services and the Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services if you or your representative believe that your privacy rights have been violated.  Any complaints to Affinity Home Hospice Services should be made in writing to Affinity Home Hospice Services, Privacy Officer; 216 Aquarius Drive, Suite 315; Birmingham, AL  35409.  We encourage you to express any concerns you may have regarding privacy of your information.  You will not be retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Affinity Home Hospice Services has designated Sandra McKenzie, RN, President and Chief Executive Officer or Jackie Miles, RN, Director of Patient Care Services, as its contact person for all issues regarding privacy and your rights under the federal privacy standards.  You may contact them at Affinity Home Hospice Services; 216 Aquarius Drive, Suite 315; Birmingham, AL  35209; Phone- (205) 949-0400.


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