HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

 

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.

Guardian Angels For Seniors is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal and health information. Guardian Angels For Seniors is a provider of diagnostic testing, information and services. Guardian Angels For Seniors, we are committed to protecting the confidentiality of individuals' test results and other patient protected health information (PHI) that we collect or create as part of our diagnostic testing activities.
We urge you to read this Notice of Privacy Practices carefully so that you will understand both our commitment to the privacy of your PHI, and how you can participate in that commitment. Should you have any questions about this Notice or our privacy practices, please call us at any of the numbers below or write to us at the following address:

Guardian Angels For Seniors
Attn: Shirley Barry, Owner/Director
P.O. BOX 74
Estero, Florida 33928-3194
Phone (239) 645-4972 Fax: (239) 948-5464
Sbarry@GuardianAngelsForSeniors.com

This Notice is Effective as of July 01, 2010.

Guardian Angels For Seniors Privacy Policy

Guardian Angels For Seniors and its employees are committed to obtaining, maintaining, using and disclosing patient protected health information (PHI) in a manner that protects patient privacy. We will only use or disclose the minimum amount of your PHI we consider necessary to perform a job or complete an activity. This Notice applies to all PHI that we maintain. Your other medical providers may have different notices regarding his/her use and disclosure of your PHI created in his/her office.
Guardian Angels For Seniors is required by law to provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices with respect to PHI, to maintain the privacy of PHI, to state the uses and disclosures of PHI that we may make, and to list the rights of individuals and our legal duties with respect to their PHI. Your PHI at Guardian Angels For Seniors includes personal and medical information (such as your name, address, date of birth, etc.) that we obtain from you, your physician, health plan, or other sources.
Guardian Angels For Seniors is required to abide by the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices currently in effect. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices and to make the provisions of the new Notice of Privacy Practices effective for all PHI that we maintain. The current Notice will be displayed on our website and a copy is available upon request.

How we may use and disclose your Protected Health Information
Your PHI will be used or disclosed for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations purposes and for other purposes permitted or required by law. Not every use or disclosure is listed; however, all of the ways we use or disclose your PHI will fall into one of the categories listed below.
If we wanted to use or disclose your PHI for other purposes, we would have to obtain your written authorization. Except if the results are being released to public health officials as required by law. You have the right to revoke your authorization at any time, except if we have already made a disclosure based on that authorization. We do not need your authorization or permission to use or disclose your PHI for the following purposes:

For Treatment
We may use and disclose PHI about you to provide, coordinate or manage your health care and related services. This may include communicating with other health care providers regarding your treatment and coordinating and managing your health care with others. In addition, we may use and disclose PHI about you when referring you to another health care provider.

For Healthcare Operations
We may use or disclose your PHI in the course of activities necessary to support our health care operations, such as performing quality checks on our services, for teaching purposes, for obtaining accreditations or for developing normal reference ranges for the services that we perform.

For Payment
We will use your PHI in our billing departments and disclose your PHI to insurance companies, hospitals, physicians, and health plans for payment purposes, or to third parties to assist us in creating bills, claim forms, or getting paid for our services. For example, we may send your name, date of service, test performed, diagnosis code, and other information to a health plan so that the plan will pay us for the services we provided. In some cases, we may have to contact you to obtain billing information or for other billing purposes. When required, we may use an outside collection agency to obtain payment.

Disclosures to Business Associates
Guardian Angels For Seniors may disclose your PHI to other companies or individuals who need your PHI in order to provide specific services to us. These other entities, known as "business associates," must comply with the terms of a contract designed to ensure that they will maintain the privacy and security of the PHI we provide to them or which they create on our behalf. Our business associates must only use your PHI for designated treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes that they perform on our behalf.

As Permitted or Required by Law
We may use or disclose your PHI for various public policy purposes that are authorized or required by federal or state law. For example, we are required to disclose your PHI to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") upon request. We must provide you with copies of your PHI at your request, except where restricted or prohibited by state law. We will provide the information regarding your specific state to you upon request.

Health Oversight
We may disclose your PHI in connection with governmental oversight, licensure, auditing, and other purposes. For example, governmental agencies periodically review our records to ensure that Guardian Angels For Seniors is complying with the rules of various regulatory and licensing agencies. AHCA and State Health Departments are examples of agencies that oversee aspects of Guardian Angels For Seniors operations.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings
We may disclose your PHI as required to comply with court orders, discovery requests or other legal process in the course of a judicial or administrative proceeding.

Law Enforcement
We may also disclose PHI for law enforcement purposes. For example, we may be required to release PHI as required by law or in compliance with a court order, judicial subpoena, court-ordered warrant, grand jury subpoena, administrative request, investigative demand or similar legal process, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order of protection for the requested information.

Workers Compensation
We may disclose your PHI as necessary to comply with requirements of workers' compensation or similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness without regard to fault.

Note Regarding State Law
For all of the above purposes, in cases where state law is more restrictive than federal law, we are required to follow the more restrictive state law.
We may contact you for specific reasons
Although we do not do so today, we may want to contact you in the future regarding health-related products or services that may be of interest to you.
Your rights concerning privacy and confidentiality

Access
You or your authorized or designated personal representative have the right to inspect and copy your PHI. Guardian Angels For Seniors will deny access to certain information for specific reasons, for example, where state law prohibits such patient access. If your request is denied, you may request that the denial be reviewed.

Amendments
You have the right to request amendments to your PHI (but we are not required to make the requested amendments).

Accounting
You have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your PHI that were made by Guardian Angels For Seniors for a period of up to six years prior to the date of your written request, but not including any disclosures made prior to July 01, 2010, when the Privacy Rule went into effect. Under the law, this accounting does not include disclosures made for purposes of treatment, payment, health care operations, or certain other excluded purposes, but includes other types of disclosures, including disclosures for public health reporting or in response to a court order.
Restrictions
You have the right to ask us if we will agree to restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your PHI, but we are not required to agree to your request.
Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that we send your PHI to an alternate address, but we are not required to agree to your request.
Notice of Privacy Practices
You have the right to request a paper copy of this Notice.

Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you have the right to register a complaint with Guardian Angels For Seniors or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Guardian Angels For Seniors will not retaliate against any individual for filing a complaint. You may file a complaint by calling us at (239) 645.4972 or by writing to us at the address located at the beginning of this Notice.
How to exercise your rights
Write to us with your specific written request and be sure to include sufficient information for us to identify all of your records. You may also contact us at (239) 645.4972 to request an access form. Guardian Angels For Seniors will consider your request and provide you a response within a reasonable timeframe. Should we deny your request, you have the right to ask for the denial to be reviewed by another healthcare professional designated by Guardian Angels For Seniors. For additional details, call us at (239) 645.4972.
You may request a copy of this Notice in electronic and/or paper form by calling (239) 645.4972.

How to contact us
If you have questions or concerns regarding the privacy or confidentiality of your PHI, or you wish to register a complaint, please write us at the address located at the beginning of this notice or contact (239) 645.4972 .
Our online privacy notice, which describes our online privacy practices, may be viewed at the following address: www.GuardianAngelsForSeniors.com
Guardian Angels For Seniors reserves the right to amend this Notice of Privacy Practices, at any time, to reflect changes in our privacy practices, and these changes will apply retroactively. Any such changes will be applicable to and effective for all Protected Health Information (PHI) that we maintain including PHI we created or received prior to the effective date of the Notice revision.
This notice was published and becomes effective on/or before July 01, 2010.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of, and provide individuals with, this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information. If you have any objections to this form, please ask to speak with our HIPAA Compliance Officer in person or by phone at our Main Phone Number.