Welcome to Rehabilitation Associates of Nevada

Effective Date: January 1, 2003

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.

PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.
This Notice describes the type of information we gather about you, with whom that information may be shared, and the safeguards we have in place to protect it. You have the right to the confidentiality of your medical information and the right to approve or refuse the release of specific information, except when the release is required by law, or permitted by law without your authorization.

If the practices described in this notice meet your expectations, there is nothing you need to do. If you prefer additional limitations on the use of your medical information, you may request them by following the procedures noted below.

If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact our Privacy Officer at the address below.

WHO WILL COMPLY WITH THIS NOTICE:

This Notice describes information about privacy practices followed by our employees, staff and other office personnel. The practices described in this Notice will also be followed by healthcare providers you consult with by telephone (when your regular healthcare provider from our office is not available) who provide "call" coverage for your healthcare provider.

YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION:

We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal. Protecting medical information about you is important. We create a record of the care and services you receive. 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 employees of Rehabilitation Associates of Nevada, whether made by health care professionals or other personnel.

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:

Keep confidential any medical information that concerns your condition or treatment, how your care is paid for and demographic information, if such information can be used to identify you;
give you this Notice of our policies, procedures and information 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 HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:

For Treatment:

We may use health information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose health information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, office staff and other personnel who are involved in taking care of you or your health. 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 dietitian if you have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different health care professionals 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 or that provide services that are part of your care.

For Payment:

We may use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at this office may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, your insurance company may need to know about a procedure you received so they will pay us or reimburse you for the procedure. We may also use and disclose medical information about you to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your insurance will cover the treatment, or to undertake other tasks related to seeking payment for services provided. We may also disclose medical information to another health care provider who is or has been involved in your treatment, so that that provider may seek payment for services rendered.

For Healthcare Operations:

We may use and disclose health information about you for health care operations purposes. This is necessary to make sure that all of our patient s 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 to otherwise manage and operate effectively. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, training doctors, medical students, and other hospital personnel for review and learning purposes. 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.

Appointment Reminders:

We may use and disclose medical information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care.

Treatment Alternatives:

We may tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.

Health-Related Products and Services:

We may tell you about health-related products or services that may be of interest to you.

Special Situations:

We may use or disclose health information about you without your permission for the following purposes:

To Avert a Serious Treat to Health and Safety: We may use and disclose health information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety, or to the health and safety of the public or another person.

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

For Research: We may use and disclose health information about you for research projects that are subject to a special approval process. We will ask for your 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 office.

Organ and Tissue Donation: If you are an organ donor, we may release health information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate such donation and transplantation.

Military, Veterans, National Security and Intelligence: If you are or were a member of the armed forces, we may release medical information about you as required by military command authorities.

Workers' Compensation: We may release health information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.

Public Health Risks: We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities. 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.
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 licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the overall health care system, the conduct of government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.

Lawsuits and Disputes: We may disclose medical information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery requrst, or other lawful order from a court.

Law Enforcement: We may release health information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process, subject to all applicable legal requirements.

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.

Protective Services for the President, National Security and Intelligence Activities: We may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations, or for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.

Information Not Personally Identifiable: We may use or disclose health information about you in a way that does not personally identify you or reveal who you are.

Family and Friends: We may disclose health information about you to your family members or friends if we obtain your verbal agreement to do so, or if we give you an opportunity to object to such disclosure and you do not raise any objection. We may also disclose health information to your family or friends if we can infer from the circumstances, based on our professional judgment, that you would not object. For example, we may assume you agree to our disclosure of your personal health information to your spouse when you bring your spouse with you into the exam room during treatment or while treatment is discussed.

In situations where you are not capable of giving consent (because you are not present or due to your incapacity or medical emergency), we may, using our professional judgment, determine that a disclosure to your family member or friend is in your best interest. In that situation, we will disclose only health information relevant to the person’s involvement in your care. For example, we may inform the person who accompanied you to the emergency room that you suffered a heart attack and provide updates on your progress and prognosis. We may also use our professional judgment and experience to make reasonable inferences that it is in your best interest to allow another person to act on your behalf to pickup, for example, filled prescriptions, medical supplies, or x-rays.

HIV or Substance Abuse Information:

If we have HIV or substance abuse information about you, we cannot release that information without a special signed, written authorization (different from the authorization mentioned above) from you. In order to disclose these types of records for purposes of treatment, payment or healthcare operations, we will have to have your signed special authorization that complies with the law governing HIV or substance abuse records.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:

You have the following rights regarding health information we maintain about you:

Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and copy your medical information, such as medical and billing records, that we use to make decisions about your care. You must submit a written request to Joan Mangiagli, Front Office Manager, in order to inspect and/or copy your health information. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other associated supplies. We may deny your request to inspect and/or copy in certain limited circumstances. If you are denied access to your health information, you may ask that the denial be reviewed. If such a review is required by law, we will select a licensed healthcare professional to review your request and our denial. The person conducting the review will not be the same person who denied your request, and we will comply with the outcome of the review.

Right to Amend: If you believe health 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 retained in this office.

To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to Diane Dittmer, Privacy Officer. 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:

We did not create, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment.
Is not part of the health information that we keep.
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 have made of medical information about you for purposes other than treatment, payment and healthcare operations. This accounting will not include many routine disclosures, including those made to you or pursuant to your authorization, those made for treatment, payment and operations purposes, as discussed above, those made for national security and intelligence purposes, and those made to correctional institutions and law enforcement in compliance with the law.

To obtain this list, you must submit your request, in writing, to Diane Dittmer, Privacy Officer. 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). We will make every effort to comply with your request within seven (7) business days, and 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 health information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or healthcare 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 or friend.

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 Diane Dittmer, our Privacy Officer, at the address below. 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.

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 Diane Langdon, our Privacy Officer. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how and when you wish to be contacted. If complying with your request entails additional expense over and above our usual means of communications, we may ask that you reimburse us for those expenses.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice at any time. To obtain a paper copy of this Notice, please request one in writing from Diane Dittmer, our Privacy Officer, at the address below.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE:

We reserve the right to change this Notice, and 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 near the main patient entrance. This Notice will contain on the first pate, in the top right-hand corner, the effective date.

COMPLAINTS:

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a written complaint with our office, or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a written complaint , contact Diane Dittmer, Privacy Officer. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

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 permission to use or disclose medical information about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, thereafter 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.

PRIVACY OFFICER:

The Privacy Officer for Rehabilitation Associates of Nevada is Diane M. Langdon, c/o Rehabilitation Associates Nevada, 653 Town Center Drive, Suite 418, Las Vegas, Nevada 89144, Phone (702) 314-0803.