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Office Hours & Phone Numbers
Appointments available
620-275-7248
In case
of emergency
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Notice of Privacy Practices continued B. Certain Uses and Disclosures Do Not Require Your Authorization. We may use and disclose your PHI without your authorization for the following reasons: 1. When a disclosure is required by federal, state, or local law, judicial or administrative proceedings, or law enforcement. For example, we make disclosures when a law requires that we report information to government agencies and law enforcement personnel about victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence; when dealing with gunshot or other wounds; or when ordered in a judicial or administrative proceeding. 2. For public health activities. For example, we report information about births, deaths, and various diseases to government officials in charge of collecting that information. We will provide coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors necessary information relating to an individual’s death, if requested to do so. 3. For health oversight activities. For example, we will provide information to assist the government when it conducts an investigation or inspection of a health care provider or organization. 4. For purposes of organ donation. We may notify organ procurement organizations to assist them in organ, eye, or tissue donation and transplants. 5. For research purposes. In certain circumstances, we may provide PHI in order to conduct medical research. 6. To avoid harm. In order to avoid a serious threat to the health or safety of a person or the public, we may provide PHI to law enforcement personnel or persons able to prevent or lessen such harm. If you are an inmate, we may disclose your medical information to correctional institutions or law enforcement personnel having lawful custody of you for administration and maintenance of the safety, security and good order of the correctional institution; of identification necessary to provide health care to you, or to protect you, other inmates, employees and officers of the institution, individuals participating in your transportation, or law enforcement at the institution. 7. For specific government functions. We may disclose PHI of military personnel and veterans in certain situations. And we may disclose PHI for national security purposes, such as protecting the president of the United States or conducting intelligence operations. 8. For workers’ compensation purposes. We may provide PHI in order to comply with workers’ compensation laws. 9. Appointment reminders and health-related benefits or services. We may use PHI to provide appointment reminders or give you information about treatment alternatives or other health care services or benefits we offer. 10. Disclosures To Our Business Associates: We sometimes work with individuals and businesses that help us operate our business successfully. We may disclose personal information about you to these business associates if they need it to perform the tasks that we hire them to do. To protect your health information, we always include a provision in our contracts with our business associates requiring them to put procedures in place to safeguard the confidentiality of our patients’ health information. Examples of our business associates include consultants that we hire to help us ensure our compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, our lawyers, and our accountants. C. Two Uses and Disclosures Require You To Have the Opportunity to Object. 1. Disclosures to family, friends, or others. We will assume that any person present during your examination is privileged to any verbal PHI that is discussed throughout your visit with us. In addition, we may provide your PHI to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. With regard to this, we will provide a document for you to list specific persons with whom we may discuss your PHI. The request for medical information has to be initiated by the designated individual listed on the signed consent or yourself. This document may be amended at any time. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations. 2. For disaster relief. We may use or disclose your medical information to an entity that assists in disaster relief efforts. D. All Other Uses and Disclosures Require Your Prior Written Authorization. In any other situation not described in Sections IIIA, B, and C, above, we will ask for your written authorization before using or disclosing any of your PHI. If you choose to sign an authorization to disclose your PHI, you can later revoke that authorization in writing to stop any future uses and disclosures (to the extent that we haven’t taken any action relying on the authorization). IV. WHAT RIGHTS YOU HAVE REGARDING YOUR PHI You have the following rights with respect to your PHI: A. The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI. You have the right to ask that we limit how we use and disclose your PHI. We will consider your request but are not legally required to accept it. If we accept your request, we will put any limits in writing and abide by them except in emergency situations. You may not limit the uses and disclosures that we are legally required or allowed to make. B. The Right to Choose How We Send PHI to You. You have the right to request in writing that we restrict the way in which we communicate information regarding your health, health care services, or payment. For example, you may ask that we communicate with you only at your home, not at your workplace. We will use reasonable efforts to accommodate your request. C. The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI. In most cases, you have the right to look at or get copies of your PHI that we have, but you must make the request in writing. If we do not have your PHI but we know who does, we will tell you how to get it. We will respond to you within 30 days after receiving your written request. In certain situations, we may deny your request. If we do, we will tell you, in writing, our reasons for the denial and explain your right to have the denial reviewed. D. The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures We Have Made. You have the right to request an accounting from us of certain disclosures made by us during the past six years prior to your request, unless you request a shorter time, but no earlier than April 14, 2003. We will respond within 60 days of receiving your request. The list will include the date of the disclosure, to whom the PHI was disclosed, a description of the PHI disclosed, and the reason for the disclosure. These disclosures do not include those made for purposes of Treatment, Payment, or Operations, or those pursuant to a signed Authorization. We will provide the list to you at no charge. |
