{"id":51,"date":"2018-10-11T23:33:56","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T23:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nalent.fm1.dev\/?page_id=51"},"modified":"2019-06-21T16:47:35","modified_gmt":"2019-06-21T16:47:35","slug":"hipaa-statement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/hipaa-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"HIPAA Statement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>North\nAlabama ENT Associates, P.C.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Notice\nof Privacy Practices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Understanding\nYour Health Rec<\/strong><strong>ord\nInformation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each\ntime that you visit a hospital, a physician, or another health care provider,\nthe provider makes a record of your visit. Typically, this record contains your\nhealth history, current symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses,\ntreatment, and plan for future care or treatment. This information, often\nreferred to as your medical record, serves as the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Basis\nfor planning your care and treatment.<\/li><li>Means\nof communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your\ncare.<\/li><li>Legal\ndocument describing the care that you received.<\/li><li>Means\nby which you or a third-party payer can verify that you actually received the\nservices billed for.<\/li><li>Tool\nin medical education.<\/li><li>Source\nof information for public health officials charged with improving the health of\nthe regions that they serve.<\/li><li>Tool\nto assess the appropriateness and quality of care that you received.<\/li><li>Tool\nto improve the quality of health care and achieve better patient outcomes.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding\nwhat is in your health record and how your health information is used helps you\nto\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Ensure\nits accuracy and completeness.<\/li><li>Understand\nwho, what, where, why, and how others may access your health information.<\/li><li>Make\ninformed decisions about authorizing disclosure to others.<\/li><li>Better\nunderstand the health information rights detailed below.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Your\nRights under the Federal Privacy Standard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although\nyour health records are the physical property of the health care provider who\ncompleted the records, you have the following rights with regard to the\ninformation contained therein:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Request\nrestriction on uses and disclosures of your health information for treatment,\npayment, and health care operations. \u201cHealth care operations\u201d consist of\nactivities that are necessary to carry out the operations of the provider, such\nas quality assurance and peer review. The right to request restriction does not\nextend to uses or disclosures permitted or required under the following\nsections of the federal privacy regulations: \u00a7 164.502(a)(2)(i) (disclosures to\nyou), \u00a7&nbsp;164.510(a) (for facility directories, but note that you have the\nright to object to such uses), or \u00a7&nbsp;164.512 (uses and disclosures not\nrequiring a consent or an authorization). The latter uses and disclosures\ninclude, for example, those required by law, such as mandatory communicable\ndisease reporting. In those cases, you do not have a right to request\nrestriction. The consent to use and disclose your individually identifiable\nhealth information provides the ability to request restriction. We do not,\nhowever, have to agree to the restriction, except in the situation explained\nbelow. If we do, we will adhere to it unless you request otherwise or we give\nyou advance notice. You may also ask us to communicate with you by alternate\nmeans, and if the method of communication is reasonable, we must grant the\nalternate communication request. You may request restriction or alternate\ncommunications on the consent form for treatment, payment, and health care\noperations. If, however, you request restriction on a disclosure to a health\nplan for purposes of payment or health care operations (not for treatment), we\nmust grant the request if the health information pertains solely to an item or\na service for which we have been paid in full.<\/li><li>Obtain\na copy of this notice of information practices. Although we have posted a copy\nin prominent locations throughout the facility and on our website, you have a\nright to a hard copy upon request.<\/li><li>Inspect\nand copy your health information upon request. Again, this right is not\nabsolute. In certain situations, such as if access would cause harm, we can\ndeny access. You do not have a right of access to the following:<ul><li>Psychotherapy\nnotes. Such notes consist of those notes that are recorded in any medium by a\nhealth care provider who is a mental health professional documenting or\nanalyzing a conversation during a private, group, joint, or family counseling\nsession and that are separated from the rest of your medical record.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Information\ncompiled in reasonable anticipation of or for use in civil, criminal, or\nadministrative actions or proceedings.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Protected\nhealth information (\u201cPHI\u201d) that is subject to the Clinical Laboratory\nImprovement Amendments of 1988 (\u201cCLIA\u201d), 42 U.S.C. \u00a7&nbsp;263a, to the extent\nthat giving you access would be prohibited by law.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Information\nthat was obtained from someone other than a health care provider under a\npromise of confidentiality and the requested access would be reasonably likely\nto reveal the source of the information.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Information\nthat is copyright protected, such as certain raw data obtained from testing.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In\nother situations, we may deny you access, but if we do, we must provide you a\nreview of our decision denying access. These \u201creviewable\u201d grounds for denial\ninclude the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A\nlicensed health care professional, such as your attending physician, has\ndetermined, in the exercise of professional judgment, that the access is\nreasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of yourself or\nanother person.<ul><li>PHI\nmakes reference to another person (other than a health care provider) and a\nlicensed health care provider has determined, in the exercise of professional\njudgment, that the access is reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to\nsuch other person.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The\nrequest is made by your personal representative and a licensed health care\nprofessional has determined, in the exercise of professional judgment, that\ngiving access to such personal representative is reasonably likely to cause\nsubstantial harm to you or another person.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For\nthese reviewable grounds, another licensed professional must review the\ndecision of the provider denying access within 60 days. If we deny you access,\nwe will explain why and what your rights are, including how to seek review. If\nwe grant access, we will tell you what, if anything, you have to do to get\naccess. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for making\ncopies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Request\namendment\/correction of your health information. We do not have to grant the\nrequest if the following conditions exist:<ul><li>We\ndid not create the record. If, as in the case of a consultation report from\nanother provider, we did not create the record, we cannot know whether it is\naccurate or not. Thus, in such cases, you must seek amendment\/correction from\nthe party creating the record. If the party amends or corrects the record, we\nwill put the corrected record into our records.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The\nrecords are not available to you as discussed immediately above.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The\nrecord is accurate and complete.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If\nwe deny your request for amendment\/correction, we will notify you why, how you\ncan attach a statement of disagreement to your records (which we may rebut),\nand how you can complain. If we grant the request, we will make the correction\nand distribute the correction to those who need it and those whom you identify\nto us that you want to receive the corrected information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Obtain\nan accounting of non-routine uses and disclosures, those other than for\ntreatment, payment, and health care operations until a date that the federal\nDepartment of Health and Human Services will set after January 1, 2011. After\nthat date, we will have to provide an accounting to you upon request for uses\nand disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations under\ncertain circumstances, primarily if we maintain an electronic health record. We\ndo not need to provide an accounting for the following disclosures:<\/li><li>To\nyou for disclosures of protected health information (\u201cPHI\u201d) to you.<\/li><li>For\nthe facility directory or to persons involved in your care or for other\nnotification purposes as provided in \u00a7 164.510 of the federal privacy\nregulations (uses and disclosures requiring an opportunity for the individual\nto agree or to object, including notification to family members, personal\nrepresentatives, or other persons responsible for your care of your location,\ngeneral condition, or death).<\/li><li>For\nnational security or intelligence purposes under \u00a7 164.512(k)(2) of the federal\nprivacy regulations (disclosures not requiring consent, authorization, or an\nopportunity to object).<\/li><li>To\ncorrectional institutions or law enforcement officials under\n\u00a7&nbsp;164.512(k)(5) of the federal privacy regulations (disclosures not\nrequiring consent, authorization, or an opportunity to object).<\/li><li>That\noccurred before April 14, 2003.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nmust provide the accounting within 60 days. The accounting must include the\nfollowing information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Date\nof each disclosure.<\/li><li>Name\nand address of the organization or person who received the protected health\ninformation.<\/li><li>Brief\ndescription of the information disclosed.<\/li><li>Brief\nstatement of the purpose of the disclosure that reasonably informs you of the\nbasis for the disclosure or, in lieu of such statement, a copy of your written authorization\nor a copy of the written request for disclosure.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nfirst accounting in any 12-month period is free. Thereafter, we reserve the\nright to charge a reasonable, cost-based fee ($1.00 pages 1-25, $.50 pages 26\n&amp; above, $5 Administrative fee).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Revoke\nyour consent or authorization to use or disclose health information except to\nthe extent that we have taken action in reliance on the consent or\nauthorization.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Our\nResponsibilities under the Federal Privacy Standard<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\naddition to providing you your rights, as detailed above, the federal privacy\nstandard requires us to take the following measures:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Maintain\nthe privacy of your health information, including implementing reasonable and\nappropriate physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to protect the\ninformation.<\/li><li>Provide\nyou this notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to\nindividually identifiable health information that we collect and maintain about\nyou.<\/li><li>Abide\nby the terms of this notice.<\/li><li>Train\nour personnel concerning privacy and confidentiality.<\/li><li>Implement\na sanction policy to discipline those who breach privacy\/confidentiality or our\npolicies with regard thereto.<\/li><li>Mitigate\n(lessen the harm of) any breach of privacy\/confidentiality.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nwill not use or disclose your health information without your consent or\nauthorization, except as described in this notice or otherwise required by law.\nThese include most uses or disclosures of psychotherapy notes, marketing\ncommunications, and sales of PHI. Other uses and disclosures <em>not described\nin this notice <\/em>will be made only with your written authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Examples\nof Disclosures for Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00b7<\/strong><strong> &nbsp;&nbsp; We may use your health information for\ntreatment.<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example:\nA physician, a physician\u2019s assistant, a therapist or a counselor, a nurse, or\nanother member of your health care team will record information in your record\nto diagnose your condition and determine the best course of treatment for you.\nThe primary caregiver will give treatment orders and document what he or she\nexpects other members of the health care team to do to treat you. Those other\nmembers will then document the actions that they took and their observations.\nIn that way, the primary caregiver will know how you are responding to\ntreatment. We will also provide your physician, other health care\nprofessionals, or a subsequent health care provider a copy of your records to\nassist them in treating you once we are no longer treating you. Note that some\nhealth information, such as substance abuse treatment information, may not be\nused or disclosed without your consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00b7<\/strong><strong> &nbsp;&nbsp; We may use your health information for\npayment.<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example:\nWe may send a bill to you or to a third-party payer, such as a health insurer.\nThe information on or accompanying the bill may include information that\nidentifies you, your diagnosis, treatment received, and supplies used. Note\nthat some health information, such as substance abuse treatment information,\nmay not be used or disclosed without your consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u00b7<\/strong><strong> &nbsp;&nbsp; We may use your health information for health\ncare operations.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example:\nMembers of the medical staff, the risk or quality improvement manager, or\nmembers of the quality assurance team may use information in your health record\nto assess the care and outcomes in your cases and the competence of the\ncaregivers. We will use this information in an effort to continually improve\nthe quality and effectiveness of the health care and services that we provide.\nNote that some health information, such as substance abuse treatment\ninformation, may not be used or disclosed without your consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Business associates.<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nprovide some services through contracts with business associates. Examples\ninclude certain diagnostic tests, a copy service to make copies of medical\nrecords, and the like. When we use these services, we may disclose your health\ninformation to the business associates so that they can perform the function(s)\nthat we have contracted with them to do and bill you or your third-party payer\nfor services provided. To protect your health information, however, we require\nthe business associates to appropriately safeguard your information. After\nFebruary 17, 2010, business associates must comply with the same federal\nsecurity and privacy rules as we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Notification.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nmay use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family\nmember, a personal representative, or another person responsible for your care,\nlocation, and general condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Communication with\nfamily.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless\nyou object, we, as health professionals, using our best judgment, may disclose\nto a family member, another relative, a close personal friend, or any other\nperson that you identify health information relevant to that person\u2019s\ninvolvement in your care or payment related to your care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Research.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nmay disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved\nby an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and\nestablished protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Funeral directors.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nmay disclose health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable\nlaw to enable them to carry out their duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Marketing\/continuity\nof care.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nmay contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment\nalternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of\ninterest to you. If we contact you to provide marketing information for other\nproducts or services, you have the right to opt out of receiving such communications.\nContact Colleen Shields Privacy Officer at 927 Franklin St, Suite 100\nHuntsville AL 256-536-9300. If we receive compensation from another entity for\nthe marketing, we must obtain your signed authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Food and Drug Administration\n(\u201cFDA\u201d).<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nmay disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse effects\/events\nwith respect to food, drugs, supplements, product or product defects, or\npost-marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs, or\nreplacement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Workers\ncompensation.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nmay disclose health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent\nnecessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar\nprograms established by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Public health.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As\nrequired by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or\nlegal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or\ndisability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Correctional\ninstitution.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If\nyou are an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the\ninstitution or agents thereof health information necessary for your health and\nthe health and safety of other individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Law enforcement.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nmay disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law\nor in response to a valid subpoena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Health oversight\nagencies and public health authorities.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If\nmembers of our work force or business associates believe in good faith that we\nhave engaged in unlawful conduct or otherwise violated professional or clinical\nstandards and are potentially endangering one or more patients, workers, or the\npublic, they may disclose your health information to health oversight agencies\nand\/or public health authorities, such as the Department of health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>The federal\nDepartment of Health and Human Services (\u201cDHHS\u201d).<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Under\nthe privacy standards, we must disclose your health information to DHHS as\nnecessary to determine our compliance with those standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Others.<\/strong> <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Effective\nDate:&nbsp; September 23, 2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Signature:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_______________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Colleen\nShields<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HIPAA\nPrivacy\/Security\/Compliance Officer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>North\nAlabama ENT Associates, P.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>hipaa@nalent.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>LOCATIONS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>North\nAlabama ENT Associates, P.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>927\nFranklin Street, Suite 100<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Huntsville\nAL 35801<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>256-536-9300<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>North\nAlabama ENT Associates, P.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>8337\nHwy 72 W, Suite 301<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Madison\nAL 35758<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>256-772-1884<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WE\nRESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OUR PRACTICES AND MAKE THE NEW PROVISIONS EFFECTIVE\nFOR ALL INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE HEALTH INFORMATION THAT WE MAINTAIN. IF WE\nCHANGE OUR INFORMATION PRACTICES A NEW NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICE WILL BE\nAVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>North Alabama ENT Associates, P.C. Notice of Privacy Practices Understanding Your Health Record Information Each time that you visit a hospital, a physician, or another health care provider, the provider makes a record of your visit. Typically, this record contains your health history, current symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and plan for future&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":25,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":"","footnotes":""},"service_tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":735,"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions\/735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"service_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nalent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/service_tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}