Jonesboro Center for Nursing and Healing
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.
Who will follow this notice
This notice describes the privacy practices of the Facility in which you reside, that of all employees, staff and other Facility personnel and any member of a volunteer group or a student that we allow to help you while you are in the Facility.
Our pledge regarding your health information
We understand that information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting your health information. We create a record of the care and services you receive at the Facility, as well as records regarding payment for those services. We need these records 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 or maintained by the Facility, whether made by Facility personnel or your personal doctor. Your personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor’s use and disclosure of your medical information created in the doctor’s office or clinic.
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 federal law to make sure that medical information that identifies you is kept private; to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to medical information about you; and to follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect. We will also follow the relevant privacy laws of the state in which the Facility is located when those laws are more stringent than federal privacy laws.
How we may use and disclose health information about you
We may use or disclose your health information in one of the following ways:
(1) when permitted by law;
(2) when required by law;
(3) pursuant to your verbal agreement (for use in our Facility directory or to discuss your health with family or friends who are involved in your care); and/or
(4) pursuant to your written authorization, when we are required to obtain it.
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose health information. For each category of uses or disclosures, we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.
For Treatment
We may use health information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other Facility personnel who are involved in taking care of you at the Facility. 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 departments of the Facility also may share medical information about you in order to coordinate your care.
For Payment
We may use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the Facility may be billed, and that payment may be collected from you, an insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may include information about services that you received at the Facility on your monthly statement so that you can pay us for the services.
For Health Care Operations
We may use and disclose medical information about you for health care operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the Facility and to make sure that all residents 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. We may also combine medical information about many Facility residents to decide what additional services the Facility should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other Facility personnel for review and learning purposes.
Treatment Alternatives
We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternative services that may be of interest to you.
Business Associates
There are some services provided in our organization through contracts with business associates. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information so that our business associates can perform the job we’ve asked them to do. To protect your health information, however, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.
Appointment Reminders
We may use and disclose medical information about you for the purpose of helping you remember your scheduled healthcare appointments.
Facility Directory
If you agree, we may include certain limited information about you in the Facility directory while you are a resident at the Facility. This information may include your name, location in the Facility, your general condition (e.g., fair, stable, etc.), and your religious affiliation. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may be released to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don’t ask for you by name. This is so your family, friends, and clergy can visit you in the Facility and generally know how you are doing.
Name Placement
We may place your name on the door to your room, on a meal tray, and on pieces of equipment that you might use, including a wheelchair. This aids our staff in identifying your items in order to provide you the best possible care. Further, this practice will assist you in locating your room and equipment. In order to foster a sense of community, we also like to post special events on our bulletin boards, such as your birthday or the birth of a grandchild. If you should choose not be included on these bulletin boards, please let us know.
Verbal Agreement
Pursuant to your verbal agreement, or if we feel that it is in your best interest, we may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care. In addition, we may disclose medical information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort.
As Required By Law
We will disclose medical information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety
We may use and disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person.
Private Sitters
If you hire a private sitter, we will disclose medical information about you to aid your sitter in caring for you.
Assistance During Special Events
From time to time, we may schedule a special event, such as a field trip or a group activity or game. This special event may require the assistance of volunteers or staff members not normally involved in your care, who will need to know certain types of information about you. For example, a member of our maintenance team may serve bag lunches on a field trip and will need to know your dietary restrictions.
Fundraising Activities
We may use a limited amount of your health information for purposes of contacting you or your representative to raise money for our Facility and its operations.
Special Situations
Organ and Tissue Donation
If you are an organ donor, we may release medical information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.
Military and Veterans
If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release medical information about you as required by military command authorities.
Workers’ Compensation
If applicable, we may release medical information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs.
Public Health Risks
We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include the prevention or control of disease, injury, or disability; reporting of abuse, deaths, or problems with medications or products; and notifying a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
Health Oversight Activities
We may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with the law.
Lawsuits and Disputes
If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose medical information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose medical information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process served by someone else involved in the dispute.
Law Enforcement
We may release medical information if asked to do so by law enforcement officials.
Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors
We may release medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. We may also release medical information about residents of the Facility to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.
National Security and Intelligence Activities
We may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials for national security activities authorized by law.
Other Uses of Medical Information
Other uses and disclosures of medical information not covered by this notice or permitted/required by the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization.
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, we will no longer use or disclose medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization.
Organized Healthcare Arrangement
In our Facility, care and services are provided to you by our Facility staff as well as by other health care providers. Although these providers are all independent, they cooperate to provide an integrated system of care to you. This type of health care setting is called an organized health care arrangement (OHCA). We may share your health information with the providers in the OHCA for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations.
Your Rights Regarding Medical Information About You
You have the following rights regarding medical information we maintain about you:
Right to Inspect and Copy
You have the right to inspect and copy your medical and billing information and any other information that may be used to make decisions about your care.
Right to Amend
If you feel that medical information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
You have the right to request an “accounting of disclosures.”
Right to Request Restrictions
You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you.
Right to Request Confidential Communication
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location.
Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice
You have the right to a paper copy of this notice at any time.
Changes to This Notice
We reserve the right to change this notice. We will post a copy of the current notice in the Facility. The notice will contain the effective date on the first page, in the top right-hand corner.
Concerns
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a concern with the Facility administrator. In addition, you may file a written concern with the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services. You will not be penalized in any way for filing a concern.
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Facility administrator.