Juniper Health, Inc. 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.
This notice takes effect on September 23, 2013 and remains in effect until we replace it.
1. OUR PLEDGE REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION
The privacy of your medical information is important to us and we are committed to protecting it. As part of this commitment, we follow federal and state laws which require us to maintain your health information privacy and provide you with this notice. This notice will tell you about the ways we may use and share medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain duties we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.
2. OUR LEGAL DUTY
Law Requires Us to : 1. Keep your medical information private and secure. We will inform you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information. 2. Give you this notice describing our legal duties, privacy practices, and your rights regarding your medical information. 3. Follow the terms of the current notice. 4. We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time by informing us in writing.
We Have the Right to : 1. Change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, provided that the changes are permitted by law. 2. Make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our notice effective for all medical information that we keep, including information previously created or received before the changes.
Notice of Change to Privacy Practices : Before we make an important change in our privacy practices, we will change this notice, post it in a conspicuous place in our facilities and make the new notice available upon request.
3. USE AND DISCLOSURE OF YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION
The following section describes different ways that we use and disclose medical information. Not every use or disclosure will be listed. However, we have listed all of the different ways we are permitted to use and disclose medical information. We will not use or disclose your medical information for any purpose not listed below, without your specific written authorization, including sharing most psychotherapy notes. Any specific written authorization you provide may be revoked at any time by writing to us at the address provided at the end of this notice.
FOR TREATMENT: We may use medical 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 people who are taking care of you. We may also share medical information about you to your other health care providers to assist them in treating you.
FOR PAYMENT: We may use and disclose your medical information for payment purposes. A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include your medical information.
FOR HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS: We may use and disclose your medical information for our health care operations. This might include measuring and improving quality, evaluating the performance of employees, conducting training programs, and getting the accreditation, certificates, licenses and credentials we need to serve you.
SHARED MEDICAL RECORD: We may participate in arrangements with other health care organizations or government entities, who have agreed to work with each other to facilitate access to health information that may be relevant to your care. For example, if you are admitted to a hospital on an emergency basis and cannot provide important information about your health condition, this arrangement will allow us to make your health information available to those who need it to treat you. We store health information in an electronic health record that may be shared with other health care providers who participate in agreements with Juniper. You may contact 606-464-0151 for a list of providers who participate in the electronic health record arrangement.
ADDITIONAL USES AND DISCLOSURES: In addition to using and disclosing your medical information for treatment, payment, and health care operations, we may use and disclose medical information for the following purposes:
Disclosures to Business Associates: In order for us to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations, we may disclose your health information to persons or organizations who perform a service for or on our behalf that requires the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information. Such persons or organizations are our business associates. For example, we may disclose health information to an agency that accredits health care organizations or to vendors who service our electronic health record system.
Relatives, Close Friends and Other Caregivers : We may use and disclose medical information to notify or help notify: a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care. We will share information about your location, general condition, or death. If you are present, we will get your permission if possible before we share, or give you the opportunity to refuse permission. In case of emergency, and if you are not able to give or refuse permission, we will share only the health information that is directly necessary for your health care, according to our professional judgment. We will also use our professional judgment to make decisions in your best interest about allowing someone to pick up medicine, medical supplies, x-ray or medical information for you.
Disaster Relief : We may share medical information with a public or private organization or person who can legally assist in disaster relief efforts.
Research in Limited Circumstances : We may use medical information for research purposes in limited circumstances where the research has been approved by a review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of medical information.
Funeral Director, Coroner, and Medical Examiner : To help them carry out their duties, we may share the medical information of a person who has died with a coroner, medical examiner, funeral director, or an organ procurement organization.
Specialized Government Functions : Subject to certain requirements, we may disclose or use health information for military personnel and veterans, for national security and intelligence activities, for protective services for the President and others, for medical suitability determinations for the Department of State, for correctional institutions and other law enforcement custodial situations, and for government programs providing public benefits.
Court Orders and Judicial and Administrative Proceedings : We may disclose medical information in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, under certain circumstances. Under limited circumstances, such as a court order, warrant, or grand jury subpoena, we may share your medical information with law enforcement officials. We may share limited information with a law enforcement official concerning the medical information of a suspect, fugitive, material witn4ess, crime victim or missing person. We may share the medical information of an inmate or other person in lawful custody with a law enforcement official or correctional institution under certain circumstances.
Public Health Activities : As required by law, we may disclose your medical information to public health or legal authorities charge with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability, including child abuse or neglect. We may also disclose your medical information to persons subject to jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration for purposes of reporting adverse events associated with product defects or problems, to enable product recalls, repairs or replacements, to track products, or to conduct activities required by the Food and Drug Administration. We may also, when we are authorized by law to do so, notify a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence : We may use and disclose medical information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may share your medical information if it is necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others. We may share medical information when necessary to help law enforcement officials capture a person who has admitted to being part of a crime or has escaped from legal custody.
Workers Compensation : We may disclose health information when authorized or necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs.
Health Oversight Activities : We may disclose medical information to an agency providing health oversight for oversight activities authorized by law, including audits, civil, administrative, or criminal investigations or proceedings, inspections, licensure or disciplinary actions, or other authorized activities.
Law Enforcement : Under certain circumstances, we may disclose health information to law enforcement officials. These circumstances include reporting required by certain laws (such as the reporting of certain types of wounds), pursuant to certain subpoenas or court orders, reporting limited information concerning identification and location at the request of a law enforcement official, reports regarding suspected victims of crimes at the request of a law enforcement official, reporting death, crimes on our premises, and crimes in emergencies.
Appointment Reminders : We may use and disclose medical information for purposes of sending you appointment postcards or otherwise reminding you of your appointments.
Alternative and Additional Medical Services : We may use and disclose medical information to furnish you with information about health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you, and to describe or recommend treatment alternatives.
4. YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
You Have a Right to:
1. Look at or get copies of certain parts of your medical information. You may request that we provide copies in a format other than photocopies. We will use the format you request unless it is not practical for us to do so. You must make your request in writing. You may get the form to request access by using the contact information listed at the end of this notice. You maybe also request access by sending a letter to the contact person listed at the end of this notice. If you request copies, we will provide you with one (1) free copy and additional copies will be provided at a charge of one dollar ($1.00) for each page. Contact us using the information listed at the end of this notice for a full explanation of our fee structure.
2. Receive a list of all the times we or our business associates shared your medical information for purposes other than treatment, payment, and health care operations and other specified exceptions for six years prior to the date you ask.
3. Request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your medical information. We are not required to agree to these additional restrictions, and we may say
