Notice of Privacy Practices
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
Electronic Caregiver, Inc, hereinafter the “Organization” is required by law to provide you with this Notice so that you will understand how we may use or share your information from your Designated Record Set. The Designated Record Set includes financial and health information referred to in this Notice as “Protected Health Information” (“PHI”). We are required to adhere to the terms outlined in this Notice. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact Timothy Washburn at 800-252-7655.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR HEALTH RECORD AND INFORMATION
During the active period of your Service Agreement, a record is made containing health and financial information. Typically, this record may contain information about your health conditions, medications, allergies, vital sign data, emergency call activity and / or telehealth encounters. We may use and/or disclose this information to:
- plan your care and treatment
- communicate with other health professionals involved in your care
- document the care you receive
- educate heath professionals
- provide information for medical research
- provide information to public health officials
- evaluate and improve the services we provide
- obtain payment for the services we provide
Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:
- ensure it is accurate
- better understand who may access your health information
- make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
The following describes the ways that we use and disclose health information. Though not every use or disclosure in a category is listed, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall into one of the categories.
- For Treatment. We may use or disclose health information to internal and / or external providers and health care staff about you to provide you with medical treatment. For example, your provider may want to be notified if you do not acknowledge taking medications as prescribed. Our staff would input that as part of the care plan and we would notify him or her of this if directed to do so.
- For Payment. We may use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at an Organization may be billed to you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, in order to be paid, we may need to share information with your health plan or other payor about services provided to you.
- For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose health information about you for our day-to-day health care operations. This is necessary to ensure that all Subscribers receive quality care. For example, we may use health information for quality assessment and improvement activities and for developing and evaluating clinical protocols. Health information about you may be used for business development and planning, cost management analyses, risk management activities, and in developing and testing information systems and programs. We may also use and disclose information for compliance reviews, internal auditing, legal services review, government agency auditing, professional review, performance evaluation, and for training programs.
OTHER ALLOWABLE USES OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
- Business Associates. There are some services provided by our Organization through contracts with third-party entities called business associates. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information so that they 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.
- Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. We may disclose health information about you to individuals identified by you as points of contact. It is the Subscribers responsibility to notify the Organization of any changes in the point of contact list. In addition, we may disclose health information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location.
- To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use and disclose health information about you to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. We would do this only to help prevent the threat.
- Military and Veterans. If you are a member of the armed forces, we may disclose health information about you as required by military authorities. We may also disclose health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.
- Research. Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose deidentified health information about you for research purposes. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of health information, trying to balance the research needs with Subscribers’ need for privacy of their health information. Before we use or disclose health information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process.
- Reporting Federal, state and local laws may require or permit the Organization to disclose certain health information related to the following:
- Public Health Risks. We may disclose health information about you for public health purposes, including:
- Prevention or control of disease or injury
- Notifying people of recalls of products;
- Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities may include audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
- Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
- Law Enforcement. We may disclose health information when requested by a law enforcement official:
- In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process;
- To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person;
- About you, the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain your agreement;
- About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;
- In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims;
or the identity, description - National Security and Intelligence Activities. We may disclose health information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.
- Correctional Institution: Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution; we may disclose to the institution or its agents health information necessary for your health and the health and safety of others.
OTHER USES OF HEALTH INFORMATION
Other uses and disclosures of health 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 health 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 health 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.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
Although your health record is the property of the Organization, the information belongs to you. You have the following rights regarding your health information:
- Right to Inspect and Copy. With some exceptions, you have the right to review and copy your health information.
You must submit your request in writing to:
Chief Clinical Officer
Electronic Caregiver, Inc.
506 S. Main Street
Las Cruces NM, 88001
We may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.
- Right to Amend. If you feel that health information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have this right for as long as the information is kept by or for the Organization.
You must submit your request in writing to:
Chief Clinical Officer
Electronic Caregiver, Inc.
506 S. Main Street
Las Cruces NM, 88001
In addition, you must provide a reason for 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:
- Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment;
- Is not part of the health information kept by or for the Organization; or
- Is inaccurate and / or incomplete.
- Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request an “accounting of disclosures”. This is a list of certain disclosures we made of your health information, other than those made for purposes such as treatment, payment, or health care operations.
You must submit your request in writing to:
Chief Clinical Officer
Electronic Caregiver, Inc.
506 S. Main Street
Las Cruces NM, 88001
Your request must state a time period which may not be longer than six years from the date the request is submitted and may not include dates before January 1, 2019. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper or electronically). The first list you request within a twelve-month period will be free. For additional lists, 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 change in the list of those who have access to your protected health information. However, this restriction is global in that all available protected health information will be viewable by those you give access to.
You can submit your request in writing or by phone to:
Customer Service
Electronic Caregiver, Inc.
506 S. Main Street
Las Cruces NM, 88001
800-252-7655
- Right to Request Alternate Communications. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a confidential manner. For example, you may ask that we only contact you via mail to a post office box.
You must submit your request in writing to:
Chief Clinical Officer
Electronic Caregiver, Inc.
506 S. Main Street
Las Cruces NM, 88001
We will not ask you the reason for your request. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. We will accommodate all reasonable requests.
- Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically. You may ask us for a copy of this Notice at any time.
- You may obtain a copy of this Notice at our website, www.electroniccaregiver.com
To obtain a paper copy of this Notice, contact:
Chief Clinical Officer
Electronic Caregiver, Inc.
506 S. Main Street
Las Cruces NM, 88001
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We reserve the right to change this Notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed Notice effective for health 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 in the Organization and on the website. The Notice will specify the effective date on the first page, in the top right-hand corner. In addition, if material changes are made to this Notice, the Notice will contain an effective date for the revisions and copies can be obtained by contacting the Chief Clinical Officer.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Organization or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with the Organization, contact:
Chief Clinical Officer
Electronic Caregiver, Inc.
506 S. Main Street
Las Cruces NM, 88001
All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.