Notice of Privacy Practices
Center For Excellence in Disabilities (CED)
Notice of Privacy Practices
April 14, 2003
Revised January 22, 2007
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.
Private medical information includes any past, present, or future health condition you might have, health service you receive, and any record of payment for health service that you make or are made on your behalf. This information is also called Protected Health Information (PHI).
Your Privacy Rights
Your right to inspect and copy. You or your legal guardian have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your protected health information. You may request copies at any time.
Your right to authorize. You or your legal guardian have the right to authorize the release of any or all your protected health information to other providers.
Your right to request restrictions and make corrections. You or your legal guardian have the right to request certain restrictions and limitations in how your medical information is used. You may also correct and amend information in your medical records. For example:
- Restrict routine disclosures. You may ask us not to use or disclose any part of your protected health information (PHI) to others who might otherwise be routinely involved in provision of services to you. We will comply with such requests but they may limit the services we can offer you.
- Request confidential communications. You have the right to request that we contact you and/or send your protected health information to an alternate location other than your home, and that we do not disclose your PHI to specific family members.
- Request medical record corrections. You have the right to make amendments to your protected health information. If the health care provider who wrote the entry that you would like to correct agrees with the correction, we will make the appropriate changes to the medical record. If the health care provider who wrote the original entry disagrees with your correction, we will not change the record but will include your corrections in the record to document your disagreement.
Your right to a paper copy of this notice. You have a right to a paper copy of this notice. Please download a copy from this site or request a paper copy from your CED consultant.
Routine Disclosure of Your Protected Health Information
We have the responsibility and legal obligation to keep your protected health information private and to follow the terms of this notice. The law does allow us to use and disclose your protected health information in the following routine ways:
For Treatment and Services. CED providers working within specific programs or collaborating programs may discuss your protected health information (PHI) with other providers in those programs to discuss how to provide you with the best possible services. Students-in-training within those programs may also have access to your PHI. If you have an interdisciplinary treatment team or service coordination team, they may discuss your PHI with one another.
For Payment. A small part of your protected health information will be disclosed to our in house accounting office as needed, in order to process billing claims or distribution of funds. For example, our accounting office processes all invoices for clients who receive nutrition services from our CED dietitians.
For Daily Activities and Organizational Operations. In providing information and referral, service coordination, training, technical assistance, and treatment services, we may need to collect and disclose some of your protected health information. For example, we may disclose your PHI when referring you to other agencies, when making an appointment for you, or when organizing a service coordination team or treatment team for you. In addition, we are obligated under new regulations to conduct quality assurance activities of our privacy practices. In carrying out this these activities, the quality assurance team may have access to your PHI.
If you are a CED clinic patient, your protected health information will be electronically collected and stored securely in a central CED database. To assure continuity of care among CED services, parts of this database may be viewed by authorized CED personnel involved in supervision of other CED clinics.
Minimum Necessary
In all of the above cases, we will use and disclose the minimum amount of protected information necessary to fulfill each function. Examples: 1) anyone who is authorized to receive a copy of your protected health information will receive only the parts they need, not the whole record, unless you specifically authorize us to disclose the complete record. 2) Our accounting office only sees names and services provided. They do not ever have access to your medical records themselves. 3) If we make a referral or appointment for you with another provider, we will disclose only the minimum amount of information necessary to make the appointment.
Research
Some CED programs conduct research studies. We will not use your protected health information for any research studies without your prior consent and written authorization.
De-identified Information
De-identified information is protected health information from which all personal identification has been removed. This means it can no longer be identified as yours and is no longer considered protected. Our center uses de-identified information for data collection, progress reports, research, and evaluation activities. For example, we might generate a report on the number of hours we spent giving technical assistance, or the number of people with spinal cord injury we have served, or the number of children with cerebral palsy we have seen who need new wheelchairs.
Situations When We Must Disclose Your Protected Health Information
The law requires us to disclose your protected health information under certain circumstances. In these cases, we can disclose your protected health information without your permission. Examples of such cases include: subpoenas or other court orders; suspected cases of domestic violence, abuse, or neglect; workers’ and veterans’ compensation requirements; to avert a serious threat to public health or safety; or to comply with governmental regulations.
In these above cases, you do have the right to know which individuals or agencies have received or reviewed copies of your protected health information. CED staff will be happy to provide you with this information if you ask for it.
Marketing and Fundraising
CED staff will never give out your name or protected health information for marketing or fundraising purposes without your specific authorization.
Change of CED Ownership
If the CED becomes another organization in the future, your medical information will become the property of that new organization.
If You Think Your Right To Privacy Has Been Violated
If you think we have violated your privacy rights, you may submit a written complaint to the West Virginia University School of Medicine Legal Services. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). All complaints filed with the U.S. DHHS must be filed within 180 days of when you first learned of the incident.
Paper copies of complaint forms are available at our receptionist’s desk on the third floor of the CED. If you prefer to contact the departments directly, here is contact information:
To request a complaint form from the WVU School of Medicine please call (304) 293-3584.
To request a complaint form from the U.S. Department of HHS please call 1 800 368-1019 or visit the website http://www.hhs.gov.ocr/504file.html.
The CED reserves the right to change this notice at any time in the future. The effective date of this notice is at the top of page one. You may request a copy of any revised notice of privacy practices. Notices can be requested in person, by contacting your CED staff by phone or email, or by visiting our website.
Notice of Privacy Practices Questions and Answers