Greater Houston Anesthesiology, P.A.

 

Privacy Policy

 

 

It is Greater Houston Anesthesiology’s policy to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of protected health information (PHI) pertaining to our patients.  The purpose of this policy is to ensure that Greater Houston Anesthesiology, P.A. and its anesthesiologists, CRNAs, AAs, RNs and other personnel (collectively referred to as “GHA”) protect the confidentiality of our patients’ PHI to the highest degree possible.  Patients should not fear about providing information to GHA for purposes of treatment, payment and healthcare operations (TPO). To that end, GHA will --

 

• Adhere to the standards set forth in the Notice of Privacy Practices.

 

• Collect, use and disclose PHI only in conformance with state and federal laws and current patient covenants and/or authorizations, as appropriate.  GHA will not use or disclose PHI for uses outside of the purposes of TPO, such as marketing, employment, life insurance applications, etc. without an authorization from the patient.

 

• Use and disclose PHI to remind patients of their appointments only within their consent.

 

• Recognize that PHI collected about patients must be accurate, timely, complete and available when needed.  GHA will implement reasonable measures to protect the integrity of all PHI maintained about patients

 

• Recognize that patients have a right to privacy.  GHA respects the patient's individual dignity at all times and will respect patient's privacy to the extent consistent with providing quality medical care.

 

• Act as responsible information stewards and treat all PHI as sensitive and confidential.  GHA will treat all PHI data as confidential in accordance with professional ethics, accreditation standards, and legal requirements and  not disclose PHI data unless the patient (or his or her authorized representative) has properly consented to or authorized the release or the release is otherwise authorized by law.

 

• Recognize that, although GHA "owns" the medical record, the patient has a right to inspect and obtain a copy of his/her PHI.  In addition, patients have a right to request an amendment to his/her medical record if he/she believes his/her information is inaccurate or incomplete.  GHA will permit patients access to their medical records when their written requests are approved by our practice.  If we deny their request, then we must inform the patients that they may request a review of our denial.  In such cases, we will have an on-site healthcare professional review the patients' appeals. GHA will also provide patients an opportunity to request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete PHI in their medical records in accordance with the law and professional standards.

 

• GHA will maintain a list of all disclosures of PHI for purposes other than TPO for each patient and will provide this list to patients upon request, so long as their requests are in writing.

 

• GHA will adhere to any restrictions concerning the use or disclosure of PHI that patients have requested and have been approved by our practice.

 

• GHA will not tolerate violations of this policy.  Violation of this policy is grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment and criminal or professional sanctions in accordance with GHA's personnel rules and regulations.

 

• GHA may change this privacy policy in the future.  Any changes will be effective upon the release of a revised privacy policy and will be made available to patients upon request.

Greater Houston Anesthesiology, P.A.

 

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.

 

 

I.          OUR COMMITMENT TO PROTECTING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU          

 

Federal and state laws require that Greater Houston Anesthesiology, P.A. and its professional staff and employees (referred to collectively as “GHA”) protect the privacy of health information that identifies a patient, or where there is a reasonable basis to believe the information can be used to identify a patient.  This information is called “protected health information” or “PHI.”  This Notice describes your rights as our patient and GHA’s obligations regarding the use and disclosure of PHI.  GHA is required by law to:

 

n         Maintain the privacy of PHI about you;

n         Give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI;         and

n         Comply with the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices that is currently in       effect.

 

II.        USES AND DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PHI

 

The following categories describe the different ways GHA may use and disclose your PHI. The examples included in each category do not list every type of use or disclosure that may fall within that category.

 

Treatment: GHA may use and disclose PHI about you to provide, coordinate or manage your health care and related services.  GHA may consult with other health care providers regarding your treatment and coordinate and manage your health care with others.  For example, GHA may use and disclose PHI when you need a prescription, lab work, an X-ray, or other health care services. In addition, GHA may use and disclose PHI about you when referring you to another health care provider. For example, if you are referred to another physician, GHA may disclose PHI to your new physician regarding whether you are allergic to any medications. GHA may also disclose PHI about you for the treatment activities of another health care provider.  For example, GHA may send a report about you to a physician that GHA refer you to so that the other physician may treat you.

 

Payment:  GHA may use and disclose PHI so that GHA can bill and collect payment for the treatment and services provided to you.  Before providing treatment or services, GHA may share details with your health plan concerning the services you are scheduled to receive.  For example, GHA may ask for payment approval from your health plan before GHA provides care or services.  GHA may use and disclose PHI to find out if your health plan will cover the cost of care and services GHA provides.  GHA may use and disclose PHI to confirm you are receiving the appropriate amount of care to obtain payment for services.  GHA may use and disclose PHI for billing, claims management, and collection activities.  GHA may disclose PHI to insurance companies providing you with additional coverage.  GHA may disclose limited PHI to consumer reporting agencies relating to collection of payments owed to GHA. GHA may also disclose PHI to another health care provider or to a company or health plan required to comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule for the payment activities of that health care provider, company, or health plan.  For example, GHA may allow a health insurance company to review PHI for the insurance company’s activities to determine the insurance benefits to be paid for your care.

 

Health Care Operations:  GHA may use and disclose PHI in performing business activities that are called health care operations.  Health care operations include doing things that allow GHA to improve the quality of care GHA provides and to reduce health care costs.  GHA may use and disclose PHI about you in the following health care operations:

 

·        Reviewing and improving the quality, efficiency and cost of care that GHA provides to our patients.  For example, GHA may use PHI about you to develop ways to assist our physicians and staff in deciding how GHA can improve the medical treatment GHA provides to others.           

·        Improving health care and lowering costs for groups of people who have similar health problems and helping to manage and coordinate the care for these groups of people.  GHA may use PHI to identify groups of people with similar health problems to give them information, for instance, about treatment alternatives and educational classes.

·        Reviewing and evaluating the skills, qualifications, and performance of health care providers taking care of you and our other patients.

·        Providing training programs for students, trainees, health care providers, or non-health care professionals (for example, billing personnel) to help them practice or improve their skills.

·        Cooperating with outside organizations that assess the quality of the care that GHA provides.

·        Cooperating with outside organizations that evaluate, certify, or license health care providers or staff in a particular field or specialty. For example, GHA may use or disclose PHI so that one of our nurses may become certified as having expertise in a specific field of nursing.

·        Cooperating with various people who review our activities. For example, PHI may be seen by doctors reviewing the services provided to you, and by accountants, lawyers, and others who assist us in complying with the law and managing our business.

·        Assisting us in making plans for our practice’s future operations.

·        Resolving grievances within our practice.

·        Reviewing our activities and using or disclosing PHI in the event that GHA sells our practice to someone else or combine with another practice.

·        Business planning and development, such as cost-management analyses.

·        Business management and general administrative activities of our practice, including managing our activities related to complying with the HIPAA Privacy Rule and other legal requirements.

·        Creating “de-identified” information that is not identifiable to any individual, and disclosing PHI to a business associate for the purpose of creating de-identified information, regardless of whether GHA will use the de-identified information.

·        Creating a “limited data set” of information that does not contain information directly identifying a patient.  Our ability to disclose this information to others under limited conditions is discussed later in this Notice.

 

If another health care provider, company, or health plan that is required to comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule also has or once had a relationship with you, GHA may disclose PHI about you for certain health care operations of that health care provider or company.  For example, such health care operations may include: reviewing and improving the quality, efficiency, and cost of care provided to you; reviewing and evaluating the skills, qualifications, and performance of health care providers; providing training programs for students, trainees, health care providers, or non-health care professionals; cooperating with outside organizations that evaluate, certify, or license health care providers or staff in a particular field or specialty; and assisting with legal compliance activities of that health care provider or company.

 

Business Associates: GHA may disclose PHI about you to one of our business associates in order to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations. For example, GHA may disclose PHI about you to a company who bills insurance companies on GHA’s behalf to enable that company to help us obtain payment for the health care services GHA provides.

 

Organized Health Care Arrangements: GHA may also disclose PHI for the health care operations of any “organized health care arrangement” in which GHA participates.  An example of an organized health care arrangement is the joint care provided by a hospital and the physicians who see patients at the hospital.

 

Communication From Our Office:  GHA may contact you to remind you of appointments and to provide you with information about treatment alternatives or other health related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

 

Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care:       GHA may disclose PHI about you to a family member, close friend, or any other person identified by you if that information is directly relevant to the person’s involvement in your care or payment for your care. If you are present and able to consent or object (or if you are available in advance), then GHA may only use or disclose PHI if you do not object after you have been informed of your opportunity to object. If you are not present or you are unable to consent or object, GHA may exercise professional judgment in determining whether the use or disclosure of PHI is in your best interests.  For example, if you are brought into the hospital and are unable to communicate normally with your physician for some reason, GHA may find it is in your best interest to give your prescription and other medical supplies to the friend or relative who brought you in for treatment. GHA may also use and disclose PHI to notify such persons of your location, general condition, or death.  GHA also may coordinate with disaster relief agencies to make this type of notification. GHA may also use professional judgment and our experience with common practice to make reasonable decisions about your best interests in allowing a person to act on your behalf to pick up filled prescriptions, medical supplies, X-rays, or other things that contain PHI about you.

 

III.       SPECIAL SITUATIONS

 

GHA may use and disclose PHI about you in the following circumstances without your authorization or opportunity to agree or object, provided that GHA complies with certain conditions that may apply.

Required By Law: GHA may use and disclose PHI as required by federal, state, or local law to the extent that the use or disclosure complies with the law and is limited to the requirements of the law.

 

Public Health Activities:  GHA may use or disclose PHI to public health authorities or other authorized persons to carry out certain activities related to public health, including the following activities:

 

·        To prevent or control disease, injury, or disability;

·        To report disease, injury, birth, or death;

·        To report child abuse or neglect;

·        To report reactions to medications or problems with products or devices regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other activities related to qualify, safety, or effectiveness of FDA-regulated products or activities;

·        To locate and notify persons of recalls of products they may be using;

·        To notify a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease in order to control who may be at risk of contracting or spreading the disease; or

·        To report to your employer, under limited circumstances, information related primarily to workplace injuries or illnesses, or workplace medical surveillance.

 

Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence: GHA may disclose PHI in certain cases to proper government authorities if GHA reasonably believe that a patient has been a victim of domestic violence, abuse, or neglect.

 

Health Oversight Activities:  GHA may disclose PHI to a health oversight agency for oversight activities including, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, licensure and disciplinary activities, and other activities conducted by health oversight agencies to monitor the health care system, government health care programs, and compliance with certain laws.

 

Lawsuits and Other Legal Proceedings:  GHA may use or disclose PHI when required by a court or administrative tribunal order.  GHA may also disclose PHI in response to subpoenas, discovery requests, or other required legal process when efforts have been made to advise you of the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

 

Law Enforcement:  Under certain conditions, GHA may disclose PHI to law enforcement officials for the following purposes where the disclosure is:

 

·        About a suspected crime victim if, under certain limited circumstances, GHA are unable to obtain a person’s agreement because of incapacity or emergency;

·        To alert law enforcement of a death that GHA suspect was the result of criminal conduct;

·        Required by law;

·        In response to a court order, warrant, subpoena, summons, administrative agency request, or other authorized process;

·        To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person;

·        About a crime or suspected crime committed at our office; or

·        In response to a medical emergency not occurring at the office, if necessary to report a crime, including the nature of the crime, the location of the crime or the victim, and the identity of the person who committed the crime.

 

Coroners, Medical Examiners, Funeral Directors: GHA may disclose PHI to a coroner or medical examiner to identify a deceased person and determine the cause of death. In addition, GHA may disclose PHI to funeral directors, as authorized by law, so that they may carry out their jobs.

 

Organ and Tissue Donation:  If you are an organ donor, GHA may use or disclose PHI to organizations that help procure, locate, and transplant organs in order to facilitate an organ, eye, or tissue donation and transplantation.

 

Research: GHA may use and disclose PHI about you for research purposes under certain limited circumstances. GHA must obtain a written authorization to use and disclose PHI about you for research purposes, except in situations where a research project meets specific, detailed criteria established by the HIPAA Privacy Rule to ensure the privacy of PHI.

 

To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: GHA may use or disclose PHI about you in limited circumstances when necessary to prevent a threat to the health or safety of a person or to the public.  This disclosure can only be made to a person who is able to help prevent the threat.

 

Specialized Government Functions:  Under certain conditions, GHA may disclose PHI:

 

·        For certain military and veteran activities, including determination of eligibility for veterans benefits and where deemed necessary by military command authorities;

·        For national security and intelligence activities;

·        To help provide protective services for the President of the United States and others;

·        For the health or safety of inmates and others at correctional institutions or other law enforcement custodial situations or for general safety and health related to correctional facilities.

 

Workers’ Compensation: GHA may disclose PHI as authorized by workers’ compensation laws or other similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.

 

Disclosures Required by HIPAA Privacy Rule:  GHA are required to disclose PHI to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services when requested by the Secretary to review our compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule.  GHA are also required in certain cases to disclose PHI to you upon your request to access PHI or for an accounting of certain disclosures of PHI about you (these requests are described in Section III of this Notice).

 

Incidental Disclosures:  GHA may use or disclose PHI incident to a use or disclosure permitted by the HIPAA Privacy Rule so long as GHA have reasonably safeguarded against such incidental uses and disclosures and have limited them to the minimum necessary information.

 

Limited Data Set Disclosures:  GHA may use or disclose a limited data set (PHI that has certain identifying information removed) for the purposes of research, public health, or health care operations.  This information may only be disclosed for research, public health, and health care operations purposes.  The person receiving the information must sign an agreement to protect the information.

 

IV.       OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION

 

All other uses and disclosures of PHI about you will only be made with your written authorization. If you have authorized us to use or disclose PHI about you, you may later revoke your authorization at any time, except to the extent GHA have taken action based on the authorization.

 

V.        YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

 

Under federal law, you have the following rights regarding PHI about you:

 

Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request additional restrictions on the PHI that GHA may use or disclose for treatment, payment and health care operations. You may also request additional restrictions on our disclosure of PHI to certain individuals involved in your care that otherwise are permitted by the Privacy Rule. GHA is not required to agree to your request.  If GHA does agree to your request, GHA is required to comply with our agreement except in certain cases, including where the information is needed to treat you in the case of an emergency.  To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to GHA’s Privacy Official.  In your request, please include (1) the information that you want to restrict; (2) how you want to restrict the information (for example, restricting use to this office, only restricting disclosure to persons outside this office, or restricting both); and (3) to whom you want those restrictions to apply.

 

Right to Receive Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that you receive communications regarding PHI in a certain manner or at a certain location. For example, you may request that GHA contact you at home, rather than at work. You must make your request in writing.  You must specify how you would like to be contacted (for example, by regular mail to your post office box and not your home).  GHA is required to accommodate only reasonable requests.

 

Right to Inspect and Copy:  You have the right to request the opportunity to inspect and receive a copy of PHI about you in certain records that GHA maintains.  This includes your medical and billing records but does not include psychotherapy notes or information gathered or prepared for a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding. GHA may deny your request to inspect and copy PHI only in limited circumstances.   To inspect and copy PHI, please contact GHA’s Privacy Official.  If you request a copy of PHI about you, GHA may charge you a reasonable fee for the copying, postage, labor and supplies used in meeting your request.

 

Right to Amend: You have the right to request that GHA amend PHI about you as long as such information is kept by or for GHA’s office.  To make this type of request, you must submit your request in writing to GHA’s Privacy Official. You must also give us a reason for your request.  GHA may deny your request in certain cases, including if it is not in writing or if you do not give us a reason for the request.

 

Right to Receive an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an “accounting” of certain disclosures that GHA has made of PHI about you.  This is a list of disclosures made by us during a specified period of up to 6 years, other than disclosures made for treatment, payment, and health care operations; for use in or related to a facility directory; to family members or friends involved in your care;  to you directly; pursuant to an authorization of you or your personal representative; for certain notification purposes (including national security, intelligence, correctional, and law enforcement purposes); certain incidental disclosures that occur as a result of otherwise permitted disclosures as part of a limited data set of information that does not directly identify you and disclosures made before April 14, 2003.  If you wish to make such a request, please contact GHA’s Privacy Official identified on the last page of this Notice.  The first list that you request in a 12-month period will be free, but GHA may charge you for our reasonable costs of providing additional lists in the same 12-month period.  GHA will tell you about these costs, and you may choose to cancel your request at any time before costs are incurred.

 

Right to a Paper Copy of this Notice:  You have a right to receive a paper copy of this Notice at any time.  You are entitled to a paper copy of this Notice even if you have previously agreed to receive this Notice electronically.  To obtain a paper copy of this Notice, please contact GHA’s our Privacy Official listed in this Notice.

 

Access to Electronic Copy of this Notice:    You may obtain an electronic copy of this Notice at GHA’s web site, http://www.choosegha.com.

 

VI.       COMPLAINTS

 

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with GHA or the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with GHA, please contact GHA’s Privacy Official at the address and number listed below.  GHA will not retaliate or take action against you for filing a complaint.

 

VII.     QUESTIONS

 

If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact GHA’s Privacy Official at the address and telephone number listed below.

 

VIII.    PRIVACY OFFICIAL CONTACT INFORMATION

 

You may contact our Privacy Official at the following address and phone number:

 

                        Ronald Booker, JD, CPA

                        GHA Privacy Official

                        2411 Fountainview Dr., Suite 200

                        Houston, TX 77057

                        (713) 458-4100

                        rbooker@choosegha.com

 

IX.       CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

 

This notice was published and first became effective on March 10, 2003. As permitted by law, GHA reserves the right to make changes to this Notice and to make such changes effective for all PHI GHA may already have about you.  If and when this Notice is changed, GHA will post a copy in our business office in a prominent location and on GHA’s web site. GHA will also provide you with a copy of the revised Notice upon your request made to our Privacy Official.