RIVER PARK HOSPITAL

1230 Sixth Avenue

Huntington, West Virginia 25701

 

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

 

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.  PLEASE REVIEW CAREFULLY.

 

Effective Date:  04/14/03 

 

This Notice applies to information River Park Hospital (“River Park”) has received, gathered and/or created related to care you may have received as a patient of River Park, one of its programs or its EAP service contract with your employer (collectively “your personal health information”.)  Your personal health information may include records of examinations and assessments; test results, diagnoses and treatments; efforts to develop a future care plan for you; referral information; and,  billing-related information. 

 

Please note: This Notice applies only to the records and information in the possession of River Park, its personnel and authorized agents.  Information, which may be in the possession of your personal physician and his/her office or clinic or practice, may be subject to other policies or notice provisions.

 

River Park’s Responsibilities

 

By law, River Park must protect mental health and substance abuse treatment information related to anyone who comes to River Park seeking care and treatment.  The law prohibits River Park from even admitting or denying whether a person has sought care or treatment from the hospital or any of its programs, etc., except under very limited circumstances.  The law also requires that River must explain to you how it may use and disclose your personal health information. 

 

Uses and Disclosures of Personal Health Information

 

River Park may use and disclose personal health information in the following ways:

 

  1. For Treatment:  River Park may use your personal health information to provide you with treatment or services.  To that end, the hospital may disclose personal health information to physicians, nurses, therapists, and other hospital personnel in different disciplines and departments, as well as medical and nursing students, and medical residents who are involved in taking care of you at River Park.  As part of referring you to other healthcare providers for further treatment, including cases of emergency, River Park may provide your physician or a subsequent healthcare provider with copies of various reports and other information, that should assist him/her in treating you once you are discharged from River Park.  Except in cases of emergency when time or your condition may not permit, the hospital will seek to obtain your consent before releasing that information.  Similarly, if you were referred by another healthcare provider (a physician or therapist, for example) for inpatient care, for your health and safety or the health and safety of others, River Park may provide limited information to that referring healthcare provider verifying whether you were assessed for admission and whether you were admitted after the assessment. 

 

  1. For Payment:  With your consent, River Park may use and disclose personal health information about your treatment and services provided to you to bill and collect payment from you, your insurance carrier or a third party payor (i.e. Workers’ Compensation, Medicare, etc.)  This would include disclosing personal health information to a health insurance company who requires “pre-certification” of hospital admissions.  If the insurance carrier or third-party payor requests psychotherapy notes or information related to substance abuse treatment, then River Park will request that you sign a separate authorization before disclosing that information.  You will not be denied treatment if you refuse to sign such an authorization.  However, you may be required to pay for services personally without the benefit of your insurance coverage.

 

  1. For Health Care Operations:  In order to continually improve the services it provides and as may be required for continued licensure and accreditation, River Park, through its Medical Staff, Administration and/or Performance Improvement teams, may use your personal health information to (a) assess the treatment and outcomes related to your care and others like you, (b) train healthcare professionals, and (c) identify community needs.  In some instances, River Park may remove patient identifying information (names, addresses, etc.) as a means of protecting patient privacy.

 

River Park may also use and disclose personal health information:

 

▪              To “Business Associates.” (River Park obtains some services for its patients and its operations by entering into contracts with other individuals or entities known as “Business Associates.”  Business Associates include, but are not limited to, radiology services, certain laboratory services, and pastoral care services.  Business Associates may include a medical record copying service, a transcription service, financial auditing services, legal services and/or collection and billing services.  Business Associates also may include colleges, universities and vocational schools, which train healthcare professionals and those interested in healthcare administration.  When River Park enters into contracts related to these services, River Park may disclose personal health information to the Business Associate and its agents, in order for the Business Associate to fulfill it/his/her duties under the contract.  River Park requires each Business Associate to protect and safeguard any personal health information River Park discloses to it/him/her.)

 

▪              To members of an “Organized Health Care Arrangement” with a need to know in order to provide services to you.   (An example of an “Organized Health Care Arrangement” is River Park’s relationship with its Medical Staff.  The Medical Staff at River Park are not employees of the hospital, but have organized to provide services to you and other River Park patients.  The Medical Staff has agreed to provide this Notice to you in conjunction with River Park and to abide by its terms.  Personal health information will be shared between River Park and its Medical Staff in order to provide patient care and carry out payment and related operations.  To that end, physicians and other caregivers may have access to protected health information at the hospital or in their offices, including information related to prior hospitalizations and treatment, to better meet your current treatment needs.)

 

▪              To follow-up on your status, post-discharge, if you were a patient in one of the residential programs of River Park;

 

▪              To assess your satisfaction with River Park’s services;

 

▪              To tell you about health-related benefits or services;

 

▪              To fulfill notice and reporting requirements under State and/or Federal law and regulation for communicating about health or disease related issues, to report child or elder abuse or neglect, to report reactions to medications, etc.;

 

▪              To assess, through population based activities, how to improve health or reduce health care costs;

 

▪              To agencies and entities responsible for facility and program licensure, accreditation and oversight;

 

▪              To conduct or assist in training programs for healthcare and healthcare industry related professionals (i.e. medical students, therapy students, etc.);

 

▪              To review the competence of healthcare professionals;

 

▪              To law enforcement agencies under limited and specific circumstances, including, providing information about a death and/or providing information about criminal conduct that occurred at River Park or one of its programs;

 

▪              To respond to Court Orders and other legal process, as may be required by law and in accordance with the law, and,

 

▪              To prevent or warn against an imminent risk of harm to your health and safety and/or the health and safety of others.

 

When the law requires River Park to obtain your consent or written authorization for the uses and disclosures described above, the hospital will contact you for such consent/authorization.

 

Other Uses of Personal Health Information:    If River Park needs to use or disclose  your personal health information other than as already described in this Notice, including disclosing psychotherapy notes and substance abuse treatment records, River Park will obtain your written authorization and explain how it will use and/or to whom it will disclose the information.  If you give River Park your written authorization to disclose or use your personal health information, then you may withdraw that authorization, in writing, at any time.  If you withdraw your authorization, then River Park, after receiving written notice from you, will not use or disclose personal health information about you, unless such would interfere with health care operations, prevent you from receiving emergency treatment or endanger the lives and/or safety of others.  Please be aware that if you give River Park authorization to use or disclose your personal health information and then withdraw that authorization, River Park cannot take back any disclosures already made in reliance upon your prior written authorization. 

 

YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS

 

Although your medical record is the physical property of River Park, you have the right to

 

1.       Inspect and Copy:  Generally, you have the right to inspect and copy medical information related to your care.  All requests must be in writing and submitted to River Park’s Department of Health Information Management.  There are certain instances when access to your medical information may be denied.  For example, you may be denied access to psychotherapy notes.  “Psychotherapy notes” are notes made by a mental health professional that document or analyze the contents of conversations with you and others during personal counseling sessions or group, joint, or family counseling sessions.  If your request to inspect and copy is denied, you may request in writing that the denial be reviewed.  You should submit your request to River Park’s Privacy Officer.    If your request for a copy of your medical information is approved, in whole or in part, River Park may charge you a fee for copying and mailing.

 

2.       Amend:  If after reviewing your medical information at River Park you believe that the information is incorrect or incomplete, then you may ask River Park’s Department of Health Information Management to amend the information.  The right to request an amendment exists for as long as the information is kept by River Park.  Although you have the right to request an amendment to your medical record, River Park has the right to deny your request.  If that occurs, River Park will notify you of the reason(s) for the denial.  Your request and River Park’s denial will remain a part of your medical record.

 

3.       An Accounting of Disclosures:  You have the right to request an accounting of disclosures of your personal health information that River Park and/or its Business Associates make other than for treatment or health care operations for the six (6) years preceding your request.   River Park does not have to include in such accounting any disclosures of information to you or your personal representative, any information that you authorized River Park to disclose, any information that was disclosed for law enforcement purposes, or any information that was disclosed to obtain payment for your care and treatment.  If you request more than one (1) accounting of disclosures in any twelve (12) month period, River Park may charge you a fee and will notify you of the fee at the time of receiving the request.  River Park does not have to provide such an accounting for disclosures that occurred prior to April 14, 2003. 

 

4.       Request Restrictions on Uses and Disclosures:  You have the right to request a restriction on the personal health information that River Park uses or discloses about you for treatment, payment or healthcare operations.   Please be aware that River Park tries to be respectful of its patients’ wishes regarding communicating private information.  However, it is not required to agree to your request.  If River Park does agree, then the hospital will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment or to protect the health and safety of others.

 

5.       Request Confidential Communications:  You have the right to request that River Park communicate with you about treatment matters in a certain way or at a certain location (i.e. request that River Park send bills to a post office box rather than to your home.)  River Park will agree to the request to the extent that it is reasonable for the hospital to do so.

 

6.       A Paper Copy of this Notice:  You have the right to receive a copy of this Notice.  You may ask any hospital staff member to give you a copy of this Notice at any time.

 

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

 

River Park reserves the right to change this Notice at any time.  The revised Notice will be effective for information the hospital already has about you, as well as any information the hospital receives in the future.  The most recent revision of the Notice will be posted in the hospital and on its web site and will include the effective date.  In addition, each time you are admitted to River Park or any one of its programs for treatment or mental healthcare services, or referred to an EAP service provider through a contract between your employer and River Park, River Park will offer you a copy of the current Notice in effect.

 

COMPLAINTS

 

If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with River Park by contacting the main number (304-526-9111) and asking for the “Privacy Officer.”  The Privacy Officer will explain how to file a complaint with the hospital.  All complaints must be submitted in writing and addressed to “Privacy Officer,” River Park Hospital, 1230 Sixth Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia 25701.

 

Alternatively, you may file a complaint with the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.  If you file a complaint either with River Park or the Office of Civil Rights, you will not be penalized or denied care based on filing that complaint.