This notice describes how protected health information about you may be
used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. please
review this carefully.
OUR PLEDGE REGARDING PROTECTED HELTH INFORMATION
We understand that protected health information about you and your health
is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you.
This Notice applies to all records of your care generated by Mrs. Wilkinson
MS, RD/N, LD whether made by NutritionECW.com - Medical Nutrition Therapy
personnel or your physician.
This Notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use or disclose
protected health information about you. We also describe your rights and
certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of protected
health information. Federal law requires us to:
Make sure that protected health information that identifies you is kept
private;
- Notify you about how we protect protected health information about you;
- Explain how, when, and why we use and disclose protected health information;
and
- Follow the terms of the Notice that is currently in effect.
We are required to follow the procedures in this Notice. We reserve the
right to change the terms of this Notice and to make new Notice provisions
effective for all protected health information that we maintain by:
- Posting the revised Notice in our office;
- Making copies of the revised Notice available upon request; and
- Posting the revised Notice on our Website.
How we may use and disclose protected health information about you. The
following categories describe different ways that we may use and disclose
protected health information without your written authorization.
* For Treatment. We may use protected health information about you to
provide you with, coordinate, or manage your medical treatment or services.
We may disclose protected health information about you to doctors, nurses,
technicians, medical students, or other NutritionECW.com personnel, including
persons outside of our office who are involved in your medical care.
NutritionECW.com staff may also share protected health information about
you in order to coordinate your care for such reasons as prescriptions,
lab work, and x-rays.
* For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose protected health
information about you for NutritionECW.com health care operations, such
as our quality assessment and improvement activities, case management,
coordination of care, business planning, customer service, and other activities.
These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the facility, reduce health
care costs, and make sure that all of our clients receive quality care.
For example, we use the HIPAA compliant web-based practice management and
electronic medical record (EMR) Kalix for appointment scheduling, electronic
record keeping and filing, electronic paperwork and coordination of care.
Your protected health information is recorded, stored and transmitted in
Kalix in an encrypted state. We may also combine protected health information
about many NutritionECW.com 's clients to decide what additional services
NutritionECW.com should offer, what services are not needed, and whether
certain treatments are effective. We review our treatment and services
or to evaluate the performance of the practitioner who is providing your
services. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians,
medical students, and other NutritionECW.com personnel for review and learning
purposes.
* Subject to applicable state law, the law allows or requires us to use
or disclose your health information without your authorization in some
limited situations for purposes beyond treatment, payment, and operations.
* As Required by Law. We will disclose protected health information about
you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
* Research. We may disclose your protected health information to researchers
when their research has been approved by an institutional review board
or privacy board that has reviewed the research proposal and established
protocols to ensure the privacy of your information. We may permit researchers
to review records to help identify patients who may be included in their
research projects or for similar purposes as long as the researchers do
not remove or take a copy of any health information.
* To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use and disclose
protected health information when necessary to prevent a serious threat
to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another
person. We may also disclose protected health information about you to
a government authority if we reasonably believe that you are a victim of
abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. We will only disclose this type of
information to the extent required by law, and we will only disclose it
if (a) you agree to the disclosure, or (b) the disclosure is allowed by
law and we believe it is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent
threat to you or another person.
* Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may disclose your protected
health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may
also disclose your protected health information 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, either by us or the requesting
party, to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the
information requested.
* Business Associates. We may disclose information to business associates
who perform services on our behalf including our EMR and practice management
solution Kalix and clearinghouse Office Ally. However, we require that
these associates appropriately safeguard your information. Our business
associates are obligated to protect the privacy of your information and
are not allowed to use or disclose any information other than as specified
in our contract.
* Public Health. As required by law, we may disclose your protected health
information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing
or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
* Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose protected health information
to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These activities
include audits, investigations, and inspections, as necessary for licensure
and for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs,
and compliance with civil rights laws.
* Law Enforcement. We may release protected health information as required
by law, or in response to an order or warrant of a court, a subpoena, or
an administrative request. We may also disclose protected health information
in response to a request related to identification or location of an individual,
a victim of crime, a decedent, or a crime on the premises.
* Special Government Functions. If you are a member of the armed forces,
we may release protected health information about you if it relates to
military and veterans activities. We may also release your protected health
information for national security and intelligence purposes, protective
services for the President, and medical suitability or determinations made
by the Department of State.
* Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors. We may release protected
health information to a coroner or medical examiner. This release may be
necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the
cause of death. We may also disclose protected health information to funeral
directors, consistent with applicable laws, to enable them to carry out
their duties.
* Correctional Institutions and Other Law Enforcement Custodial Situations.
If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody
of a law enforcement official, we may release protected health information
about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official as
necessary for your or another person’s health and safety.
* Worker’s Compensation. We may disclose protected health information
as necessary to comply with laws relating to worker’s compensation
or other similar programs established by law.
* Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We may disclose to the FDA, or persons
under the jurisdiction of the FDA, protected health information relative
to adverse events with respect to drugs, foods, supplements, products,
and product defects, or post marketing surveillance information to enable
product recalls, repairs, or replacement.
* Appointment Reminders, Treatment Alternatives, and Health-Related Benefits
and Services. We may use and disclose protected health information to contact
you (by email, telephone, voice message and/or text (SMS) message) as a
reminder (including automated reminders sent via Kalix EMR and Practice
Management Solution) that you have an appointment for treatment or medical
care. We may use and disclose protected health information to tell you
about or recommend possible treatment options, treatment alternatives,
or health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
* For Work-Related Injuries or Illnesses or Workplace Medical Surveillance
We may disclose health care information where your employer has a duty
under state or federal law, to keep records or act on such information.
* Incidental Disclosures may occur as a by-product of permitted uses and
disclosures of your health care information. These incidental disclosures
are permitted if we have applied reasonable safeguards to protect the confidentiality
of your health care information.
* You can object to certain uses and disclosures - Unless you object,
or request that only a limited amount or type of information be shared,
we may use or disclose protected health information about you in the following
circumstances:
We may share with a family member, relative, friend or other person identified
by you protected health information that is directly relevant to that person’s
involvement in your care or payment for your care. We may also share information
to notify these individuals of your location, general condition, or death.
We may share protected health information with a public or private agency
(such as the American Red Cross) for disaster relief purposes. Even if
you object, we may still share this information if necessary under emergency
circumstances.
If you would like to object to use and disclosure of protected health
information in these circumstances, please write to ECW@NutritionECW.com.
Add your Last Name, SSN, the cause or circumstance, email and phone number
where we can reach you.
* Your rights regarding protected health information about you
You have the following rights regarding protected health information that
we maintain about you:
* Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy protected
health information that may be used to make decisions about your care or
payment for your care, including protected health information stored electronically,
you can request that we provide access in an electronic format that is
readily producible, or in a format agreed to by us.
To inspect and copy protected health information that may be used to make
decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to NutritionECW.com.
If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs
of copying, mailing, or supplies associated with your request. We may not
charge you a fee if you need the information for a claim for benefits under
the Social Security Act or any other state or federal needs-based benefit
program. We will respond to your request no later than 30 days after we
receive it. There are certain situations in which we are not required to
comply with your request. In these circumstances, we will respond to you
in writing, stating why we will not grant your request and describe any
rights you may have to request a review of our denial.
* Right to Amend. If you feel that protected health information we have
about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend or supplement
the information.
To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted
to Mrs. E.C-Wilkinson. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports
your request. We will act on your request for an amendment no later than
60 days after we receive it.
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 these circumstances, we
will provide a written denial stating why we will not grant your 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 protected health information kept by NutritionECW.com;
- Is not part of the information that you would be permitted to inspect
and copy; or
- We believe is accurate and complete.
* Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request
an “accounting of disclosures.” This is a list of the disclosures
we made of protected health information about you.
To request this list of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing
to Mrs. E.C-Wilkinson. You may ask for disclosures made within the six
years before your request. The first list you request within a 12-month
period will be free. For additional lists in that 12-month period, we may
charge you for the costs of providing the list. We are required to provide
a list of all disclosures except the following:
Disclosures made for your treatment;
- Those used for billing and collection of payment for your treatment;
- Those related to health care operations;
- Those made to you or requested by you, or those that you authorized;
- Those that occurred as a byproduct of permitted use and disclosures;
- Those used for national security or intelligence purposes, or provided
to correctional institutions or law enforcement regarding inmates;
- Those that were a part of a limited data set of information that does
not contain information identifying you.
* Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction
or limitation on the protected health information we use or disclose about
you for treatment, payment, or health care operations, or to persons involved
in your care.
We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will
comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you
emergency treatment, the disclosure is to the Secretary of the Department
of Health and Human Services, or the disclosure is required by law.
To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to Mrs.
Wilkinson MS, RD/N, LD
* Right to Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to
request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain
way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact
you at work or by mail. To request confidential communications, you must
make your request in writing to Mrs. Wilkinson MS, RD/N, LD. 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 at any time even if you have agreed to receive it electronically.
We encourage you to read and ask questions about this Notice.
* Right to Receive Notice of Breach. You have a right to be notified upon
a breach of any of your unsecured protected health information.
* Rights for Out-of-Pocket Payments. If you paid out of pocket in full
for a specific item or service, you have a right to ask that your protected
health information with respect to that item or service not be disclosed
to a health plan for purposes of payment or health care operations. We
are required to agree to your request unless the disclosure is otherwise
required by law.
* Types of uses and disclosures requiring an authorization - Most uses
and disclosures of psychotherapy notes require us to obtain an authorization
from you. In addition, in most instances, we cannot use or disclose your
protected health information for marketing purposes or sell your protected
health information without your written authorization. Finally, any other
use or disclosure not described in this Notice will be made only with your
authorization. Any time you provide us with a written authorization, you
may revoke it any time in writing, to the extent that we have not already
taken action in reliance on your previous authorization.
* Other uses and disclosures - We will obtain your written authorization
before using or disclosing your protected health information for purposes
other than those described in this Notice (or as otherwise permitted or
required by law). You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time.
Upon receipt of the written revocation, we will stop using or disclosing
your information, except to the extent that we have already taken action
in reliance on the authorization.
You may file a complaint about our privacy practices - If you believe
your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with NutritionECW.com
or file a written complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services. A complaint to the Secretary should be filed within
180 days of the occurrence or action that is the subject of the complaint.
If you file a complaint, we will not take any action against you or change
our treatment of you in any way.
* Changes to this notice - We reserve the right to change this Notice
and make the new Notice apply to health information we already have, as
well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of
our current Notice in our office. The notice will have the effective date
clearly marked at the top of the first page.