NOTICE OF HEALTH INFORMATION PRIVACY PRACTICES of PLANNED PARENTHOOD CENTER OF EL PASO

This Notice Describes How Health Information About You May Be Used Or Disclosed By Planned Parenthood Center Of El Paso And How You Can Get Access To This Information

Effective Date Of This Notice: April 14, 2003 :: PLEASE REVIEW THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact Planned Parenthood Center of El Paso’s (PPCEP) Privacy Official at 544-8195.

OUR PLEDGE REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION

We understand that health information about you and your healthcare is personal.  We are committed to protecting health information about you.  We will create a record of the care and services you receive from us.  We do so to provide you with quality care and to comply with any legal or regulatory requirements.

This notice applies to all of the records generated or received by PPCEP, whether we documented the health information, or another doctor forwarded it to us.  This Notice will tell you the ways in which we may use or disclose health information about you.  This Notice also describes your rights to the health information we keep about you, and describes certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your health information.

Our pledge regarding you health information is backed-up by Federal law.  The privacy and security provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) require us to:

• Make sure that health information that identifies you is kept private;

• Make available this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information about you; and

• Follow the terms of the notice that are currently in effect.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

The following categories describe the different ways that we may use or disclose health information about you.  Unless otherwise noted each of these uses and disclosures may be made without your permission.  For each category of use or disclosure, we will explain what we mean and give some examples.  Not every use of disclosure in a category will be listed.  However, unless we ask for a separate authorization, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.  In all cases, Planned Parenthood Center of El Paso shall make reasonable efforts to confine uses and disclosures to the minimum necessary to accomplish the intended purpose(s)

For Treatment:  We may use health information about you to provide you with healthcare treatment and services.  We may disclose health information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, health students, volunteers or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you.  They may work at our offices, at a hospital if you are hospitalized under our supervision, or at another doctor’s office, laboratory, pharmacy, or to have prescriptions filled, or for treatment purposes.  For example, a doctor treating you may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process.  We may provide that information to a physician treating you at another institution.

For Payment: We may use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you received from us may be billed to and payment collected from you, an insurance company, a state Medicaid agency or a third party.  For example, we may need to give your health insurance plan information about your office visit so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the visit.  Alternatively, we may need to give information about your health care or office visit to the state Medicaid agency so that we may be reimbursed for providing services to you.  In some instances, we may need to tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.

For Healthcare Operations: We may use and disclose health information about you for operations of our healthcare practice.  These uses and disclosures are necessary to run our practice and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care.  For example, we may use health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you.  We may also combine health information about many patients to decide what additional services we should offer, what services are needed, whether certain new treatments are effective, or to compare how we are doing with others and to see where we can make improvements.  We may remove information that identifies you from this set of health information so others may use it to study healthcare delivery without learning who our specific patients are.

De-Identified Health Information: We may use health information that no longer identifies you and there is no reasonable basis to identify you, for uses and disclosures consistent with our business practices.

Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment.  Please let us know if you do not wish to have us contact you concerning your appointment, or if you wish to have us use a different telephone number or address to contact you for this purpose.

Fundraising Activities: We may use health information about you to contact you in an effort to raise money for our not-for-profit operations.  Please let us know if you do not want us to contact you for such fundraising efforts.

Research: There may be situations where we want to use and disclose health information about you for research purposes.  For example, a research project may involve comparing the efficacy of one medication over another.  For any research project that uses your health information, we will either obtain an authorization from you, or ask an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board to waive the requirement to obtain authorization from you.  A waiver of authorization will be based upon assurances from a review board that the research will adequately protect your health information.

As Required By Law: We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.

To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose health information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person.  Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces or are separated/discharged from military services, we may release health information about you as required by military command authorities or the Department of Veterans Affairs as may be applicable.  We may also release health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authorities.

Workers’ Compensation: We may release health information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs.  These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.

Public Health Risks: We may disclose health information about you for public health activities.  These activities generally include the following:

• To prevent or control disease, injury or disability;

• To report births and deaths;

• To report child abuse or neglect;

• To report reactions to medications or problems with products;

• To notify people of recalls of products they may be using;

• To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition;

• To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.  (We will only make this disclosure if you agree or when required or authorized by law.)

Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law.  These oversight activities include, for example, 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.

Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information about you in response to an order issued by a court or administrative tribunal.  We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process from someone else involved in the dispute, but only after good faith efforts have been made to notify you about the request and you have time to obtain an order protecting the information requested.  We will nonetheless make all efforts to attempt to secure an actual authorization prior to disclosing your health information.

Law Enforcement: We may release health information if asked to do so 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;

• If you are the victim of a crime and we are unable to obtain your consent;

• About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;

• In an instance of criminal conduct at our facility; and

• In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims, or the identity, description, or location of the person who committed the crime.

Coroners, Health Examiners and Funeral Directors: We may release health information to a coroner or health examiner.  This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death.  We may also release health information about patients to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.

Inmates: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may release health information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official.  This release would be necessary: (1) for the institution to provide you with healthcare; (2) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; (3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

You have the following rights regarding health information we maintain about you:

Right to Inspect and Copy: You have certain rights to inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about your care.  Usually, this includes health and billing records.  This does not include psychotherapy notes.

To inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing on a form provided by us to: “The Privacy Official of Planned Parenthood Center of El Paso”.  If you request a copy of your health information, we may charge a fee for the costs of locating, copying, mailing or other supplies and services associated with your request.

We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain and very limited circumstances.  If you are denied access to health information, you may in certain instances request that the denial be reviewed.  Another licensed healthcare professional chosen by our affiliate will review your request and the denial.  The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your initial request.  We will comply with the outcome of the review.

Right to Amend: If you feel that health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information.  You have the right to request an amendment for as long as we keep the information.  To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing on a form provided by us and submitted to: “The Privacy Official at Planned Parenthood Center of El Paso.”

We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in the form provided by us and 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 our business;

• Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or

• Is accurate and complete.

Any amendment we make to your health information will be discussed to those with whom we disclose information as previously specified.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request a list (accounting) of any disclosures of your health information we have made, except for uses and disclosures for Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations, as previously described. To request this list of disclosures, you must submit your request on a form that we will provide you.  Your request must state a time period that may not be longer than six years and may not include any date prior to April 14, 2003 [The compliance date of the Privacy Regulation].  The first list of disclosures you request within a 12-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.  We will mail you a list of disclosures in paper form within 30 days of your request, or notify you if we are unable to supply the list within that time period and by what date we can supply the list; but this date should not exceed a total of 60 days from the date you made the request.

Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitations on the health information we use or disclose about you for Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations.  You also have the right to request a limit  on the health information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care.  For example, you could ask that access to your health information be denied to a particular member of our workforce who is known to you personally.

While we will try to accommodate your request for restrictions, we are not required to do so if it is not feasible for us to ensure our compliance with law or we believe it will negatively impact the care we may provide you.  If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment.  To request a restriction, you must make your request on a form that we will provide you.  In your request, you must tell us what information you want to limit and to whom you want the limits to apply.

Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about health matters in a certain manner or at a certain location.  For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail to a post office box.  During our intake process, we will ask you how you wish to receive communications about your health care or for any other instructions on notifying you about your health information.  We will accommodate all reasonable requests.

Right to a Copy of This Notice: You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice at any time upon request.  Electronic notice, either by e-mail or web-based, is available upon request, in which case, you may obtain a paper copy of this notice at any time.

MINORS AND PERSONS WITH GUARDIANS

Minors have certain rights outlined in this Notice with respect to health information relating to reproductive healthcare, except for abortion, family planning, and in emergency situations or when the law requires reporting of abuse and neglect.  If you are a minor or a person with a guardian obtaining healthcare your parent or legal guardian may have the right to access your medical record and make certain decisions regarding the uses and disclosures of your health information.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

We reserve the right to change this Notice.  Any material changes to this Notice will be distributed to you.  We reserve the right to implement the revised or changed Notice for health information we already have about you, as well as any information we receive in the future, but only after the effective date of the change or revision.  We will post a copy of the current Notice in our facility.  The Notice contains the effective date on the first page.  In addition, each time you register for treatment or healthcare services, we will offer you a copy of the current Notice in effect.

COMPLAINTS

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.  To file a complaint with us, contact: “The Privacy Official at Planned Parenthood Center of El Paso” at the telephone number and address provided.  All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized or otherwise retaliated against for filing a complaint.

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 authorization.  If you provide us authorization to use or disclose health information about you, you may revoke that authorization, in writing, at any time.  If you revoke your authorization, 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 authorization, and that we are required to retain the records of the care that we provided to you.