We strive to achieve the highest standards of integrity for every online visitor.
When you register at the Ginger Cove Web site, we aim to respect your privacy.
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.
A. General description and purpose of notice:.
This notice describes our information privacy practices and that of:
- Any health care professional authorized to enter information into your medical record created and/or maintained at our organization;
- Any member of a volunteer group which we allow to help you while receiving services at GINGER COVE; and
- All employees, staff, and other personnel of our organization.
B. Our organization’s policy regarding your protected health information (PHI).
We are committed to preserving the privacy and confidentiality of your protected health information created and/or maintained at our organization. Certain state and federal laws and regulations require us to implement policies and procedures to safeguard the privacy of your protected health information.
This notice will provide you with information regarding our privacy practices and applies to all of your protected health information created and/or maintained at our organization, including any information that we receive from other health care providers or facilities. The notice describes the ways in which we may use or disclose your protected health information and also describes your rights and our obligations regarding any such uses or disclosures. We will abide by the terms of this notice, including any future revisions that we may make to the notice as required or authorized by law.
We reserve the right to change this notice and to make the revised or changed notice effective for protected health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in our organization. The first page of the notice contains the effective date and any dates of revision.
C. Uses or disclosures of your protected health information.
We may use or disclose your protected health information in one of following ways:
- For purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations
- Pursuant to your written authorization (for purposes other than treatment, payment or health care operations)
- Pursuant to your verbal agreement (for use in our organization directory or to discuss your health condition with family or friends who are involved in your care)
- As permitted by law
- As required by law
The following describes each of the different ways that we may use or disclose your protected health information. Where appropriate, we have included examples of the different types of uses or disclosures. While not every use or disclosure is listed, we have included all of the ways in which we may make such uses or disclosures.
1. Uses or disclosures for treatment, payment or health care operations.
We may use or disclose your protected health information for purposes of treatment, payment, or health care operations.
a. Treatment. We may use your protected health information to provide you with health care treatment and services. We may disclose your protected health information to doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, medication aides, technicians, medical and nursing students, rehabilitation therapy specialists, or other personnel who are involved in your health care. For example, your physician may order physical therapy services to improve your strength and walking abilities. Our nursing staff will need to talk with the physical therapist so that we can coordinate services and develop a plan of care. We also may disclose your protected health information to people outside of our organization who may be involved in your health care, such as family members, social services, hospice or home health agencies. This may include using or disclosing your protected health information to voice activated devices (for example, medicine dispensing devices) with proper controls in place to keep it secured in accordance with applicable law.
i. Appointment reminders. We may use or disclose your protected health information for purposes of contacting you to remind you of a health care appointment.
ii. Treatment alternatives, Health-related benefits and services. We may use or disclose your protected health information for purposes of contacting you to inform you of treatment alternatives or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
iii. Any other areas that GINGER COVE may disclose your PHI for the following purposes: (Birth date, directory or listing, obituary notice, hospitalization notice or posting, prayer list, newsletter, picture, welcome posting, etc.). This information may be used in written materials or posted in public areas.
b. Payment. We may use or disclose your protected health information so that we may bill and collect payment from you, an insurance company, or another third party for the health care services you receive at our organization. For example, we may need to give information to your health plan regarding the services you received from our organization so that your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the services. We also may tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive in order to obtain prior approval for the services or to determine whether your health plan will cover the treatment.
c. Health care operations. We may use or disclose your protected health information to perform certain functions within our organization. These uses or disclosures are necessary to operate our organization and to make sure that our Residents/Clients receive quality care. For example, we may use your protected health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may combine protected health information about many of our Resident/Clients to determine whether certain services are effective or whether additional services should be provided. We may disclose your protected health information to physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, medication aides, rehabilitation therapy specialists, technicians, medical and nursing students, and other personnel for review and learning purposes. We also may combine protected health information with information from other health care providers or facilities to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services offered to our Resident/Clients. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of protected health information so that others may use the information to study health care and health care delivery without learning the specific identities of our Resident/Clients.
2. Uses or disclosures made pursuant to your written authorization.
We may use or disclose your protected health information pursuant to your written authorization for purposes other than treatment, payment or health care operations and for purposes, which are permitted or required law. You have the right to revoke a written authorization at any time as long as your revocation is provided to us in writing. If you revoke your written authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your protected health information for the purposes identified in the authorization. You understand that we are unable to retrieve any disclosures, which we may have made pursuant to your authorization prior to its revocation. In the following circumstances, we will always require an authorization from you:
a. In most circumstances when we use or disclose psychotherapy notes made by a mental health professional to document or analyze a conversation in a counseling session.
b. Any marketing communication that is paid for by a third party about a product or service to encourage you to purchase or use the product or service.
c. Except for limited transactions permitted by the Privacy Rule, a sale of protected health information for which we directly or indirectly receive remuneration or payment.
d. This may include incidental disclosures of your protected health information to voice activated devices in your residence. We will make best efforts to implement proper controls to maintain privacy and security.
e. Other uses or disclosures of protected health information that are not described in this notice.
3. Uses or disclosures made pursuant to your verbal agreement.
We may use or disclose your protected health information, pursuant to your verbal agreement, for purposes of including you in our organization directory or for purposes of releasing information to persons involved in your care as described below.
a. Organization directory. We may use or disclose certain limited protected health information about you in our organization directory while you are a Resident/Client at our organization. This information may include your name, your assigned unit and room number, your religious affiliation, and a phone number. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy. The directory information, except for religious affiliation and phone number may be given to people who ask for you by name.
b. Individuals involved in your care. We may disclose your protected health information to individuals, such as family and friends, who are involved in your care or who help pay for your care. This disclosure may be face to face, by phone or by electronic mail. We also may disclose your protected health information to a person or organization assisting in disaster relief efforts for the purpose of notifying your family or friends involved in your care about your condition, status and location.
4. Uses or disclosures required by law
We may use or disclose your information where such uses or disclosures are required by federal, state or local law.
a. Public health activities. We may use or disclose your protected health information to public health authorities that are authorized by law to receive and collect protected health information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability. We may use or disclose your protected health information for the following purposes:
i. To report births and deaths
ii. To report suspected or actual abuse, neglect, or domestic violence involving a child or an adult
iii. To report adverse reactions to medications or problems with health care products
iv. To notify individuals of product recalls
v. To notify an individual who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for spreading or contracting a disease or condition
b. Judicial or administrative proceedings. We may use or disclose your protected health information to courts or administrative agencies charged with the authority to hear and resolve lawsuits or disputes. We may disclose your protected health information pursuant to a court order, a subpoena, a discovery request, or other lawful process issued by a judge or other person involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to (i) notify you of the request for disclosure or (ii) obtain an order protecting your protected health information.
c. Law Enforcement official. We may use or disclose your protected health information in response to a request received from a law enforcement official for the following purposes:
i. In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar lawful process
ii. To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person
iii. Regarding a victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement
iv. To report a death that we believe may be the result of criminal conduct
v. To report criminal conduct at our organization
vi. In emergency situations, to report a crime—the location of the crime and possible victims; or the identity, description, or location of the individual who committed the crime