USE AND DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH INFORMATION
Hospice Home Care, Inc. may use your health information for purposes of providing you treatment, obtaining payment for your care and conducting health care operations.  Your health information may be used or disclosed only after the Hospice has obtained your written consent.  The Hospice has established a policy to guard against unnecessary disclosure of your health information.  THE FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH AND PURPOSES FOR WHICH YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AFTER YOU HAVE PROVIDED YOUR WRITTEN CONSENT:

To Provide Treatment.  Hospice Home Care may use your health information to coordinate care within Hospice and with others involved in your care, such as your attending physician, members of the Hospice interdisciplinary team and other health care professionals who have agreed to assist in coordinating care.  For example, physicians involved in your care will need information about your symptoms in order to prescribe appropriate medications.  Hospice Home Care also may disclose your health care information to individuals outside of Hospice involved in your care including family members, clergy whom you have designated, pharmacists, suppliers of medical equipment or other health care professionals that Hospice uses in order to coordinate your care.

To Obtain Payment.  Hospice Home Care may include your health information in invoices to collect payment from third parties for the care you may receive.  For example, we may be required by your health insurer to provide information regarding your health care status so that the insurer will reimburse Hospice.  Hospice Home Care also may need to obtain prior approval from your insurer and may need to explain to the insurer your need for hospice care and the services that will be provided to you.

To Conduct Health Care Operations.  Hospice Home Care may use and disclose health care information for its own operations in order to provide quality care to all of our patients.  Health care operations includes such activities as: 

• Quality assessment and improvement activities. 
• Activities designed to improve health or reduce health care costs.
• Protocol development, case management and care coordination.
• Contacting health care providers and patients with information about treatment alternatives and other related functions that do not include treatment.
• Professional review and performance evaluation.
• Training programs including those in which students, trainees or practitioners in health care learn under supervision.
• Training of non-health care professionals.
• Accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities.
• Review and auditing, including compliance reviews, medical reviews, legal services and compliance programs.
• Business planning and development including cost management and planning related analyses and formulary development.
• Business management and general administrative activities.

For example Hospice Home Care may use your health information to evaluate its staff performance, combine your health information with other Hospice patients in evaluating how to more effectively serve all Hospice patients, disclose your health information to Hospice staff and contracted personnel for training purposes, use your health information to contact you as a reminder regarding a visit to you, or contact you or your family as part of community information mailings (unless you tell us you do not want to be contacted).

Federal privacy rules allow Hospice Home Care to use or disclose your health information without your consent or authorization for a number of reasons. 

When Legally Required.  Hospice Home Care will disclose your health information when it is required to do so by any Federal, State or local law.

When There Are Risks to Public Health.  Hospice Home Care may disclose your health information for public activities and purposes in order to:

• Prevent or control disease, injury or disability, report disease, injury, vital events such as birth or death and the conduct of public health surveillance, investigations and interventions.

• To report adverse events, product defects, to track products or enable product recalls, repairs and replacements and to conduct post-marketing surveillance and compliance with requirements of the Food and Drug Administration.

• To notify a person who has been exposed to a communicable disease or who may be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease.
• To an employer about an individual who is a member of the workforce as legally required.

To Report Abuse, Neglect Or Domestic Violence.  Hospice Home Care is allowed to notify government authorities if we believe a patient is the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.  Hospice Home Care will make this disclosure only when specifically required or authorized by law or when the patient agrees to the disclosure.

To Conduct Health Oversight Activities.  Hospice Home Care may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for activities including audits, civil administrative or criminal investigations, inspections, licensure or disciplinary action.  Hospice Home Care, however, may not disclose your health information if you are the subject of an investigation and your health information is not directly related to your receipt of health care or public benefits.

In Connection With Judicial And Administrative Proceedings.  Hospice Home Care may disclose your health information in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal as expressly authorized by such order or in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process.

For Law Enforcement Purposes.  Hospice Home Care may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for law enforcement purposes as follows:

• As required by law for reporting of certain types of wounds or other physical injuries pursuant to the court order, warrant, subpoena or summons or similar process.
• For the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person.
• Under certain limited circumstances, when you are the victim of a crime.
• If Hospice Home Care has a suspicion that your death was the result of criminal conduct.
• In an emergency in order to report a crime.

To Coroners And Medical Examiners.  Hospice Home Care may disclose your health information to coroners and medical examiners for purposes of determining your cause of death or for other duties, as authorized by law.

To Funeral Directors.  Hospice Home Care may disclose your health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law and if necessary, to carry out their duties with respect to your funeral arrangements.  If necessary to carry out their duties, Hospice Home Care may disclose your health information prior to and in reasonable anticipation, of your death.

For Organ, Eye Or Tissue Donation.  Hospice Home Care may use or disclose your health information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking or transplantation of organs, eyes or tissue for the purpose of facilitating the donation and transplantation.

For Research Purposes.  Hospice Home Care may, under very select circumstances, use your health information for research.  Before Hospice Home Care discloses any of your health information for such research purposes, the project will be subject to an extensive approval process.  Hospice Home Care will ask your permission if any researcher will be granted access to your individually identifiable health information.

In the Event of A Serious Threat To Health Or Safety.  Hospice Home Care may, consistent with applicable law and ethical standards of conduct, disclose your health information if Hospice, in good faith, believes that such disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or to the health and safety of the public.

For Worker's Compensation.  Hospice Home Care may release your health information for worker's compensation or similar programs.

AUTHORIZATION TO USE OR DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION
Other than is stated above, Hospice Home Care will not disclose your health information other than with your written authorization.  If you or your representative authorizes Hospice Home Care to use or disclose your health information, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time. 

YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
You have the following rights regarding your health information:

• Right to request restrictions.  You may request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information.  You have the right to request a limit on Hospice's disclosure of your health information to someone who is involved in your care or the payment of your care.  However, Hospice Home Care is not required to agree to your request.  If you wish to make a request for restrictions, please contact the Patient Care Coordinator.
• Right to receive confidential communications.  You have the right to request that Hospice Home Care communicate with you in a certain way.  For example, you may ask that the Hospice only conduct communications pertaining to your health information with you privately with no other family members present.  Hospice Home Care will not request that you provide any reasons for your request and will attempt to honor your reasonable requests for confidential communications.
• Right to inspect and copy your health information.  You have the right to inspect and copy your health information, including billing records.  A request to inspect and copy records containing your health information may be made to the Patient Care Coordinator at Hospice Home Care.  If you request a copy of your health information, Hospice Home Care may charge a reasonable fee for copying and assembling costs associated with your request.
• Right to amend health care information.  If you or your representative believes that your health information records are incorrect or incomplete, you may request that Hospice Home Care amend the records.  That request may be made as long as the information is maintained by Hospice Home Care.  A request for an amendment of records must be made in writing to the Patient Care Coordinator.  Hospice Home Care may deny the request if it is not in writing or does not include a reason for the amendment.  The request also may be denied if your health information records were not created by Hospice Home Care, if the records you are requesting are not part of Hospice's records, if the health information you wish to amend is not part of the health information you or your representative are permitted to inspect and copy, or if, in the opinion of Hospice Home Care, the records containing your health information are accurate and complete.
• Right to an accounting.  You or your representative have the right to request an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by Hospice Home Care for any reason other than for treatment, payment or health operations.  The request for an accounting must be made in writing to the Patient Care Coordinator.  The request should specify the time period for the accounting.  Accounting requests may not be made for periods of time in excess of six years.  Hospice Home Care would provide the first accounting you request during any 12-month period without charge.  Subsequent accounting requests may be subject to a reasonable cost-based fee.

DUTIES OF THE HOSPICE
Hospice Home Care is required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and to provide to you and your representative this Notice of its duties and privacy practices.  Hospice Home Care is required to abide by terms of this Notice as may be amended from time to time.  Hospice Home Care reserves the right to change the terms of its Notice and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all health information that it maintains.  If Hospice Home Care changes its Notice, we will provide a copy of the revised Notice to you or your appointed representative.  You or your personal representative have the right to express complaints to Hospice Home Care and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services if you or your representative believe that your privacy rights have been violated.  Any complaints to Hospice Home Care should be made in writing to the Patient Care Coordinator.  Hospice Home Care encourages you to express any concerns you may have regarding the privacy of your information.  You will not be retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint. 

EFFECTIVE DATE
This Notice is effective August 1, 2002.