YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
You have the following rights regarding medical information we maintain about you:
- Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records. This right does not include; psychotherapy notes (separated from the medical record), information compiled in anticipation of or for use in a legal proceeding, or certain information maintained by the laboratories at the hospitals as restricted by law.
- You have the right to request restrictions on our uses and disclosures of protected health information for treatment, payment and health care operations. However, we are not required to agree to your request. To request a restriction, you must make your request in writing to the Privacy Officer at NY Westchester Square Medical Center.
- You have the right to reasonably request to receive confidential communications of protected health information by alternative means or at alternative locations. To make such a request, you must submit your request in writing to the Director of Health Information Management.
- You have the right to inspect and copy the protected health information contained in your medical and billing records and in any other Hospital records used by us to make decisions about you, except:
for psychotherapy notes, which are notes that have been recorded by a mental health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of conversations during a private counseling session or a group, joint or family counseling session and that have been separated from the rest of your medical record;
(ii) for information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or for use in, a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding;
(iii) for protected health information involving laboratory tests when your access is restricted by law;
(iv) if you are a prison inmate, obtaining a copy of your information may be restricted if it would jeopardize your health, safety, security, custody, or rehabilitation or that of other inmates or the safety of any officer, employee, or other person at the correctional institution or person responsible for transporting you;
(v) if we obtained or created protected health information as part of a research study, your access to the health information may be restricted for as long as the research is in progress, provided that you agreed to the temporary denial of access when consenting to participate in the research;
(vi) For protected health information contained in records kept by a Federal agency or contractor when your access is restricted by law; and
(vii) For protected health information obtained from someone other than us under a promise of confidentiality when the access requested would be reasonably likely to reveal the source of the information.
In order to inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to the Director of Health Information Management. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.
We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by the Hospital will review your request and where appropriate under the federal government’s rules, the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.
Right to Amend. If you feel that medical 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 the information is kept by or for the Hospital.
To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to the Privacy Officer. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request.
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 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 medical information kept by or for the Hospital;
· is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
· 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 medical information about you. The list will not include disclosures that we have already made to you or authorized by you, that were made to identify you in the hospital directory or that were made to people who were involved in your care. The list will also not include disclosures to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials as provided by law, and as part of a limited data set as provided by law, that were made for treatment, payment or health care operations. In addition, we will not include on the list medical information about you that will compromise national security.
To request this list of accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to the Privacy Officer. Your request must state a time period which may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper, electronically). We will do our best to honor your request. The first accounting you request within a twelve (12) month period will be free. For additional accountings, we may charge you. 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 allow your family and friends to act on your behalf to pick-up filled prescriptions, medical supplies, x-rays and similar forms of protected health information, when we determine, in our professional judgment, that it is in your best interest to make such disclosures.
We may contact you as part of our efforts to market our services as permitted by applicable law.
· Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical 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 medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend.
We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree to your request, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment.
· 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 the Director of Health Information Management. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.
· Right to a Paper copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice.
To obtain a paper copy of this notice, please contact the Admitting Office.