Notice of Privacy Practices

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.

Home Health Care Services of New York, Inc. understands that the information we collect about you and your health is personal. We are committed to keeping information about you and your health confidential and secure. We keep records of the care and services provided to you. We need this record in order to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. We are committed to following all state and federal laws regarding the protection of your health information.

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. “Protected health information” is information that identifies you or could be used to identify you and relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health conditions or to the provision of past, present or future health care services (including payment.) We are required by law to ensure that health information that identifies you is kept private, give you notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information about you, and to follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect. If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact our Privacy Officer at 347-875-1410. This notice describes the practices of Home Health Care Services of New York, Inc.

Your Rights:

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

RIGHT to get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record: You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this. We will provide a copy of summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost based fee.
RIGHT to ask us to correct your medical record: You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this. We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.
RIGHT to request confidential communication: You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address. We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.
RIGHT to ask us to limit what we use or share: You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service or health care item out of pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
RIGHT to get a list of those with whom we have shared information: You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we have shared your health information for (6) six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with and why. We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment and health care operations and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We will provide one accounting a year free of charge but will charge a reasonable, cost based fee if you ask for another one within (12) twelve months.
RIGHT to get a copy of this privacy notice: You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
RIGHT to choose someone to act for you: If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
RIGHT to file a complaint if you feel that you rights are violated: You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us using the information at the top of page one. You can file a complaint with the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S. W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775 or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices:

For certain health information, you can tell us your choice about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in situations described below, talk to us and tell us what you want us to do and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

Share information with your family, close friends or others involved in your care
Share information in a disaster relief situation

If you are unable to tell us your preference, for example, if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases we never share your information unless you give us permission:

Marketing purposes
Sale of information

Our Uses and Disclosures:

How do we typically use or share your health information? We typically us or share your health information in the following ways:

To Treat You: We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. Example: A doctor or hospital treating you may ask us for information with regard to your home care services.
To Run our Organization: We can use and share your health information to run our organization, improve your care and to contact you when necessary. Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.
To Bill for your services: We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

How else can we use or share your health information? We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes.

For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

Help with public health and safety issues: We can share health information about you in certain situations such as:

Preventing disease
Helping with product recalls
Reporting adverse reactions to medications
Reporting suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence
Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Do research: We can use your information for health research
Comply with the law: We will share information about you if state or federal law requires it, including sharing information with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we are complying with federal privacy laws.
Respond to organ and tissue donation requests: We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
Work with a medical examiner or funeral director: We can share health information about you with a coroner, medical examiner or funeral director when an individual dies.
Address worker’s compensation, law enforcement and other government requests: We can use or share health information about you:

For workers’ compensation
For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
For special government functions such as military, national security and presidential protective services

Respond to lawsuits and other legal actions: We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order or in response to a subpoena.

We do not create or manage a hospital directory

We do not create or maintain psychotherapy notes at this practice

Our Responsibilities:

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
We will not use or share your information other than described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information see:

www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the Terms of This Notice:

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, at our office and on our website.

Effective Date: 6/18/2014

Privacy Officer: Basi Jaffe
bjaffe@hcshomecare.com
347-875-1410
1650 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230