Notice of Health Information Practices

Each time you visit a hospital, physician, or other health care provider, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or treatment. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

• basis for planning your care and treatment
• means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care
• legal document describing the care you received
• means by which you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided
• a source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of the nation

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:

• ensure its accuracy
• better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health information
• make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others

Although your health record is the physical property of the health care practitioner or facility that compiled it, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

• request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information
• obtain a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request
• inspect and obtain a copy of your health record
• amend your health record to correct any inaccuracies
• obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information
• request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
• revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

This organization is required to:

• maintain the privacy of your health information
• provide you with a notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you
• abide by the terms of this notice
• notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
• accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we will mail a revised notice to the address you’ve supplied us.

If you have questions or would like additional information, you may contact the Mississippi Health Partners (MHP) Privacy Officer at (601) 355-7034.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the MHP Privacy Officer or with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

We will use your health information to process payment.

For example: A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis, procedures, and supplies used. This information may be used to verify health care services provided for the purpose of health insurance claims filing.

We will use your health information for regular health operations.

For example: Members of MHP staff responsible for physician credentialing may use information in your health record when evaluating applications from physicians to be part of our network of health care providers. The health information utilized for this purpose would only be that related to a claim against a particular physician for malpractice or misconduct.

Business associates: There are some services provided in our organization through contracts with business associates.

Examples include mail couriers and claims processing. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we’ve asked them to do and bill them for services rendered. To protect your health information, however, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.

Notification: We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, your location, and general condition.

Communication with family: MHP professionals, using their best judgement, may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or payment related to your care.

In rare circumstances, we may disclose your health information to the following parties:

• Research: We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.
• Funeral directors: We may disclose health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to carry out their duties.
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects, or post marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacement.
• Workers compensation: We may disclose health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs established by law.
• Public health: As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
• Law enforcement: We may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a valid subpoena.

Federal law makes provision for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a work force member or business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering one or more patients, workers or the public.

Effective Date: April 14, 2003