Privacy & Terms of Use
HIPAA NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Wilson Senior Care
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION
ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU
CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY
If you have any questions about this notice, please
contact our Privacy Compliance Officer at
(843) 393-9925.
THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ARE AFFILIATED WITH
US AND WILL FOLLOW THIS NOTICE DESCRIBING OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES:
• Oakhaven Nursing Center, LLC
• Morrell Nursing Center, LLC
• Medford Nursing Center, LLC
• Medford Place Medical Adult Day Care
• The Wilson Group, Inc.
• MedCenter Pharmacy and Medical Supply, Inc.
All these entities, sites, and locations follow
the terms of this notice. In addition, these entities, sites, and
locations may share health information with each other for treatment,
payment, or health care operations purposes described in this notice.
OUR PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION:
We understand that health information about you
and your health care is personal. We are committed to protecting
health information about you. We create a record of the care and
services you receive from us. We need this record to provide you
with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements.
This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated
by this facility, whether made by your personal doctor or others
working at this facility. This notice will tell you about the ways
in which we may use and disclose health information about you. We
also describe your rights to the health information we keep about
you, and describe certain obligations we have regarding the use
and disclosure of your health information.
We are required by law to:
• make sure that health information that
identifies you is kept private;
• give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices
with respect to health information
about you; and
• follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU.
The following categories describe different ways
that we use and disclose health information. For each category of
uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give
some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be
listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose
information will fall within one of the categories.
For Treatment. We may use health information about
you to provide you with health care treatment or services. We may
disclose health information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians,
health students, or other personnel who are involved in taking care
of you. They may work at our facility, or at a doctor’s office,
lab, pharmacy, or other health care provider to whom we may refer
you for consultation, to take x-rays, to perform lab tests, to have
prescriptions filled, or for other treatment purposes. For example,
a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have
diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition,
the doctor may need to tell the dietitian at the hospital if you
have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. We may
also disclose health information about you to an entity assisting
in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified
about your condition, status and location.
For Payment: We may use and disclose health information
about you so that the treatment and services you receive from us
may be billed to and payment collected from you, an insurance company,
or a third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan
information about an office visit so your health plan will pay or
reimburse you for the visit. We may also tell your health plan about
a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or
to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.
For Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose
health information about you for operations of our health care practice.
These uses and disclosures are necessary to run our practice and
make sure that all of our residents receive quality care. For example,
we may use health information to review our treatment and services
and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you.
We may also combine health information about many residents to decide
what additional services we should offer, what services are not
needed, whether certain new treatments are effective, or to compare
how we are doing with others and to see where we can make improvements.
We may remove information that identifies you from this set of health
information so others may use it to study health care delivery without
learning who our specific residents are.
Health-Related Services and Treatment Alternatives:
We may use and disclose health
information to tell you about health-related services or recommend
possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest
to you. Please let us know if you do not wish us to send you this
information, or if you wish to have us use a different address to
send this information to you.
As Required By Law. We will disclose health information
about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety.
We may use and disclose health information about you when necessary
to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health
and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however,
would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.
Military and Veterans. If you are a member of
the armed forces or separated/discharged from military services,
we may release health information about you as required by military
command authorities or the Department of Veterans Affairs as may
be applicable. We may also release health information about foreign
military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authorities.
Workers’ Compensation. We may release health
information about you for workers’
compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits
for work-related injuries or illness.
Public Health Risks. We may disclose health information about you
for public health activities. These activities generally include
the following:
• to prevent or control disease, injury
or disability;
• to report births and deaths;
• to report child abuse or neglect;
• to report reactions to medications or problems with products;
• to notify people of recalls of products they may be using;
• to notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease
or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition;
• to notify the appropriate government authority if we believe
a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
We will only make this disclosure if you agree or when required
or authorized by law.
Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose health
information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized
by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits,
investigations, inspections, and Licensure. These activities are
necessary for the government to monitor the health care system,
government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
Lawsuits and Disputes. If you are involved in
a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information about
you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also
disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena,
discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved
in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about
the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
Law Enforcement. We may release health information
if asked to do so by a law enforcement official:
• in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons
or similar process;
• to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness,
or missing person;
• about the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances,
we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement;
• about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;
• about criminal conduct at our facility; and in emergency
circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims;
or the identity, description, or location of the person who committed
the crime.
Coroners, Health Examiners and Funeral Directors.
We may release health information to a coroner or health examiner.
This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person
or determine the cause of death. We may also release health information
about residents to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their
duties.
National Security and Intelligence Activities.
We may release health information about you to authorized federal
officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national
security activities authorized by law.
Protective Services for the President and Others.
We may disclose health information about you to authorized federal
officials so they may provide protection to the President, other
authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special
investigations.
Inmates. If you are an inmate of a correctional
institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official,
we may release health information about you to the correctional
institution or law enforcement official. This release would be necessary
(I) for the institution to provide you with health care; (2) to
protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others;
or (3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU.
You have the following rights regarding health
information we maintain about you:
Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right
to inspect and copy health information that may be used to make
decisions about your care. Usually, this includes health and billing
records.
To inspect and copy health information that may
be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request
in writing to the Administrator. If you request a copy of the information,
we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies
and services associated with your request.
We may deny your request to inspect and copy in
certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to
health information, you may request that the denial be reviewed.
Another licensed health care professional chosen by our practice
will review your request and 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 health 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 we keep the information. To request an amendment,
your request must be made in writing, submitted to the Administrator,
and must be contained on one page of paper legibly handwritten or
typed in at least 10 point font size. In addition, you must provide
a reason that supports your request for an amendment.
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:
ü was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created
the information is no longer available to make the amendment;
ü is not part of the health information kept by or for our
practice;
ü is not part of the information which you would be permitted
to inspect and copy; or
ü is accurate and complete.
Any amendment we make to your health information
will be disclosed to those with whom we disclose information as
previously specified.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have
the right to request a list accounting for any disclosures of your
health information we have made, except for uses and disclosures
for treatment, payment, and health care operations, as previously
described.
To request this list of disclosures, you must
submit your request in writing to the Administrator. Your request
must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years
and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. The first list
you request within a 12-month period will be free. For additional
lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. 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 mail you a list of disclosures in paper form within 30 days
of your request, or notify you if we are unable to supply the list
within that time period and by what date we can supply the list;
but this date will not be exceed a total of 60 days from the date
you made the request.
Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right
to request a restriction or limitation on the health 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 health
information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in
your care or the payment for your care, such as a family member
or friend. For example, you could ask that we restrict a specified
nurse from use of your information, or that we not disclose information
to your spouse about a surgery you had.
We are not required to agree to your request for
restrictions if it is not feasible for us to ensure our compliance
or believe it will negatively impact the care we may provide you.
If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information
is needed to provide you emergency treatment. To request a restriction,
you must make your request in writing to the Administrator. In your
request, you must tell us what information you want to limit and
to whom you want the limits to apply; for example, use of any information
by a specified nurse, or disclosure of specified surgery to your
spouse.
Right to Request Confidential Communications.
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about
health matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example,
you can ask that we only contact you or your responsible party at
work or by mail to a post office box.
To request confidential communications, you must
make your request in writing to the Administrator. 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 obtain a paper copy of this notice at any time or you
can download it at our website located at www.wilsongrphq.com.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We reserve the right to change this notice. We
reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective
for 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 facility. The notice will contain on the first
page, in the top right-hand corner, the effective date. In addition,
each time you register for treatment or health care services, we
will offer you a copy of the current notice in effect.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated,
you may file a complaint with us or with the Secretary of the Department
of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with us, contact
the Administrator of this facility or the Wilson Group’s Privacy
Compliance Officer. All complaints must be submitted in writing.
You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
OTHER USES OF HEALTH INFORMATION.
Other uses and disclosures of health information
not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be
made only with your written permission. If you provide us permission
to use or disclose health information about you, you may revoke
that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission,
we will no longer use or disclose health information about you for
the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand
that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already
made with your permission, and that we are required to retain our
records of the care that we provided to you.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF YOUR RIGHTS DESCRIBED ABOVE,
PLEASE CONTACT THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THIS FACILITY OR CALL OUR PRIVACY
COMPLIANCE OFFICER AT (843) 393-9925
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