Theda Oaks Ambulatory Surgical Center Internet and Medical, HEPPA Privacy Issues

Privacy Issues Internet

You do not have to give us personal information to visit our web site.

Theda Oaks Ambulatory Surgical Center

does not disclose, give, sell or transfer any personal or health information about our visitors from the Internet.

We meet and exceed all Credentialing, Privileging and Governance Compliance Requirements for Ambulatory Surgery Centers

When you browse through any web site, certain personal information about you can be collected. We automatically collect and temporarily store the following information about your visit:

the name of the domain you use to access the Internet (for example, msn.com, if you are a subscriber to MSN.com or texas.edu, if you are connecting from University of Texas domain);
the date and time of your visit;
the pages you visited; and
the address of the web site you came from when you came to visit.

We use this information for statistical purposes and to help us make our site more useful to visitors. Unless it is specifically stated otherwise, no additional information will be collected about you.

If you choose to provide us with additional information about yourself through an e-mail message, we will only maintain the information as long as needed to respond to your question or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication.

PRIVACY ISSUES HEALTHCARE

We may use your health information for the purposes of providing treatment, obtaining payment for treatment, and the conduction health care operations. Your health information may be used or disclosed only for these purposes unless we have obtained your authorization or the use or disclosure is permitted or required by the HIPAA regulations or other law.

Treatment We will use and disclose your healthcare information to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and related services, including coordination and management with third parties for treatment purposes. Examples of how we may use or disclose your health information for treatment are:

to a laboratory to order tests.
to other physicians who may be treating you, referred you to us or is consulting with us regarding your care.
those who may be involved in your care after you leave here, such as family members or your personal representative.

Payment We will use your health information to obtain payment for the services we provide to you. We may also disclose your health information to another provider involved in your care for their payment activities. The following are examples of how we may disclose your health information for payment:

to your health insurance provider to obtain approval for the services we render, to verify your health insurance coverage, to verify that particular services are covered under your insurance plan, and to demonstrate medical necessity.
to anesthesia care providers involved in your care so they can obtain payment for their services.

Health Care Operations We may use and disclose your health information to facilitate our own health care operations and to provide quality care to all of our patients. Health care operations include such activities as: quality assessment and improvement; employee review activities; conduction or arranging for medical review, legal services, and auditing functions, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance reviews; business planning and development; and business management and general administrative activities.

to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you.
to decide what additional services we should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective.

HIPAA Privacy Rule

We are in compliance with HIPPA Privacy Rules and the following is general information regarding HIPPA regulations:

HIPAA sets a national standard for accessing and handling medical information. Before HIPAA, your right to privacy of health information varied depending on what state you live in. Now, health care providers, health plans and other health care services that operate in all states have to abide by the minimum standards set by HIPAA.

Access to your own medical records, prior to HIPAA, was not guaranteed by federal law. Only about half the states had laws requiring patients to be able to see and copy their own medical records. Now HIPAA gives everyone the right to see, copy, and request to amend their own medical records. You can be charged for copies of your records, but HIPAA sets limits on the fees.

Notice of privacy practices about how your medical information is used and disclosed must now be given to you. You should get a notice the first time you visit your doctor after the HIPAA Privacy Rule takes effect. The notice should also be available in the health care facility. It must tell you how to exercise your rights under the Rule. And the notice must explain how to file a complaint with your health care provider and with the DHHS Office of Civil Rights.

An accounting of disclosures of your health information is also required by HIPAA. You can find out who has accessed your health records for the prior six years, although there are several exceptions to the accounting requirement. For example, accounting is not required when records are disclosed to the many individuals who see your records for treatment, payment, and health care operations ((TPO). Those involved in TPO do not need to be listed in the disclosure log.

You can file a complaint with your health care provider and/or with the DHHS if you believe a health care provider or health plan has violated your privacy.

Staff training, the appointment of a privacy officer and establishment of formal safeguards are some of the administrative requirements organizations must comply with under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

You have a choice when it comes to having your name included in a hospital directory. You can also choose to have your medical information discussed with designated immediate family members, close friends, or relatives.

Penalties, both civil and criminal, are authorized by the HIPAA Privacy Rule if the government brings a lawsuit for violations. The penalties, if imposed, could provide an incentive for compliance with the Privacy Rule.