Privacy Policy
About this Notice
Application of this Notice
The information privacy practices described in this Notice will be followed by:
- Any health-care professional who provides consultation to Discovery Health MD
- All workforce members such as employees, volunteers and other persons under our direct control
- Other health-care providers that have agreed to abide by this Notice of Privacy Practices
This Notice provides detailed information about how we may use and disclose your health information with or without authorization, as well as more information about your specific rights with respect to your health information.
Uses and disclosures we may make without your authorization
To contact you
Your information may be used to contact you to remind you about appointments or advise you about other health-related benefits and services.
Treatment
Your information may be shared with any healthcare provider who is providing you with health-care services. This includes coordinating your care with other health-care providers and providing referrals. We may share your information electronically with your health-care providers so they have your information as quickly as possible to treat you.
We may share your health information with any family member or friend who is involved in assisting with your health care. We will only do this if you agree or do not object, and will only share the information they need in order to help you. If you are unable to agree or object, we may disclose your health-care information as necessary if we determine it is in your best interest based on our professional judgment.
Payment
In order to obtain payment for your health-care services, we may have to provide your health information to the party responsible for paying. This may include Medicare, Medicaid or your insurance company, for activities such as determining eligibility for coverage, reviewing medical necessity, or providing approval for hospital services or stays.
Health-care operations
Your health information may be used in order to support our business activities and to assure that quality health-care services are being provided. Some of these activities include quality assessments, peer or employee review, training of medical personnel, licensure and accreditation, data aggregation and audits by regulatory agencies. We may share your PHI with third parties who perform services such as transcription or billing. In those cases, we have written agreements that they will not use or disclose your health information except if permitted by law.
Other uses and disclosures without your authorization
There are a number of ways that your health information may be used or disclosed without your authorization. Generally, these uses and disclosures are either required by law or for public health and safety purposes.
When required by law. We may use or disclose your health information when required by law. If this happens, we will comply with the law and will only disclose the information necessary.
Public health. We may disclose your health information to a public health authority for public health activities, including preventing or controlling disease, injury and disability, and responding to reports of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We may disclose your health information to a person or agency required to report adverse events, product defects or problems, biologic product deviations, or for product recalls, repairs or replacements. Any disclosures of this nature will be made consistent with state and federal law.
Health oversight. We may disclose your health information to health oversight agencies for oversight activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations and inspections. Health oversight agencies include government agencies that oversee the health-care system, government benefit programs, government regulatory programs and civil rights.
Legal proceedings. We may use or disclose your health information in response to a court or administrative order in an administrative or judicial proceeding, or in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other legal process.
Law enforcement. We may use or disclose your health information for law enforcement purposes. Examples include responding to legal processes; providing limited information to identify or locate a suspect; providing information about crime victims; reporting suspicion that death has occurred as a result of criminal conduct; reporting a crime which occurred on our premises; and, for medical emergencies, reporting where it appears likely a crime occurred.
Preventing a serious threat. We may use or disclose your health information if we believe in good faith that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of a person or of the public. Disclosure may only be made to a person reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat.
Coroners, funeral directors and organ donation. We may disclose your health information to a coroner or medical examiner for identification purposes, determining cause of death or other legally required duties. We may disclose your health information to a funeral director in order to permit them to perform their duties. We may disclose your information to facilitate an organ, eye or tissue donation.
Research. We may disclose your health information to researchers, provided that the research has been approved by an Institutional Review Board or a Privacy Board, and the research protocols have been approved to ensure your privacy. We may disclose health-care information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project.
Military activity and national security. We may disclose the health information of Armed Forces personnel for activities deemed necessary by appropriate military command authorities, for a determination by the Department of Veterans Affairs of your eligibility for benefits, or to a foreign military authority if you are a member of that foreign military service. We may also disclose your health information to authorized federal officials to conduct national security and intelligence activities.
Inmates and arrestees. We may use or disclose your health information to a correctional institution or law enforcement official if you are an inmate of a correctional facility or are in custody, and the information is necessary to treat you or protect the health and safety of you, other inmates, employees at the correctional facility or others.
Workers’ compensation. We may use or disclose your health information as necessary to comply with workers’ compensation laws and other similar legally established programs.
Disaster relief. We may disclose health-care information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family and friends can be notified about your condition, status and location.
Uses and disclosures that require your authorization
Certain uses and disclosures of your health information, including marketing, sale of health information or release of psychotherapy notes, will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent that we have already taken action in reliance on the authorization. Uses and disclosures not otherwise described in this Notice will be made only with your written authorization.
Federal and state laws may place additional limitations on the disclosure of your health information for drug or alcohol abuse treatment programs, sexually-transmitted diseases, or mental health treatment programs. When required by law, we will obtain your authorization before releasing this type of information.
Your rights
Right to request restrictions
You have the right to ask us to place restrictions on the way we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment or health-care operations. We will consider your request but are not required to agree to the restriction, except as described below. If we agree to a restriction, we will not use or disclose your health information in violation of that restriction, unless it is needed for an emergency. If a restriction is no longer feasible, we will notify you.
Right to restrict disclosure to health plans
You may request in writing, at the time of service, that we not disclose information to health plans where you have paid for items or services out of pocket in full. We must agree not to disclose this information to your health plan if certain conditions are met.
Confidential communications
We will accommodate reasonable requests to communicate with you about your health information by different methods or at alternative locations. For example, if you are covered on a health plan but are not the subscriber, and would like your health information sent to a different address than the subscriber, we can usually do that for you.
Breach notification
You have the right to receive notification of breaches of your health information as required by law.
Access to your health information
You have the right to receive a copy of your health information that we maintain, with some limited exceptions. You may request access to your information in writing and you may request a copy of your information in electronic format. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for the cost of producing and providing your health information. You have the right to request that your health information be sent to any person or entity, such as another doctor, caregiver or online personal health record.
Amendment of your health information
You have the right to ask us to amend any of your health information. You need to request this amendment in writing and submit it to the facility’s medical records department. We may deny your request in certain situations, such as when the health information in your records was created by another provider or if we determine your information is accurate and complete. Any denials will be in writing. You have the right to appeal our denial by filing a written statement of disagreement.
Accounting of certain disclosures
You have a right to a listing of the disclosures we make of your health information, except for those disclosures made for treatment, payment or health-care operations, or those disclosures made pursuant to your authorization. The type of disclosures typically contained in a listing would be disclosures made for mandatory public health purposes, law enforcement, legal proceedings, or for other required reporting such as birth and death certificates.
Exercising your rights
To exercise any of the above rights, or if you need to share your health information with someone for purposes other than those listed here, contact us at 206-309-3507.
Questions and complaints
If you have questions or are concerned that any of your privacy rights have been violated, please contact Customer Support at 253-342-1088. You also have the right to complain to the Secretary of Health and Human Services at: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2201 Sixth Avenue, M/S: RX-11, Seattle, WA 98121. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.