HIPAA - Affordable Lab Tests - Eau Claire

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN OBTAIN ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

Effective December 1, 2009

Affordable Lab Tests’s® Protection of Protected Health Information

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Affordable Lab Test® is required by law to maintain the privacy of health information that identifies you, called protected health information (PHI), and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices regarding PHI. Affordable Lab Tests® is committed to the protection of your PHI and will make reasonable efforts to ensure the confidentiality of your PHI, as required by statute and regulation. We take this commitment seriously and will work with you to comply with your right to receive certain information under HIPAA.

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law.  We reserve the right to make changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we made the changes.  Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this notice and make the new notice available upon request.

You may request a copy of our notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or additional copies of this notice, please contact us.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION

We use and disclose health information about you for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, if and only if you provide written authorization.  Below are examples of reasons you may wish to disclose your healthcare information.

Treatment:  We may use or disclose your health information to a physician or other healthcare provider providing treatment to you.

Your Authorization:  In addition to our use of your health information for treatment, payment or healthcare operations, you may give us written authorization to use your health information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose.  If you give us authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time.  Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect.  Unless you give us written authorization, we cannot use or disclose your health information for any reason except those described in this notice.

To Your Family and Friends:  We must disclose your health information to you, as described in the Customer Rights section of this notice.  We may disclose your health information to a family member, friend or other person to the extent necessary to help with your healthcare or with payment for your healthcare, but only if you agree in writing that we may do so.

Required by Law:  We may disclose your health information when we are required to do so by law.

Abuse or Neglect:  We may disclose your health information when we are required to do so by law.

OUR CUSTOMER’S RIGHTS

Access: You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your protected health information, with limited exceptions.   Requests for access to your protected health information must be made in writing.

Disclosure Accounting: You have the right to receive a list of instances in which we or our business associates disclosed your health information for purposes, other than treatment, payment, healthcare operations and certain other activities.  You must make your request in writing.

Restriction: You have the right to request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your health information.  We are not required to agree to these additional restrictions, but if we do, we will abide by our agreement (except in an emergency).  You must make your request in writing.

Alternative Communication:  You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information by alternative means or to alternative locations. You must make your request in writing. Your request must specify the alternative means or location, and provide satisfactory explanation how payments will be handled under the alternative means location you request.

Amendment: You have the right to request that we amend your health information.  Your request must be in writing, and it must explain why the information should be amended.  We may deny your request under certain circumstances.

Right to Express Complaints: You have the right to express complaints to us and to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services if you believe that your privacy rights have been violated.  If you wish to complain to us, you must do so in writing.

Right to Obtain a Paper Copy of this Privacy Summary Notice: You have a right to obtain a paper copy of this privacy notice.

QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS

If you want more information about our privacy practices, or have questions or concerns, please contact eauclaire@affordablelabtests.com.

If you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, or disagree with a decision we made about access to your health information or in response to a request you made to amend or restrict the use or disclosure of your health information or to have us communicate with you by alternative means or at alternative locations, you may complain to us using the contact information listed at the end of this notice.  You also may submit a written complaint to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Affordable Lab Tests® supports your right to the privacy of your health information.  You will not be penalized in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us and/or the US Department of Health and Human Services.