THIS
NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND
DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT
CAREFULLY.
All
of us at Reed’s Compounding Pharmacy value your relationship with us,
and we know that respect for your This
“Notice of Privacy Practices” (Notice) has been created to help you
understand our legal duties to protect your PHI and how we may use and
disclose your PHI in relation to your past, present, and future physical
or mental health condition or illness and its treatment. We will mainly
use and disclose your PHI in relation to the health care products and
services that we provide you, such as dispensing your prescriptions.
Specifically, we will use and disclose your PHI as necessary to provide
treatment to you, obtaining payment for health care products and services
provided to you, and other health care operations and activities as
described later in this Notice. This Notice also describes the legal
rights that you have related to your PHI that is in our possession. We
take the matters described in this Notice very seriously because of our
relationship with you and the requirement that we comply with this Notice.
Your
PHI will only be used and disclosed as described in this Notice. Should a
need for use and disclosure of your PHI occur that is not described in
this Notice, we will obtain your written authorization before the use and
disclosure. At some future time, it may be necessary for us to revise this
Notice. If such becomes necessary, we will post the revised Notice in the
pharmacy and, if you request, provide a written Notice to you.
Your
Rights With Respect To Your PHI 1. You have the right to receive this written Notice of Privacy
Practices describing how we will protect your PHI and your rights related
to PHI. You are entitled to request this written Notice at any time.
2. You have the right to request a limitation on our use and
disclosure of your PHI. But please be aware that we may not be able to
agree to your requested limitation if it results in our not being able to
provide health care products and services to you or if we are required to
use and disclose the PHI under federal or state law. All requests for
limitation on the use and disclosure of your PHI must be submitted to our
Pharmacy Privacy Officer in writing using a form that we will provide to
you.
3. You have the right to review or receive photocopies of our records
that contain your PHI, to the extent that these records are part of a
designated record set as defined by HIPAA. The most common such records
are your prescriptions on file with us, our patient profile for you, and
our billing records for health care products and services that have been
provided to you. We will be pleased to allow you to review such records at
no charge during normal business hours. However, we may charge you a
reasonable, cost-based fee for photocopies of the records, together with
any expenses for mailing, special courier, faxing, and supplies necessary
to fulfilling your request for records.
If we
are unable to provide our records to you, we will provide you a written
explanation of why we are not able to provide the records. Depending on
the reason, you may submit a written request for us to reconsider. All
requests to review or receive photocopies of our records that contain your
PHI must be submitted to our Pharmacy Privacy Officer in writing using a
form that we will provide to you.
4. You have the right
to request changes in the content of your PHI contained in our records
where you believe the content is incomplete, inaccurate, or for some other
reason needs to be changed. We may not be able to agree to your requested
change if we no longer have the records or if the requested change would
cause your PHI to become inaccurate. If we are not able to agree to your
requested change, we will notify you in writing as to why we are not able
to agree. You will then have the right to submit to us a written statement
of disagreement, to which we may elect to further respond in writing to
you. All requests for changes to your PHI in our records must be submitted
to our Pharmacy Privacy Officer in writing, using a form that we will
provide to you.
5. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about
your PHI in a confidential manner and only to locations (such as a post
office box) or by means (such as personal cellular telephone) specified by
you. All requests for confidential communications must be submitted to our
Pharmacy Privacy Officer in writing, using a form that we will provide to
you.
6. You have the right to obtain an accounting of some of our
disclosures of your PHI made after April 14, 2003. By an accounting, we
mean a written record of these disclosures. Some of our disclosures of
your PHI are not required by HIPAA to be included in the accounting. Most
notable among these are disclosures for purposes of treatment, obtaining
payment, and carrying out health care operations. Other disclosures of
your PHI that are not required to be included in the accounting are
disclosures made directly to you or that you have authorized, made to
family, friends, and others who assist you with your care (caregivers) and
made for other purposes allowed by HIPAA. Please consult with our Pharmacy
Privacy Officer for more information on the disclosures not required to be
including in the accounting.
7. You have the right to file a complaint if you believe that we have
violated your rights as described above, and to not fear retaliation or
adverse action by us against you for exercising your right. You can file
the complaint with us directly, or with the United States Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS). Please be assured that we will work with
you to resolve any complaint, including providing you with the address for
filing a complaint with HHS.
IF
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF YOUR RIGHTS AS DESCRIBED ABOVE, PLEASE
CONTACT OUR PHARMACY PRIVACY OFFICER AT THE ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER OF
OUR PHARMACY.
1. Treatment. HIPAA defines treatment as “the provision,
coordination, or management of health care and related services by one or
more health care providers, including the coordination or management of
health care by a health care provider with a third party; consultation
between health care providers relating to a patient; or the referral of a
patient for health care from one health care provider to another.” We
will maintain records that contain your PHI, and we will use and disclose
your PHI as necessary to provide health care products and services to
carry out and support your treatment. As a pharmacy, we may use and
disclose your PHI as necessary to maintain a patient profile on you, which
may include information about you; your medical condition, medications,
and prescription devices that you use; any allergies that you may have;
and other information, such as any health insurance that you may have. We
may use and disclose your PHI in dispensing prescription medicines and
related products and services, including counseling you and your
caregivers about proper use of your medications. We may discuss such
problems with your other health care professionals, such as your physician
or dentist, and through such discussions we may use and disclose your PHI.
Finally, we may use and disclose your PHI to you and your caregivers in
our discussions with you and your caregivers about your treatment.
2. Payment. HIPAA defines payment, in relation to health care
providers such as us, as activities to obtain reimbursement for the health
care products and services that we provide to you. These activities
include primarily billing you directly or someone who pays for your health
care, such as a family member or health insurance company, for health care
products and services that we provide to you. Activities related to
billing may include claims management, collections, and related health
care data processing. Depending on who pays for the health care products
and services that we provide you, other activities may include
determination of eligibility or coverage; medical necessity; review of
health care services with respect to medical necessity, coverage under a
health plan, appropriateness of care, or justification of charges;
utilization review activities, including precertification and
preauthorization of services; concurrent and retrospective review of
services; and disclosure to consumer reporting agencies of some or all of
the following PHI necessary for collection of payment: name and address;
date of birth; social security number; payment history; account number or
numbers; and name and address of the health care provider and/or health
plan.
We
will use and disclose your PHI to carry out the above activities as
necessary or required to obtain payment for the health care products and
services that we provide to you. In relation to this, public and private
health care insurance programs that may provide or pay for your health
care can conduct audits, inspections, and investigations of us in relation
to our activities and your activities. We may be required to disclose your
PHI to these programs for purposes of audits, inspections, and
investigations.
3. Health care operations. HIPAA defines health care operations as
those activities necessary and related to our providing of health care
products and services to you. These activities include, but may not be
limited to, the following.
A. Conducting quality assessment and improvement activities, case management and care coordination, and contacting of health care providers and patients with information about treatment alternatives and related functions that do not include treatment. B. Conducting or arranging for medical review, legal services, and
auditing functions, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance
programs.
C. Our pharmacy management and general administrative activities,
including, but not limited to, activities relating to implementation of
and compliance with the requirements of HIPAA.
We
will use and disclose your PHI to carry out the above activities as
necessary or required, and especially to monitor and improve the quality
of the health care products and services that are provided to you by us
and other health care professionals.
4. Business associates. The nature of the health care system is such
that we may not be able to provide health care products and services to
you without the involvement of other businesses or persons. Depending on
what these other businesses or persons do for us, they may become
“business associates” as defined by HIPAA. In many situations, it will
be necessary for us to provide your PHI to these business associates so
that they can carry out the activities that we need to have performed in
order to provide you health care products and services. One of our most
common business associates is a health insurance company or a company that
processes claims that we submit for payment for health care products and
services that we provide to you, if you have health insurance that pays
for your prescription medications. Contracts have or will be submitted to
all of our business associates to whom we provide your PHI so that they
can carry out their activities on our behalf. Very importantly to you,
these contracts require our business associates to give us their assurance
that they, like us, will protect the privacy of your PHI.
5. Disclosures of your PHI not involving treatment, payment, and
health care operations. In providing health care products and services to
you, we may find it necessary to communicate with businesses and
individuals not already described above. Most of these disclosures will be
related to providing treatment to you, and to carrying out payment and
health care operations as discussed above. In addition to communicating
with these businesses and individuals, we may also communicate with you
directly, as well as others who assist you with your health care, commonly
referred to as caregivers. We will disclose your PHI to these caregivers,
or appropriate others, as we believe necessary and appropriate for your
health care.
6. Communications with you concerning your health and treatment. We
want to do whatever we can to assist you with maintaining your health and
obtaining the most benefit from your treatment. Unless you object in
writing, health professionals, using their best judgment, 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. This includes calling when
prescriptions are ready or have been called into the pharmacy by medical
providers. We routinely monitor your prescription medications for
appropriateness and take other steps to help you use your medication
properly. This may include making follow-up telephone calls by
pharmacists, pharmacy interns, or other pharmacy staff members. For
example, if our records show that a refill of your medication is due, we
may contact you to remind you to obtain the refill. We may also call you
or send you materials regarding products and services that we believe may
be of benefit to you. As a final example, in the event of a medication
recall, we may contact you, if you are taking the medication subject to
the recall.
7. Federal and state government agencies. We may disclose your PHI to
federal and state government agencies for a variety of purposes, most of
which are directed at monitoring health care quality and safety, and
government programs related to health care and our compliance with laws
applicable to health care. For example, the United States Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) monitors the distribution and usage of controlled
substances, while the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
monitors adverse drug events. We may disclose your PHI to such agencies
where required by the agency so that the agency can carry out its required
activities. Related to this, some private businesses, such as the
manufacturers of medications and medical devices, are legally required to
conduct post-marketing surveillance in order to ensure the safety of their
products. Disclosing your PHI for such surveillance may be necessary.
8. Federal and state government health care insurance programs. If you
apply for and receive benefits from federal and state health care
programs, such as Medicare or Medicaid, your PHI may be disclosed to the
agency granting these benefits. If you are employed by a business that is
required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, and you are injured
in such a way that the workers’ compensation plan covers your health
care, it may be necessary to disclose your PHI to the workers’
compensation plan. Such plans have a right to conduct audits, inspections,
and investigations of our activities and your activities, and where
required, we will disclose your PHI for these activities.
9. Matters of public health and safety. There are a number of federal
and state laws that require health care providers to report to various
government agencies matters related to public health. If your physical or
mental health condition and illness is of a nature that federal or state
law requires that it be reported, then we will disclose your PHI to the
appropriate government agency in order to comply with these laws. In
addition to reporting about physical and mental health conditions and
illnesses, we may also disclose your PHI to government agencies in other
situations where we are required to submit reports, such as suspected
domestic, child or elder abuse, or neglect.
10. Law enforcement activities. A
number of federal, state, and local government agencies are charged with
enforcing the health care and drug laws, and other laws in relation to the
health care products and services that we may provide to you. In addition,
as a state licensed pharmacy, a variety of federal, state, and local
health care agencies, such as the state board of pharmacy, regulate our
activities. These agencies may engage in a number of activities designed
to monitor and improve federal and state health care programs and systems,
including conducting of inspections and investigations of our activities
and the health care products and services that we provide to our patients.
At any time we are required by federal or state laws, or by court order,
subpoena or other legal mandate, to disclose your PHI, we will do so as
necessary.
11. Legal disputes. Lawsuits and other legal disputes may involve your
PHI that we possess. In the event that you are involved in a lawsuit or
other legal proceeding, whether as a plaintiff or a defendant, and without
regard to the basis for the lawsuit, such as medical malpractice or
divorce, we will disclose your PHI when required to comply with a court
order, subpoena, discovery proceeding, such as a deposition, or other
legal mandate served upon us.
12. Disclosures for the benefit of you and others. A variety of events
could occur where we would use and disclose your PHI for your benefit and
to prevent or reduce the risk of harm to you. For example, if you are in a
car accident and are unconscious in a hospital emergency room and the
emergency room medical staff calls us with a request for your PHI, we may
disclose it for the purpose of assisting in your prompt medical treatment.
Finally, we may disclose your PHI where necessary to protect the health
and safety of others.
13. Disclosures for national security and intelligence. We are legally
required to disclose your PHI where necessary to national security
activities and intelligence and counterintelligence activities.
Disclosures related to this may also include those where required in
relation to the protection of the President of the United States. Any
disclosure for these purposes would be made only to authorized government
officials.
14. Disclosures if you are in the military or a veteran. We may
disclose your PHI, if you are a member of any branch of the armed
services, whether on active or reserve status as required by the U.S.
Military. If you are a veteran, we may release your PHI, particularly if
you are receiving health care products and services from the Veterans
Services. Any disclosure for these purposes would be made only to
authorized government officials.
15. Disclosures of a miscellaneous nature. This last category of
disclosures includes a variety of disclosures that we may make in
accordance with HIPAA. We may be required to disclose your PHI if you are
placed into the custody of a federal or state correctional system, if
necessary to protect the health and safety of you and others. Health care
is an area where much research is being conducted, and we may disclose
your PHI for purposes of a research project. Finally, given the national
need for organ donations, we may disclose your PHI to organizations that
manage organ transplantation programs.
IF
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WAYS THAT WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PHI AS
DESCRIBED ABOVE, PLEASE CONTACT OUR PHARMACY PRIVACY OFFICER AT THE
PHARMACY ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER
Uses
and Disclosures Not Contained in this Notice HIPAA
requires that this Notice, at a minimum, cover the following three areas.
In
preparing this Notice, we made every effort to comply with this HIPAA
requirement. Also, we want to advise you that in addition to the privacy
and other rights given to you by HIPAA, our state may from time to time
enact laws that also provide you privacy and other rights in relation to
your health care and your protected health information.
Please
consult our Pharmacy Privacy Officer if you have any questions or want
more information concerning your health care and privacy rights under
HIPAA or the laws of our state, or our privacy practices. Also, you should
consult our Pharmacy Privacy Officer if you wish to file a complaint about
our privacy practices or if you believe we have violated any of your
rights as described in this Notice.
Again,
thank you for allowing us the privilege of being your pharmacy, and we
look forward to continuing to be of service to you.
Effective
Date: April 1, 2003
The information contained on this site is general in nature and is intended for use as an informational aid. It does not cover all possible uses, actions, precautions, side effects, or interactions of the products shown, nor is the information intended as medical advice or diagnosis for individual health problems or for making an evaluation as to the risks and benefits of using a particular product. You should consult your doctor about diagnosis and treatment of any health problems. Information and statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, nor has the FDA approved the products to diagnose, cure or prevent disease.
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