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Privacy Policies

Notice of Health Information Practices


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

Understanding Your Health Record/Information
Each time you visit Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine (ECTOM) clinic, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or treatment. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

  • basis for planning your care and treatment
  • means of communication among the health professionals who contribute to your care
  • legal document describing the care you received
  • means by which you or a third party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided
  • a tool in educating heath professionals;
  • a possible source of data for medical research;
  • a source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of the nation;
  • a source of data for facility planning and marketing and
  • a tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we
    achieve.


Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:

  • ensure its accuracy
  • better understand who, what, when, where and why others may access your health information
  • make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.


Your Health Information Rights:
Although your health record is the physical property of the ECTOM clinic, the information belongs to you. You have the
right to:

  • request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information as provided by 45 CFR 164.522
  • obtain a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request
  • inspect and copy your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 164.524
  • amend your health record as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
  • obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
  • request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
  • revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken.

Our Responsibilities:
ECTOM clinic is required to:

  • maintain the privacy of your health information
  • provide you with a notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you
  • abide by the terms of this notice
  • notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
  • accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.


We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we will post a revised notice on our website and on the viewing screen in our waiting area.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

For More Information or to Report a Problem
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

 

Examples of Disclosures for Treatment, Payment and Health Operations
We will use your health information for treatment. For example: Information obtained by an intern, clinic supervisor, license acupuncturist or other member of your healthcare team will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. Your intern, clinic supervisor or licensed acupuncturist will document in your record his/her expectations of the members of your healthcare team. Members of your healthcare team will then record the actions they took and their observations. In that way the intern, clinic supervisor, or licensed acupuncturist will know how you are responding to treatment.

We will use your health information for payment. For example: A bill may be sent to you or a third party payer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis, procedures and supplies used.

We will use your health information for regular health operations. For example: Members of the academic department staff, clinic manager, clinic director or clinic faculty may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the healthcare and service we provide.

 

Other Uses or Disclosures
Business Associates: There are some services provided in ECTOM clinic through contacts with business associates. An example includes ordering certain laboratory tests. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we’ve asked them to do and bill you or your third party payer for services rendered. So that your health information is protected, however, we (and the laws regulating protection of health information) require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.

Notification: We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, your location, and general condition. You will need to sign a release in advance naming that person as someone with whom you permit us to share your health information.

Communication with Family: Health professionals, 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. You will need to sign a release in advance naming that person as someone with whom you permit us to share your health information.

Research: We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an Institutional Review Board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.

Marketing: We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects or post marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs or replacement.

Workers Compensation: We may disclose health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to worker’s compensation or other similar programs established by law.

Public Health: As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability.

Law Enforcement: We may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law, or in response to a valid subpoena.

Federal law makes provision for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a workforce member or business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering one or more patients, workers or the public.