PURPOSE

 

To encourage awareness of patient privacy rights, Bethany Home Health Care’s legal duties with respect to these rights, and the use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI).

 

POLICY

 

Bethany Home Health Care will respect and safeguard all protected health information about the patients it serves.

 

Each patient will be provided with information about his/her privacy rights at the time of admission to Bethany Home Health Care.

 

To assist with fully understanding patient privacy rights and responsibilities, all policies will be available to organization personnel, patients, and their representatives, as well as to other organizations and the interested public.

 

PROCEDURE

1. The patient will be provided with information about his/her privacy rights in the organization’s Notice of Privacy Practices, which will be given to the patient during the admission visit. The patient’s privacy rights include:

 

A. A right to adequate notice of the uses and disclosures of protected health information that may be made by Bethany Home Health Care. (See “Notice of Privacy Practices” Addendum 1-016.A.)

 

B. A right to request privacy protection for protected health information. (See “Patient Requests for Privacy Restrictions” Policy No. 1-018 and “Patient Requests for Confidential Communications” Policy No. 1-019.)

 

C. A right of access to inspect and retain a copy of his/her protected health information. (See “Patient Requests for Access to PHI” Policy No. 5-022.)

 

D. A right to request that the organization amend protected health information or a record about the individual in a designated record set for as long as the protected health information is maintained in the designated record set. (See “Patient Requests to Amend PHI” Policy No. 5-023.)

 

E. A right to receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information made by Bethany Home Health Care in the six years prior to the date on which the accounting is requested. (See “Patient Requests for Accounting of PHI Disclosures” Policy No. 5-024.)

 

2. Bethany Home Health Care will make a good faith effort to obtain the patient’s written acknowledgement of receipt of this notice. A separate signature/initials line for this acknowledgement may be located on the consent form. If an acknowledgement cannot be obtained, the admitting clinician will document his/her efforts to obtain the acknowledgement and the reason why it was not obtained in the clinical note.

 

3. The notice will be promptly revised and distributed whenever there is a material change to the uses or disclosures, the individual’s rights, organization’s legal duties, or other privacy practices stated in the notice. A material change to any term of the notice will not be implemented prior to the effective date of the revised notice, unless required by law.

 

4. Bethany Home Health Care will prominently post the notice and make the notice available through its website.

 

5. The patient’s legal representative may exercise the patient’s rights when a patient is incompetent or a minor.

 

6. When a patient has questions about his/her privacy rights, requests additional information, or would like to exercise one of these rights, he/she will be referred to the appropriate individual or office designated by Bethany Home Health Care on the Notice of Privacy Practices.