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It is the policy of
OB-GYN Center, PA
that all physicians
and staff preserve
the integrity and the
confidentiality of
protected health
information (PHI)
pertaining to our
patients. The purpose
of this policy is to
ensure that our
practice and its
physicians and staff
have the necessary
medical and PHI to
provide the highest
quality medical care
possible while
protecting the
confidentiality of
the PHI of our
patients to the
highest degree
possible. Patients
should not be afraid
to provide
information to our
practice and its
physicians and staff
for purposes of
treatment, payment
and healthcare
operations (TPO). To
that end, our
practice and its
physicians and staff
will--
- Adhere to the
standards set
forth in the
Notice of Privacy
Practices.
- Collect, use
and disclose PHI
only in
conformance with
state and federal
laws and current
patient covenants
and/or
authorizations,
as appropriate.
Our practice and
its physicians
and staff will
not use or
disclose PHI for
uses outside of
practice’s TPO,
such as
marketing,
employment, life
insurance
applications,
etc. without an
authorization
from the
patient.
- Use and
disclose PHI to
remind patients
of their
appointments
unless they
instruct us not
to.
- Recognize that
PHI collected
about patients
must be accurate,
timely, complete,
and available
when needed. Our
practice and its
physicians and
staff will
- Implement
reasonable
measures to
protect the
integrity
of all PHI
maintained
about
patients.
- Recognize that
patients have a
right to privacy.
Our practice and
its physicians
and staff respect
the patient’s
individual
dignity at all
times. Our
practice and its
physicians and
staff will
respect patient’s
privacy to the
extent consistent
with providing
the highest
quality medical
care possible and
with the
efficient
administration of
the facility.
- Act as
responsible
information
stewards and
treat all PHI as
sensitive and
confidential.
Consequently, our
practice and its
physicians and
staff will:
- Treat all
PHI data as
confidential
in
accordance
with
professional
ethics,
accreditation
standards,
and legal
requirements.
- Not
disclose
PHI data
unless the
patient (or
his or her
authorized
representative)
has
properly
authorized
the release
or the
release is
otherwise
authorized
by law.
- Recognize that,
although our
practice “owns”
the medical
record, the
patient has a
right to inspect
and obtain a copy
of his/her PHI.
In addition,
patients have a
right to request
an amendment to
his/her medical
record if he/she
believes his/her
information is
inaccurate or
incomplete. Our
practice and its
physicians and
staff will--
- Permit
patients
access to
their
medical
records
when their
written
requests
are
approved by
our
practice.
If we deny
their
request,
then we
must inform
the
patients
that they
may request
a review of
our denial.
In such
cases, we
will have
an on-site
healthcare
professional
review the
patients’
appeals.
- Provide
patients an
opportunity
to request
the
correction
of
inaccurate
or
incomplete
PHI in
their
medical
records in
accordance
with the
law and
professional
standards.
- All physicians
and staff of our
practice will
maintain a list
of certain
disclosures of
PHI for purposes
other than TPO
for each patient
and those made
pursuant to an
authorization as
required by HIPAA
rules. We will
provide this list
to patients upon
request, so long
as their requests
are in
writing.
- All physicians
and staff of our
practice will
adhere to any
restrictions
concerning the
use or disclosure
of PHI that
patients have
requested and
have been
approved by our
practice.
- All physicians
and staff of our
practice must
adhere to this
policy. Our
practice will not
tolerate
violations of
this policy.
Violation of this
policy is grounds
for disciplinary
action, up to and
including
termination of
employment and
criminal or
professional
sanctions in
accordance with
our practice’s
personnel rules
and
regulations.
- Our practice
may change this
privacy policy in
the future. Any
changes will be
effective upon
the release of a
revised privacy
policy and will
be made available
to patients upon
request.
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