NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
For more information, please contact:
VNET (the “Provider”)
Calle 1 #14 Ave Betances, Bayamón, PR, 00961.
Telephone number: 1 (787) 705-5659
Your information. Your rights. Our responsibilities.
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can access this information. Please review it carefully.
Your rights
- Obtain a copy of your electronic medical record.
- Correct your electronic medical record.
- Request confidential communication.
- Requesting that we limit the information we share.
- Obtain a list of those with whom we have shared your information.
- Obtain a copy of this privacy notice.
- Choosing someone to act for you.
- File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.
Your options
You have some choices in the way we use and share information when:
- Tell your family and friends about your condition.
- Providing mental health care
Our uses and disclosures
We can use and share your information in the following special situations:
Workers’ compensation
We may release patient health information for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses.
Militia and Veterans
If the patient is an armed forces member, medical information may be released as military command authorities require. Medical information about military personnel may be released to the appropriate foreign military authority, subject to an official request by the military agency.
Research
The office may use and/or disclose your protected health information for research purposes when an institutional review board or privacy board reviews the research proposal, approves it, and establishes protocols to ensure the privacy of your protected health information. It may also be used and/or disclosed for research in graduate programs, subject to your authorization.
Public Health Risks
Patient health information may be disclosed for public health activities. These activities generally include the following:
- Prevention or control of disease, injury, or disability
- Birth and death reports
- Reports of child abuse and neglect
- Reports of reactions to medications or problems with products
- Notifications to individuals about products they may use
- Notifications to persons who may be exposed to any disease or may be at risk of acquiring or spreading a disease or condition.
- Notifications to appropriate government agencies if it is believed that a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. This information will be provided if the patient consents and/or when required by law.
Visits and/or any activity to investigate negligence.
We may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor and control office systems, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
Compliance with Law
Medical information may be disclosed if required by a law enforcement official:
- In response to a Court Order, subpoena, warrant, summons, or similar process.
- To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, prosecution witness, or missing person.
- About a victim related to a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain consent at the facility.
- About any death that we understand to result from a crime.
- About any crime in the Institution.
- In emergency circumstances to report a crime, the location of the crime or victims’ identity, description, or location of the person who committed the crime.
National Security and Intelligence Activities
Patient health information may be disclosed to authorized Federal officials for intelligence and other national security-related activities authorized by law.
Read on for more detailed information…
Your rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.
Obtain an electronic or paper copy of your medical record.
- You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
- We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 15 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
Ask us to correct your medical record.
- You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
- We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days. Request Confidential Communications
- You may ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone or e-mail) or send mail to a different address.
- We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests. Ask us to limit what we use or share.
- You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
- If you pay for a service or health care item in full, you can ask us not to share information with your health insurer for payment or our operations. We will say “Yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
Get a list of those with whom we have shared information.
- You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years before the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
- We will include all the disclosures except those about treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We will provide one accounting a year for free but charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee if you request another one within 12 months.
Get a copy of this privacy notice.
You may request a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. Upon request, we will promptly provide you with a paper copy.
Choose someone to act for you.
- If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
- We will ensure the person has this authority and can act for you before taking action. File a complaint if you feel your rights have been violated.
- You may file a complaint if you believe we have violated your rights by contacting us.
- You may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201, by calling 1-877-696-6775, or by visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
- We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Your options
You can tell us your choices about what we share for specific health information. If you clearly prefer how we share your information in the situations described below, contact us. Please tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.
You have the right to tell us that:
- Sharing information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care (or not)
If you cannot tell us your preference, for example, if you are unconscious, we may share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
- Marketing purposes
- Sale of your information
- Increased exchange of psychotherapy notes. In addition, mental health records may be withheld if your provider determines that disclosure would be harmful to you.
Our uses and disclosures
How do we use or share your health information?
We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
Treat him
We can use your health information and share it with other professionals treating you.
Example: A physician treating you for an injury asks another physician about your general health status.
Execute from our organization.
We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary. Example: We use your health information to manage your treatment and services.
Billing for your services
We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.
How else can we use or share your health information?
We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways, usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We must meet many conditions in the law before sharing our information for these purposes. For more information, see www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.
Assistance with public health and safety issues
We can share your health information for specific situations, such as:
- Disease Prevention.
- Assisting with product recalls.
- Report adverse drug reactions.
- Report on suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
- Preventing or reducing a serious threat to the health or safety of any person.
Doing research.
We can use or share your information for health research.
Consent by law.
We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we comply with federal privacy law.
Respond to organ and tissue donation requests.
We can share your health information with organ procurement organizations.
Work with a medical examiner or funeral director.
When an individual dies, we can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, medical examiner, or funeral director.
Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests.
We can use or share your health information:
- For workers’ compensation claims
- For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement officer
- With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
- For special governmental functions such as military, homeland security, and presidential protective services
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order or a subpoena.
Our responsibilities
- We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- We will notify you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
- We must follow this notice’s duties and privacy practices and give you a copy if you ask for one.
- We never sell personally identifiable information.
- We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind anytime. Let us know in writing if you change your mind, and your updated instructions will apply to any future requests we receive for information.
- Federal and state laws may impose additional limitations on the disclosure of your health information related to drug or alcohol abuse treatment programs, sexually transmitted diseases, genetic information, or mental health treatment programs. We will obtain your authorization before disclosing this information when the law requires it.
For more information, see www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.
Changes to the terms of this notice
We can change the terms of this notice, which will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request.
Patient Bill of Rights
Many states have adopted a patient bill of rights applicable to patients of physicians and/or hospitals and other health care facilities. Some states require physicians to provide their patients with a copy of the Bill of Rights. The portion of the bill of rights relevant to the Service is provided to you here on behalf of VNET. Please note that it also includes the patient’s responsibilities.
- The patient has the right to be treated with courtesy and respect, to be recognized for their dignity, and to have their need for privacy protected.
- The patient has the right to prompt and reasonable responses to questions and requests within the service context.
- A patient has the right to know who provides medical services and is responsible for their care.
- The patient has the right to know what patient care services are available, including whether an interpreter is available if the patient does not speak English.
- The patient has the right to know what rules and regulations apply to his or her conduct.
- The patient can receive information from the health care provider about the diagnosis, planned course of treatment, alternatives, risks, and prognosis.
- The patient has the right to refuse any treatment provided through the Service unless required by law.
- The patient has the right to receive a copy of a reasonably clear and understandable itemized bill and/or receipt and, upon request, to have the charges explained.
- The patient has the right to impartial access to medical treatment or accommodations, regardless of race, national origin, religion, handicap, or source of payment, subject to the technical limitations of the Service.
- The patient has the right to express grievances regarding any violation of their rights, as outlined in state law, through the grievance procedure of the health care provider who provided services to them and the appropriate state licensing agency.
- The patient is responsible for providing the Provider, to the best of their knowledge, with accurate and complete information about current complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, medications, and other matters relating to their health.
- The patient is responsible for reporting unexpected changes in their condition to the Provider.
- The patient is responsible for informing the Provider whether they understand a contemplated course of action and what is expected of them.
- The patient is responsible for following the treatment plan recommended by the Provider.
- The patient is responsible for their actions if they refuse treatment or do not follow the Provider’s instructions.