Jeffrey H. Chester,
DO It is the policy of my practice 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
my practice 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 my practice and staff for purposes of treatment, payment and
healthcare operations (TPO). To that end, my practice and staff will--
F Adhere to the standards set forth in the
Notice of Privacy
Practices.
1063 Lower Main St, Ste C212
Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii
96793-6006
PRIVACY POLICIES
EFFECTIVE APRIL 15, 2003
F Collect, use and disclose PHI only in conformance with state and federal laws and current patient covenants and/or authorizations, as appropriate. My practice 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.
F Use and disclose PHI to remind patients of their appointments unless they instruct us not to.
F Recognize that PHI collected about patients must be accurate, timely, complete, and available when needed. My practice and staff will implement reasonable measures to protect the integrity of all PHI maintained about patients.
F Recognize that patients have a right to privacy. My practice and staff respect the patient’s individual dignity at all times. My practice 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.
F Act as responsible information stewards and treat all PHI as sensitive and confidential. Consequently, My practice and staff will:
F Recognize that, although my 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. My practice and staff will--
Permit patients access to
their medical records when their written requests are approved by my
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.
F
My
practice and staff 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.
F My practice and staff will adhere to any restrictions concerning the use or disclosure of PHI that patients have requested and have been approved by our practice.
F My practice and staff must adhere
to this policy. My 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.
F My 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.