IMPERIAL BEACH COMMUNITY CLINIC NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
OUR PLEDGE REGARDING MEDICAL INFORMATION:
We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information about you.
This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. "Protected health information" is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services.
We are required by law to:
- make sure that medical information that identifies you is kept private.
- give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to medical information about you; and
- follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU.
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose medical information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.
For Treatment. We will use and disclose your protected health information to our physicians, nurses, and others involved in your health care or preventative care. In addition, we may disclose your protected health information from time-to-time to another physician or health care provider (e.g., a specialist or laboratory) who, at the request of your physician, becomes involved in your care by providing assistance with your health care diagnosis or treatment to your physician. We may disclose information to other health care professionals to coordinate or manage your health care.
For Payment. Your protected health information will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for your health care services. This may include certain activities that your health insurance plan or a state program paying for your health care services may undertake before it approves or pays for the services we recommend for you such as; making a determination of eligibility or coverage of benefits, reviewing services provided to you for medical necessity, and undertaking utilization review activities. For example, obtaining approval for a hospital stay may require that your relevant protected health information be disclosed to the health plan or an appropriate state program to obtain approval for a referral to a specialist or for hospital admission.
For Health Care Operations. We may use or disclose, your protected health information in order to provide quality care and support the business activities of our practice. These activities include, but are not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, training of medical students, licensing, fundraising, and conducting or arranging for other business activities.
For example, we may disclose your protected health information to medical school students and other trainees that see patients at our office. In addition, we may use a sign-in sheet at the Cashier’s Desk where you will be asked to sign your name and indicate your physician. We may also call you by name in the waiting room when your physician is ready to see you.
We may also disclose your protected health information to organizations that participate with us in an integrated care delivery system for such activities as: quality assessment and improvement activities; activities designed to improve health and reduce the cost of health care; protocol development, case management and care coordination; integrated care. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are.
We will share your protected health information with third party "business associates" that perform various activities (e.g. medical records storage companies, records destruction companies) for the practice. Whenever an arrangement between our office and a business associate involves the use or disclosure of your protected health information, we will have a written contract that contains terms that will protect the privacy of your protected health information.
Appointment Reminders. We may use and disclose medical information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment.
Treatment Alternatives. We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
Health-Related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
Fundraising Activities. We may use medical information about you to contact you in an effort to raise money for the health center and its operations. We only would release contact information, such as your name, address and phone number and the dates you received treatment or services at the clinic. If you do not want the clinic to contact you for fundraising please notify our Privacy Contact, Martha Ceballos, in writing and request that these fundraising materials not be sent to you.
Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. Under certain circumstances, we may disclose medical information about you to family members, other relatives, or close personal friends or others that you identify. The information we disclose will be limited to information directly relevant to their involvement with your care or payment related to your care; or to notify them of your location, general condition, or death.
Many patients ask us to disclose medical information to people in ways not described above. For example, an elderly person may want us to make her records available to a neighbor who is helping her resolve a question about her care or payment for that care. A patient may request that a family member be allowed to pick up a prescription or documents for them. You will be asked to provide contact information to authorize us to disclose your personal health information to a person or organization when you are not present. If you fill out a form and later change your mind, you may send a letter to us at the address listed on the form to let us know that you would like to revoke the special authorization. In any communication with us, please provide your name, address, date of birth, and a telephone number where we can reach you in case we need to contact you about your request.
Research. We may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes. For example, a research project may involve comparing the health of patients who received one set of services to those who received another, for the same condition. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of medical information, trying to balance the research needs with patients’ need for privacy of their medical information. Before we use or disclose medical information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process, but we may, however, disclose medical information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, for example, to help them look for patients with specific medical needs, so long as the medical information they review does not leave the health center.
As Required By Law. We may use or disclose your protected health information to the extent that the use or disclosure is required by law. The use or disclosure will be made in compliance with the law and will be limited to the relevant requirements of the law.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use and disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.
Organ and Tissue Donation. If you are an organ donor, we may release medical information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.
Workers’ Compensation. We may release medical information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
Mobile Numbers. We collect mobile phone numbers to communicate with patients via SMS and/or RCS text messages for purposes such as appointment reminders, billing notifications, and care coordination.
Your privacy is a priority. Your mobile number will not be sold or shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. We will not use your number for unrelated marketing without your express written consent.
SMS Communications and Consent. Imperial Beach Community Clinic collects mobile phone numbers and SMS consent information from patients who voluntarily opt in to receive appointment reminders, scheduling notifications, billing updates, and care coordination communications.
We do not sell, share, or disclose mobile phone numbers, SMS opt-in data, or messaging consent information to third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.
SMS participation is voluntary. Patients may opt out of text messaging at any time by replying STOP or request assistance by replying HELP. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply.
For more information, please review our Terms and Conditions: www.ibclinic.org/terms-and-conditions
Opt-In Message. IBCC: Agree to appointment texts? Frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. STOP to opt out, HELP for help. Terms: www.ibclinic.org/terms-and-conditions Privacy: www.ibclinic.org/privacy-policy SMS opt-in data and consent aren't shared with third parties for marketing. Do you consent?.
