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BRACC Notice of Privacy Practice

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Botsford Rehabilitation and Continuing Care Center - Notice of Privacy Practice
Effective Date: April 14, 2003

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Medical Records Department.

OUR PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION:

We understand that health information about you is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive at BOTSFORD REHABILITATION AND CONTINUING CARE CENTER (BRACC), any divisions, departments, or affiliated services. We need this record to provide you with care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by BRACC, whether made by BRACC personnel or your personal doctor. Your personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor's use and disclosure of your health information created in the doctor's office or clinic.

This notice describes privacy practices at BRACC. It will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose health information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of health information.

We are required by law to:

• make sure that health information that identifies you is kept private;
• give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information about you; and
• follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU.

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose health 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 may use health information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose health information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, nursing students, or other Botsford Health Care Continuum personnel who are involved in taking care of you. For example, a therapist treating you for a broken bone may need to know if you have a disease that may slow the healing process. Different departments of BRACC also may share health information about you in order to coordinate the different things you need such as discharge planning. We also may disclose health information about you to people outside BRACC who may be involved in your medical care after you leave BRACC, such as family members, clergy or others we use to provide services that are part of your care.

• For Payment. We may use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at BRACC may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, we may need to coordinate benefits with your provider. A copy of your insurance cards is beneficial so we can provide you with accurate answers concerning your coverage. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.

• For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose health information about you for BRACC operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run BRACC and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine health information about many BRACC patients to decide what additional services BRACC should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other BRACC personnel for review and learning purposes. We may also combine the health information we have with health information from other skilled nursing facilities to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of health information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don’t ask for you by name.

• Treatment Alternatives. We may use and disclose health 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 health information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.

• Scheduling Appointments for Off-Site Care. We may use and disclose health information to contact another health care provider and arrange treatment and/or a consultation as recommended by your primary care physician.

• Annual Survey. We may use and disclose health information about you to the Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services for annual surveys. This is a normal occurrence for Medicare/Medicaid long-term care facilities around the nation. Notably, Botsford Rehabilitation and Continuing Care Center (BRACC) and other Medicare/Medicaid facilities should expect to be surveyed every 12-15 months. During the time of BRACC annual survey, certain resident health information, including individually identifiable health information, may be disclosed to the Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services, which conducts the annual survey. BRACC disclosure of such information is required by law to the extent necessary for the Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services to do its job. During the time of the annual survey, it is possible that certain health information and records about you may be disclosed for purposes of permitting these government officials to carry out their survey, certification and enforcement activities. Please note that Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services officials, themselves, are subject certain confidentiality and other requirements, to ensure that resident health information is properly handled and protected from unauthorized disclosure.