Health information that is individually identifiable qualifies as protected health information. It includes information that we have created or received about your past, present or future health or medical condition, the provision of health care to you or the payment of this health care. We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. We must provide you with this notice about our privacy practices that explains how, when, and why we use and disclose protected 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 and you; and
• Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

This notice tells you about the ways in which we may use and disclose protected health information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of this information. This notice describes the practices of all departments and units of ITxM Diagnostics, 3636 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; any health care professional authorized to enter information into your record; any member of a volunteer group who helps with your care; and all employees, staff and other personnel affiliated with our institution.

II.   HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION

We use and disclose protected health information for many different reasons. Below, we describe the different categories of our uses and disclosures.

  A.  Uses and disclosures of your protected health information for the following reasons:

1. For treatment. We may use protected health information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. For example, we may disclose medical information about you to physicians, nurses, technicians, medical students or residents and our own staff who are involved in providing care or services to you. We may also disclose protected health information about you to individuals outside of our facility that may be involved in your care.
2. To obtain payment for treatment by us or other providers. We may use and disclose protected health information about you for purposes of receiving payment for treatment and services that you receive. For example, a bill may be sent to you or a third-party payor, such as an insurance company or health plan. The information on the bill may contain information that identifies you, your diagnosis and treatment, or supplies used in the course of your treatment.
3. For health care operations. We may use and disclose your protected health information for our operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run our facility and make sure that patients receive quality services. For example, we may use this information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff. We may combine protected health information about many patients to decide what additional services to offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain treatments are effective. We may disclose information to physicians, nurses, technicians, medical students or residents and other personnel for review and learning purposes. We may combine the information we have with information from other health care providers to compare how we are doing and determine if we can make improvements in the services we offer. We may remove information that identifies you in order that others may use it to study health care and its delivery without learning the identity of the specific patients.
4. As required by law. We will disclose protected health information when required to do so in accordance with federal, state or local law.
5. As required in judicial or administrative proceedings. If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose protected health information in response to a court or administrative order, a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process by an involved party, but only if efforts have been made to advise you about the request or to obtain an order or stipulation protecting the requested information.
6. As requested by law enforcement. We may release protected health information if requested by a law enforcement official under the following circumstances:

• In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process;
• To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person;
• About the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are not able to obtain the victim’s agreement;
• About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;
• About criminal conduct at our facility;
• In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime; and
• If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of law enforcement official and the information is necessary (1) for the institution to provide you with health care; (2) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; or (3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.

7. For public health activities. We may disclose protected health information for public health activities, which generally include the following:

• To prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
• To report births and deaths;
• To report child abuse or neglect;
• To report reactions to medications or problems with products;
• To notify people of recalls of products they may be using;
• To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition;
• To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence (This disclosure will be made only if you agree or when required by law); and
• To notify the Coroner, Medical Examiner and Funeral Director to allow them to carry out their duties.

8. For health oversight activities. We may disclose protected health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These activities include audits, investigations, inspections and licensure and are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs and compliance with certain laws.
9. For purposes of organ and tissue donation. We may release protected health information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ or tissue transplantation as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplants.
10. For research purposes. In certain circumstances, we may use and disclose protected health information in order to conduct medical research. A research project may involve comparing the health and recovery of all patients who received one treatment to those who received another. All research projects are subject to special approval processes that evaluate a proposed project and its use of medical information, trying to balance the research need with the patients’ need for privacy.
11. To avert a serious threat to health or safety. We may use and disclose protected health information when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health or safety or that of the public or another person. Such disclosure would be to that person able to help in the prevention of the threat.
12. For specific government functions. We may release protected health information if you are a member of the armed forces and if required by military command authorities. Such information may also be released to the appropriate foreign military authority about foreign military personnel. We may also release protected health information to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence and other national security activities authorized by law, or to provide protection to the president of the United States, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or to conduct special investigations.
13. For workers’ compensation purposes. We may provide protected health information in the administration of work-related injury and illness programs.
14. For health-related benefits and services. We may use and disclose protected health information to advise you of other health-related benefits and services that we offer and may be of interest to you; to advise you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives or to contact you, as a reminder, that you have an appointment for treatment.
15. For disclosures to family, friends or others. We may provide your protected health information to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. In addition, we may disclose such information to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort in order that your family can be contacted about your condition or status.
16. Business Associates. Some services are provided to us by contract with our business associates that include but are not limited to accountants, attorneys, consultants, auditors, insurers and computer vendors. Protected health information is disclosed to business associates so that they can do the job we have asked them to do. We require that they protect this health information about you.

  B.  All other uses and disclosures require your prior written authorization.

In any other situation not described in sections II A. above, we will ask for your written authorization before using or disclosing any of your protected health information. If you provide us permission to use or disclose protected medical information about you, you may revoke that permission in writing. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. We are unable to take back disclosures we have already made and that we are required to retain for our records of the services that we provided to you.

III.  YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION

You have the following rights with respect to your protected health information:

A. The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your Protected Health Information. You have the right to ask that we limit how we use and disclose your protected health information. We will consider your request but are not legally required to accept it. If we accept your request, we will put any limits in writing and abide by them except in emergency situations. You may not limit the uses and disclosures that we are legally required or allowed to make as outlined in Section II above.

B. The Right to Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to request that we communicate with you in a certain way or at a certain location. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. We will not ask you the reason for your request and we will accommodate all reasonable requests.

C. The Right to See and Obtain Copies of Your Protected Health Information. In most cases, you have the right to look at or obtain copies of your protected health information that we have, but you must make the request in writing. We will respond to you within a reasonable time after receiving your written request. In certain situation we may deny your request. If we do, we will tell you, in writing, our reasons for the denial and explain your right to have the denial reviewed. If you request copies of your protected health information, we may charge you a nominal fee for each page. Instead of providing the information you requested, we may provide you with a summary or explanation of the protected health information as long as you agree to that and to the cost in advance.

D. The Right to Request a List of the Disclosures We Have Made. You have the right to request a list of instances in which we have disclosed your protected health information. We must account for all disclosures, except those made before April 14, 2003, those made for treatment, payment or health care operations. In addition, the accounting will exclude disclosures made directly to you, disclosures you authorize, disclosures to friends and family involved in your care and certain notifications. There are certain other restrictions and limitations. We will respond within a reasonable time of receiving your request. Your request must state the time period but may not be longer than six (6) years. Your first request per calendar year will be free of charge. If you make more than one request in a calendar year, we must charge you a copying fee.

E. The Right to Correct or Update Your Protected Health Information. If you believe that there is incorrect or incomplete information in your protected health information, you have the right to request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. You must provide the request and your reason for the request in writing. Please forward the request to the person identified in Section IV below. We will respond within a reasonable time of receiving your request. We may deny your request in writing if the protected health information is:

• Accurate and complete;
• Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the correction;
• Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
• Is not part of the medical information kept by our facility.

Our written denial will state the reasons for the denial and explain your right to file a written statement of disagreement with the denial. If you do not file one, you have the right to request that your request and our denial be attached to all future disclosures of your protected health information. If we approve your request, we will make the change to your protected health information, tell you that we have done it, and tell others that need to know about the change to your protected health information.

F. The Right to Obtain a Copy of This Notice. You have the right to obtain a copy of this notice by e-mail. Even if you have agreed to receive notice via e-mail, you also have the right to request a paper copy of this notice.

IV. PERSON TO CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION OR HOW TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES

If you have any questions about this notice or any complaints about our privacy practices, please contact the Corporate Privacy Officer at The Institute For Transfusion Medicine, 812 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or 412-209-7175. If you think that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your protected health information, you may file a written complaint with the person listed above. You may also send a written complaint to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

V. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and our privacy policies at any time. Any changes will apply to the protected health information we already have in addition to any information received in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in prominent locations within our organization and you can request a copy of this notice from the contact person listed in Section IV above. You can view a copy of the notice on our Web site at www.itxmdiagnostics.org

Copyright © 2004, ITxM Diagnostics