This notice describes how information about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
This Joint Notice of Privacy Practices (Privacy Notice) describes practices regarding the sharing of your health information at Martin Memorial Health Systems (MMHS). Through participation in an organized health care arrangement, MMHS and its Medical Staff (MMHS/MS) may share your medical information as necessary to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations described in this notice. These entities include:
- any health care professional authorized to enter information into your MMHS chart;
- all departments and units of MMHS;
- any Volunteer who helps you while you are being treated in any MMHS facility; and
- all MMHS Associates and Medical Staff.
MMHS consists of, but is not limited to, the following locations:
| Stuart |
South Stuart |
| Medical Center |
Hospital South |
| SurgiCenter |
Outpatient Rehab |
| Family Care Services |
Wellness Center |
| Cancer Center |
Family Care Services |
| Diagnostic Center |
Pediatric Care |
| Pediatric Care |
|
| Palm City |
Hobe Sound |
| MediCenter |
MediCenter |
| Pediatric Care |
Wellness Center |
| Rehab Services |
Family Care Services |
| Family Care Services |
Rehab Services |
| Wellness Center |
|
| Jensen Beach |
St. Lucie West |
| Wellness Center |
MediCenter |
| Pediatric Care |
Pediatric Care |
| Pediatric Rehab |
Family Care Services |
| Family Care Services |
Diagnostic Center |
| Port St. Lucie |
Rehab Services |
| Family Care Services |
Wellness Center |
| Rehab Services |
Cancer Care |
A PLEDGE REGARDING YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION:
MMHS/MS understands that medical information about you and your health is personal. With that in mind, MMHS/MS is committed to protecting your medical information. Each time you visit a MMHS facility, a record of your visit is created. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for your future care or treatment. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:
- basis for planning your care and treatment;
- means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care;
- legal document describing the care you received;
- means by which you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided;
- tool in educating health professionals;
- source of data for medical research;
- source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of the nation;
- source of data for facility planning and marketing; and
- tool that can assess and continually work to improve the care rendered and the outcomes achieved.
Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:
- ensure its accuracy;
- better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health information; and
- make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosures to others.
This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by MMHS on or after April 14, 2003, whether made by MMHS Associates or your personal physician. Your personal physician may have different policies or notices regarding the uses and disclosures of your medical information created in his/her office or clinic.
This notice will tell you about the ways in which MMHS/MS may use and disclose medical information about you. Also, it describes your rights and certain obligations that MMHS/MS has regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.
DISCLOSURES FOR TREATMENT, PAYMENT, AND HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS:
MMHS/MS will use your health information for treatment.
Treatment Examples:
- Information obtained by a nurse, physician, or other member of your health care team will be recorded in your medical record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. Your physician will document in your record his/her expectations of the members of your health care team. Members of your health care team will then record the actions they took and their observations. In that way, the physician will know how you are responding to treatment.
- MMHS utilizes an outside organization to facilitate the transition of inpatients to nursing home care. The outside organization maintains a short-term database of all inpatient admissions to Martin Memorial Medical Center and Martin Memorial Hospital South to expedite this process.
- MMHS/MS will also provide your physician, or any additional health care provider involved with your care, with copies of various reports that should assist him/her with the continuation of your treatment.
MMHS/MS will use your health information for payment, as per your authorization.
Payment Examples:
- Certain insurers require authorization prior to treatment. MMHS/MS may be required to provide information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis, to assist in obtaining this authorization.
- A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer. The information on, or accompanying, the bill may include information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis, procedures, and supplies used.
MMHS/MS will use your health information for regular health care operations.
Operations Examples:
- The Quality Management Resource Team, including members of the Medical Staff, may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information is used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care and services MMHS provides.
- A product review team, including members of the Medical Staff, clinicians, and purchasing agents may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information is used in an effort to improve the effectiveness of MMHS operations.
- MMHS conducts customer satisfaction surveys to obtain feedback from its patient population to improve patient care.
MMHS/MS may use your health information for the following:
Inpatient Directory: Unless you object, the hospital(s) will use your name, facility location, general condition, and religious affiliation for inpatient directory purposes. This information may be provided to visiting clergy of your own religion, and to any other person(s) who ask for you by name.
Notification: MMHS may use or disclose information about your location and general condition to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person responsible for your care.
Communication with Family: Health professionals, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member, close personal friend, or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person's involvement in your care or payment related to your care.
Business Associates: Some operations of MMHS may be provided under contracts with outside organizations. Examples include certain laboratory tests, accrediting agencies, and the copy service MMHS uses when making copies of your health record. When these services are contracted, your health information will be disclosed to these business associates so they can perform the job MMHS has asked them to do. MMHS requires these business associates to appropriately safeguard your health information.
Research: MMHS' Institutional Review Board reviews research proposals and establishes protocols to ensure the protection of your health information. MMHS may disclose information to researchers whose studies have been approved through this process.
Funeral Directors: Consistent with applicable law, MMHS will disclose the necessary health information to funeral directors to carry out their duties.
Organ Procurement Organizations: Consistent with applicable law, MMHS may disclose health information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.
Marketing/Community Relations: MMHS may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
Fundraising: MMHS may contact you as part of a fund-raising effort. If you do not want to be contacted for MMHS fundraising efforts, please call the MMHS Foundation office at 772-223-5634.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA): MMHS may disclose health information to the FDA relative to adverse circumstances with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects, or post-marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacement.
Workers' Compensation: MMHS may disclose health information to the extent authorized by law, and to the extent necessary, to comply with the workers' compensation program.
Public Health/Accrediting Organizations: As required by law, MMHS may disclose your health information to public health, accrediting, or legal authorities charged with accrediting health care organizations, or with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
Correctional Institution: Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, MMHS may disclose essential health information, necessary for the health and safety of you and other individuals, to the institution or its agents.
Law Enforcement: MMHS may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a valid subpoena.
Unlawful Conduct: Federal law makes provisions for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority, or attorney, provided that an MMHS Associate or business associate believes, in good faith, that MMHS has engaged in unlawful conduct or has otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and is potentially endangering one or more patients, workers, or the public.
YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS:
Although your health record is the physical property of MMHS, the information belongs to you.
- You have the right to request a written restriction or limitation on the medical information used or disclosed about you for treatment, payment, or health care operations. However, MMHS is not required to agree to the restriction. You also have the right to request a limit on the medical information disclosed about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, such as a family member or friend.
For example, you may request that MMHS/MS not give your friends or family members any information about the results of your surgery.
- You have the right to obtain a paper copy of the MMHS/MS Privacy Notice upon request even if you have already received the Privacy Notice in electronic form.
- You have the right to inspect and/or obtain a copy of your medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes.
- In order to inspect and/or obtain a copy of your medical information or to request copies for another health care provider or individual, you will be requested to fill out and sign an Authorization for the Release of Information. A valid identification must be presented in order to receive your information. In addition, there may be a fee for the cost of copying, mailing, or the use of other supplies associated with your request.
- In order to inspect your medical information, it is recommended that you contact the health care provider of the record you wish to review in order to make an appointment. This will allow the provider time to have your records ready when you visit.
- Your request to inspect and obtain a copy may be denied in certain, very limited, circumstances. If you are denied access to your medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by MMHS will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. MMHS will comply with the outcome of the review.
- You have the right to revoke your authorization to use or disclose your health information except to the extent that action has already been taken.
- You have the right to request an amendment to your medical information for as long as the medical information is kept by, or for, MMHS if you feel that MMHS/MS has incorrect or incomplete medical information about you.
- To request an amendment, you must either fill out a Request for Amendment at the Health Information Management Department located at 200 S.E. Hospital Avenue, Stuart, FL, or send a request in writing to the Director of Health Information Management, Martin Memorial Health Systems, P.O. Box 9010, Stuart, FL 34995. You must provide a reason that supports your request, and your request will be processed within a specified time period.
- MMHS may deny your request if you ask for information to be amended that:
- was not created by MMHS, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment;
- is not part of the medical information kept by, or for, MMHS;
- is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
- is accurate and complete.
- You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures," which consists of a list of disclosures of your medical information that MMHS made, or was made for MMHS by a business associate, that are not part of your treatment, payment, or MMHS' health care operations.
- To request an accounting of disclosures, you may fill out a Request for an Accounting of Disclosures at the Health Information Management Department located at 200 S.E. Hospital Avenue, Stuart, FL, or you may send a request in writing to the Director of Health Information Management, Martin Memorial Health Systems, P.O. Box 9010, Stuart, FL 34995. Your request must state a time period that may not be longer than six years and may not include dates prior to April 14, 2003.
- The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. For additional lists, you may be charged for the costs of providing the list. You will be notified of the cost involved, and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred. Requests for accounting of disclosures will be accommodated within a timely manner.
MARTIN MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEMS AND ITS MEDICAL STAFF'S RESPONSIBILITIES:
The law requires MMHS/MS to:
- maintain the privacy of your health information;
- provide you with a notice as to MMHS/MS' legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information collected and maintained about you;
- follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect;
- notify you if a requested restriction cannot be fulfilled; and
- accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.
MMHS/MS reserves the right to change its practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information it maintains. Should changes to information practices occur, and after the effective date of a revised privacy notice, MMHS/MS will provide you with the revised document at your next encounter with MMHS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REPORT A PROBLEM:
If you have questions and would like additional information, you may contact MMHS' Corporate Compliance Privacy Specialist at 772-287-5200. In addition, if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with MMHS' Corporate Compliance Privacy Specialist or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (866-627-7742). There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.
Effective Date - April 14, 2003
Joint Notice of Privacy Practices - Version 1