NRMC Patient Privacy Policy

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.

Understanding your Health Record/Information

Each time you visit a hospital, physician, or another healthcare provider, a record of your visit is made. 

Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or treatment. 

This information, often referred to as your “health record” 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 actually were 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
• Tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve

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
• Make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others

Your Health Information Rights

Although your health record is the physical property of the healthcare practitioner or facility that compiled it, the information belongs to you. 

You have the right to:

• Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information.
• Obtain a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request.
• Inspect and copy your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 164.524.
• Amend your health record as provided in 45 CFR 164.526.
• Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information.
• Request communication of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.
• Revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken. 

Our Responsibilities

We understand that medical information about you is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive to provide quality care and to comply with legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care that we maintain, whether created by facility staff or your personal doctor. Your personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor’s use and disclosure of your medical information created in the doctor’s office.

We are required by law to:

• Keep medical information about you private.
• Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with Respect to medical information about you.
• Abide by the terms of this notice.
• Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction.
• Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations.

Changes to this Notice

We may change our policies at any time. Changes will apply to medical information we already hold, as well as new information after the change occurs. Before we make a significant change in our policies, we will change our notice and post the new notice in waiting areas, exam rooms, and on our Web site at www.nrmchealth.com. You can receive a copy of the current notice at any time. The effective date is listed just below the title. You will be offered a copy of the current notice each time you register for treatment at our facility. You will also be asked to acknowledge in writing, your receipt of this notice.

How we may use and disclose your medical information:

• We may use and disclose medical information about you for treatment (such as sending medical information about you to a specialist as part of a referral); to obtain payment for treatment (such as sending billing information to your insurance company or Medicare); and to support our health care operations (such as comparing patient data to improve treatment methods).
  
• You as an individual may ask that disclosures to health plans be restricted when an item or service has been personally paid out of pocket and in full.
  
• We may use or disclose medical information about you without your prior authorization for several other reasons. Subject to certain requirements, we may give out medical information about you without prior authorization for public health purposes, abuse or neglect reporting, health oversight audits or inspections, research studies, funeral arrangements and organ donations, workers’ compensation purposes, and emergencies. We also disclose medical information when required by law, such as in response to a request from law enforcement in specific circumstances, or in response to valid judicial or administrative orders.
  
• We also may contact you for appointment reminders, or to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options, alternatives, health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you, or to support marketing or fundraising efforts. You may opt out of fundraising communication by calling (417) 448-3801.
  
• If admitted as a patient, unless you tell us otherwise, we will list in the patient directory your name, location in the hospital, your general condition (good, fair, etc.) to anyone who asks about you by name. Your religious affiliation will be released to clergy members only who ask about you by name. We may also utilize a password system to further protect your privacy as well as your protected health information.
  
• We may disclose medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care, or to disaster relief authorities so that your family can be notified of your location and condition.

Other uses of medical information:

In any other situation not covered by this notice, we will ask you for your written authorization before using or disclosing medical information about you. If you chose to authorize use or disclosure, you can later revoke that authorization by notifying us in writing of your decision.

Your rights regarding medical information about you:

In most cases, you have the right to look at or get an electronic or paper copy of medical information that we use to make decisions about your care when you submit a written request. If you request copies, you may be charged a fee. If we deny your request to review or obtain a copy, you may submit a written request for a review of that decision. 

If this notice was sent to you electronically, you have the right to a paper copy of this notice.

If you believe that information in your record is incorrect or if important information is missing, you have the right to request that we correct the records, by submitting a request in writing that provides your reason for requesting the amendment. We could deny your request to amend a record if the information was not created by us; if it is not part of the medical information maintained by us; or if we determine that record is accurate. You may appeal, in writing, a decision by us not to amend a record.

You have the right to a list of those instances where we have disclosed medical information about you, other than for treatment, payment, health care operations or where you specifically authorized a disclosure when you submit a written request. The request must state the time period desired for the accounting, which must be less than a six-year period and starting after April 14, 2003. You may receive the list in paper or electronic form. The first disclosure list request in a twelve-month period is free; other requests will be charged according to our cost of producing the list. We will inform you of the cost before you incur any costs.

You have the right to request that medical information about you be communicated to you in a confidential manner, such as sending mail to an address other than your home, by notifying us in writing of the specific way or location for us to use to communicate with you.

You may request, in writing, that we not use or disclose medical information about you for treatment, payment or healthcare operations or to persons involved in your care except when specifically authorized by you, when required by law, or in an emergency. We will consider your request but we are not legally required to accept it. We will inform you of our decision on your request. All written requests or appeals should be submitted to our Privacy Officer listed at the bottom of this notice.

You have the right to be notified in the event of a breach of the medical information system.

Healthcare providers and health plans may use and disclose your health information without your written authorization for purposes of treatment, payment and healthcare operations. Our healthcare providers are linked by an electronic medical record. When you go to an outside provider, we may be able to share and/or access your records through an electronic Health Information Exchange (HIE). Technology allows a provider or health plan to submit a single request through an HIE to obtain electronic records for a specific patient from other HIE participants. The provider must have sufficient personal information about you to prove they have a treatment relationship with you before the HIE will allow access to your information. 

Opting Out: If you do not wish to share information with providers through an HIE, you must opt out. Please understand your decision to restrict information through an HIE will limit your healthcare providers’ ability to provide the most effective care for you.

Complaints

If you are concerned that your privacy rights may have been violated, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your records, you may contact our Privacy Officer at 417- 667-3355.

Finally, you may send a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights. You may visit www.hhs.gov/ocr for filing instructions. Or, you may call 1-877-696-6775. 

Under no circumstance will you be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

*NRMC does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services, and activities, or in employment. For further information about this policy, contact: Holly Bush, 417-448-3692.  TDD 800-735-2966 /State Relay 711.

To file a grievance with the following agencies please contact:

Nevada Regional Medical Center

Quality Coordinator at 417-448-3657 or 

Social Services Supervisor at 417-667-3355, extension 3686

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

Phone: 73-751-6400, Fax: 573-751-6010

912 Wildwood

P.O. Box 570

Jefferson City, Missouri 65102

CMS contracted Quality Improvement Organization for Missouri

known as KEPRO

Toll Free: 855-408-8557

TTY: 855-846-4776

Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ)

P.O. Box 3620

McKinney, TX 75070

Phone: 866-324-5080

Fax: 805-934-8588

Email: complaint@cihq.org

For In-Person Appointments: Contact CIHQ at 866-324-5080 for instructions.