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.

Effective Date: January 1, 2025

If you have any questions about this Notice, please contact our Privacy Officer: Linda List, RN – Administrator, Advocates Home Health Care, 9135 N Meridian St, Suite B-4, Indianapolis, IN 46260. Phone: (317) 580-0700.

Who Will Follow This Notice

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes information about privacy practices followed by the employees, staff, clinicians, and other members of the workforce employed by Advocates Home Health Care. Everyone who works for our agency must comply with the terms of this Notice for all home health services provided to you. We may share your medical information with each other to effectively provide home care services to you, including coordinating your treatment, securing payment for services provided, and conducting health care operations.

Your Protected Health Information

We are legally required to protect the privacy of your medical information and provide you with this Notice. Your medical information includes your clinical records, billing records, Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) data, and any other information we have or receive that may identify you and relates to your physical or mental health condition or the home health care services provided to you. We are required to follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect, and we are required to notify you if there is a breach of your unsecured protected health information.

How We May Use and Disclose Your Protected Health Information

We use and disclose medical information for many different reasons. For some of these uses or disclosures, we need your specific authorization. Below, we describe the different categories of our uses and disclosures and give you some examples of each category.

We may use and disclose your medical information for treatment, payment, and health care operations without your prior authorization:

For Treatment: We may use and disclose your medical information to provide medical treatment and home health services to you. For example, we will share your medical information with your attending physician, our nurses, therapists, home health aides, and other medical personnel to create and execute your home health plan of care. We may also provide information to pharmacies or medical equipment suppliers as needed for your treatment.

To Obtain Payment: We may use and disclose your medical information to bill and collect payment for the home health treatments and services provided to you. For example, we may provide portions of your medical information to Medicare, Indiana Medicaid, or your private health plan to secure prior authorization and get paid for the health care services we provide.

For Health Care Operations: We may disclose your medical information to safely and efficiently operate our agency. For example, we may use your medical information to evaluate the quality of health care services that you received (such as through Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement programs), to evaluate the performance of the clinical staff who provided services to you, or to conduct internal audits. We may also share information with our accountants, attorneys, or consultants to comply with legal requirements.

Appointment Reminders & Health-Related Services: We may use and disclose Health Information to contact you to remind you of an upcoming home visit or to discuss possible treatment options, alternatives, or health-related benefits that may be of interest to you.

We may also use and disclose your medical information without your authorization for the following reasons:

Required by Law: We may disclose your medical information when required by federal, state, or local law, judicial or administrative proceedings, or law enforcement.

Public Health & Safety: We report information about various diseases to government officials in charge of collecting that information. We may also disclose information to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.

Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence: We will make disclosures when a law requires that we report information to government agencies and law enforcement personnel about victims of suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

Health Oversight Activities: We will provide medical information to assist health oversight agencies (such as the Indiana Department of Health or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) for audits, investigations, inspections, or licensing purposes.

Business Associates: We will share your medical information with outside businesses that perform services for us (such as our electronic medical record provider or billing software). We maintain written agreements with these business associates that require them to protect the privacy of your medical information.

Workers’ Compensation: We may provide medical information to comply with workers’ compensation or similar programs.

Organ Donation & Coroners: We may disclose medical information to assist organ procurement organizations, coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors as necessary.

You have the right to object to the following disclosures:

Disclosures to Family, Friends, or Others: We will only provide your medical information to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care if you consent to the disclosure.

All other uses and disclosures require your prior written authorization.

In any other situation not described above, we will ask for your written authorization before using or disclosing any of your medical information. If you choose to sign an authorization, you can revoke it in writing at any time to stop future uses and disclosures, except to the extent that we have already taken action relying on the authorization.

Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, uses and disclosures of your medical information for marketing purposes, and disclosures that constitute a sale of your medical information require your written authorization.

What Rights You Have Regarding Your Medical Information

You or your legally appointed health care representative have the following rights with respect to your medical information:

The Right to Request Limits: You have the right to ask that we limit how we use and disclose your medical information. We will consider your request, but we are not legally required to accept it. If we accept your request, we will put the limits in writing and abide by them except in emergency situations. However, we must agree to your request not to disclose information to your health plan for payment or health care operations purposes if the information relates only to a service for which you, or someone on your behalf other than the health plan, paid in full out of pocket, unless the disclosure is required by law.

The Right to Confidential Communications: You have the right to ask that we send information to you at an alternate address or by alternate means (such as asking us to only call you at a specific phone number). We must agree to your request so long as it is reasonable and we can easily accommodate it.

The Right to See and Get Copies: In most cases, you have the right to look at or get copies of your medical information, but you must make the request in writing. We will respond to you within the timeframe required by state and federal law (generally within 30 days) after receiving your written request to the address at the beginning of this Notice. If we maintain your medical information electronically, you may request an electronic copy.

The Right to Get a List of Disclosures: You have the right to request a list of instances in which we have disclosed your medical information. This list will not include uses or disclosures made for treatment, payment, health care operations, disclosures made directly to you, or disclosures made with your written authorization.

The Right to Correct or Update: If you believe that there is a mistake in your medical information or that important information is missing, you have the right to request that we correct or add to the existing information. Your request and the reason for the request must be submitted in writing to the Privacy Officer. We may deny your request if the information is accurate and complete, was not created by us, or is not part of our records. If denied, we will provide our rationale in writing and explain your right to file a statement of disagreement.

The Right to a Paper Copy: You have the right to request a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically.

What to Do If You Believe Your Privacy Rights Have Been Violated

If you think that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about your medical information, you may file a complaint with our Privacy Officer at the address shown at the top of this Notice.

You also may send a written complaint to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate against you in any way for filing a complaint. Complaints may be sent to the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, or filed online at www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints.

Changes to This Notice

We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice at any time. The new Notice provisions will be effective for all protected health information we maintain. If we revise this Notice, a copy of the new Notice will be provided to you upon request and posted on our website.