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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.

Your privacy is very important to us. If you have any questions, please contact our Patient Relations Department at (814) 452-7081.

Understanding Your Health Record Information

Each time you visit a hospital, physician, or other 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 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
• a tool in educating heath professionals
• a source of data for medical research
• a source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of the nation
• a source of data for facility planning and marketing
• a 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 restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information
• request alternative methods of communicating your health information
• inspect, amend and/or obtain a copy of your health information
• receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information
• request and receive a paper copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices
• revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken or as permitted by law

Our Responsibilities

Saint Vincent Health System is required to:

• maintain the privacy of your health information
• provide you with a notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain
• abide by the terms of this notice
• notify you if we are unable to agree to any requested restrictions or alternative methods of communication
• accommodate reasonable requests for communicating health information by alternative methods

* For the purposes of this notice, the Saint Vincent Health System “family” includes the parent, Saint Vincent Health System, together with Saint Vincent Health Center, and other Saint Vincent health services, along with the physicians and other medical personnel who provide care at these facilities. Click here for a detailed listing of the Saint Vincent “family" or contact our Patient Relations Department at (814) 452-7081 for a hard copy listing. This notice applies to all members of the family.

Examples of how Saint Vincent may disclose your information without your written authorization:

We will use your health information for treatment.

Information obtained by a nurse, physician, or other member of your healthcare team will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. We will also provide your physician or other healthcare provider with copies of various reports that should assist in treating you once you’re discharged from this hospital.

We will use your health information for payment.

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.

We will use your health information for regular health care operations.

Members of the medical staff and the quality improvement team may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care and service we provide.

Other uses may include:

Business associates: There are some services provided in our organization through contracts with business associates. When services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to these businesses so they can perform the job we've asked them to do. To protect your health information, however, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.
Directory: Unless you notify us that you object, we will use your name, room/phone number, and religious affiliation for directory purposes. Except for religious affiliation, this information may be provided to others who ask for you by name.
Notification: We may use or disclose your name and room/phone number in order to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person involved in your care.
Communication with family: Health professionals, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member, other relative, 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.
Research: We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.
Funeral directors: We may disclose health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law.
Organ donor organizations: Consistent with applicable law, we 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 transplants.
Marketing: We 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.
Fund raising: We may contact you as part of a fund-raising effort.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, products, or follow-up care information to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacement.
Workers compensation: We may disclose health information to the extent authorized by and necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs established by law.
Public health: As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public-health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.
Correctional institution: Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution or its agents information necessary for your health and the health and safety of other individuals.
Law enforcement or legal: We may disclose health information for law enforcement or legal purposes as provided by law, including a response to a valid subpoena or similar process. Disclosures for law enforcement may include criminal conduct at the hospital, and in emergency circumstances, to report a crime or the identity, description, or location of the person who committed the crime.

This notice is effective as of 6/1/04. We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we will post the revised notice on our premises and we will mail you a copy of the revised notice upon request. We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may contact our Patient Relations Department at (814) 452-7081 or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.