Privacy
Policy
HIPAA
Regulations
JCAHO Public Notice
y
Privacy Policy
As a healthcare
provider, St. Joseph's Mercy Health Center
is both experienced
and strongly committed to protecting the right of privacy for patients. We do
not share any personally identifiable information submitted through the forms
or e-mail links on this site with any entity outside St.
Joseph's Mercy Health Center unless
you authorize us to do so or we are required to do so by law.
Anonymous Access
You can access our Web site home page and browse our site without disclosing
your personal data.
The services and links of our Web site
Our Web site may enable you to communicate with other visitors or to post
information to be accessed by others. When you do so, other visitors may collect
your data.
Log Files/Cookies
We collect and log the IP address of each visitor to gather aggregate data
on visitors to our site and how our site is being used. We do not associate
IP addresses with any personally identifiable information.
Cookies may be sent to your computer to collect general information
about how our site is viewed. We do not use cookies to store personal data,
nor do we link non-personal information stored in cookies with personal data
about specific individuals.
Data Collection and Purpose Specification
We collect the personal data that you may volunteer while using our services.
This information will be used to fulfill user requests for information.
We do not collect information about our visitors from other sources, such as
public records or bodies, or private organizations.
E-mail Communication and Newsletters
This web site provides you with the opportunity to send and receive communication
from St. Joseph's Mercy Health Center. We give you the option of using a secure
transmission method to send us the following types of personal data via the
forms on our site:
- primary personal data (such as name and contact details)
- specific personal data (such as medical data)
If you decide you would like to stop receiving communications from this web site,
you may send an e-mail to WebServices@htsp.mercy.net
or send mail to the following postal address:
St. Joseph's Mercy Health Center
P.O. Box 29001
300 Werner Street
Hot Springs, AR 71903-9001
Attn: Public Relations/Web Services
Confidentiality/Security
We have implemented security policies, rules and technical measures to protect
the personal data that we have under our control from:
- unauthorized access
- improper use or disclosure
- unauthorized modification
- unlawful destruction or accidental loss
All our employees and data processors, who have access to, and are associated
with the processing of personal data, are obliged to respect the confidentiality
of our visitors' personal data.
Other Sites
This site contains links to other sites that we believe may be valuable
to our users. St. Joseph's Mercy Health Center is not responsible for the privacy
practices or the content of other web sites. Users should read the privacy policies
of each site they visit to determine what information is collected.
A Special Note
for Parents:
St. Joseph's Mercy Health Center believes that parents should supervise their
children's online activities and consider using parental control tools available
from online services and software manufacturers that help provide a kid-friendly
online environment. These tools can also prevent children from disclosing online
their name, address, and other personal information without parental permission.
For additional information about parental control tools, please consult the
"Consumer Assistance" page of the Direct Marketing Association home
page (http://www.the-dma.org).
Questions
If you have any questions about our privacy statement, please send them
to WebServices@htsp.mercy.net.
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
This Notice describes the practices of St. Joseph’s
Mercy Health Center (SJMHC) with respect to your protected health information
created while you are a patient at SJMHC.
Your medical records serves as information used as 1) a plan for care and treatment,
2) communication among the health providers who treat you, 3) legal document
documenting your care , 4) billing to yourself or a
third-party, 5) education tool for health professionals; 6) data for medical
research, 7) information to public health officials charged with improving the
health of the nation, 8) data for facility planning and marketing.
SJMHC, it subsidiaries, and the independent contractor members of the Medical
Staff (including your physician), and other related health care providers have
agreed, as permitted by law, to share your health information among themselves
for purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations. This enables
us to better address your health care needs in a clinically integrated setting.
Each time you come in as a patient, we create a record of the care and services
you receive at SJMHC. We understand that medical information about you and
your health is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information
about you. This Notice applies to all of the records of your care at SJMHC.
This Notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose medical
information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligations
we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.
Your Health Information Rights
Although your health record is the physical property
of SJMHC, the information belongs to you. You have the right to: Request a restriction
on certain uses and disclosures of your information for treatment, payment,
health care operations and as to disclosures permitted to persons, including
family members, involved with your care and as provided by law. However, we
are not required by law to agree to a requested restriction;
Obtain a copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices upon request, or at www.saintjosephs.com;
Inspect and copy your health record as provided by law and hospital policy;
Request that we amend your health record as provided by law. We will notify
you if we are unable to grant your request to amend your health record;
Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as provided by
law;
Request communications of your health information by alternative means or at
alternative locations. We will accommodate reasonable requests;
Revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the
extent that action has already been taken.
You may exercise your rights set forth in this Notice by providing a written
request, except for requests to obtain a paper copy of the Notice, to the Health
Information Management Department at St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center.
Our Responsibilities
In addition to the responsibilities set forth above, we are 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 maintain about you;Abide
by the terms of this Notice; Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested
restriction on certain uses and disclosures. We reserve the right to change
our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health
information we maintain, including information created or received before the
change. Should our information practices change, we will have the revised Notice
available for you to request at SJMHC. The revised Notice will also be posted
by SJMHC and on the SJMHC web page. We will not use or disclose your health
information without your written authorization, except as described in this
Notice.
Examples of Disclosures for Treatment, Payment and Health Care Operations
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose medical
information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what
we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category
will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose
information should fall within one of the categories.
We will use your health information for treatment.
Example: We may disclose medical information about you to health care providers,
or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you. We may share medical
information about you in order to coordinate different treatments, such as prescriptions,
lab work and x-rays. We may also provide your physician or a subsequent health-care
provider with copies of various reports to assist in treating you once you are
discharged from SJMHC.
We will use your health information for payment.
Example: A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer. The information
on or with the bill may include information that identifies you, your diagnosis,
procedures, and supplies used.
We will use your health information for regular health care operations.
Example: We may use the information in your health record to assess the care
and outcome 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 services we provide.
Business associates: There are some services provided in our organization
through contacts with business associates. Examples include certain laboratory
tests, and a copy service we use when making copies of your health record. To
protect your health information, however, we require business associates to
appropriately safeguard your information.
Directory: Unless you notify us that you object, we will use your name,
location in the facility, general condition, and religious affiliation for directory
purposes while you are a patient at St. Joseph’s. This information may be provided
to members of the clergy and, except for religious affiliation, to other people
who ask for you by name.
Notification: We may use or disclose information to notify or assist
in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person responsible
for your care, your location, and general condition.
Research: We may disclose information to researchers when their research
has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research
proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.
Funeral directors: We may disclose health information to funeral directors
consistent with applicable law to carry out their duties.
Organ procurement 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 transplant.
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.
Fundraising: We may contact you as part of a fund-raising effort. In
any mailing, you will be given an opportunity to opt-out of receiving any further
fundraising materials.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA health
information relative to adverse events with respect to food, medications, devices,
supplements, product and product defects, or post marketing surveillance information
to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacement.
Workers’ compensation: We may disclose health information to the extent
authorized by and to the extent 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.
Communication with family: According to hospital policy, 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.
Correctional institution: Should you be an inmate of a correctional
institution, we may disclose to the institution or agents thereof health information
necessary for your health and the health and safety of other individuals.
Required by law: We will disclose medical information
about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.
For More Information or to Report a Problem
If you have questions and would like additional information, you may contact
the Privacy Officer at St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center at (501)622-1000.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint
with the Privacy Officer at St. Joseph’s or with the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, Washington, D.C. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.
Effective date: 4/14/2003
jcahopublicnotice
JCAHO
Public Notice
St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. We encourage you to report any safety
or quality concerns to our administration. Any safety or quality concerns, which
have not been addressed by hospital management, may be reported directly to the
Joint Commission:
Division of Accreditation
Operations
Office of Quality Monitoring
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Or
Faxed to 630/792-5636
Or
E=mailed to complaint@jcaho.org
