West Alabama Mental Health Center
Notice of Privacy Practices
This notice describes how information about you may be used or disclosed and how
you can get access to this information following guidelines set by the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR HEALTH RECORD/INFORMATION:
Each time you visit West Alabama Mental Health Center a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains your problems, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care and 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 health care professionals, who contribute to your care
Legal document describing the care you received
Means by which your insurance company can verify that services billed were actually provided
A tool to educate health professions
Source of information for public health officials
Source of data for facility planning
Tool with which to assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve
Understanding what is in your health record and how your health information is used helps you to:
Ensure it's accuracy
Better understand who, what, when, where, and why other may access your health information
Make a more informed decision when authoring disclosing to others
YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS:
Although your medical record is the physical property of West Alabama Mental Health Center, the information belongs to you. You have a right to:
Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information (45 CFR 164.522)
Obtain a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request
Inspect and copy your medical record (45 CFR 164.524)
Amend you medical record as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
Obtain an accounting of disclosures of information in your medical record (45 CFR 164.528)
Request communications 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
West Alabama Mental Health Center is require 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 about you
Abide by the terms of the notice
Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
Accommodate reasonable requests to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provision effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we will mail a revised notice to the address you have supplied to us or provide copies in therapist's office.
We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.
EXAMPLES OF DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
We will use your protected health information (for example):
Information obtained by a nurse, doctor, or therapist will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that will best work for you
Your physician will documented in your record his/her expectations of the members of your team
Members of your team will document actions they took and their observations
Any service provided to you will be documented in the record
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
Members of the medical staff, the risk manager, or a member of 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 a effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the services we provide