Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.

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 Rights

You have the right to:

• Get a copy of your paper or electronic medical record
• Correct your paper or electronic medical record
• Request confidential communication
• Ask us to limit the information we share
• Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your information
• Get a copy of this privacy notice
• Choose someone to act for you
• File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated

Your Choices

You have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we:

• Tell family and friends about your condition
• Provide disaster relief
• Include you in a hospital directory
• Provide mental health care
• Market our services and sell your information
• Raise funds

Our Uses and Disclosures

We may use and share your information as we:

• Treat you
• Run our organization
• Bill for your services
• Help with public health and safety issues
• Do research
• Comply with the law
• Respond to organ and tissue donation requests
• Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record

• You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
• We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your medical record

• You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
• We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications

• You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
• We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

• You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
• If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

• You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
• We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

Get a copy of this privacy notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.

Choose someone to act for you

• If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
• We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

• You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us using the information on page 1.
• You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
• Share information in a disaster relief situation
• Include your information in a hospital directory

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

In the case of fundraising:

• We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

 

Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your health information?

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.

Treat you

We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.
Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.

 

Run our organization

We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.

 

Bill for your services

We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.
Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

 

Work with our contracted Business Associates and Subcontractors

Port St. Lucie Hospital contracts with individuals, other agencies, and businesses to carry out some of the services for which we are responsible.
Example: We give information about you to our vendor for transcription services after appointments with our providers.

Under the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records regulation (42 CFR part 2), HIPAA covered entities and business associates that receive records under this consent are allowed to redisclose the records in accordance with the HIPAA regulations.

 

How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

Help with public health and safety issues

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

• Preventing disease
• Helping with product recalls
• Reporting adverse reactions to medications
• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
• Under the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records regulation (42 CFR part 2), disclosure of records without patient consent to public health authorities, is permitted, provided that the records disclosed are de-identified according to the standards established in the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

Do research

We can use or share your information for health research.

Comply with the law

We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

Respond to organ and tissue donation requests

We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.

Work with a medical examiner or funeral director

We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual die.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests

We can use or share health information about you:

• For workers’ compensation claims
• For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
• With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
• For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services

Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

• We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.
• Under the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records regulation (42 CFR part 2), the use of records and testimony in civil, criminal, administrative, and legislative proceedings against patients, is restricted absent patient consent or a court order.

 

Our Responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

 

Changes to the Terms of this Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site.

 

Additional Information

• Effective Date: March 19, 2024
• Medical Records Director – mripolluntch@portstluciehospitalinc.com (772) 335-0400
• Port St. Lucie Hospital will never market or sell your personal information.

This section is provided for residents in the state of Florida. In addition to the disclosures attached, you can exercise certain additional rights pertaining to notice as described below under Chapter 394 of the Florida Mental Health Act.

394.4599 Notice.—

(1) VOLUNTARY ADMISSION.—Notice of an individual’s voluntary admission shall be given only at the request of the individual, except that, in an emergency, notice shall be given as determined by the facility.

(2) INVOLUNTARY ADMISSION.—

(a) Whenever notice is required to be given under this part, such notice shall be given to the individual and the individual’s guardian, guardian advocate, health care surrogate or proxy, attorney, and representative.

1. When notice is required to be given to an individual, it shall be given both orally and in writing, in the language and terminology that the individual can understand, and, if needed, the facility shall provide an interpreter for the individual.

2. Notice to an individual’s guardian, guardian advocate, health care surrogate or proxy, attorney, and representative shall be given by mail with the date, time, and method of notice delivery documented in the clinical record. Hand delivery by a facility employee may be used as an alternative, with the date and time of delivery documented in the clinical record. If notice is given by a state attorney or an attorney for the department, a certificate of service is sufficient to document service.

(b) A receiving facility shall give prompt notice of the whereabouts of an individual who is being involuntarily held for examination to the individual’s guardian, guardian advocate, health care surrogate or proxy, attorney or representative, by telephone or in person within 24 hours after the individual’s arrival at the facility. Contact attempts shall be documented in the individual’s clinical record and shall begin as soon as reasonably possible after the individual’s arrival.

(c)1. A receiving facility shall give notice of the whereabouts of a minor who is being involuntarily held for examination pursuant to s. 394.463 to the minor’s parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate, in person or by telephone or other form of electronic communication, immediately after the minor’s arrival at the facility. The facility may delay notification for no more than 24 hours after the minor’s arrival if the facility has submitted a report to the central abuse hotline, pursuant to s. 39.201, based upon knowledge or suspicion of abuse, abandonment, or neglect and if the facility deems a delay in notification to be in the minor’s best interest.

2. The receiving facility shall attempt to notify the minor’s parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate until the receiving facility receives confirmation from the parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate, verbally, by telephone or other form of electronic communication, or by recorded message, that notification has been received. Attempts to notify the parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate must be repeated at least once every hour during the first 12 hours after the minor’s arrival and once every 24 hours thereafter and must continue until such confirmation is received, unless the minor is released at the end of the 72-hour examination period, or until a petition for involuntary services is filed with the court pursuant to s. 394.463(2)(g). The receiving facility may seek assistance from a law enforcement agency to notify the minor’s parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate if the facility has not received within the first 24 hours after the minor’s arrival a confirmation by the parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate that notification has been received. The receiving facility must document notification attempts in the minor’s clinical record.

(d) The written notice of the filing of the petition for involuntary services for an individual being held must contain the following:

1. Notice that the petition for:

a. Involuntary inpatient treatment pursuant to s. 394.467 has been filed with the circuit court in the county in which the individual is hospitalized and the address of such court; or

b. Involuntary outpatient ¹services pursuant to s. 394.4655 has been filed with the criminal county court, as defined in s. 394.4655(1), or the circuit court, as applicable, in the county in which the individual is hospitalized and the address of such court.

2. Notice that the office of the public defender has been appointed to represent the individual in the proceeding, if the individual is not otherwise represented by counsel.

3. The date, time, and place of the hearing and the name of each examining expert and every other person expected to testify in support of continued detention.

4. Notice that the individual, the individual’s guardian, guardian advocate, health care surrogate or proxy, or representative, or the administrator may apply for a change of venue for the convenience of the parties or witnesses or because of the condition of the individual.

5. Notice that the individual is entitled to an independent expert examination and, if the individual cannot afford such an examination, that the court will provide for one.

(e) A treatment facility shall provide notice of an individual’s involuntary admission on the next regular working day after the individual’s arrival at the facility.

(f) When an individual is to be transferred from one facility to another, notice shall be given by the facility where the individual is located before the transfer.

 

 

Effective Date: March 19, 2024