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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.

This Joint Notice of Privacy Practices describes how Chinatown True Care Medical, PLLC/Rendr and the practitioners who provide services at our facilities (the “Practice” or “we”) may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. “Protected health information” (“PHI”) is information about you, including, but not limited to, demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or conditions and related health care services.

Note:  HIV related information, genetic information, substance use and mental health records and certain information about minors may be subject to certain special confidentiality protections under applicable state and federal law.  Any disclosures of these types of records will be subject to those special protections even if use or disclosure is permitted under this Joint Privacy Notice.  For example there are limitations on how substance use treatment information may be disclosed for treatment purposes.  

We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice. We may change the terms of this Notice at any time. Any revised Notice would be effective for all PHI that we maintain at that time and any PHI we maintain in the future. Upon your request, we will provide you with any revised Notice by calling the office and requesting that a revised copy be sent to you in the mail. A copy of the current Notice will be prominently displayed in our treatment sites at all times and posted on our website.

1. USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PHI

Uses and Disclosures of PHI

Treatment: We will use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate or manage your healthcare and any related treatment. This includes sharing your PHI with outside providers who may be involved in your care and with networks that may coordinate care with outside providers. For example, we may provide information about your health care status to a physical therapist so that you may receive services.

Payment: Your PHI will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for your health care services. This may include certain activities that your health insurance plan may undertake before it approves or pays for the health care services we provide for you, determining your eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits, reviewing services provided to you for medical necessity, and undertaking utilization review activities.  For example, we may provide information to your insurance company so that we may confirm that you are eligible to receive prescribed services.

Health Care Operations: We may use or disclose, as needed, your PHI in order to support the business activities of our practice. These activities include, but are not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities. For example, we may disclose your PHI to an accreditation agency that performs chart audits.  We may use or disclose your PHI, as necessary, to contact you to remind you of follow-up care or appointments. We may also use or disclose your PHI to provide you with information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. These communications may be sent electronically to you (text, voicemail, email or via a patient portal).  

Certain uses and disclosures of PHI will be made only with your written authorization, including uses and/or disclosures: (a) of psychotherapy notes (where appropriate); (b) for marketing purposes; and (c) that constitute a sale of PHI under the Privacy Rule.  Other uses and disclosures of PHI not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization, which can be revoked by contacting us as described below.

Others Involved in Your Health Care: Unless you object, we may disclose to a member of your family, a relative, a close friend or any other person you identify, your PHI that directly relates to that person’s involvement in your health care or payment for your care. If you are unable to agree or object to such a disclosure, we may disclose such information as necessary if we determine that it is in your best interest based upon our professional judgment. Additionally, unless prior preference is expressed to us, we may use or disclose PHI to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or any other person who is responsible for your care, of your location, general condition, or death. Finally, we may use or disclose your PHI to an authorized public or private entity to assist in disaster relief efforts and coordinate uses and disclosures to family or other individuals involved in your health care.

Immunization Disclosure to Schools and Agencies: Upon your agreement, which may be oral or in writing, our Practice may disclose proof of immunization to a school where a state or other law requires the school to have such information prior to admitting the student. We also may disclose your immunization history with health oversight agencies/registries for syndromic surveillance.

Required by Law: We may use or disclose your PHI to the extent that the use or disclosure is required by law. The use or disclosure will be made in compliance with the law.

Organized Health Care Arrangement:  We may participate in one or more Organized Health Care Arrangements (“OHCA”) with other providers in the community. Through the OHCA, our practice is better able to provide coordinated medical care. We may share your health information with the OHCA or other providers within the OHCA for various purposes.

Business Associates: We will share your PHI with third party “business associates” that perform various activities for our practice (e.g., computer consulting company, law firm or other consultants, vendors that coordinate communications related to healthcare services).

Public Health: We may disclose your PHI for public health activities to a public health authority that is permitted by law to collect or receive the information, such as for the purpose of controlling disease injury or disability, or for disaster relief. For example, we may disclose your PHI, if authorized by law, to a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or may otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading the disease or condition.  We may also disclose your PHI to a person or company required by the Food and Drug Administration to report adverse events, as required by law.

Health Care Oversight: We may disclose your PHI to a governmental agency for activities authorized or required by law, such as audits, investigations, and inspections.

Abuse or Neglect: With your consent or where required by law, we may disclose your PHI to a public health authority that is authorized by law to receive reports of child abuse or neglect.  We may also notify an agency if we believe that an adult patient has been the victim of abuse or domestic violence.  We will only make this report if the patient agrees or when required by law.

Legal Proceedings: We may disclose PHI in the course of any judicial or administrative proceeding, in response to an order of a court or administrative tribunal (to the extent such disclosure is expressly authorized), or in certain conditions, in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process.

Law Enforcement: We may also disclose PHI, so long as applicable legal requirements are met, for law enforcement purposes. These law enforcement purposes include (1) legal processes, (2) limited information requests for identification and location purposes, (3) pertaining to victims of a crime, (4) suspicion that death has occurred as a result of criminal conduct, (5) in the event that a crime occurs on the premises of our Practice, and (6) medical emergency (not on our premises) and it is likely that a crime has occurred.

Decedents: Health information may be disclosed to medical examiners, funeral directors or coroners to enable them to carry out their lawful duties. PHI does not include health information of a person who has been deceased for more than 50 years.

Organ/Tissue Donation: If you are an organ donor, your health information may be used or disclosed for cadaveric organ, eye or tissue donation purposes.

Criminal Activity: We may disclose your PHI if we believe that the use or disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.

Workers’ Compensation: We may release PHI about you for programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses.

Military Activity and National Security: When the appropriate conditions apply, we may use or disclose protected health information of individuals who are Armed Forces personnel for authorized military purposes, as required by law.

Reproductive Health: We may not use or disclose PHI for purposes of identifying, investigating or imposing criminal, civil, or administrative liability on any person simply for seeking, obtaining, providing, or helping a person to obtain reproductive health care, so long as the reproductive healthcare is lawful in the place where it was provided.   For example, if a health oversight agency makes a request for reproductive health information for purposes of bring action against an individual for his or her decisions regarding reproductive health, we cannot turn over the PHI.   

Substance Use Information: PHI that is about substance use disorder (“SUD”) treatment from an SUD provider shall not be used or disclosed in legal proceedings against the patient unless there is written consent, or a court order and subpoena that meet the requirements of Federal law.

Required Uses and Disclosures: Upon request, we are required to disclose PHI to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for investigations of our compliance with the requirements of the federal privacy regulations.

2. YOUR RIGHTS

You have the right to inspect and receive a copy your PHI. This means that, except in very limited circumstances, you may inspect and obtain a copy of PHI about you that is contained in a medical record maintained by our Practice for as long as we maintain the PHI. We may charge you our standard fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies we use to fulfill your request. You have the right to electronic copies of your PHI when requested. Where information is not readily producible in the form and format requested, the information must be provided in an alternative readable electronic format as agreed to by you.

You have the right to request a restriction of your PHI. This means you may ask us not to use or disclose any part of your PHI for the purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations. In most circumstances, we are not required to agree to a restriction that you may request. However, if you request us to restrict disclosures to health plans that we would normally make as part of payment or health care operations, we must agree to that restriction if the PHI relates to health care which you have paid out of pocket in full. If we agree to any requested restriction, we may not use or disclose your PHI in violation of that restriction unless it is needed to provide emergency treatment. Please discuss any restriction you wish to request with your physician or submit a request to the privacy officer in writing.

You have the right to request to receive confidential communications from us by alternative means or at an alternative location. For example, you may ask us to contact you by mail, rather than by phone at home. You may request that we share PHI with you via email or other electronic communication and we may agree to do so.  You must understand, however, that these forms of electronic communication have risk that the transmission may be intercepted. We will accommodate reasonable requests. Please make this request in writing to our Privacy Officer.

You may have the right to request an amendment to your PHI. This means you may request an amendment of PHI about you that we maintain. In certain cases, we may deny your request for an amendment. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us, and we may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy of any such rebuttal. Please contact our Privacy Officer if you have questions about amending your medical record.

You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures we have made, if any, of your PHI. This right applies generally to disclosures for purposes other than treatment, payment or health care operations as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices.  Your right to an accounting of disclosures excludes disclosures we may have made to you, to family members or friends involved in your care, for notification purposes, or made pursuant to your authorization.

You have the right to receive specific information regarding other disclosures that occurred up to six years prior to the date of your request. You may request a shorter timeframe. The first list you request within a 12-month period is free of charge, but there is a charge involved with any additional lists within the same 12-month period. We will inform you of any costs involved with additional requests, and you may withdraw your request before you incur any costs.

You have the right to receive notice in the event of a breach of unsecured PHI. This means that, if a breach of your unsecured PHI is discovered, you will receive notice within 60 days of discovery.

3. COMPLAINTS

You may complain to us or the Secretary of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated by us. We will provide you with contact information for HHS. You may file a complaint with us by notifying our Privacy Officer of your complaint. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.  

You may contact our Privacy Officer’s office, at 718-290-9799, or at HIPAAPrivacy@rendrcare.com for further information about the complaint process.