Information Notice
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 and Medical Information
Each time you visit Valir, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record documents 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 a number of purposes:
- 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.
- Tool for educating healthcare professionals.
- Source of data for medical research.
- Source of information for public-health officials who oversee the delivery of healthcare in the United States.
- Source of data for Valir’s planning and marketing.
- Tool with which Valir can assess and continually work to improve the care rendered and the outcomes achieved.
Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to ensure its accuracy; to better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health information; and make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.
Valir's Responsibilities
- Maintain the privacy of your health information.
- Provide you with a notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information Valir collects and maintains about you.
- Abide by the terms of this notice.
- Notify you if Valir is unable to agree to a requested restriction.
- Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means at alternative locations.
- Reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information Valir maintains. Should Valir's information practices change, a revised notice will be mailed to you.
Valir will not disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.
How Valir Will Use or Disclose Your Health Information
(1) Treatment. Valir will use your health information for treatment. For example, information obtained by a nurse, physician or other member of your healthcare team will be recorded in your chart and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. Your healthcare team member will document in your chart his or her expectations of the members of your healthcare team. Members of your healthcare team will then record the actions they took and their observations. In that way, they will know how you are responding to treatment. Valir will also provide your physician or a subsequent healthcare provider with copies of various reports to assist him or her in treating you once you are discharged.
(2) Payment. Valir will use your health information for payment. For example, a bill may be sent to you or to a third-party payer, including Medicare or Medicaid. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, your diagnosis, procedures and supplies used.
(3) Healthcare operations. Valir will use your health information for regular health operations. For example, members of the medical staff, the risk or quality improvement manager or members of the quality improvement team may use information from 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 healthcare and services provided by Valir.
(4) Business associates. There are some services in our organization that are provided through contacts with business associates. Examples include our accountants, consultants and attorneys. When these services are contracted, Valir may disclose your health information to our business associates so that they can perform the job asked of them. To protect your health information, however, Valir requires these business associates to appropriately safeguard your information.
(5) Directory. Unless you notify us that you object, Valir may use your name for directory purposes. This information may be provided to people who ask for you by name.
(6) Notification. Valir may use or disclose your information to notify or help notify a family member, personal representative or another person responsible for your care. If Valir is unable to reach your family member or personal representative, we may leave a message for them at the phone number that they have provided us, for example, on an answering machine.
(7) Communication with family. Health professionals, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member or other relative, close personal friend, or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or to payment related to your care.
(8) Research. Valir may disclose information to researchers whose 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.
(9) Funeral directors. Valir may disclose health information to funeral directors and coroners to carry out their duties consistent with applicable law.
(10) Organ-procurement organizations. Consistent with applicable law, Valir may disclose health information to organ-procurement organizations or other entities engaging in the procurement, banking or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.
(11) Marketing. Valir 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.
(12) Fundraising. Valir may contact you as part of a fundraising effort.
(13) Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Valir may disclose to the FDA health information related to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects or post-marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs or replacement.
(14) Workers' compensation. Valir may disclose health information to the extent authorized and necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs established by law.
(15) Public health. As required by law, Valir may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability.
(16) Correctional institutions. Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, Valir may disclose to the institution or its agents health information necessary for your health and safety and that of other individuals.
(17) Law enforcement. Valir may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a valid subpoena.
(18) Reports. Federal law makes provision for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a workforce member or business associate believes in good faith that Valir has engaged in unlawful conduct or has otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and is potentially endangering one or more patients, workers or the public.
Your Health Information Rights
Although your health record is the physical property of Valir, the information in your health record belongs to you. You have the following rights:
You may request that Valir not use or disclose your health information for a particular reason related to treatment, payment, Valir’s operations to a particular family member, other relative or close personal friend. Valir asks that such requests be made in writing on a form provided by Valir. Although Valir will consider your request, please be aware that Valir is under no obligation to accept it or to abide by it. For more information about this right, see 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 164.522(a).
If you are dissatisfied with the manner in which or the location where you are receiving communications from us that are related to your health information, you may request that Valir provide you with such information by alternative means or at alternative locations. Such a request must be made in writing and submitted to Valir Health, 700 N.W. 7th, Oklahoma City, OK 73102. Valir will attempt to accommodate all reasonable requests. For more information about this right, see (CFR) 164.522(b).
You may request to inspect and/or obtain copies of health information about you, which will be provided to you in the timeframes established by law. If you request copies, Valir will charge you a reasonable fee. For more information about this right, see CFR 164.524.
If you believe that any health information in your record is incorrect or if you believe that important information is missing, you may request that Valir correct the existing information or add the missing information. Such requests must be made in writing and must provide a reason to support the amendment. Valir asks that you use the form provided by Valir to make such requests. For a request form, please contact the staff on duty. For more information about this right, see 45 CFR 164.526.
You may request that Valir provide you with a written account of all disclosures made by us during the time period for which you request (not to exceed 6 years.) Valir asks that such requests be made in writing on a form provided by Valir. Please note that an accounting will not apply to any of the following types of disclosures: disclosures made for reasons of treatment, payment or health operations; disclosures made to you or your legal representative, or any other individual involved in your care; disclosures to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials and disclosures for national security purposes. You will not be charged for your first accounting request in any 12-month period. However, for any requests that you make thereafter, you will be charged a reasonable, cost-based fee. For more information about this right, see 45 CFR 164.528.
You have the right to obtain a paper copy of our Notice of Information Practices upon request.
You may revoke an authorization to use or disclose health information, except to the extent that action has already been taken. Such a request must be made in writing.
For more information or to report a problem
If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us. These complaints must be filed in writing on a form provided by Valir. The complaint form must be obtained from Valir Health, and when completed should be returned to 700 N.W. 7th, Oklahoma City, OK 73102. You may also file a complaint with the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.
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