Notice of Privacy
Last modified on October 14, 2024
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.
At AmiCare Services, Inc. (“AmiCare”), we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your health information. This Notice of Privacy Practices (the “Notice”) describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) and your rights regarding access to your PHI in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information
You have the following rights regarding your health information:
- Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and receive a copy of your medical records and other health information that we maintain, with certain exceptions. You may request an electronic or paper copy of your records.
- Right to Amend: If you believe your health information is incorrect or incomplete, you may request that we amend your records.
- Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you in a specific way or send mail to a different address.
- Right to Request Restrictions: You can ask us to limit how we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. We will consider all reasonable requests, but we are not required to agree to them.
- Right to Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to receive a list of certain disclosures we have made of your health information.
- Right to a Copy of This Notice: You may request a paper or electronic copy of this Notice at any time.
How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information
We may use and disclose your health information in the following ways:
- Treatment: We may use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your healthcare services. This includes communication with doctors, nurses, caregivers, and other healthcare providers involved in your care.
- Payment: We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for services we provide to you, including billing and claims processing.
- Healthcare Operations: We may use and disclose your health information for our healthcare operations, such as conducting quality assessments, staff training, and internal audits to improve our services.
- Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose your health information to remind you of appointments.
- As Required by Law: We will disclose your health information when required to do so by federal, state, or local laws.
Special Disclosure
There are certain situations where we may be required to disclose your health information without your authorization:
- Public Health and Safety: We may disclose your health information for public health activities, such as preventing disease outbreaks, reporting abuse or neglect, or addressing threats to health or safety.
- Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your health information to governmental agencies responsible for overseeing the healthcare system or ensuring compliance with government programs.
- Law Enforcement: We may disclose your health information in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, or other lawful requests by law enforcement officials.
- Research: We may disclose your health information for research purposes when the research study is approved by an institutional review board, and only when specific privacy measures are in place.
- Workers’ Compensation: We may disclose your health information to comply with workers’ compensation laws.
Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Authorization
In certain circumstances, we will need your written permission (authorization) before we can use or disclose your health information, including:
- Marketing: We will not use your health information for marketing purposes without your written consent.
- Sale of Information: We will not sell your health information without your explicit authorization.
If you provide us with authorization to use or disclose your health information, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time. This will not affect disclosures made before the revocation.
Our Responsibilities
- Confidentiality: We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
- Notify of Breaches: We will notify you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
- Compliance with the Notice: We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this Notice and provide you with a copy of it.
Changes to Notice
AmiCare reserves the right to change the terms of this Notice at any time. If we make any changes, the revised Notice will be posted on our website, and we will provide you with the updated Notice at your next appointment or service interaction. The new terms will apply to all health information we maintain.
Filing a complaint
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
651 Bannon Street, Ste. 200,
Sacramento, CA 95811