YOUR INFORMATION.

YOUR RIGHTS.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES.

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed by Rochester Regional Health by its care providers and staff at its affiliated sites and how you can get access to this information.
Please review it carefully.

Download Privacy Policy

YOUR RIGHTS

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. You have the right to:

- 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 10 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- If you have selected someone as your health care proxy, or if someone is your legal guardian or has been designated as your health care surrogate in the absence of a proxy, 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.
- You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting the Rochester Regional Health Call Center at 922-LINK (922-5465), toll free at 1-877-922-5465 or e-mail at Link@rochesterregional.org.
- 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 www.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.

- 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
- Marketing purposes
- Sale of your information
- Some sharing of psychotherapy notes, mental health treatment records, chemical dependency treatment records and HIV-related information
- 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.

We can use your health information, including mental health, chemical dependency treatment records and HIV-related information, and share it with other professionals who are treating you.

Some or all of your health information may be created and/or stored in an electronic format and accessed by providers with authority or need, or when permissible by law to do so.

Some or all of your health information may be made available electronically through a record locator service and electronic health information exchange with other treatment providers. Through the exchange, we may also be able to access prior treatment records and/or the location of those prior services.

Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition

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 Your Rights Under HIPAA.

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:
- Preventing disease
- Helping with product or device 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
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

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.

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 offices, and on our web site.

Effective date of notice

This Notice of Privacy Practices was revised and made effective in February 2019.