Notice of Privacy Practices

Uses and Disclosures of Your Health Information

1. The law permits the Practice to use or disclose your health information without your authorization for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. These activities may be undertaken by the Practice or through Business Associates contracted to provide services to the Practice. Examples of these permitted uses are as follows:
• Treatment – For the purpose of treatment, the Practice may give medical information about a patient to doctors, nurses, technicians, students affiliated with the practice, pacemaker/defibrillator representatives, and medical personnel who are involved in providing care for the patient. The Practice may also give information about a patient to a pharmacist or pharmacy assistant in charge of filling prescriptions for the patient. To expedite treatment by other health care providers, the Practice may disclose medical information about the patient to doctors or employees of hospitals or facilities actively involved in the care of the patient.

  Example: The Practice may send a patient’s test result to their primary care physician.

• Payment – In order to obtain payment for services rendered to the patient, the Practice will provide information concerning the treatment and services received by the patient to the patient’s insurer, or third party payer such as Medicare or Medicaid.

  Example: The Practice may send a copy of a patient’s procedure report or notes concerning a visit with the physician to the patient’s insurance company to justify a claim.

• Health Care Operations – Information about patients may be used by the Practice to review treatment and services, and in order to evaluate the performance of the staff. This includes quality assurance, peer review and credentialing, licensure and certification, as well as business planning and development. Patient medical information may also be used in training personnel and/or students affiliated with the practice.

  Example: The Practice may review charts to determine compliance with the treatment plan devised for the benefit of the patient.

2. The following is a description of the other purposes for which the Practice is permitted or required to use or disclose confidential information without the patient’s written authorization:
• Public Health Activities – The Practice may disclose your health information to public health authorities for purposes related to preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability; reporting problems with products and reactions to medications to the Food and Drug Administration, and reporting disease or infection exposure to appropriate agencies.
• Reporting About Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence – Certain federal, state, and civic laws and ordinances require health care workers to report instances of suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. The Practice will comply with such regulations.
• Disclosures for Health Oversight Activities - The Practice may disclose your health information to health agencies during the course of audits, investigations, inspections, licensure, and other proceedings.
• Judicial and Administrative Proceedings - The Practice may disclose your health information in the course of any administrative or judicial proceeding including responding to a subpoena for copies of the record.
• Disclosures for Law Enforcement Purposes - The Practice may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for purposes such as identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; complying with a court order or subpoena; and for other law enforcement purposes.
• Uses and Disclosures About Decedents - The Practice may disclose your health information to coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors.
• Uses and Disclosures for Cadaveric Organ, Eye, or Tissue Donation Purposes - The Practice may disclose your health information to organizations involved in procuring, banking, or transplanting organs and tissues.
• Disclosures to avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety - The Practice may disclose your health information to the appropriate persons in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or the general public.
• Uses and Disclosures for Specialized Government Functions - The Practice may disclose your health information to government officials including those involved with the military, homeland security, and the prison system.
3. Other uses and disclosures will be made only with the individual’s written authorization. The individual may revoke such authorization in writing at any time.

Separate Statements for Certain Uses or Disclosures

The Practice intends to make certain other uses or disclose your protected health information as follows:

1. Routine Patient Contact - The Practice may contact the individual to provide test reports, discuss treatment plans and referral arrangements, appointment reminders and scheduling, information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits, and services that may be of interest to the individual.
2. Notification and Communication with Family – The Practice may disclose your health information to a family member, your personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, to notify them about your location, your general condition, or your death. If you are able and available to agree or object, we will give you the opportunity to object prior to making this notification. If you are unable or unavailable to object, our health professionals will use their best judgment in communication with your family and others. Due to the nature of our practice, Cardiovascular Consultants, LLP, finds it impossible to commit to any restriction on the communication of protected health information to members of the patient’s family. If you would like to designate a personal representative, you may do so by submitting a written notice to the Practice. By designating a personal representative, you allow that person or persons the same privileges that would be afforded to you with respect to your protec ted health information. You may revoke the privileges of a personal representative by providing written notice to the Practice.
3. Research – The Practice may disclose your health information to researchers conducting research or preparing for a research project that has been approved by an Institutional Review Board. Practice representatives review patient’s records for eligibility for research projects. The patient’s physician and/or the Practice’s investigating physician reviews the selected charts and may approve or deny a patient for contact concerning a research project. With the physician’s approval, a patient may be contacted regarding a research project. A patient must give their consent to be accepted into a research project. Research Monitors audit the records of patients that are enrolled in research projects.
4. Worker’s Compensation and Disability Determinations – The Practice may disclose your health information as necessary to comply with worker’s compensation laws.
5. Marketing – The Practice may contact you to provide information about news and services that may be of interest to you.

Individual Rights

Under the law, each individual has certain rights with respect to protected health information. A brief synopsis and explanation of these rights follows:

1. Request Restrictions on Certain Uses and Disclosures - You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information. The Practice is not required to agree to the restriction that you requested.
2. Right to Receive Confidential Communications – You have the right to request a copy of confidential communications involving your protected health information. If your doctor believes that receiving any or all of the confidential communications might be detrimental to you, then your request to receive a copy of the confidential communications in your medical record may be refused. The Practice has at least 30 days, and may obtain a 30-day extension, from the date of your request to either provide the copy of the confidential communications to you or provide a reason for denying this request.
3. Right to Inspect and Copy Protected Health Information - You have a right to request a copy of the protected health information contained in your medical record. If your doctor believes that receiving any or all of the information contained in your medical record might be detrimental to you, then your request to receive a copy of the protected health information in your medical record may be refused. The Practice has at least 30 days, and may obtain a 30-day extension, from the date of your request to either provide the copy of your protected health information to you or provide a reason for denying this request.
4. Right to Amend Protected Health Information - If you believe your information is incorrect or incomplete, you may submit a written request for an amendment to your protected health information and the reason justifying such amendment. The Practice is not required to change your health information, and will provide you with information about a denial and how you can disagree with the denial. Reasons for denial may include that the record is accurate and complete, that it was not created by the Practice, or the person that created the record is no longer available to evaluate the amendment.
5. Right to Receive an Accounting of Disclosures of Protected Health Information - You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by the Practice, except that the Practice does not have to account for the disclosures for treatment, payment, health care operations, information provided to you, and information released in compliance with certain government regulations as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices. The Practice began accounting for disclosures on April 14, 2003. An accounting of disclosures made prior to this date will not be provided. You must submit a written request to receive an accounting of disclosures of your protected health information.
6. Right to Obtain a Paper Copy of the Notice - You have a right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices, upon request. A copy is available at the Practice’s front office or online at www.cardioconsult.com, or you may request that a copy be mailed to you.

Duties of Cardiovascular Consultants, LLP

1. The Practice is required by law to maintain the privacy of confidential information and provide individuals with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to such information.
2. The Practice is required to abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect.
3. The Practice reserves the right to change the terms of its Notice at any time in the future and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all confidential information that it maintains. Individuals seeking a copy of any future revised Notice may do so by calling or writing the Practice as noted below, requesting a copy in person at any Practice location during normal business hours, or by downloading it online at www.cardioconsult.com.

Complaints

Individuals may complain to the Practice and to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if they believe their privacy rights have been violated. The complaint must be in writing and include a brief description of how the individual believes their privacy rights have been violated. The Practice will not engage in any discriminatory or other retaliatory behavior against you because of this compliant.

The first step in the complaint process is to submit a written notice of how you believe your privacy rights were violated to the Practice in care of CEO/Administrator, Cardiovascular Consultants, LLP, P.O. Box 37388, Shreveport, Louisiana 71133-7388.

If you are not satisfied with the manner in which the Practice handles a complaint, you may submit a formal complaint to:

Contact Information

Effective Date