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| Privacy Policy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Serious Threat to Health or Safety | We may use and disclose protected health information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. |
| Required by Law | We will disclose protected health information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law. |
| Workers' Compensation | We may release protected health information about you for workers' compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness. |
| Public Health Matters | PFCS may be required to report your health information to authorities to help prevent or control disease, injury, or disability. This may require PFCS to report information about births, deaths, or suspected child/elder abuse or neglect. |
| Health Oversight Activities | We may disclose health information to individuals/agencies for the purpose of audits, investigations, inspections, or licensing purposes. These disclosures may be necessary for certain state and federal agencies to monitor PFCS and ensure compliance with government and civil rights laws. |
| Research | Any research conducted at PFCS would first require approval from PFCS’s Board of Directors to ensure that it meets the mission and ethical standards of the agency and is in the best interest of the individuals we serve. Any research that may be conducted at PFCS shall not identify any individual patient in any report of that research or otherwise disclose individual identities. |
| Military, Veterans, National Security | If you are or were a member of the armed forces, or part of the national security, we may be asked by military or government authorities to release protected health information about you |
| Law Enforcement/Lawsuits Court Services | We may release protected health information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process, subject to all applicable legal requirements. |
| Food and Drug Administration (FDA) | We may disclose health information about you to the FDA, or to an entity regulated by the FDA for example, in order to report an adverse event or a defect related to a drug or medical device. |
| Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence | PFCS may notify the appropriate government authorities if we believe a client has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will only make such disclosure if you agree or when required or authorized by law. |
| Death/Organ Donation | We may release health information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also disclose your health information to people involved with obtaining, storing or transplanting organs or tissue donations. |
| Emergencies | PFCS may use or disclose your protected health information in an emergency treatment situation. If an emergency occurs and treatment is given by law, your provider will notify you and will attempt to get your authorization as soon as possible. In case of a disaster we may be required to notify the appropriate disaster relief organizations, authorities, family, care givers, friends, to keep them aware of your health status, condition or location. |
| Minors | If you are an unemancipated minor under New York law, there may be circumstances in which we disclose health information about you to a parent, guardian, or other person acting in loco parentis, in accordance with our legal and ethical responsibilities. |
| Parent | If you are a parent of an unemancipated minor, and are acting as the minor’s personal representative, we may disclose health information about your child to you under certain circumstances. For example, if we are legally required to obtain your consent as your child’s personal representative in order for your child to receive care from us, we may disclose health information about your child to you. In some circumstances, we may not disclose health information about an unemancipated minor to you. For example, if child is legally authorized to consent to treatment (without separate consent from you), consents to such treatment, and does not request that you be treated as his or her personal representative, we may not disclose health information without your child’s written authorization. |
| Family/Friends/Caregivers | PFCS may disclose important health information about you to your family member, friend, caregiver, partner, relative, legal guardian or foster parent. We would make every attempt to gain your permission prior to disclosing information, but may need to notify any of the above persons responsible for your care in regards to your location, general condition, or death. In situations where you are not capable of giving consent (because you are not present or due to your incapacity or medical emergency), we may, using our professional judgment, determine that a disclosure to your family member or friend is in your best interest. In that situation, we will disclose only health information relevant to the person's involvement in your care. You have the right to object to such disclosure at any point in your care/treatment with PFCS, again unless there is an emergency. |
| Disaster Relief | We may disclose health information about you to government entities or private organizations (such as the Red Cross) to assist in disaster relief efforts. If you are available, we will provide you an opportunity to object before disclosing any such information. If you are unavailable because, for example, you are incapacitated, we will use our professional judgment to determine what is in your best interest and whether a disclosure may be necessary to ensure an adequate response to the emergency circumstances. |
OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION
Except for the above outlined areas, PFCS would request your written Authorization to release protected health information (PHI). At any time during your treatment or care with PFCS you may revoke your Authorization, in writing. If you would like to withdraw your Authorization please contact PFCS’S Privacy Officer who will provide you with the necessary paperwork to complete this withdrawal of authorization. Once completed, all written paperwork requests should be mailed to Privacy Officer at PFCS, 1808 Route 6, Carmel, NY 10512.
The written notice of breach will be sent by regular mail or by email if you indicated that you
prefer to receive communications from us by email. If the contact information we maintain
for you is insufficient or out-of -date, we may attempt to provide notice to you by telephone
or other permissible alternate method. We will also report the breach to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
Right to Request Restrictions
You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the protected health information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the health information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for it, like a family member or friend.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our office or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint. If you would like to file a complaint please contact PFCS’s Privacy Officer.
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact:
Deborah Flynn-Capalbo
Privacy Officer
1808 Route 6
Carmel, NY 10512
(845) 225-2700 ext 131
Fax# (845) 225-3207
dCapalbo@pfcsinc.org