NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THIS<\/strong> <\/strong>NOTICE<\/strong> <\/strong>DESCRIBES<\/strong> <\/strong>HOW<\/strong> <\/strong>MEDICAL<\/strong> <\/strong>INFORMATION<\/strong> <\/strong>ABOUT<\/strong> <\/strong>YOU<\/strong> <\/strong>MAY<\/strong> <\/strong>BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.<\/strong> OUR LEGAL DUTY<\/p>\n\n\n\n The University of the Pacific is a Hybrid Entity. In accordance with the\nHealth Insurance and Portability Act (\u201cHIPAA\u201d) our Designated Healthcare Components are required by law to maintain the privacy of your\nprotected health information. We are required\nto give you this notice\nabout our privacy\npractices (\u201cNotice\u201d), our legal duties, your rights concerning\nyour protected health information, and to notify affected individuals following\na breach of unsecured protected health information. We must follow\nthe privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This Notice takes effect April\n14, 2003 and will remain\nin effect until we replace\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We reserve the right to change our privacy practices\nand the terms of this Notice\nat any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make these changes\neffective for all health information that we maintain, including health\ninformation we created or received before we made the changes. Before we make a\nsignificant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice,\nand post the new Notice\nclearly and prominently, and will make the new\nNotice available upon request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information\nabout our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please\ncontact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n USES AND\nDISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION<\/p>\n\n\n\n We use and disclose protected health information about you for treatment,\npayment, and Healthcare operations. Some information may be entitled to special\nconfidentiality protections under applicable state or federal law. We will\nabide by these special protections as they pertain to applicable cases\ninvolving these types of records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treatment: <\/strong>We may use or\ndisclose your protected health information for treatment purposes. For example,\nwe may disclose information about your last appointment to a specialist also\ntreating you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Payment: <\/strong>We may use and disclose\nyour protected health\ninformation to obtain payment for services we provide to\nyou. For example, we may send claims to your health plan containing protected\nhealth information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Healthcare Operations: <\/strong>We may\nuse and disclose your protected health information in connection with our\nhealthcare operations. For example, our healthcare operations include quality\nassessment and improvement activities, reviewing the competence or\nqualifications of healthcare professionals, evaluating practitioner and provider\nperformance, conducting training\nprograms, accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities. As an educational institution your protected\nhealth information may be accessed by students, residents, faculty and staff of\nthe university during the course of clinical operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friends, Family, and Persons\nInvolved in Your Care: <\/strong>We may disclose your protected health information to\nyour family, friends or any other individual identified by you when they are\ninvolved in your care or the payment of your care. Additionally, if a person\nhas the authority by law to make health care decisions for you, we will treat\nthat personal representative the same way we Disaster Relief: <\/strong>We may use or disclose\nyour protected health information to assist in disaster relief efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketing Health-Related Services: <\/strong>We will not\nuse your protected health information for marketing communications without your\nwritten authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Required by Law: <\/strong>We may use or disclose\nyour protected health information when we are required to do so by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Public Health Activities: <\/strong>We may\ndisclose your protected health information for public health activities,\nincluding disclosures to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prevent or\ncontrol disease, injury or disability; Report child abuse or neglect;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Report reactions\nto medications or problems with products or devices; Notify a person of a\nrecall, repair, or replacement of products or devices; Notify a person who may\nhave been exposed to a disease or condition; or<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notify the\nappropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of\nabuse, neglect, or domestic violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n National Security: <\/strong>We may disclose to military authorities the protected health information of Armed Forces\npersonnel under certain circumstances. We may disclose to authorized federal\nofficials protected health\ninformation required for lawful intelligence,\ncounterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may disclose to correctional institutions, or law enforcement officials having\nlawful custody, the protected health information of an inmate or patient under\ncertain circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Secretary of the Department of\nHealth and Human Services (\u201cHHS\u201d): <\/strong>We will disclose your protected\nhealth information to the Secretary of HHS when required to investigate or\ndetermine compliance with HIPAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Worker\u2019s Compensation: <\/strong>We may disclose your protected health information to the extent authorized by, and to the extent necessary to, comply with laws relating to worker\u2019s compensation or other similar programs established by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Law Enforcement: <\/strong>We may\ndisclose your protected health information for law enforcement purposes as\npermitted by HIPAA, as required by law, or in response to a subpoena or court\norder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Health Oversight Activities: <\/strong>We\nmay disclose your protected health information to an oversight agency for\nactivities authorized by law. These oversight activities include audits,\ninvestigations, inspections and credentialing, as necessary for licensure, and\nfor the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and\ncompliance with civil rights laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judicial and Administrative\nProceedings: <\/strong>If you are involved in a lawsuit or dispute, we may disclose\nyour protected health information in response to a court or administrative order.\nWe may also disclose protected\nhealth information about you in response\nto a subpoena, discovery request,\nor other lawful process\ninstituted by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have\nbeen made, either by the requesting party or us, to tell you about the request\nor to obtain an order protecting the information requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research: <\/strong>We may disclose your\nprotected health information to researchers when their research has been\napproved by our institutional review board (IRB). Our IRB will review the\nresearch proposal and confirm protocols to ensure the privacy of your\ninformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors: <\/strong>We may release\nyour protected health information to a coroner or medical examiner. This\nmay be necessary, for example,\nto identify a deceased person\nor to determine the cause of\ndeath. We may also disclose\nprotected health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law\nto enable them to carry out their duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fundraising: <\/strong>We may contact\nyou to provide you with information about our sponsored activities, including fundraising programs, as permitted\nby applicable law. If you do\nnot wish to receive such information from us, you may opt out of receiving these communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Appointment Reminders: <\/strong>We may\ndisclose your protected health information to provide you with appointment reminders\n(such as voicemails messages, postcards, or letters).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other Uses and Disclosures of\nProtected Health Information: <\/strong>Your written authorization is required for the sale of your protected health\ninformation, for use or disclosure for marketing purposes,\nand for most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes. We will also obtain your written\nauthorization before using or disclosing your protected health\ninformation for purposes other than those provided for in this Notice (or as\notherwise permitted or required by law). You may revoke an authorization in\nwriting at any time. Upon receipt of the written revocation, we will stop using\nor disclosing your protected health information, except to the extent that we\nhave already taken action in reliance on the\nauthorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n YOUR HEALTH\nINFORMATION RIGHTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n Access: <\/strong>You have the right to\nlook at or get copies of your protected health information, with limited exceptions. You must make the request\nin writing. If you\nrequest information that we maintain electronically, you have the right to an\nelectronic copy. We will use the format you request\nunless we cannot practically\ndo so. We reserve the right to charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for\nexpenses such as supplies and labor. If you prefer, we will prepare a summary\nor an explanation of your protected health\ninformation for a fee. Contact\nus using the information\nlisted at the end of this Notice for more information. If we deny your request\nfor access, you have the right to have the denial reviewed in accordance with\nthe requirements of applicable law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disclosure Accounting: <\/strong>You have the right to receive a list of instances in which we or our business associates disclosed your protected health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, healthcare operations and certain other activities, for the last 6 years. You must submit your request in writing to the Privacy Officer. <\/strong>If you request this accounting more than once in a 12-month period, we may charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to these additional requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Restriction: <\/strong>You have the\nright to request that we place additional restrictions on our use or disclosure\nof your protected health information by submitting a written request\nto the Privacy Officer. Your written request\nmust include (1) what\ninformation you want to limit,\n(2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both, and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply. If we\nagree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to\nprovide you with emergency treatment. We are not required to agree to your\nrequest except in the case where the disclosure is to a health plan for\npurposes of carrying out payment or healthcare operations, and the information pertains\nsolely to a health\ncare item or service for which you, or a person on your behalf (other than the\nhealth plan), has paid in full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alternative Communication: <\/strong>You\nhave the right to request that we communicate with you about your protected\nhealth information by alternative means or at alternative locations. You must\nmake your request in writing. Your request must specify\nthe alternative means\nor location, and provide satisfactory explanation of how payments\nwill be handled under the alternative means or location you request. We will\naccommodate all reasonable requests. However, if we are unable to contact you\nusing the ways or locations you have requested we may contact you using the\ninformation we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amendment: <\/strong>You have the right to request that we amend your protected\nhealth information. Your request must be in writing, and it must explain why the information should be amended. We may deny your request under\ncertain circumstances. If we agree\nto your request, we will amend your record(s) and notify you of such. If we deny your request for an amendment, we will provide you with a\nwritten explanation of why and\nexplain your rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notification of Breach: <\/strong>You\nwill receive notifications of breaches of your unsecured protected health\ninformation as required by law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Electronic Notice: <\/strong>If you\nreceive this Notice on our website or by electronic mail (e-mail), you are\nentitled to receive a paper copy of this Notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want more information about our privacy practices or have\nquestions or concerns, please contact us. If you are concerned that we may have\nviolated your privacy rights or you disagree with a decision we made regarding\nyour protected health information, such as access, amendment, restriction or\nany other right mentioned in this notice, you may complain to us using the\ncontact information listed at the end of this Notice. You also may submit a\nwritten complaint to HHS. We will provide you with the address to file your\ncomplaint with HHS upon request. We support your right to the privacy of your\nprotected health information. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to\nfile a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human\nServices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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would treat you with respect\nto your personal\nhealth information. We may use or\ndisclose health information to notify, or assist in the notification of\n(including identifying or locating) a family member,\nyour personal representative or another person\nresponsible for your care, of your location, your general condition, or death.\nIf you are present, then prior to use or disclosure of your health information,\nwe will provide you with an opportunity to object to such uses or disclosures. In the event\nof your incapacity or emergency circumstances, we will disclose\nhealth information based on a determination using our professional judgment,\ndisclosing only health information that is directly relevant to the person\u2019s\ninvolvement in your healthcare. We will also use our professional judgment and\nour experience with common practice to make reasonable inferences of your best interest in allowing a person to pick up filled prescriptions, medical supplies, x-rays,\nor other similar forms of health information.<\/p>\n\n\n\nQUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Contact information:<\/h1>\n\n\n\n