It is our legal duty to protect the privacy and security of your information. We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information. We are providing this notice so that we can explain our privacy practices. We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice or the current notice in effect.

Hospitals make and keep records of medical information. While you are a patient here, we will use and disclose your medical information:

To provide treatment to you and to keep a record describing your care
To receive payment for the care we provide
To administer the hospital properly
To comply with law

This notice summarizes the ways we may use and disclose medical information about you. It also describes your rights and our duties regarding the use and disclosure of your medical information. This notice applies to all records of your care at Mother and child Hospital, whether made by hospital personnel or by your personal doctor. Your doctor and other health care providers may use a different notice and policy regarding the use and disclosure of your medical information in their offices.

When we use the word “we” or “Hospital” we mean Mother and child Hospital, the Medical Staff of Mother and child Hospital, medical professionals and other parties who assist us in our business.

We are required by law:

To keep your medical information confidential in accordance with legal requirements
To give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your medical information
To follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect

Persons covered by this notice

All employees, staff and other Hospital personnel
Persons or entities performing services for the Hospital under agreements containing privacy protections or to which disclosure of medical information is permitted by law
Persons or entities with whom the Hospital participates in managed care arrangements
Our volunteers and medical, nursing and other health care students
Members of the Hospital Medical Staff and other medical professionals involved in your care or performing peer review, quality improvement, medical education and other services for the Hospital

Uses and disclosures of your medical information

We use and disclose medical information in the ways described below.

Treatment. We may use your medical information to provide medical treatment or services to you. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical, nursing or other health care students, or other personnel taking care of you. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietitian if you have diabetes so you can have appropriate meals. Departments of the Hospital may share your medical information to schedule the tests and procedures you need, such as prescriptions, laboratory tests and x-rays. We also may disclose your medical information to health care facilities if you need to be transferred from the Hospital to another hospital, a nursing home, a home health provider or a rehabilitation center. We also may disclose your medical information to people outside the Hospital who are involved in your care after you leave the Hospital such as family members or pharmacists.

Payment. We may use and disclose your medical information so that the treatment and services you receive can be billed and collected from you, an insurance company or another third party. For example, we may give your health plan information about surgery you received so your health plan will pay us for the surgery. We also may tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive in order to obtain prior approval from your plan to cover payment for the treatment.

Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose your medical information for Hospital operations, such as for peer review, performance improvement, risk management, and our compliance with licensure, accreditation or certification requirements. For example, we may disclose your medical information to physicians on our Medical Staff who review treatment of patients. We may disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical, nursing or other health care students, and Hospital personnel for teaching. We may combine medical information about many patients to decide what services the Hospital should offer, and whether new services are cost effective and how we compare with other hospitals. Sometimes, we may remove identifying information from this medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who you are. We may disclose information to other health care providers involved in your treatment to permit them to carry out the work of their facility or to get paid. For example, we may provide information about your treatment to an ambulance company that brought you to the Hospital so that the ambulance company can get paid for their services.