Terms of Usage
By using this site you agree that the content contained within is for educational use only. Nothing within this site or its associated links is to be used for self care, treatment and/or diagnosis of illness or disease. You agree to seek all evaluations and treatments though a licensed medial provider.
It is understood by your usage of this site that the services and licensure titles of select providers vary between state controlled jurisdictions, where INEWMED operates and/or provides services.
Full Disclosure of Title Usage as granted by States where INEWMED provides services:
It is understood by you: That some services may not be available at all service locations and that services provided by one provider as granted by one State's jurisdiction may be obtained by the use of multiple providers within the jurisdiction of another State where INEWMED provides services.
It is understood that:
The Tile of “D.O.M.” denotes “Doctor of Oriental Medicine” and is used by providers licensed in the state of Arkansas or the State of New Mexico
The Title of “AP” denotes “Acupuncture Physician” and is used by providers licensed in the State of Florida.
The Title of “CA” denotes “Certified Acupuncturist” and is used by providers licensed in the State of Washington.
Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective
Date: Month
November
2006
THIS NOTICE
DESCRIBES
HOW YOUR
MEDICAL INFORMATION
MAY BE USED
AND DISCLOSED
AND HOW YOU
CAN GET ACCESS
TO THIS INFORMATION.
PLEASE REVIEW
IT CAREFULLY. PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR PRACTITIONERS PRACTICE
IN MULTIPLE
STATES, WHERE
LICENSURE
AND SCOPE
OF PRACTICE
MAY DIFFER.
IF YOU HAVE
ANY QUESTION
CONCERNING
THIS MATTER
PLEASE DO
NOT HESITATE
TO ASK.
This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how Institute of New Medicine, its medical staff members, employees, volunteers and clinics may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) for purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations, and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law.
I. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:
Institute of New Medicine takes the privacy of you / your child’s health information seriously. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information and provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices. We will abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
We reserve the right to change this Notice of Privacy Practices and to make any new Notice of Privacy Practices effective for all protected health information that we maintain.
II. WHAT IS “PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION” (PHI)?
Protected health information (“PHI”) is demographic and individually identifiable health information that will or may identify the patient and relates to the patient's past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services.
III. WHAT DOES “HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS” INCLUDE?
Health care operations include activities such as communications among heath care providers, conducting quality assessment and improvement activities; making travel arrangements to and from Institute of New Medicine; coordinating temporary housing; evaluating the qualifications, competence, and performance of health care professionals; training future health care professionals; contracting with insurance companies: conducting medical review and auditing services; compiling and analyzing information in anticipation of or for use in legal proceedings; and general administrative and business functions.
IV. HOW IS MEDICAL INFORMATION USED?
Institute of New Medicine uses medical records as a way of recording health information, planning care and treatment and as a tool for routine health care operations. Your insurance company may request information such as procedure and diagnosis information that we are required to submit in order to bill for treatment we provide to the patient. Other health care providers or health plans reviewing your records must follow the same confidentiality laws and rules required of Institute of New Medicine.
Patient records are also a valuable tool used by our researchers in finding the best possible treatment for diseases and medical conditions. All Institute of New Medicine researchers must follow the same rules and laws that other health care providers are required to follow to ensure the privacy of patient information. Information that may identify patients will not be released for research purposes to anyone outside of Institute of New Medicine without written authorization from the patient or the patient's parent or legal guardian.
V. EXAMPLES OF HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED FOR TREATMENT, PAYMENT OR HEALTHCARE OPERATIONS
Medical information may be used to justify needed patient care services, (i.e., lab tests, prescriptions, treatment protocols, research inclusion criteria).
We will use medical information to establish a treatment plan.
We may disclose protected health information to another provider for treatment (i.e. referring physicians, specialists and providers at Institute of New Medicine’s Domestic Affiliate Clinics.)
We may submit claims to your insurance company containing medical information and we may contact their utilization review department to receive pre-certification (prior approval for treatment).
We may use the emergency contact information you provided to contact you if the address of record is no longer accurate.
We may contact you to remind you of the patient's appointment by calling you or mailing a postcard.
We may contact you to discuss treatment alternatives or other health related benefits that may be of interest.
We may use information for making travel arrangements to and from Institute of New Medicine.
We may use information to coordinate temporary housing facilities.
VI. WHY DO I HAVE TO SIGN A CONSENT FORM?
When you, as the patient or the parent or guardian of a patient, sign a consent form, you are giving Institute of New Medicine permission to use and disclose protected health information for the purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations. This permission does not include psychotherapy notes, psychosocial information, alcoholism and drug abuse treatment records and other privileged categories of information which require a separate authorization. You will need to sign a separate authorization to have protected health information released for any reason other than treatment, payment or healthcare operations.
VII. WHAT ARE PSYCHOTHERAPY NOTES?
Psychotherapy notes are notes recorded (in any medium) by a mental health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of conversation during a private counseling session or a group, joint, or family counseling session that are separated from the rest of the patient’s medical record. Psychotherapy notes exclude medication prescription and monitoring, counseling session start and stop times, modalities and frequencies of treatment furnished, results of clinical tests, and any summary of the following items: diagnosis, functional status, the treatment plan, symptoms, prognosis, and progress to date.
VIII. WHAT IS PSYCHOSOCIAL INFORMATION?
Psychosocial information is information provided to your social worker regarding your family's social history and counseling services you have received.
IX. WHY DO I HAVE TO SIGN A SEPARATE AUTHORIZATION FORM?
In order to release patient protected health information for any reason other than treatment, payment and health care operations, we must have an authorization signed by the patient or the parent or guardian of the patient that clearly explains how they wish the information to be used and disclosed. The following are some examples of releases of information that require a separate authorization:
Psychotherapy Notes
Psychosocial information
Use of information in scientific and educational publications, presentations and materials related to the work at Institute of New Medicine
The sharing of information with other clinical and scientific Cooperative Groups that Institute of New Medicine collaborates with to further its mission of finding cures for children with catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.
X. CAN I CHANGE MY MIND AND REVOKE AN AUTHORIZATION?
You may change your mind and revoke an authorization, except (1) to the extent that we have relied on the authorization up to that point, (2) the information is needed to maintain the integrity of the research study, or (3) if the authorization was obtained as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage. All requests to revoke an authorization should be in writing.
XI. INCLUSION IN THE HOSPITAL DIRECTORY
Institute of New Medicine may include certain limited information about the patient in our hospital directory while the patient is in the hospital. This information may include the patient's name, location in the hospital, general condition (e.g., good, fair, etc.) and religious affiliation. The hospital location may also include directory information for Target House, Ronald McDonald House and / or local hotels. This information may be provided to members of the clergy and, except for religious affiliation, to other people who ask for the patient by name. For example, if Institute of New Medicine receives a patient inquiry and the caller asks for the patient by name, Institute of New Medicine will attempt to transfer the caller to the patient's inpatient location or we may provide the appropriate main switchboard telephone number. If you do not wish to be in the Hospital Directory, please request a Directory Opt Out Form.
XII. SHARING INFORMATION There are some services provided at Institute of New Medicine through contracts with business associates. Examples include billing services, transcription services, making travel arrangements to or from Institute of New Medicine and coordinating temporary housing. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to the business associate so that they can perform the job we have contracted them to do. To protect your health information, we contractually require our business associates to follow the same confidentiality laws required of Institute of New Medicine.
XIII. WHEN IS MY AUTHORIZATION / CONSENT NOT REQUIRED?
The law requires that some information may be disclosed without your authorization in the following circumstances:
In case of an emergency
When there are communication or language barriers
When required by law
When there are risks to public health
To conduct health oversight activities
To report suspected child abuse or neglect
To specified government regulatory agencies
In connection with judicial or administrative proceedings
For law enforcement purposes
To coroners, funeral directors, and for organ donation
In the event of a serious threat to health or safety
XIV. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
The following is a statement of your rights with respect to your protected health information and a brief description of how you may exercise these rights.
1. You have the right to inspect and copy your health information.
This means you may inspect and obtain a copy of your PHI that is contained in a “designated record set” for so long as we maintain the PHI. A designated record set contains medical and billing records and any other records that Institute of New Medicine uses in making decisions about your healthcare. You may not however, inspect or copy the following records: psychotherapy and psychosocial notes; information compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or use in, a civil, criminal or administrative action or proceeding, and certain PHI that is subject to laws that prohibit access to that PHI. Depending on the circumstances, a decision to deny access may be reviewable. In some circumstances, you may have the right to have this decision reviewed. Please contact our Privacy Officer if you have questions about access to your medical record.
2. You have the right to request a restriction of your health information.
This means you may ask us to restrict or limit the medical information we use or disclose for the purposes of treatment, payment or healthcare operations. Institute of New Medicine is not required to agree to a restriction that you may request. We will notify you if we deny your request. If we do agree to the requested restriction, we may not use or disclose your PHI in violation of that restriction unless it is needed to provide emergency treatment. You may request a restriction by contacting our Privacy Officer.
3. Your have the right to request to receive confidential communications by alternative means or at alternative locations.
We will accommodate reasonable requests. We may also condition this accommodation by asking you for an alternative address or other method of contact. We will not request an explanation from you as the basis for the request. Requests must be made in writing to our Privacy Officer.
4. You have the right to request amendments to your health information.
This means you may request an amendment of PHI about you in a designated record set for as long as we maintain this information. In certain cases, we may deny your request for an amendment. If we deny your request, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with our Privacy Office and we may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy of this rebuttal. If you wish to amend your PHI, please contact our Privacy Officer. Requests for amendment must be in writing.
5. You have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information.
You have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures of your PHI made by Institute of New Medicine. This right applies to disclosures for purposes other than treatment, payment or healthcare operations as described in this Privacy Notice. We are also not required to account for disclosures that you requested, disclosures that you agreed to by signing an authorization form, disclosures for our Hospital Directory, to family or friends involved in your care, or certain other disclosures we are permitted to make without your authorization. The request for an accounting must be made in writing to our Privacy Officer. The request should specify the time period sought for the accounting. We are not required to provide an accounting for disclosures that take place prior to April 14, 2003. Accounting requests may not be made for periods of time in excess of six years.
6. You have the right to receive a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
XV. WHAT IF I HAVE A QUESTION / COMPLAINT?
If you have questions regarding your privacy rights, please contact the Institute of New Medicine Privacy Officer at (206)624-4777. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint by contacting the Institute of New Medicine Privacy Officer (206) 624-4777, through the Confidential Hot Line (206)624-4777. , via email at info@inewmed.com, or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
