NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW INFORMATION ABOUT YOU AND YOUR TREATMENT MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
This organization is required by law to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of your health information and to notify you of its legal duties and privacy practices regarding your health information. Please also respect the privacy of others you encounter in treatment.
General Information:
Information regarding your health care, including payment for health care, is protected by two federal laws: the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), 42 U.S.C. & 1320d et seq., 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 & 164, and the Confidentiality Law, 42 U.S.C & 290dd-2, 42 C.F.R. Part 2. Under these laws, Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc may not say to a person outside Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc that you attend the program, nor may Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc disclose any information except as permitted by federal law.
Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc must obtain your written consent before it can disclose information about you for the payment process. For example, Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc must obtain your written consent before it can disclose information to your health insurer in order to be paid for services. Generally, you must also sign a written consent before Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc can share information for treatment purposes or for health care operations. However, federal law permits Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc to disclose information without your written permission:
Pursuant to an agreement with a Qualified Service Organization.
To report a crime committed on Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc’s premises or against Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc personnel.
To medical personnel in a medical emergency.
To appropriate authorities to report suspected child abuse or neglect.
As allowed by a court order.
For example, Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc can disclose information without your consent to obtain legal or financial services, or to another medical facility to provide health care to you, as long as there is a Qualified Service Organization Agreement in place. Before Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc can use or disclose any information about your health in a manner that is not described above, it must obtain your specific written consent allowing it to make the disclosure. Any such written consent may be revoked by you in writing.
Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc collects health information about you and stores it in an electronic health record. This is your medical record. The medical record is the property of Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc, however, the information in the medical record belongs to you. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires our agency to maintain the privacy of your medical record. HIPAA generally requires that any uses or disclosures of information in your medical record be limited to the minimum necessary for the uses or disclosures. HIPAA also provides you certain rights concerning the information in your medical record which is described below.
Information relating to your treatment is protected by federal regulations specific to drug and alcohol treatment, which are known as 42 CFR Part 2. These regulations protect the confidentiality of information relating to the identity, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of any person in a drug or alcohol treatment program. Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc may not disclose records relating to your treatment without your written consent, except in narrowly limited circumstances. Under 42 CFR Pt 2, the terms of written consent to disclose information must specify the scope and types of information to be disclosed, the parties to whom the information may be disclosed, the purpose of the disclosure, and the timeframe of the consent. You may revoke your consent to disclose information relating to drugs and alcohol in writing at any time.
At Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc, we ask for your written consent to disclose treatment information for certain purposes, including releasing treatment information to or obtaining information from your other medical providers, obtaining payment from insurance or other payors, contacting your family and/or support persons either for treatment purposes or in the case of a medical or another emergency. Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc will not disclose your treatment information for these purposes without your written consent.
Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc may disclose treatment information without your written consent under certain narrow circumstances as permitted by 42 CFR Part 2. For treatment purposes, Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc is permitted to use and disclose treatment information internally and to entities with which it shares administrative control. Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc staff may disclose treatment information to outside auditors, regulatory agencies, and evaluators for certain research purposes. Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc may disclose treatment information without your written consent when necessary, in a life-threatening medical emergency, and may disclose to report a crime on the premises or against personnel. Lastly, information may be disclosed without consent where the state mandates child abuse and neglect reporting; when the cause of death is being reported; or when required by a valid court order that contains specifically required findings. Our Alumni staff may contact you to share information about your treatment experience or to send you reminder notices of future events.
Your Health Information Rights
In addition to protecting privacy and confidentiality, HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 afford you the following rights concerning your medical record and drug or alcohol treatment information:
You have the right to a paper copy of this written notice of the agency’s privacy practices.
You have a right to request a copy of your treatment record or to receive your health information through a reasonable alternative means or at an alternative location. The agency requires that all such requests be put in writing. A reasonable fee will be charged for copying your health information.
You have a right to request that the agency amends health information that is incorrect or incomplete. If the agency determines not to amend the health information, it will provide you with an explanation of the reason for the denial and your right to disagree with the denial.
You have a right to request restrictions on otherwise permitted uses and disclosures of your health information. The agency is not obligated to comply with such requests.
You may request that we provide you with a written accounting of all disclosures made by us during a specific period (not to exceed 6 years). We ask that such requests be made in writing on a form provided by our facility. Please note that an accounting will not apply to any of the following types of disclosures: disclosures made with your written consent for reasons of treatment, payment, or health care operations; disclosures made to you or your legal representative, or any other individual involved with your care. You will not be charged for your first accounting request in any 12-month period. However, for any requests that you make thereafter, you will be charged a reasonable, cost-based fee
Your health information cannot be given to your employer, used, or shared for things like sales calls or advertising unless you give your permission by signing a consent form. You must cancel your authorization in writing. The authorization form will give you instructions on where to send the written notice or will direct you to another place to find this information.
You have the right to correct any mistakes in your health information. Any request to change a health record must be submitted in writing.
You have a right to revoke a consent from one or more parties and leave the rest of the consent in effect.
Changes to this Notice of Privacy Practices
We reserve the right to improve this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time moving forward and make the new provisions effective for all information that it maintains, including information that was created or received before the date of such modification. Until an amendment is made, we remain in compliance with this Notice as required by law. If our privacy practices change, we will provide all current and forthcoming clients with a copy of the revised Notice of Privacy Practices
Complaints Regarding Privacy Practices
Complaints about this Notice of Privacy Practices and/or handling your health information should be directed to:
Lake Cumberland Recovery, Inc.
81 W Highway 80 Ste A
Somerset, KY 42503
606-341-1160