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Select Medical Corporation's Notice of Privacy Practices
Effective April 14, 2003
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED
AND HOW YOU CAN OBTAIN ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
The terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices apply to Select Medical Corporation
and each of its subsidiaries, affiliates, and entities managed or controlled by
Select Medical, including the corporate office and its employees. All of the entities
will share personal health information of patients as necessary to carry out treatment,
payment, and health care operations as permitted by law.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of our patients’ personal health
information and to provide patients with notice of our legal duties and privacy
practices with respect to personal health information. We are required to abide
by the terms of this Notice for as long as it remains in effect. We reserve the
right to change the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices as necessary and to
make a new Notice effective for all personal health information maintained by Select
Medical Corporation. We are also required to inform you that there may be a provision
of State law that relates to the privacy of your health information that may be
more stringent than a standard or requirement under the Federal Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act. A copy of any revised Notice of Privacy Practices
or information pertaining to a specific State law may be obtained by mailing a request
to the Privacy Officer, Select Medical Corporation, 4716 Old Gettysburg Road, Mechanicsburg,
PA 17055.
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION
Authorization and Consent: Except as outlined below, we
will not use or disclose your personal health information for any purpose other
than treatment, payment or health care operations unless you have signed a form
authorizing the use or disclosure. You have the right to revoke that authorization
in writing unless we have taken any action in reliance on the authorization.
Uses and Disclosures for Treatment: With your agreement,
we will make uses and disclosures of your personal health information as necessary
for your treatment. Doctors and nurses and other professionals involved in your
care will use information in your medical record and information that you provide
about your symptoms and reactions to your course of treatment that may include procedures,
medications, tests, medical history etc.
Uses and Disclosures for Payment: With your agreement,
we will make uses and disclosures of your personal health information as necessary
for payment purposes. During the normal course of business operations, we may forward
information regarding your medical procedures and treatment to your insurance company
to arrange payment for the services provided to you. We may use your information
to prepare a bill to send to you or to the person responsible for your payment.
Uses and Disclosures for Health Care Operations: With
your agreement, we will use and disclose your personal health information as necessary,
and as permitted by law, for our health care operations, which may include clinical
improvement, professional peer review, business management, accreditation and licensing,
etc. For instance, we may use and disclose your personal health information for
purposes of improving the clinical treatment and patient care.
Individuals Involved In Your Care: With your written agreement
we may from time to time disclose your personal health information to designated
family, friends, and others who are involved in your care or in payment of your
care in order to facilitate that person’s involvement in caring for you or paying
for your care. If you are unavailable, incapacitated, or facing an emergency medical
situation and we determine that a limited disclosure may be in your best interest,
we may share limited personal health information with involved individuals without
your approval. We may also disclose limited personal health information to a public
or private entity that is authorized to assist in disaster relief efforts in order
for that entity to locate a family member or other persons that may be involved
in some aspect of caring for you.
Business Associates: Certain aspects and components of
our services are performed through contracts with outside persons or organizations,
such as auditing, accreditation, outcomes data collection, legal services, etc.
At times it may be necessary for us to provide your personal health information
to one or more of these outside persons or organizations who assist us with our
health care operations. In all cases, we require these business associates to appropriately
safeguard the privacy of your information.
Appointments and Services: We may contact you to provide
appointment reminders or information about your treatment or other health-related
benefits and services that may be of interest to you. You have the right to request
and we will accommodate reasonable requests by you to receive communications regarding
your personal health information from us by alternative means or at alternative
locations. For instance, if you wish appointment reminders to not be left on voice
mail or sent to a particular address, we will accommodate reasonable requests. You
also have the right to request that we not send you any future marketing materials
and we will use our best efforts to honor such request. You may make your requests
by sending your name and address to Privacy Officer, P.O. Box 2034, Mechanicsburg,
PA 17055.
Research: In limited circumstances, we may use and disclose
your personal health information for research purposes. In all cases where your
specific authorization is not obtained, your privacy will be protected by strict
confidentiality requirements applied by an Institutional review board which oversees
the research or by representations of the researchers that limit their use and disclosure
of patient information.
Other Uses and Disclosures: We are permitted and/or required
by law to make certain other uses and disclosures of your personal health information
without your consent or authorization for the following:
- any purpose required by law.
- public health activities, such as required reporting of disease, injury, birth and
death, or required public health investigations.
- if we suspect child abuse or neglect; if we believe you to be a victim of abuse,
neglect, or domestic violence.
- to the Food and Drug Administration to report adverse events, product defects, or
to participate in product recalls.
- to your employer when we have provided health care to you at the request of your
employer;
- to a government oversight agency conducting audits, investigations, or civil or
criminal proceedings.
- court or administrative ordered subpoena or discovery request;
- to law enforcement officials as required by law to report wounds and injuries and
crimes;
- to coroners and/or funeral directors consistent with law;
- if necessary to arrange an organ or tissue donation from you or a transplant for
you;
- if you are a member of the military; we may also release your personal health information
for national security or intelligence activities;
- to workers’ compensation agencies for workers’ compensation benefit determination.
RIGHTS THAT YOU HAVE REGARDING YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION
Access to Your Personal Health Information: You have the
right to copy and/or inspect much of the personal health information that we retain
on your behalf. All requests for access must be made in writing and signed by you
or your legal representative. You may obtain a “Patient Access to Health Information
Form” from the front office person.
Amendments to Your Personal Health Information: You have
the right to request in writing that personal health information that we maintain
about you be amended or corrected. We are not obligated to make all requested amendments
but will give each request careful consideration. All amendment requests, must be
in writing, signed by you or your legal representative, and must state the reasons
for the amendment/correction request. If an amendment or correction request is made,
we may notify others who work with us if we believe that such notification is necessary.
You may obtain an “Amendment Request Form” from the front office person or individual
responsible for medical records.
Accounting for Disclosures of Your Personal Health Information:
You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures made by us of
your personal health information after April 14, 2003. Requests must be made in
writing and signed by you or your legal representative. “Accounting Request Forms”
are available from the front office person or individual responsible for medical
records. The first accounting in any 12-month period is free; you will be charged
a fee for each sub sequent accounting you request within the same 12-month period.
You will be notified of the fee at the time of your request.
Restrictions on Use and Disclosure of Your Personal Health Information:
You have the right to request restrictions on uses and disclosures of your personal
health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not
required to agree to your restriction request, but will attempt to accommodate reasonable
requests when appropriate. We retain the right to terminate an agreed-to restriction
if we believe such termination is appropriate. In the event of a termination by
us, we will notify you of such termination. You also have the right to terminate,
in writing or orally, any agreed-to restriction by sending such termination notice
to the individual responsible for medical records.
Workers’ Compensation: For patients whose medical treatment
is covered under a state workers’ compensation program, please note the following:
Disclosure of your protected health information (PHI) for purposes of providing
treatment and obtaining payment under the state’s workers’ compensation is governed
by the state workers’ compensation regulations and procedures. Therefore, we are
not obligated to secure a written authorization as otherwise required by HIPAA in
order to disclose your PHI for workers’ compensation purposes, nor may you restrict
our use or disclosure of your PHI for workers’ compensation purposes. Written consent
to use or disclose your PHI may be required pursuant to our internal policies and/or
state workers’ compensation program rules in order to process your claims. Failure
to provide any required written consent may result in your financial liability for
medical services and supplies.
Complaints: If you believe your privacy rights have been
violated, you can file a complaint in writing with the Privacy Officer, Select Medical
Corporation, P.O. Box 2034, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 You may also file a complaint
with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington
D.C. in writing within 180 days of a violation of your rights. There will be no
retaliation for filing a complaint.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: If you have questions or need
further assistance regarding this Notice, you may contact the Privacy Officer, Select
Medical Corporation, P.O. Box 2034, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.
Select Medical Corporation
Web Site Privacy Policy
Select Medical Corporation ("Select," "we" or "us") takes your privacy seriously.
In recognition of your concerns about the privacy of your personal information on
the Internet and World Wide Web, we have developed this Privacy Policy to demonstrate
our commitment to your privacy.
What this Privacy Policy Covers
- This Privacy Policy covers Select's treatment of personally identifiable information
that we collect when you are on the Select Medical Corporation Website, including
the websites of any Select Medical Corporation affiliate or subsidiary (collectively,
the "Site"). This policy also covers Select's treatment of any personally identifiable
information that our business partners share with us or that we may collect on a
partner's site.
- This policy does not apply to the practices of companies that Select does not own
or control, or to people that Select does not employ or manage.
The Information We Collect
- We may collect personally identifiable information from you when you access our
website or provide information to us through the Site. We also may collect certain
information from visitors to the Site through the use of cookies, web logs, server
logs, or any other program or device by which web site operators may collect limited
personally identifiable information from users of our website.
- We may collect contact information that you provide voluntarily. At various locations
through the Site, there are links through which you can email us to request information
or submit comments. We also may collect contact information so that we may send
to you requested materials, information, and news about Select and its affiliates.
- Please note, no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. The contact
information that you may submit to us is not encrypted, and therefore is susceptible
to interception and viewing by third parties without your or our knowledge or consent.
Although we make every effort to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee
the security of that information except while it is in our sole custody and control.
Consequently, any Internet transmission of information is made at your own risk.
If you prefer, you may contact us via telephone at the numbers identified on the
Site.
Disclosure of Personal Information
- We do not share any personal information that we have collected or that you may
have provided to us through our website with any third parties, unless required
to do so by legal, judicial, or governmental mandate.
- Select does not contract with any advertising or marketing agencies to sell or disseminate
personal information obtained from you.
- Select does not contract with any advertising or marketing agencies to gather individual
or group profile information from our visitors.
How We Keep Information Secure
- Information security is one of our highest priorities. This priority is emphasized
by our internal employee Code of Conduct, this Privacy Policy, and the contracts
and agreements that we sign with external suppliers and partners. Employees who
violate our policies and procedures regarding privacy are subject to disciplinary
action, and our partners and suppliers are bound to uphold our procedures regarding
privacy under the terms of our legal contracts with them. We safeguard information
by regularly assessing security standards and procedures to protect against unauthorized
access to personal information.
- We limit access to personal information about you to those employees who need to
know that information to maintain and improve our Site and to provide information
that you request. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that
comply with federal regulations to protect your personal information.
Links to Other Websites
- This Site contains links to other websites for your convenience. Many of those websites
are for entities that are subsidiaries or affiliates of Select. This Privacy Policy
remains in effect when you visit those sites.
- This Site also contains links to certain third-party websites for your convenience.
Select is not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites. We also are
not responsible for the nature, quality or accuracy of the content or opinions expressed
in such websites, and such websites are not investigated, monitored or checked for
quality, accuracy, or completeness by us. Inclusion of any linked website on this
Site does not imply or express an approval or endorsement of the linked website,
or any of the content, opinions, products, or services provided on those websites.
If you decide to leave this Site and access those third-party sites, you do so at
your own risk.
Correcting, Updating, and Deleting Personal Information
- At any time, you may request us to correct, update, or delete personal information
that you have voluntarily submitted via email, web form, or similar transmission
by contacting us.
- If you choose to delete your personal information from our records, we will delete
your name and contact information from our records within a reasonable amount of
time. You still may receive some information from us after the date that you submit
your deletion request, but only because that information was prepared before your
request was processed.
Notification of Changes
- In the event that we decide to change any of the terms of this Privacy Policy, we
will post those changes on our home page so our users are well aware of the information
that we collect and how it is collected.
- In the event that we decide to change the way that we use personally identifiable
information, we will notify users via email, and provide users with a choice as
to whether we use their information in this new manner.
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