HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Heart to Heart Hospice Corp is required by law to maintain the privacy of your Protected Health Information (PHI) and to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI. We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices.

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our notice effective for all PHI that we maintain, including PHI we created or received before we made the changes.

How We May Use and Disclose Your PHI

We may use and disclose your Protected Health Information for the following purposes:

Special Situations

We may use or disclose your PHI in the following situations without your authorization:

• As Required By Law: We will disclose your PHI when required to do so by federal, state, or local law
• To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose your PHI when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person
• Business Associates: We may disclose your PHI to our business associates who perform functions on our behalf
• Organ and Tissue Donation: If you are an organ donor, we may release your PHI to organizations that handle organ procurement
• Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release your PHI as required by military command authorities
• Workers' Compensation: We may release your PHI for workers' compensation or similar programs
• Public Health Risks: We may disclose your PHI for public health activities and purposes
• Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your PHI to a health oversight agency for audits, investigations, inspections, and credentialing
• Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose your PHI in response to a court or administrative order
• Law Enforcement: We may release your PHI if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in specific circumstances

Your Individual Rights

You have the following rights regarding your Protected Health Information:

• Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and copy your PHI that may be used to make decisions about your care
• Right to Amend: If you feel that your PHI is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information
• Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request a list of the disclosures we made of your PHI
• Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on your PHI that we use or disclose
• Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location
• Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You have the right to a paper copy of this notice
• Right to File a Complaint: If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint

Uses and Disclosures That Require Your Authorization

We will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing your PHI for the following purposes:

• Marketing: We must obtain your authorization for any use or disclosure of your PHI for marketing purposes
• Sale of PHI: We must obtain your authorization for any disclosure of your PHI that constitutes a sale
• Psychotherapy Notes: Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes require your authorization
• Other Uses: Any other use or disclosure of your PHI not described in this notice will be made only with your written authorization

You may revoke your authorization at any time by writing to our Privacy Officer. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your PHI for the reasons covered by your written authorization, except if we have already acted in reliance on your authorization.

Breach Notification

In the case of a breach of your unsecured PHI, we will notify you as required by law. A breach is generally defined as an impermissible use or disclosure of your PHI that compromises the security or privacy of your information.

We will provide notification of the breach within 60 days of discovery, unless a law enforcement official determines that notification would impede a criminal investigation. The notification will include a description of what happened, the types of information involved, steps we are taking to investigate and mitigate the breach, and contact information for questions.