Patient Privacy Overview

A: HIPAA is an acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a federal law.

A: HIPAA protects the privacy and security of patient medical information in both written and electronic forms. It also sets the terms on which medical information can be transmitted to other providers and to health insurers.

• Healthcare providers
• Health plans (self insured/insured, HMOs, health insurance companies, employer health plans, and similar arrangements)
• Healthcare clearinghouses (entities that standardize health information)

• Names
• Geographic subdivisions smaller than a state, including street address, city, county, precinct, zip code, and their equivalent geocodes, except for the initial three digits of a zip code in certain situations
• All elements of date (except year) for dates directly related to an individual, including birth date, discharge data, date of death; and all ages over 89 and all elements of dates indicative of such age, except that such ages and elements may be aggregated into a single category of age 90 or older
• Telephone numbers
• Fax numbers
• Electronic mail addresses
• Social security numbers
• Medical record numbers
• Health plan beneficiary numbers
• Account numbers
• Certificate/license numbers
• Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers
• Medical device identifiers
• Web universal resource locators (URLs)
• Internet protocol (IP) address numbers
• Biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints
• Full face photographic images and any comparable images
• Any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code

• A Privacy Officers is assigned to Hospice Care Network
• We have regular, periodic training for our workforce
• Policies and procedures are in place to help protect the privacy and security of patients’ individually identifiable health information
• HIPAA-compliant forms to help implement HIPAA
• A Notice of Privacy Practices that is available to all patients

• The right to receive Hospice Care Network’s Notice of Privacy Practices
• The right to review and get a copy of your medical information
• The right to ask that your medical information be amended
• The right to ask for restrictions in the use of your health information
• The right to ask for confidential communications
• The right to an accounting of disclosures of your medical information
• The right to be notified if the privacy of your protected health information has been breached, as defined by HIPAA
• The right to file a complaint with Hospice Care Network or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights if you feel your privacy rights have been violated

A: You can access the form that you must fill out to request a copy of your medical records by calling 516-832-7100.  We will direct you to a form.  Once you submit the completed form to the individual who is responsible for medical records at Hospice Care Network we will comply with your request.

A: Most of the information in your medical record will be included in the response to your request. However, certain portions of your record, such as psychotherapy notes, may not be included in the response. For further information on this restriction, please click here.

A: To request a restriction, please click on the following link to access the form you must complete and submit: Request for confidential Communications and/or Restrictions on Access, Use or Disclosure of Protected Health Information

A: Hospice Care Network has a HIPAA Compliance Officer  who can assist you with any questions related to the privacy of your health information. Please call the Office of Corporate Compliance at (516) 832-7100 for further information.

A: For more information about the privacy of your medical information, we recommend that you consult the following link: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr

A: Please see the contact information section for details.