Each time you visit a hospital, physician, or other healthcare provider, a record of your visit is made. Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or treatment. This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

• basis for planning your care and treatment
• means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care
• legal document describing the care you received
• means by which you or a third party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided
• tool in educating healthcare professionals
• source of data for medical research
• source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of the community, state and nation
• source of data for facility planning and marketing
• tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:

• ensure its accuracy
• better understand who, what, when, where and why others may access your health information
• make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others

Although your health record is the physical property of the healthcare practitioner or facility that compiled it, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

• request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information as provided by 45 CFR 164.522
• obtain a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request
• inspect and copy your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 164.524
• amend your health record as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
• obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
• request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
• revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken

This organization is required to:

• maintain the privacy of your health information
  
• provide you with a notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you 
  
• abide by the terms of this notice 
  
• notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
• accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain. Should our information practices change, we will mail a revised notice to the address you've supplied us.

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

If have questions and would like additional information, you may contact Customer Service at (360) 397-3150.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the Director of Health Information Management or with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

We will use your health information for treatment. For example: Information obtained by a physician or other member of your healthcare team will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you. We use information you provide to contact you with appointment reminders and to give you results about tests and studies which were done.

We will provide information about you to another physician or health care professional outside The Vancouver Clinic. For example, we would give information to your primary care physician if you had been referred to a Vancouver Clinic specialist for care. We would also give information to a specialist to whom we have referred you for care.

We will also provide information about you to a hospital or surgery center in order to schedule a test, procedure, or surgery at that facility. The information released would identify you, your diagnosis and the procedure or test to be performed.

We will use your health information for payment. For example: A bill may be sent to you or a third party payer. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis, procedures and supplies used.

We will use your health information for regular health operations. For example: Members of the medical staff, the risk or quality improvement manager, or members of the quality improvement team may use information in your health record to assess your care. This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the healthcare and service we provide.

Business Associates: There are some services provided in our organization through contacts with business associates. Examples include physician services in Radiology, certain laboratory tests, and a copy service we use when making copies of your health record. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we've asked them to do and bill you or your third party payer for services rendered. So that your health information is protected, however, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.

Emergency Notification: We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, your location, and general condition in the event of an emergency.

Communication with Family: Physicians, using their best judgment, may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person's involvement in your care or payment related to your care.

Research: We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an Institutional Review Board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information. The Vancouver Clinic Research Department reviews charts and diagnostic information to identify patients who may qualify for participation in a research study.

Cancer or Tumor Registries: We may release information about your treatment, condition and prognosis to a Cancer or Tumor registry.

Funeral Directors: We may disclose health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to carry out their duties.

Organ Procurement Organizations: Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose health information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.

Clinic Services: We may contact you to provide information about new Clinic services that may be of interest to you, changes in our hours of service, etc.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects or post marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs or replacement.

Workers Compensation: We may disclose health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs established by law.

Public Health: As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability.

Correctional Institution: Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution or agents thereof, health information necessary for your health, and the health and safety of other individuals.

Law Enforcement: We may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law, or in response to a valid subpoena or court order.

Coroner and medical examiner: We may disclose information about deceased patients to a coroner or medical examiner for the purpose of identifying a person, determining cause of death, or other duties as authorized by law.

Federal law makes provision for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a workforce member or business associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering one or more patients, workers or the public.