Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Cincinnati Children’s) is required by law to maintain the privacy of patient protected health information, provide patients with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices regarding protected health information, and notify individuals when a breach of unsecured protected health information occurs. We understand that your health information is highly personal. We are committed to safeguarding your privacy.
Please read this Notice thoroughly. It describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes, and for other purposes that the law allows. It also describes your legal right to access and control the use and disclosure of your protected health information.
The rights outlined below belong to the patient or the patient’s personal representative, which is the patient’s parent, legal guardian or any person that has the legal authority to represent the interests of the patient and act on the patient’s behalf. If there is any question as to whether a person is legally qualified to act as a patient’s personal representative, please contact the Privacy Officer at the phone number or address listed at the end of this Notice.
This Notice covers information about your health condition, health care treatment, or payment for health care treatment that could reasonably identify who you are. It includes information in the possession of any Cincinnati Children’s department or division. This Notice applies to all personnel, volunteers, contractors, or anyone working here who might have access to your health information.
We have an Organized Health Care Arrangement Agreement with our Medical Staff, which makes this Notice and the rights and obligations contained herein, applicable to both Cincinnati Children’s and to our Medical Staff when they are providing services to patients here.
We are permitted to use or disclose to others outside Cincinnati Children’s your health information without permission from you for three basic types of activities:
- Healthcare Operations− We are permitted to use your health information or disclose it to others outside Cincinnati Children’s in order to run the hospital and ensure high quality care.
For example, we may use or disclose your information to review how we provide care to you, help us improve how we operate the hospital, meet compliance or licensing requirements, or send you appointment reminders.
In fundraising, we will only use or disclose demographic information (name, address and contact information, age, gender, and date of birth) and health insurance status, dates of care provided, department of service, treating physician, and outcome information.
If you do not want to be contacted for fundraising efforts, you must notify the Director of Business Operations in writing at Department of Development, MLC 9002, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039.
A request for inspection or a copy of your health information must be in writing and directed to Health Information Management (MLC 5015) or Professional Billing Services/Patient Financial Services (MLC 9013), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229. We will charge a fee for copying costs.
We are required to protect the privacy of your information, establish Policies and Procedures that do so, provide this Notice about our privacy practices, and to follow the practices described in this Notice.
We reserve the right to change our Policies and Procedures for protecting health information. When we make a significant change in how we use or disclose your health information, we will also change this Notice and post the new Notice in waiting rooms and registration areas. You can request a written copy of the most recent version of this Notice at any time. It is also posted on our website at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.
If you believe we have not properly protected your privacy, have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your protected health information, you may contact our Privacy Officer at the address listed below.
You also may send a written complaint to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The Cincinnati Children’s Privacy Officer can provide you with the appropriate address upon request. There will not be retaliation against those who choose to file a complaint.
To act on any of the information provided in this Notice or for more information about our privacy practices, you may contact our Privacy Officer.
Phone: 1-800-344-2462 or 513-636-4707
Fax: 513-636-4076
Email: privacyofficer@cchmc.org
Mail:
Cincinnati Children's Privacy Officer
Risk Management / Corporate Compliance, MLC 9010
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
3333 Burnet Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039
This Notice was issued on August 15, 2013.