Privacy
Mercy Flight Central, Inc. (“Mercy Flight Central”) is required by law to maintain the privacy of certain confidential health care information , known as protected health information of PHI, and to provide you with a notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI . Mercy Flight Central is also required to abide by the terms of the version of this Notice currently in effect.
Patient Information
Mercy Flight Central, Inc. (“Mercy Flight Central”) is required by law to maintain the privacy of certain confidential health care information , known as protected health information of PHI, and to provide you with a notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI . Mercy Flight Central is also required to abide by the terms of the version of this Notice currently in effect.
Donor Information
Donor privacy is important to us. We are committed to the highest standards of integrity relating to the confidentiality of donor information. Be assured that we will not sell or trade donor information to any non-profit agency, mailing service, or telemarketing firm.
Our annual report lists only those organizations and foundations that have significantly contributed to our company. Should any of these groups request anonymity, we would gladly honor their wishes.
Notice of Privacy Practices
Mercy Flight Central, Inc. (“MFC”) is required by law to maintain the privacy of certain confidential health care information, known as Protected Health Information (PHI), and to provide you with a notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI. MFC is required to abide by the terms of the version of this notice currently in effect.
Uses and Disclosures of PHI: MFC may use PHI for purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations – in most cases without your written permission. Examples of our use of your PHI are as follows:
- Treatment:Includes obtaining verbal and written information about your medical condition and treatment as requested by you, physicians, and nursing staff who give orders to us so that we may provide treatment for you. We may provide your PHI to other health care providers involved in your treatment, and may transfer your PHI via radio or telephone to the hospital or dispatch center.
- Health Care Operation:Includes quality assurance activities, licensing, and training programs to ensure that our personnel meet our standards of care and follow established policies and procedures, as well as certain other management functions.
- Reminders for Scheduled Transports and Information on Other Service: We may contact you to provide you with reminders of scheduled appointments for non-emergency ambulance and medical transportation, or to provide information about other services we offer.
Use and Disclosure of PHI Without Your Authorization. MFC is permitted to use PHI without your written authorization, or opportunity to object, in certain situations, and unless prohibited by a more stringent state law, including:
- Treatment, payment or health care operation activities of another health care provider who treats you;
- Health care and legal compliance activities;
- Family members, other relatives, close personal friends or other individuals involved in your care upon your verbal agreement to do so. If we provide you an opportunity to object to such a disclosure and you do not raise objection, or under certain circumstances where we are unable to obtain your agreement and believe the disclosure is in your best interest;
- Public health authorities in certain situations as required by law (i.e., reporting abuse, neglect or domestic violence);
- Health oversight activities including audits, government investigations, inspections, disciplinary proceedings, and other administrative or judicial actions undertaken by the government (or their contractors) by law to oversee the health care system;
- Judicial and administrative proceedings as required by a court or administrative order, or in some cases in response to a subpoena or other legal process;
- Law enforcement activities in limited situations (i.e., responding to a warrant);
- Military, national defense and security and other special government functions;
- Averting a serious threat to the health and safety of a person or the public at large;
- Workers’ compensation purposes, and in compliance with workers’ compensation laws;
- Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors for identifying a deceased person, determining cause of death, or carrying out their duties as authorized by law;
- For organ donors, we may release PHI to organizations that manage organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation, or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ donation and transplantation;
- Research projects; subject to strict oversight and approvals;
- Disclosure of your PHI in a manner that does not personally identify you or reveal your identity.
Any other use or disclosure of PHI, other than those listed above will only be made with your written authorization. You may revoke your authorization at any time, in writing, except to the extent that we have already used or disclosed medical information in reliance on that authorization.
Patient Rights: As a patient, you have a number of rights with respect to your PHI, including:
- The right to access, copy or inspect your PHI. You may inspect and copy most of the medical information about you that we maintain. We will provide you with access to this information within 30 days of your written request. We may also charge you a reasonable fee for copying medical information that you have the right to access. Under limited circumstances, we may deny you access to your medical information. You may appeal certain types of denials. We can provide you with available forms for requesting access to your PHI. We will provide a written response if we deny your request and will inform you of your appeal rights. You also have the right to receive confidential communications of your PHI. If you wish to inspect and copy your medical information, you should contact our privacy officer.
- The right to amend your PHI. You have the right to request for an amendment to your written medical information that we maintain. We will generally amend your information within 60 days of your request and will notify you once that information has been amended. We are permitted by law to deny your request under certain circumstances if we believe the information you have asked us to amend is in fact correct. If you wish to request that we amend the medical information that we have about you, you should contact our privacy officer.
- The right to request an accounting. You may request an accounting from us of certain disclosures of your medical information that we have made six years prior to the date of your request. We are not required to provide you an accounting of information we have used or disclosed for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations, or when we share your health information with our business associates, such as our billing company or a medical facility from/to which we have transported you. We are also not required to give you an accounting of our uses of your PHI for which you have already given us written authorization. If you wish to request an accounting, contact our privacy officer.
- The right to request that we restrict the uses and disclosures of your PHI.You have the right to request that we restrict how we use and disclose your PHI that we maintain. MFC is not required to agree to any or all restrictions requested. Those restrictions agreed to by MFC in writing are binding.
- Internet, Electronic Mail, and the Right to Obtain Copy of Paper Notice on Request. If we maintain a Web site presence, we will prominently display a copy of this Notice on our Web site.
Upon your approval, we will forward you this Notice by electronic mail. A paper copy of this Notice is available upon your written request.
Revisions to the Notice:MFC reserves the right to change the terms of this Notice at any time. Changes made will be effective immediately and will apply to all PHI records that we maintain. Any material changes to the Notice will be promptly displayed in our facilities and on our Web site (if we maintain one). You may obtain a copy of the latest version of this Notice by contacting our privacy officer.
Your Legal Rights and Complaints:You have the right to file a complaint with us, or to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. You will not be retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint with us or to the above noted agency. Should you have any questions, comments or complaints you may direct all inquiries to our privacy officer.
Privacy Officer Contact Information:
Privacy Officer
Mercy Flight Central, Inc.
2420 Brickyard Road
Canandaigua, NY14424
Office: 585-396-0584
Fax: 585-396-0585
E-mail: [email protected]
