PRIVACY NOTICE

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.  PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

The Orthopedic Hospital of Oklahoma (OHO) has created this Privacy Notice in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy and the protection of your information. As part of the normal operation of the hospital, we collect and, in some instances, disclose information about you.  To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.

Professional Staff Included in Notice

Medical staff members that have agreed to join in this Notice will follow this Notice while working in the hospital setting.  You will not receive a separate Notice in the hospital from medical staff members joining in this Notice, however, you may receive a Notice from each independent physician and other health care provider in their office, which may be different from this Notice and which will govern the use and disclosure of protected health information created and maintained by that provider in their office.

Use and Disclosure of Information 

In order to treat patients, we must obtain information about your past and present medical history. This information is often referred to as Protected Health Information (PHI).  All PHI disclosed will be limited to only the amount reasonably necessary to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations.

As part of your treatment, your physician will do a history and physical, nursing staff will perform their nursing assessments, document this information, and a record of treatments and test results may be used to treat you as a patient.  This information may be sent to a referring physician.

The registration personnel will obtain your demographic information (like your zip code, address, etc.), and insurance information to accurately file a claim for payment.

OHO will share your PHI with your insurance company, workers’ compensation carrier and/or Medicare/Medicaid for payment purposes.

In order to continuously improve quality in hospital operations, OHO will look at procedures performed, diagnoses, and outcomes of surgeries.  Your information may be included.

We never use or share the PHI provided to us in ways unrelated to the ones described in this Privacy Notice without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.  

OHO will never willfully release any PHI about you without first receiving your written authorization.

OHO cannot ensure that all of your PHI will never be disclosed in ways not described in this Privacy Notice.  For example, we may be required to disclose personally identifiable information to the government or by court order under certain circumstances, or other situations may arise requiring such disclosure.  Other disclosures of your PHI can be made without written consent in the following cases:  emergency circumstance, disaster relief purposes, as required by state or federal law, OSHA reporting, public health authority, state health authority, FDA, and regulatory agencies.

OHO may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

OHO may disclose demographic information and/or dates of care to a business associates for the purpose of raising funds for the hospital’s benefit, without written authorization.

Patient’s Rights

You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of PHI; however, OHO is not required to agree to the restrictions.

You have the right to receive confidential communications of PHI from OHO by alternative means or at alternative locations.  You have a right to inspect and copy PHI, and the right to amend PHI as outlined in HIPAA regulations.

You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of PHI; you have the right to receive a paper or electronic copy of this notice.

OHO is required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with notice of the hospital’s legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI.  OHO is required to abide by the terms of this notice.

OHO reserves the right to change the terms of this notice and to make the new notice provisions effective for all PHI that the hospital maintains.  The new notice will be made available on the hospital’s website or upon request.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint:

- within Human Resources at Orthopedic Hospital of Oklahoma; or
- directly to the Secretary of HHS

You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.