NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES FOR
VIGILIAS LLC
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.
PLEASE REVIEW THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.
Our Pledge Regarding Medical Information
We know that your medical information is personal. We will protect your medical information. We create a record of the care and services you receive from Vigilias LLC. We need this record to give you complete and comprehensive care. We also need this record to comply with the law. This Notice of Privacy Practices for Vigilias LLC (this “Notice”) applies to records we create for your care.
This Notice tells you about the ways that we may use and share your medical information. It also describes your rights.
We are required by law to make sure that medical information that identifies you is kept private, give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices concerning your medical information, and follow the terms of this Notice currently in effect.
How We May Use and Share Your Medical Information
We may use and share your medical information as listed below. Not every possible use or disclosure will be listed. However, all the ways we may use or share information fall into one of these areas.
Treatment. We may use your medical information to give you medical care. We may share your medical information with doctors, nurses, technicians, or other workers. For example, departments may share your medical information to plan your care. This may include prescriptions, lab work, and x-rays. We may share your medical information with referring physicians and home health care nurses who are treating you. We may use and share medical information to tell you about different types of treatment available to you. We may use and share medical information to tell you about other benefits and services related to your health.
Payment. We may use and share your medical information with your insurance plan or others who help pay for your care. For example, we may tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive. We do this to find out if your plan will pay for the treatment.
Health Care Operations. We may use and share your medical information for our operations. These uses and disclosures help us run our programs and make sure our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services. We may use medical information to measure the performance of our staff and how they care for you.
Other Uses and Disclosures of Your Medical Information
We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways, usually in ways that contribute to the public good, public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes.
As Required By Law. We will share your medical information when required to do so by federal, state or local law.
Public Health Risks. We may share your medical information for public health activities. We may do so as required by law. We may disclose your medical information to a government agency authorized (a) to collect data to prevent or control disease, injury or disability; (b) to report child abuse or neglect; (c) to report reactions to medicines or problems with products; (d) to tell you about product recalls; or (e) to tell you if you have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for catching or spreading a disease or condition.
Victims. We may share your medical information to tell the proper government department if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. We will only share this information when ordered or required by law.
Health Oversight Activities and Registries. We may share your medical information with government agencies that oversee health care. We may do so for activities approved by law. These activities include: audits, investigations, inspections and licensure surveys. The government uses these activities to monitor the health care system. It also monitors the outbreak of disease, government programs, compliance with civil rights laws, and patient outcomes. We may share medical information with government registries.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. If you are in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may share your medical information in response to a court order, legal demand or other lawful purpose.
Law Enforcement. We may share medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official.
Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. We may share medical information with a coroner, medical examiner or funeral director when an individual dies.
Organ and Tissue Donation. We may share medical information with groups that handle and monitor organ donations and transplants.
Research. We may use and share your medical information for research.
Avert a Serious threat to health or safety. We may share your medical information to lessen a serious and imminent threat to public health or safety of a person or the public.
Military. If you are in the U.S. or foreign armed services, we may share your medical information as required by the proper military authorities.
National Security. We may share your medical information with the proper federal officials for national security reasons.
Workers' Compensation. We may share your medical information for workers' compensation or programs like it. We may do this to the extent required by law.
Business Associates. We may contract with outside businesses to provide certain services for us. For example, we may use the services of transcription or collection agencies. Under such contracts, we may share your medical information with them to do the job we have asked them to do. These contracts require businesses to protect the medical information we share with them and to provide you with access to your medical information and a list of any of your medical information that they disclose.
Your Rights Regarding Electronic Health Information Exchange
In the state of Kansas, Vigilias participates in electronic health information technology (“HIT”). This technology allows a provider to make a single request through a health information organization (“HIO”) to obtain electronic records for a specific patient from other HIT participants for purposes of treatment, payment, or health care operations. HIO’s are required to use appropriate safeguards to prevent unauthorized uses and disclosures.
You have two options with respect to HIT. First, you may permit authorized individuals to access your electronic health information through an HIO. If you choose this option, you do not have to do anything.
Second, you may restrict access to ALL of your information through an HIO (except as required by law). If you wish to restrict access, you must submit the required information either online through the Kansas Health Information Exchange, Inc., which can be done by visiting http://www.kanhit.org or by completing and mailing a form. This form is available at http://www.kanhit.org.You cannot restrict access to certain information only; your choice is to permit or restrict access to all of your information. If you have questions regarding HIT or HIO’s, please visit http://www.kanhit.org for additional information. Please understand your decision to restrict access to your electronic health information through an HIO may limit your health care providers' ability to provide the most effective care for you. By submitting a request for restrictions, you accept the risks associated with that decision. If you receive health care services in a state other than Kansas, different rules may apply regarding restrictions on access to your electronic health information. Please communicate directly with your out-of-state health care provider regarding those rules.
Your Choices on How We May Use and Share Certain Medical Information
For certain information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. We will follow your instructions.
Hospital Directory. We may include limited information about you in the hospital directory while you are a patient in the hospital.
People Involved In Your Care. Unless you ask us not to, we may share your medical information with a family member or friend who helps with your medical care.
Disaster Relief. We may share your medical information with a group helping with disaster relief efforts. We do this so your family can be told about your location and condition. If you are not present or able to say no, we may use our judgment to decide if sharing your information is in your best interest.
Fundraising Activities. We may use your information to contact you for efforts to raise funds.
Appointment Reminders. We may contact you to remind you about your appointment for medical care.
Your Prior Authorization is Required to Use or Disclose Your Medical Information
Marketing Purposes. Subject to limited exceptions, uses and disclosures of your medical information for marketing purposes will require your written permission.
Sale of Medical Information. Disclosures that would constitute the sale of your medical information will require your written permission.
Psychotherapy Notes. Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes will require your written permission. Generally speaking, psychotherapy notes are notes that are made by a mental health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of his or her conversations with you during a counseling session and that are kept separate from the rest of your medical record.
Your Rights Regarding Medical Information About You
You have the following rights regarding medical information we maintain about you:
Right To Request Restrictions. You have the right to ask for a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or share for treatment, payment or health care operations. We are not required to agree to a requested restriction, except that you have the right to request that we restrict disclosure of your medical information if the disclosure is to a health plan for the purpose of carrying out payment or health care operations (and is not for the purpose of carrying out treatment) and the medical information pertains solely to a health care item or service for which you have paid out of pocket in full.
Right To Request Confidential Communications. You have the right to ask us to communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at certain places. You must make your request in writing on a form that we will give you upon request. We will fulfill all reasonable requests.
Right To Inspect and To Receive Copies. You have the right to look at and to receive copies of the medical information used to make decisions about your care, including information kept in an electronic health record, and/or to tell us where to send the information. Usually, this includes medical and billing records. It does not include some records such as psychotherapy notes.
To look at and to receive copies of medical information used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing. We may charge a fee for the costs of processing your request. If the copies provided are in an electronic form, we will only charge you for our labor costs. E-mail Info@vigilias.com or call us at 800-924-8140, extension 1 to get more details.
In some very limited cases, such as a request for psychotherapy notes, we may say no to your request. You may ask for a review of that decision by contacting us at (800) 924-8140, extension 1.
Right To Amend. If you believe your records contain inaccurate or incomplete information, you may ask us to amend the information. To request an amendment, you must complete a specific form providing the information we need to process your request, including the reason that supports your request.
Right to receive an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to get a list of the disclosures we made of your medical information including medical information we maintain in an electronic health record. This list may not include all disclosures that we made. For example, this list will not include disclosures that we made for treatment, payment or health care operations purposes.
You have the right to request a list of disclosures from us and any of our business associates in the last three years. To ask for this list you must submit your request in writing on the approved form. We will give the form to you upon request.
Right To a Paper Copy of This Notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this Notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to get this Notice electronically, you still have a right to a paper copy of this Notice.
Right to choose someone to act for you. If you give someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
If you give your permission to use or share your medical information, you may cancel that permission, in writing, at any time. If you cancel your permission, we will no longer use
or share your medical information for the reasons covered by your written permission. We cannot take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission.
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
We will follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy.
We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.
Revisions To This Notice
We may update this Notice to show any changes in our privacy practices. We reserve the right to make the updated Notice effective for medical information we already have about you. It also will be effective for any information we receive in the future. We will provide you with a copy of the revised notice.
Complaints
If you think your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Vigilias or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, 601 East 12th Street-Room 353, Kansas City, MO 64106. Customer Response Center: (800) 368-1019. If you want to file a complaint with Vigilias, contact the Privacy Official at problems@vigilias.com, or (800) 924-8140, extension 1. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
Who Will Follow This Notice
Vigilias is made up of physicians, other health care providers, employees, staff, and other care workers, all of whom are required to follow the Notice of Privacy Practices. To serve you better, we give you this Notice about our privacy practices and your privacy rights.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) guarantees your privacy rights. Each provider will follow the terms of this Notice. This Notice applies to our various sites of service. If you ask, we will give you a list of our sites that are subject to this Notice.
Effective Date of this Notice 8/1/2024 Vigilias LLC
801 E. Douglas Ave.
2nd FL OFC 233
Wichita, KS 67202
https://freestatehealthcare.com/
Privacy Official Contact information:
Dr. Aaron Chen achen@freestatehealthcare.com
(800) 924-8140, extension 1