Privacy Notice

Your Rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. 
• Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record 
• Ask us to correct your medical record
• Request confidential communications. You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address. 
• Ask us to limit what we use or share
• Ask us not to use or share certain health information. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
• If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
• Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information
• Get a copy of this privacy notice
• Choose someone to act for you. If you have given 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.
• File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated. You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting the KVH Privacy Officer at 509-962-7306. You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices
For certain health 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. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions. 
In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
• Share information in a disaster relief situation
• Include your information in a hospital directory
• If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.
In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes
In the case of fundraising: We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

Our Uses and Disclosures
We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
Treat you
• We can share your health information with other professionals who are treating you, or with your family member if doing so is in your best interest. Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition: OR you have surgery and the surgeon tells your spouse about your condition while you are unconscious.
Run our organization
• We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
Bill for your services
• We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities. 
How else can we use or share your health information? 
We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers.
Help with public health and safety issues. We can share health information about you for certain situations such as: 
• Preventing disease
• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
Do research. We can use or share your information for health research.
Comply with the law. We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services.
Respond to organ and tissue donation requests.  We can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.
Work with a medical examiner or funeral director. We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.
Address Labor & Industries, law enforcement, and other government requests
• For workers’ compensation claims
• For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions. We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

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 must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it upon request.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. 
• For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.

Changes to the Terms of this Notice
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site.