Information Use & Disclosure
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
In some circumstances we are permitted or required to use or disclose your health information, without obtaining your prior authorization and without offering you the opportunity to object. These circumstances include:
- Treatment: We may use and disclose your PHI to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your health care with other providers of care. For example, we would disclose your PHI, as necessary, to a home health agency that provides care to you. We may also disclose PHI to a physician to whom you have been referred to ensure that the physician has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you. Similarly, we may disclose your PHI to another physician or health care provider (e.g., a specialist or laboratory) who, at the request of your physician, becomes involved in your care.
- Payment: Your PHI will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for your health care services. This may include certain review activities that your health insurance plan or employer may undertake before it approves or pays for the health care services we recommend for you, such as; making a determination of eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits. We may also need to give information to an individual who helps pay for your care.
- Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose, as needed, your PHI for the purpose of day-to-day operations. For example, we may use and disclose medical information to:
- review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you;
- combine medical information about many hospital patients to decide what additional services the hospital should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective;
- doctors, nurses, technicians, students, and other BHS personnel for review and learning purposes;
- contact you with appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits that may be of interest to you; and
- establish a sign-in sheet at the registration desk and call you by name in the waiting room.
We may also share your PHI with outside entities that perform various activities (e.g., transcription services) for BHS, but in those cases, we will have a written contract in order to protect the use of your PHI. We may also use and disclose your PHI for marketing and fundraising activities. We may also send you information about products or services that we believe may be beneficial to you. You may contact our Privacy Officer to request that these materials not be sent to you.
- Hospital Directory: We may include certain limited information about you in the hospital directory while you are a patient at the hospital. This information may include your name, location in the hospital, your general condition (e.g., fair, stable, etc.) and your religious affiliation. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may also be released to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they do not ask for you by name. You will have the opportunity to have your information not listed in the directory when you are admitted.
- Individuals Involved in Your Care: Unless you object, we may disclose to a member of your family, a relative, a close friend or any other person you identify, your PHI that directly relates to that person's involvement in your health care. If you are unable to agree or object to such a disclosure, we may disclose such information as necessary if we determine that it is in your best interest based on our professional judgment. We may use or disclose your PHI to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative or any other person that is responsible for your care of your location, general condition or death. We may use or disclose your PHI to an authorized public or private entity to assist in disaster relief efforts and to coordinate uses and disclosures to family or other individuals involved in your health care. We may use or disclose your PHI in an emergency treatment situation. If this happens, your health care provider shall try to obtain your consent as soon as reasonably practical.
- Research: We may disclose your PHI to researchers when the study has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your PHI.
- Required By Law or Public Policy: We may disclose your PHI:
- when required by federal, state or local law (i.e., we are required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to submit information about all newly diagnosed cases of cancer and about victims of abuse or neglect);
- for public health purposes;
- for health oversight activities, such as audits, inspections, licensure or civil, administrative or criminal investigations;
- in judicial or administrative proceedings and for law enforcement purposes;
- for workers' compensation purposes, as permitted by law; or
- to avert a serious threat to health or safety.
