HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Abricare Hospice ("Abricare," "we," "us," or "our") is required by law to protect the privacy of your protected health information, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect. Protected health information, or PHI, is information that identifies you and relates to your past, present, or future health, your care, or the payment for your care.

This notice applies to all of the records of your care that we create or maintain, and to the employees, staff, volunteers, contractors, and business associates of Abricare Hospice who take part in your care or handle your health information.

How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information

For routine care and operations, we may use and share your health information in the following ways without a separate authorization from you:

For treatment

We use your health information to provide and coordinate your hospice care. For example, our nurses, physicians, aides, social workers, chaplains, bereavement counselors, and other team members share information with one another, and with your attending physician, so the whole team can plan and provide for your comfort and care. We may also share information with a pharmacy, a medical equipment supplier, or another provider involved in your care.

For payment

We may use and share your information to bill and receive payment for the care we provide, for example by sending a claim to Medicare, Medicaid, or an insurance plan, and by confirming coverage, eligibility, and benefits.

For health care operations

We may use your information to run our hospice program, for example to review and improve the quality of care, to train staff and volunteers, to coordinate care, and to support licensing, accreditation, audits, and other administrative activities.

Other Uses and Disclosures Permitted or Required by Law

In certain situations, the law permits or requires us to use or share your health information without your written authorization. These may include:

• Individuals involved in your care: sharing information with a family member, friend, caregiver, or other person you name who is helping with your care or payment for your care, unless you object. In an emergency, or if you are not able to agree or object, we will use our best judgment about what is in your interest.
• Appointment and care reminders: contacting you to remind you of appointments or visits related to your care.
• Treatment alternatives and health-related benefits: telling you about treatment options, services, or benefits that may be of interest to you.
• Public health activities: reporting to a public health authority for purposes such as preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability, and reporting births, deaths, and reactions to medications or products.
• Victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence: reporting to the government authorities allowed to receive such reports, including social services or protective services agencies.
• Health oversight activities: sharing with an oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure.
• Lawsuits and legal or administrative proceedings: responding to a court or administrative order, a subpoena, a discovery request, or another lawful process.
• Law enforcement: disclosing information to a law enforcement official as permitted or required by law, such as in response to a court order, warrant, or similar process, or to help identify or locate a person.
• Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors: sharing information as needed for them to carry out their duties.
• Organ and tissue donation: sharing information with organ procurement organizations as needed to facilitate donation and transplantation.
• Research: using or sharing information for approved research when an institutional review board or privacy board has approved the research and protections are in place.
• To avert a serious threat to health or safety: sharing information when needed to prevent or reduce a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of you or the public.
• Military and veterans: sharing information as required by military command authorities if you are a member of the armed forces.
• Workers' compensation: sharing information as authorized by, and to the extent needed to comply with, workers' compensation laws.
• Inmates: sharing information with a correctional institution or law enforcement official if you are an inmate, as permitted by law.
• As required by law: using or sharing information when a federal, state, or local law requires it.

Uses and Disclosures That Require Your Written Authorization

Other uses and disclosures that are not described in this notice will be made only with your written authorization. This includes:

• Most uses and disclosures for marketing purposes
• Any sale of your protected health information
• Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, if any are maintained
• Any other use or disclosure not described in this notice

If you give us an authorization, you may cancel it in writing at any time. If you cancel it, we will stop using or sharing your information for the reasons covered by your authorization going forward, except to the extent we have already relied on it.

Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information

You have the following rights over your protected health information:

• Inspect and copy: you may inspect and request a copy of your health and billing records, in most cases. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies. We may deny access in certain limited situations, and you may ask for a review of that denial.
• Request an amendment: you may ask us to correct information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. We may deny the request in certain cases, and we will explain why in writing.
• Accounting of disclosures: you may ask for a list of certain disclosures we made of your information, outside of treatment, payment, and health care operations and a few other exceptions.
• Request restrictions: you may ask us to limit how we use or share your information. We are not required to agree, except where the law requires it, such as a request to restrict a disclosure to a health plan for care you paid for in full yourself.
• Request confidential communications: you may ask us to contact you in a specific way or at a specific location, for example by mail to a certain address, and we will accommodate reasonable requests.
• Paper copy of this notice: you may ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
• Notification of a breach: you have the right to be notified if there is a breach of your unsecured protected health information.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Privacy Officer using the information at the end of this notice. Some requests must be made in writing.

Our Responsibilities

Abricare Hospice is required to:

• Keep your protected health information private and secure, as the law requires
• Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices
• Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect
• Notify you promptly if a breach affects the privacy or security of your information
• Not use or share your information other than as described here, unless you tell us we can in writing

Changes to This Notice

We reserve the right to change this notice, and any change will apply to information we already have as well as information we receive in the future. The current notice will be posted on this website and available at our office, with its effective date shown at the top. We will provide a revised notice on request.

How to File a Complaint

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our Privacy Officer or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You will not be penalized or retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint.

To file with Abricare Hospice, contact:

To file with the federal government, contact:

Questions? Contact Our Privacy Officer

For questions about this notice or about your protected health information, please reach out to our Privacy Officer: