Notice of Privacy Practices
This notices describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
Seminole Hospital District of Gaines County, Texas (the “District”) is committed to protecting the privacy of health information we create or receive about you. Health information that identifies you (“protected health information,” or “health information”) includes your medical record, billing invoices, paper forms, video and other information relating to your care or payment for care. If you have questions about this Notice, please contact the District’s Compliance and Privacy Office at 432-758-4868 or email your questions to complianceofficer@seminolehospitaldistrict.com.
How We Use and Disclose Your Health Information
How we may use or disclose your health information as follows:
A. The following uses do NOT require your authorization, except where required by Texas Law.
- Treatment: We may use your health information to provide care and share it with others who are treating For example, we or your physician may disclose your health information to a specialist for the purpose of a consultation.
- Payment: We may use and share your health information to bill and obtain payment for the healthcare services you For example, we send information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services. We may also disclose your health information to other healthcare providers for their payment purposes.
- Healthcare Operations: We may use and share your health information for our day-to-day operations, to improve your care, and contact you when For example, we may use your medical information to review our treatment and services so we can evaluate how to improve our quality of care. We may disclose your information to medical students and other hospital staff for their education. We may also disclose your health information to other healthcare providers for their healthcare operations.
- Disaster Relief: We may disclose your health information to disaster relief organizations in an emergency so your family can be notified about your condition and
- Inmates: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may release health information about you to the relevant correctional institution or law enforcement This release may be necessary for the institution to provide you with health care; to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; or for the safety and security of the correctional institution.
- Law enforcement: We may share information for law enforcement purposes, such as when a crime is committed at one of our We may also share information to help locate a suspect, fugitive, missing person, or witness.
- Lawsuits and legal actions: We may share information in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a
- Medical examiner or funeral director: We can share information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.
- Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release health information about you as required by military command We may also release health information to a foreign military authority.
- National Security purposes: We may release your PHI to the Department of Defense or other governmental agency.
- Organ and tissue donation: We can share information about you with organ procurement
- Public health and safety: We can share information in certain situations to help prevent disease, assist with product recalls, report adverse reactions to medications, and to prevent or reduce a serious threat to anyone’s health or
- Research: We can use or share your information for certain research projects that have been evaluated and approved through a process that considers a patient’s need for privacy.
- When required by law: We will share information about you if state or federal law requires it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we are complying with federal privacy
- Victims of abuse, neglect, domestic violence: We may release your PHI as required by law to the appropriate Texas agencies when cases of abuse and neglect are suspected.
- Workers’ compensation: We can share information with employers for workers’ compensation claims.
- Appointment reminders: To remind you of appointments with us.
- Treatment options: To provide information about treatment alternatives or other health related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
- Fundraising: We may contact you about fundraising activities. You have the right to opt out of receiving such fundraising communications.
B. You may object to the following uses of your PHI:
- Directories: We may maintain a patient directory that includes your name and location within the facility, general information about your condition (fair, serious, ) and religious designation. We may disclose all but your religious designation to any person who asks for you by name. Members of the clergy may obtain all directory information, unless you specifically request that we not do so.
- Friends and Family: We may disclose to your family and close personal friends any health information directly related to that person’s involvement in your care.
C. Your prior written authorization is required to release your PHI in the following situations:
- Any use or disclosures beyond treatment, payment, or healthcare operations and not specified in Parts A & B.
- Psychotherapy notes, marketing, and the sale of PHI.
What Rights You Have Regarding Your PHI
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights:
- Receive a copy of your medical record: You may ask to see or get a paper or electronic copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. We will provide a copy or summary to you within 15 days of your We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee. Access may be denied in some circumstances, such as to psychotherapy notes or when a certain law prohibits your access. In some circumstances you may have this decision reviewed.
- Correct your medical record: You can ask us to correct health information that you think is incorrect or We may deny your request, but we will tell you why in writing. These requests should be submitted in writing to the contact listed below.
- 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 Reasonable requests will be approved.
- Ask what we use or share: You can ask us to restrict how we share your health information for treatment, payment, or our 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, in advance of the service, you can ask us to not share that information with your health insurer for the purpose of payment. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
- Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information: You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we have shared your health information for six years prior, with whom we’ve shared it, and We will include all disclosures except for those about your treatment, payment and our health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as those you asked us to make). We will provide one accounting a year for free, but we will charge a reasonable cost-based fee if you ask for another within 12 months.
- Get a copy of this privacy notice. You can ask for a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy
- File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated. You can complain to the S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights if you feel we have violated rights. We can provide you with their address. You can also file a complaint with us by using the contact information below. Please be assured that you will not be penalized and there will be no retaliation for voicing a concern or filing a complaint. We are committed to the delivery of quality healthcare in an environment that is confidential and private.
Contact our Privacy Officer for any questions about this notice or complain about our Privacy Practices.
Compliance and Privacy Officer
209 Northwest 8th Street
Seminole, Texas 79360
Phone No.: 432-758-4868
Compliance Hotline: English: 833-950-0009; Spanish: 800-216-1288
Changes to this Notice
We reserve the right to change the terms of the Notice at any time. We also reserve the right to make the revised or changed Notice effective for PHI we already have about as well as any information we receive in the future. The Notice will always contain the effective date. The Notice will be available upon request and on our website www.seminolehospitaldistrict.com.
Effective Date
This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective February 10, 2020.