NEWSNEWS
327 Main Street, Meyersdale, Pennsylvania 15552 • Telephone (814) 634-8614 • Fax (814) 634-0827
Notice of Privacy Practices
Privacy Officer
Andrew Thomas, R.Ph.
Telephone (814) 634-8614 or Fax (814) 634-0827This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.
Uses and disclosures of protected health information:
1. Under applicable law, we are required to protect the privacy of your individual health information (information we refer to as "Protected Health Information"). We are also required to provide you with this Notice regarding our policies and procedures regarding you PHI and to abide by the terms of this notice, as it may be updated from time to time. We are permitted to make certain types of uses and disclosures under applicable law for treatment, payment, and health care operations.
We may obtain information to dispense prescriptions and for the documentation of pertinent information in your records that may assist us in managing your medication therapy or your overall health. For treatment purposes, such use and disclosure will take place in providing, coordinating, or managing healthcare and its related services by one or more of your providers, such as when your pharmacist consults with your physician or a specialist regarding your medications, treatment or condition
For payment purposes, such use and disclosure will take place to obtain or provide reimbursement for providing pharmaceutical care services, such as when your case is reviewed to ensure that appropriate care was rendered. For reimbursement purposes, your PHI may be disclosed to one or several intermediaries employed by your plan sponsor including but not limited to insurer,pharmacy benefits managers, claims administrators and computer switching companies.
For healthcare operation purposes, such use and disclosure will take place in a number of ways, i.e. quality assessment and improvement, provider review and training, underwriting activities, reviews and compliance activities, and planning, development, management and administration. Your information could be used, for example, to asssist in the evaluation of the quality of care that you were provided.
We backup our electronic records daily and employ other precautions to safeguard the integrity of your PHI. In spite of these precautions it is possible but unlikely that a computer crash or other technological failure could cause the loss of data. Reasonable safeguards are employed to protect your PHI stored on electronic media.
We may contact you regarding refill reminders, health screenings , wellness events or information about treatment alternative for other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you. In addition, we may disclose your health information to your plan sponsor.
We may use and disclose your PHI, without your authorization when the pharmacy needs to contact a physician or a physician's staff and are permitted or required to do so without individual written authorization. We may use and disclose your PHI if we are contacted by another pharmacy who states they have your request and consent to transfer pharmacy records to them.
From time to time we may employ the services of business associates who may assist us in one or more tasks and who may use, change or create PHI. Business associates are required to comply with all the privacy regulations on your behalf.
We may disclose PHI about you without your authorization to comply with workers' compensation laws, as required by law enforcement, legal proceedings, public health requirements, health oversight activities and as required by law.
2. You may ask us to restrict uses and disclosures of your PHI to carry out treatment, payment or healthcare operations, or to restrict uses and disclosures to family members, relatives, friends or other persons identified by you who are involved in your care or payment for your care. However, we are not required to agree to your request.
3.You have the right to request the following with respect to your PHI: inspection and copying; amendment or correction; an accounting of the disclosures of this information by us (we are not required to account to you for disclosures made for treatment, payment, operations, disclosures to your care givers, for notifications or as otherwise excluded by law); and the right to receive a paper copy of this notice upon request. We may require you to pay for this request to cover our cost of copying, labor and postage. If you request copies, we will charge you $0.50 for each page. A $10.00 per hour for staff time to locate and copy your health information will be assessed. In addition, you may request, and we must accommodate the request, if reasonable, to receive communications of PHI by alternative means or at alternative locations. To make this request please contact in writing Andrew Thomas, R.Ph., 327 Main Street, Meyersdale, PA 15552, telephone (814) 634-8614 or fax (814) 634-0827.
4. We may use your name to reference your prescriptions and pharmaceutical care services. You may be required to sign a signature log form to acknowledge receipt of service, to acknowledge receipt of this Notice and the disclosure of PHI as outlined herein. This information may be disclosed by us to other persons who ask for you or your prescriptions by name. You may restrict or prohibit these uses and disclosures by notifying a pharmacy representative orally or in writing of your restriction or prohibition. We are not required to honor those requests. We are able to provide treatment services to you even if you object to sign the acknowledgement of the receipt of this Notice, or if we decide not to honor a request regarding the information in this document. In the even of an emergeny or your incapacity, we will do in our reasonable judgement what is consistent with your known preference, and what we determine to be in your best interest. We will inform you of any such uses or disclosures if uses and disclosures would require you rsigned authorization under such circumstances and give you opportunity to object as soon as practicable.
5. We may disclose to one of your family members, to a relative, to a close personal friend, or to any other person identified by you. PHI that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your care or payment related to your care. In addition we may use or disclose the PHI to notify, identify, or locate a member of your family, your personal representative, another person responsible for care, or certain disaster relief agencies of your location, general condition, or death. If you are incapacitated, there is an emergency or you object to this use of disclosure, we will do in our judgement what is in your best interest, regarding such disclosure and will disclose only the information that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your healthcare. We will also use our judgement what is in your best interest regarding such disclosure and will disclose only the information that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your healthcare. We will also use our judgement and experience regarding your best interest in allowing people to pick-up filled prescriptions or other similar forms of PHI.
6. We may disclose to military authorities the PHI as required by military command authorities. We may disclose to authorized federal officials PHI as may be required for lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may also release PHI to a coroner or medical examiner to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. PHI may also be disclosed to a funeral director with applicable law to carry out their duties.
7. We may disclose PHI to government authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes. We may disclose your health information to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health and safety of others.
8. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and to make new Notice provisions effective for all PHI we maintain. You may receive a copy of this Notice by contacting us as outlined in Section B or upon the receipt of pharmacy care services.
9. If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may complain to us at the location described above or to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.