Statement of Patient Privacy Rights
Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES FOR PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION
“THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.”
This Notice of Privacy Practices for Iowa Home Care, LLC is being given to you in compliance with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). This law defines our medical practice as a covered entity and all of your individually-identifiable health information as protected health information. This information may be in any form (oral, written or electronic). We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to this information. Any significant change in our privacy practices will be posted at our office and provided to you via mail. Our Administrators are the designated Privacy Officers.
Iowa Home Care will take all reasonable precautions to protect the confidentiality of your protected health information. We may use and disclose your medical information for the following purpose: treatment, payment and health care operations.
Treatment means providing, coordinating and managing your health care and related services by one or more health care providers. This includes creating and maintaining a written medical record, sending a letter to a referring physician or giving information to a hospital where you receive care. We may contact you to provide information regarding your services or health-related services you may be interested in. This contact may be by phone, e-mail, letter or postcard.
Payment Operations are those activities necessary for obtaining reimbursement for our services from you or a third party, such as Medicare, Medicaid or your insurance company. Confirming insurance coverage, obtaining authorizations, sending bills or statements and utilization review are examples of such activities. Our bills and statement contain information about the care we have rendered and your diagnosis.
Health Care Operations include the business aspects of running a medical practice, such as conducting quality assessment and improvement activities, cost-management analysis and auditing functions.
Except for medical emergencies or when required by law, your protected health information will not be disclosed to other people, including health care workers not concurrently involved with your care, nor your family (other than legal guardians), relatives or friends without authorization from you. Allowing other to be present while we provide services is assumed to be acceptance and authorization to discuss your medical information in their presence unless you inform us otherwise. The agency may be identifiable to the community as we provide services to you, such as parking a vehicle in or around your driveway (the vehicle may or may not have the company name on it), carrying a bag with the name of the agency into your home or wearing a name tag into the home. These are also assumed to be authorized unless you specify otherwise. Unintentional disclosure of protected health information is possible within our office during our daily operations.
You have the following rights with regard to your Protected Health Information:
The right to receive a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
The right to review your protected health information. The physical medical record is the property of Iowa Home Care. The information in the medical record will be given to you upon request.
The right to amend your protected health information and have such amendment become a part of your permanent record.
Corporate Compliance Hotline
TOLL FREE NUMBER 1-877-222-6920
Alternatively, you may email corporatecompliance@iowahomecare.com or text 515-707-1751.
Iowa Home Care, LLC has designated an employee hotline number to report any organizational wrongdoing, including fraud, abuse, waste, and violation of any federal or state laws. The hotline is confidential and is designed to provide all employees with an anonymous communication channel. You may also report your concerns directly to our Corporate Compliance Officer.
This hotline number is NOT to be used as an outlet for personnel problems like scheduling. You should bring your general concerns/grievances to your Manager, the Administrator, or any member of the Corporate Executive Team as outlined and referenced in the Employee Handbook.
The Corporate Compliance Team has been created to review and investigate all reports from this line. A thorough internal investigation will occur with each report. The Corporate Compliance Team will be led by the Corporate Compliance Officer and is comprised of a member from each of the respective departments: billing, quality assurance, accounting, administration.
Specific examples of reportable events would include:
Each of us has a responsibility to ensure that we are delivering and administering home health services in complete compliance with the law. It is the job of the entire team to keep our systems honest and accurate.
Iowa Home Care complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate, exclude or treat people differently on the basis of age, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity). race, creed, color, national origin, veteran status, religion or disability with regard to admission, access to treatment or employment.
Iowa Home Care provides free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with us, such as qualified sign language interpreters, written information in other formats (large print, audio, accessible electronic formats, other formats); and free language services to people whose primary language is not English, such as qualified interpreters and information written
in other languages. If you need these services, contact Iowa Home Care.
Iowa Home Care is committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination or harassment. We expect every member of the Iowa Home Care community to do their part to cultivate and maintain an environment where everyone has the opportunity to feel included, and is afforded the respect and dignity they deserve.
Decisions related to hiring, compensating, training, evaluating performance, or terminating are made fairly, and we provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees. We examine our unconscious biases and take responsibility for always striving to create an inclusive environment that makes every employee and candidate feel welcome.