Montgomery Hospital & Medical Center Notice of Information Practices

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.

Understanding Your Health Record/Information

Each time you visit a hospital, physician, or other health care provider, a record of your visit is made.  Typically, this record contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, treatment, and a plan for future care or treatment.  This information, often referred to as your health or medical record, serves as a:

• Basis for planning your care and treatment
• Means of communication among the many health professionals who contribute to your care
• Legal document describing the care you received
• Means by which you or a third-party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided
• A tool in educating health professionals
• A source of data for medical research
• A source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of the nation
• A source of data for facility planning and marketing
• A tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve

Understanding what is in your record and how your health information is used helps you to:

• Ensure its accuracy
• Better understand who, what, when, where, and why others may access your health information
• Make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others

Your Health Information Rights

Although your health record is the physical property of the health care practitioner or facility that compiled it, the information belongs to you.  You have the right to:

• Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your information as provided by 45 CFR 164.522
• Obtain a paper copy of the notice of information practices upon request
• Inspect and copy your health record as provided for in 45 CFR 164.524
• Amend your health record as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
• Obtain an accounting of disclosures of your health information as provided in 45 CFR 164.528
• Request communications of your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations
• Revoke your authorization to use or disclose health information except to the extent that action has already been taken

Our Responsibilities

This organization is required by law to:

• Maintain the privacy of your health information
• Provide you with a notice as to our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you
• Abide by the terms of this notice
• Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
• Accommodate reasonable requests you may have to communicate health information by alternative means or at alternative locations

We reserve the right to change our practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information we maintain.  Should our information practices change, we will post the revised notice on our web page and make a copy available, if requested in writing.  

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice.

For More Information or to Report a Problem

If you have questions, complaints or would like additional information, you may contact the Privacy Officer at (610) 270-2202,  in writing at 1301 Powell St., P.O. Box 992, Norristown, PA 19404-0992 or the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

Examples of Disclosures for Treatment, Payment and Health Operations

We will use your health information for treatment.

For example:  Information obtained by a nurse, physician, or other member of your health care team will be recorded in your record and used to determine the course of treatment that should work best for you.  Your physician will document in your record his or her expectations of the members of your health care team.  Members of your health care team will then record the actions they took and their observations.  In that way, the physician will know how you are responding to treatment.

We will also provide your physician or a subsequent health care provider with copies of health care reports that should assist him or her in treating you once you are discharged from this hospital.

We will use your health information for payment.

For example:  A bill may be sent to you or a third-party payer.  The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, as well as your diagnosis, procedures, and supplies used.

We will use your health information for regular health operations.

For example:  Members of the medical staff, the risk or quality improvement manager, or members of the quality improvement team may use information in your health record to assess the care and outcomes in your case and others like it.  This information will then be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care and services we provide.

Business Associates:  There are some services provided in our organization through contacts with business associates.  Examples include physician services in the emergency department and radiology, certain laboratory tests, and a copy service we use when making copies of your health record.  When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associate so that they can perform the job we have asked them to do and bill you or your third-party payer for services rendered.  To protect your health information, however, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information.

Directory:  Unless you notify us that you object, we will use your name, location in the facility, general condition and religious affiliation for directory purposes.  This information may be provided to the clergy or to other people who ask for you by name.

Notification:  We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or another person responsible for your care, your location and general condition.

Communication with Family:  Health professionals, using their best judgement, may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or payment related to your care.

Research:  We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your health information.

Funeral Directors:  We may disclose health information to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to carry out their duties.

Organ Procurement Organizations:  Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose health information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.

Marketing:  We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

Fund Raising:  We may contact you as part of a fund-raising effort.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA):  We may disclose to the FDA health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects, or post marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacement.

Workers Compensation:  We may disclose health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation by law.  

Public Health:  As required by law, we may disclose your health information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.

Correctional Institution:  Should you be an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution or agents thereof health information necessary for your health and the health and safety of other individuals.

Law Enforcement:  We may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a valid subpoena.

Federal law makes provision for your health information to be released to an appropriate health oversight agency, public health authority or attorney, provided that a work force member or associate believes in good faith that we have engaged in unlawful conduct or have otherwise violated professional or clinical standards and are potentially endangering one or more patients, workers, or the public.

EFFECTIVE APRIL 14, 2003

Montgomery Hospital Website Privacy Policy and Practices

This statement outlines the polices and practices of Montgomery Hospital & Medical Center (“Montgomery Hospital”) regarding the collection and use of your personal information from your visit to our web site and your use of our other Internet services. Our other Internet services include “Career Opportunities” section, and other Internet-based services.

Montgomery Hospital has created this privacy statement to demonstrate our commitment to maintaining the privacy of visitors to our web site and users of our Internet services.

Montgomery Hospital’s web site is not intended to be accessed by children. If you are younger than eighteen (18) years of age, you may not access this web site or provide or seek information about a medical issue without the involvement of a parent or guardian.

1. Changes to this Statement

This privacy statement will occasionally be updated to reflect new features and services or new privacy practices. The latest version will always be posted on our web site at www.montgomeryhospital.org.

2. Information We May Collect and How We May Use or Distribute Your Information
 

a. General Web site usage information

To monitor site usage and improve the quality of our web site, we gather information about the use of our site. We use web server logs and industry-standard web site statistics software to count the number of users who visit our web site and to count the number of views of particular pages, as well as to track other general statistics about our web site. We do not track individual users to our web site.

At times Montgomery Hospital may share with third parties the aggregate, anonymous information about overall usage of our web site and other Internet services that we collect, in order to provide general information about our Internet services, or establish sponsorships or other business relationships. We do not share any information about specific users.

b. Information Collected to Process Transactions/Inquiries/Requests for Service

When visitors to our web site request services such as physician reference or health information, we will collect information necessary to process your request. This may include your name, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, and other personal information, if necessary. We have taken and will continue to take reasonable steps to secure your personal information once we receive it. However, please understand that no one can give an absolute assurance that information intended to be maintained private, whether transmitted via the Internet or otherwise, cannot be accessed inappropriately or unlawfully by third parties.

c. E-mail Addresses

When contacting Montgomery Hospital at any e-mail addresses provided on the web site, we may ask for certain information such as name, e-mail address, telephone number or fax number. When collected for this purpose, the information is used solely to verify identity and to provide requested assistance.

Montgomery Hospital will not distribute or sell the e-mail addresses of visitors to any third party.

d. Business Transfers

In the unlikely event that Montgomery Hospital or substantially all of the assets of Montgomery Hospital are acquired by a third party either in a bankruptcy court proceeding or otherwise, it is possible that personal information of visitors would be one of the assets transferred. In such an event, Montgomery Hospital would endeavor to assure that our privacy policies and practices are maintained.

3. Links to Other Web Sites

The Montgomery Hospital web site and many of our print and electronic publications contain links to other web sites. Montgomery Hospital is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these other web sites. Please check with the other sites to determine their privacy policies.

4. Contacting AEHN About Privacy Issues

We welcome your comments, suggestions or questions about our privacy statement and Montgomery Hospital privacy practices. We also welcome visitors' requests to elect not to receive certain forms of communication from Montgomery Hospital and third parties. If you have questions, complaints or would like additional information, you may contact the Privacy Officer at (610) 270-2202,  in writing at 1301 Powell St., P.O. Box 992, Norristown, PA 19404-0992 or the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.