Notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information

This notice describes how information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can gain access to this information. Please review it carefully. 

Introduction

At Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota, we are committed to treating and using protected health information about you responsibly. This Notice of Health Information Practices describes the personal information we collect and how and when we use or disclose that information. It also describes your rights as they relate to your protected health information. This notice is effective April 14, 2003, and applies to all protected health information as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). 

Understanding your Health Record/Information

In the course of receiving services from Catholic Charities programs, Catholic Charities may collect information about you, your treatment and the services you receive. Typically this record would contain 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 records, 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 medical research
• A source of information for public health officials charged with improving the health of this state and the nation
• A source of data for our 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 to ensure its accuracy, better understand who, what, when, where and why others may access your health information, and make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosures to others.

Your Health Information Rights

Although your health record is the physical property of Catholic Charities, the information belongs to you. You have the right to:

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

Our Responsibilities

Catholic Charities is required to:

• Maintain the privacy of your health information 
• Provide you with this 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 mail a revised notice to the address you have supplied us, or if you agree, we will email the revised notice to you. 

We will not use or disclose your health information without your authorization, except as described in this notice. We will also discontinue to use or disclose your health information after we have received a written revocation of the authorization according to the procedures included in the authorization.

For More Information or to Report a Problem

If you have questions or would like additional information from Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota, you may contact our Privacy Officer at (320) 240-3345. 

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minnesota, you may file a complaint with our Privacy Officer at (320) 240-3345, or with the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint with either the agency or the Office of Civil Rights.

Office for Civil Rights

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

200 Independence Ave SW

Room 509F HHH Building

Washington DC 20201