A&H Stores: Home Medical Privacy Notice

A & H Home Medical is required by law to maintain the privacy of Protected Health Information ("PHI") and to provide individuals with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI. PHI is information that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services. This Notice of Privacy Practices ("Notice") describes how we may use and disclose PHI to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other specified purposes that are permitted or required by law. The Notice also describes your rights with respect to PHI about you.

We are required to follow the terms of this Notice. We will not use or disclose PHI about you without your written authorization, except as described in this Notice. We reserve the right to change our practices and this Notice and to make the new Notice effective for all PHI we maintain. Upon request, we will provide any revised Notice to you.

Your Health Information Rights

You have the following rights with respect to PHI about you:

Obtain a paper copy of the Notice upon request. You may request a copy of the Notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy. To obtain a paper copy, contact the home medical manager or lead person at one of the locations listed above or A & H Privacy Officer, 1420 Maple Ave. S.W., #201, Renton, WA 98055, 425/255-7083.

Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of PHI. You have the right to request additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of PHI about you by sending a written request to A & H Privacy Officer, 1420 Maple Ave. S.W., #201, Renton, WA 98055, 425/255-7083. We are not required to agree to those restrictions.

Inspect and obtain a copy of PHI. You have the right to access and copy PHI about you contained in a designated record set for as long as we maintain the PHI. The designated record set usually will include prescription and billing records. To inspect or copy PHI about you, you must send a written request to A & H Privacy Officer, 1420 Maple Ave. S.W., #201, Renton, WA 98055, 425/255-7083. We may charge you a fee for the costs of copying, mailing and supplies that are necessary to fulfill your request. We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain limited circumstances. If you are denied access to PHI about you, you may request that the denial be reviewed.

Request an amendment of PHI. If you feel that PHI we maintain about you is incomplete or incorrect, you may request that we amend it. You may request an amendment for as long as we maintain the PHI. To request an amendment, you must send a written request to A & H Privacy Officer, 1420 Maple Ave. S.W., #201, Renton, WA 98055, 425/255-7083. You must include a reason that supports your request. In certain cases, we may deny your request for amendment. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with the decision and we may give a rebuttal to your statement.

Receive an accounting of disclosures of PHI. You have the right to receive an accounting of the disclosures we have made of PHI about you after April 14, 2003 for most purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations. The accounting will exclude certain disclosures, such as disclosures made directly to you, disclosures you authorize, disclosures to friends or family members involved in your care, and disclosures for notification purposes. The right to receive an accounting is subject to certain other exceptions, restrictions, and limitations. To request an accounting, you must submit a request in writing to A & H Privacy Officer, 1420 Maple Ave. S.W., #201, Renton, WA 98055, 425/255-7083. Your request must specify the time period, but may not be longer than six years. The first accounting you request within a 12 month period will be provided free of charge, but you may be charged for the cost of providing additional accountings. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time.

Request communications of PHI by alternative means or at alternative locations. You may request that we contact you about medical matters only in writing or at a different residence or post office box. To request alternative communication of PHI about you, you must submit a request in writing to A & H Privacy Officer, 1420 Maple Ave. S.W., #201, Renton, WA 98055, 425/255-7083. Your request must state how or where you would like to be contacted. We will accommodate all reasonable requests.

Examples of How We May Use and Disclose PHI

A. The following are descriptions and examples of ways we use and disclose PHI:

1. We will use PHI for treatment. Example: Information obtained by our personnel will be used to determine the best equipment and supplies for you and how best to provide them to you. We will document in your record information related to the equipment and supplies and services provided to you.

2. We will use PHI for payment. Example: We will contact your insurer or other health care benefits provider to determine whether it will pay for your equipment and supplies and the amount of your co-payment. We will bill you or a third-party payer for the cost of equipment and supplies provided to you. The information on or accompanying the bill may include information that identifies you, as well as the equipment and supplies you are using.

3. We will use PHI for health care operations. Example: We may use information in your health record to monitor the performance of our personnel providing equipment, supplies or services to you. This information will be used in an effort to continually improve the quality and effectiveness of the health care products and services we provide.

B. We are likely to use or disclose PHI for the following purposes:

1. Communication with individuals involved in your care or payment for your care: Our personnel, using their professional judgment, may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any person you identify, PHI relevant to that person's involvement in your care or payment related to your care.

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

3. Worker's compensation: We may disclose PHI about you as authorized by and as necessary to comply with laws relating to worker's compensation or similar programs established by law.

4. Judicial and administrative proceedings: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose PHI about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose PHI about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only pursuant to Washington State law.

5. Public health: As required by law, we may disclose PHI about you to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.

6. Law enforcement: We may disclose PHI about you for law enforcement purposes as required by law or in response to a valid subpoena or other legal process.

7. As required by law: We must disclose PHI about you when required to do so by law.

8. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): We may disclose to the FDA, or persons under the jurisdiction of the FDA, PHI relative to adverse events with respect to drugs, foods, supplements, products and product defects, or post marketing surveillance information to enable product recalls, repairs, or replacement.

9. Health oversight activities: We may disclose PHI about you to an oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include audits, investigations, and inspections, as necessary for our licensure and for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.

10. Business associates: There are some services provided by us that, in the future, may be provided through contracts with business associates. Examples include billing and collecting for services provided. If these services are contracted for in the future, we may disclose PHI about you 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. Also, our software vendor may come into contact with PHI about you as it works with us to solve any software problems that may arise. To protect PHI about you, we will require the business associate to appropriately safeguard PHI.

C. We are permitted to use or disclose PHI about you for the following purposes, although it would be rare for one of these situations to arise:

1. Research: We may disclose PHI about you 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 information.

2. Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors: We may release PHI about you to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also disclose PHI to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to carry out their duties.

3. Organ or tissue procurement organizations: Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose PHI about you to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs for the purpose of tissue donation and transplant.

4. Fundraising: We may contact you as part of a fundraising effort.

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

6. Correctional institution: If you are or become an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose PHI to the institution or its agents when necessary for your health or the health and safety of others.

7. To avert a serious threat to health or safety: We may use and disclose PHI about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person.

8. Military and veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release PHI about you as required by military command authorities. We may also release PHI about foreign military personnel to the appropriate military authority.

9. National security and intelligence activities: We may release PHI about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.

10. Protective services for the President and others: We may disclose PHI about you to authorized federal official so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.

11. Victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence: We may disclose PHI about you to a government authority, such as a social service or protective services agency, if we reasonably believe you are a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence. We will only disclose this type of information to the extent required by law, if you agree to the disclosure, or if the disclosure is allowed by law and we believe it is necessary to prevent serious harm to you or someone else or the law enforcement or public official that is to receive the report represents that it is necessary and will not be used against you.

Other Uses and Disclosures of PHI

We will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing PHI about you for purposes other than those provided for above or as otherwise permitted or required by law. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time. Upon receipt of the written revocation, we will stop using or disclosing PHI about you, except to the extent that we have already taken action in reliance on the authorization.

For More Information or to Report a Problem

If you have questions or would like additional information about A & H Home Medical's privacy practices, you may contact the A & H Privacy Officer at 1420 Maple Ave. S.W., #201, Renton, WA 98055, 425/255-7083. If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the A & H Privacy Officer at 1420 Maple Ave. S.W., #201, Renton, WA 98055, 425/255-7083 or with the Secretary of Health and Human Services. There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

Effective Date

This Notice is effective as of April 14, 2003.