Notice of Privacy Practices

Purpose: This Notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you may receive this information. Please review this carefully.

This notice is effective as of April 14, 2003 and remains in effect until replaced.

The privacy of your medical information is important to Cardiovascular Consultants. We understand that your medical information is personal and we are committed to making sure it is protected. We create a record of the care and services you receive at our organization. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice explains the different ways we may use and share your medical information. This document also describes your rights and certain duties we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.

Our Legal Duty:

The Law requires Cardiovascular Consultants to: 

   1.  Keep your medical information private. 

   2.  Give you this notice describing our legal duties, privacy

        practices, and your rights regarding your medical information. 

   3.  Follow the terms of this notice.

We have the Right to: 

   1.  Change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice

        at any time, provided that the changes are permitted by law.

   2.  Make changes in our privacy practices and apply the new

        terms to all information that we keep, including existing

        medical information.

Notice of Change to Privacy Practices: Before we make an important change in our privacy practices, we will change this notice and make the new notice available upon request.

Use and Disclosure of Your Medical Information: The following sections describe different ways that we use and disclose medical information. For each type of use or disclosure, we will provide an explanation and give an example. Not every use or disclosure will be listed. However, we have listed different ways we are permitted to use and disclose medical information. We will not use or disclose your medical information for any purpose not listed below, or without your specific written authorization. Any specific written authorization you provide may be revoked at any time by writing to us except to the extent that Cardiovascular Consultants has provided information based upon the original consent.

For Treatment: We may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians, medical students, or other people who are taking care of you.

Example: You are in the hospital with a broken leg. You also have a heart condition. A number of health care and support staff need to know about your heart condition during your stay.            

1.   The doctor treating you for the broken leg needs to know about your heart

       condition to prescribe appropriate medication.

                2.   The dietitian needs to know about your heart condition to arrange

                       proper meals.

            3.   The pharmacy needs to know about possible medicines that you may need

                      for your heart condition.

We may also share medical information about you to your other health care providers to assist them in treating you.

For Payment: We may use and disclose your medical information for payment purposes.

Example: You have been treated in the hospital for a heart condition. 

                1.   We may need to give your health insurance plan information about

                       treatment you received at our organization so that your health plan

                       will pay us or repay you.

                2.   We may also need to contact your health plan about a procedure you are

                       going to receive to get approval or to determine if your plan benefits will

                       cover the recommended medical care.

For Organizational Evaluations: We may use and disclose your medical information for quality control issues within our organization. This might include measuring and improving quality, evaluating the performance of employees, conducting training programs, and getting the accreditation, certificates, license and credentials we need to best serve you.

Additional Uses and Disclosures: In addition to using and disclosing your medical information for treatment, payment, and health care operations, we may use and disclose medical information for the following purposes.

Waiting Room Paging: Our Clinical staff will come to the waiting room and call your name to take you back for your appointment. This allows our staff to provide the most efficient and reliable care to you or your family member.

Notification: If you choose you may indicate a family member, personal representative or another responsible person for us to share your medical information or notify concerning your medical care. 

If you are present, we will request your permission if possible before we share your medical information, or give you the opportunity to refuse permission. In case of an emergency, and if you are not able to give or refuse permission, we will share only the health information that is directly necessary for your health care, according to our professional judgment. Cardiovascular Consultants will make decisions in your best interest about allowing someone to pick up medicine, medical supplies, x-ray or medical information for you.

Disaster Relief:  Providing medical information to a public or private organization or person who can legally assist in disaster relief efforts.

Fundraising: We may provide medical information to one of our affiliated fundraising foundations to contact you for fundraising purposes. We will limit our use and sharing to information that describes you in general, not personal. Fundraising materials will provide a description of how you may choose not to receive future fundraising material.

Research in Limited Circumstances:  Medical information may be provided for research purposes in limited circumstances where the research has been approved and protocols have been established to ensure the privacy of medical information.

Specialized Government: Subject to certain requirements, we may disclose or use health information for military personnel and veterans, for national security and intelligence activities, for protective services for the President and others, for medical suitability.

Funeral Director, Coroner, and Medical Examiner: We may share medical information of a person who has died with a coroner, medical examiner, funeral director, or an organ procurement organization.

Court Orders and Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: We may disclose medical information in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process under certain circumstances. Under limited circumstances, such as court order, we may share your medical information with law enforcement officials. We may share limited information with law enforcement official concerning the medical information of a suspected fugitive, material witness, crime victim, or missing person. We may share the medical information of an inmate or other person in lawful custody with a law enforcement official or correctional institution under certain circumstances. 

Public Health Activities: As required by law, we may disclose your medical information to public health or legal authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability, including child abuse or neglect. We may also disclose your medical information to persons subject to jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration for purposes of reporting adverse events associated with product defects or problems, to enable product recalls, repairs or replacements, to track products, or to conduct activities required by the Food and Drug Administration. We may also, when we are authorized by law, notify a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading a disease or condition.

Marketing: We may use general health information to distribute educational information to patients regarding new services or to bring awareness of certain health information to our patients’ attention. 

Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose health information to an agency providing health oversight for oversight activities authorized by law, including audits, civil,  administrative, or criminal investigations or proceedings, inspections, licensures or disciplinary, or other authorized activities.

Law Enforcement: Under certain circumstances, we may disclose health information to law enforcement officials. These circumstances include reporting required by certain laws (such as the reporting of certain types of wounds), pursuant to certain subpoenas or court orders, reporting limited information concerning identification and location at the request of a law enforcement official, reports regarding suspected victims of crimes at the request of a law enforcement official, reporting death, crimes on our premises, and crimes in emergencies.

Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence: We may disclose medical information to appropriate 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 share your medical information if it is necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others. We may share medical information when necessary to help law enforcement officials capture a person who has admitted to being part of a crime or has escaped from legal custody.

Workers Compensation: We may disclose health information when authorized and necessary to comply with laws relating to workers compensation or other similar programs.

Your Individual Rights:

You have a Right to: 

  1.  Obtain a copy of your medical information. You may request

        that we provide copies in a format other than photocopies. We

        will use the format you request unless it is not practical for us

        to do so. You must make your request in writing. You may get  

        the form to request access by using the contact information listed

        at the end of this notice. You may also request access by sending

        a letter to the contact person listed at the end of this notice.

        If you request copies, we will charge you $17.77 plus $.42 for

        each page, and postage if you want the copies mailed to you.

        Our fee structure is based on the state of Missouri’s guidelines,

        if you wish to obtain these guidelines you may contact us using

        the information listed at the end of this notice.

   2.  Request that we place additional restrictions on our use or

        disclosure of your medical  information. We are not required

        to agree to these additional restrictions, but if we do

        we will abide by our agreement (except in the case of an

        emergency).

  3.   Request that we communicate with you about your medical

        information by different means or to different locations. 

        Your request that we communicate your medical information

        to you by different means or at different locations must be

        made in writing to the contact person listed at the end

        of this notice.