NOTICE OF PRIVACY 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 carefully.
Safeguarding Your Protected Health Information
The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) is committed to protecting your health information. MDH is required by law to maintain the privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI). PHI includes any identifiable information that we obtain from you or others that relate to your physical or mental health, the health care you have received, or payment for heath care. As required by law, this notice provides you with information about your rights and our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to the privacy of PHI. In order to provide treatment or to pay for your healthcare, MDH will ask for certain health information and that health information will be put into your record. The record usually contains your symptoms, examination and test results, diagnoses, and treatment. That information, referred to as your health or medical record, and legally regulated as health information may be used for a variety of purposes. MDH and its Business Associates are required to follow the privacy practices described in this Notice, although MDH reserves the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time. You may request a copy of the new notice from any MDH agency. It is also posted on our HIPAA website.
How MDH May Use and Disclose Your Protected Health Information
MDH employees will only use your health information when doing their jobs. For uses beyond what MDH normally does, MDH must have your written authorization unless the law permits or requires it. The following are some examples of our possible uses and disclosures of your health information.
Uses and Disclosures Relating to Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations
For treatment: MDH may use or share your health information to approve, deny treatment and to determine if your medical treatment is appropriate. For example, MDH health care providers may need to review your treatment with your healthcare provider for medical necessity or for coordination of care.
To obtain payment: MDH may use and share your health information in order to bill and collect payment for your health care services and to determine your eligibility to participate in our services. For example, your health care provider may send claims for payment of medical services provided to you.
For health care operations: MDH may use and share your health information to evaluate the quality of services provided, or to our state or federal auditors.
Other Uses and Disclosures of Health Information Required or Allowed by Law
Information purposes: Unless you provide us with alternative instructions, MDH may send appointment reminders and other materials about the program to your home.
Required by law: MDH may disclose health information when a law requires us to do so.
Public health activities: DHMH may disclose health information when DHMH is required to collect or report information about disease or injury, or to report vital statistics to other divisions in the department and other public health authorities.
Health oversight activities: MDH may disclose your health information to other divisions in the department and other agencies for oversight activities required by law. Examples of these oversight activities are audits, inspections, investigations, and licensure.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, Funeral Directors, and Organ Donations: MDH may disclose health information relating to a death to coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors, and to authorized organizations relating to organ, eye, or tissue donations or transplants.
Research purposes: In certain circumstances, and under supervision of our Institutional Review Board or other designated privacy board, MDH may disclose health information to assist medical research.
Avert threat to health or safety: In order to avoid a serious threat to health or safety, MDH may disclose health information as necessary to law enforcement or other persons who can reasonably prevent or lessen the threat of harm.
Abuse and Neglect: MDH will disclose your health information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, or some other crime. MDH may disclose your health information to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others.
Specific government functions: MDH may disclose health information of military personnel and veterans in certain situations, to government benefit programs relating to eligibility and enrollment, and for national security reasons, such as protection of the President.
Family, friends, or others involved in your care: MDH may share your health information with people as it is directly related to their involvement in your care or payment of your care. MDH may also share your health information with people to notify them about your location, general condition, or death.
Worker’s compensation: MDH may disclose health information to worker’s compensation programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses without regard to fault.
Patient directories: MDH entities generally do not maintain directories for disclosures to callers or visitors who ask for you by name. However, if a MDH entity does maintain a directory, you will not be identified to an unknown caller or visitor without authorization, and the limited information we disclose may include your name, location in the entity, your general condition (e.g., fair, stable, etc.) and your religious affiliation.
Lawsuits, disputes and claims: If you are involved in a lawsuit, a dispute, or a claim, MDH may disclose your health information in response to a court or administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, the investigation of a complaint file don your behalf, or other lawful process.
Law enforcement: MDH may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for purposes that are required by law or in response to a subpoena.
Other parties for conducting permitted activities: MDH may conduct the above-described activities ourselves, or we may use non-MDH entities (known as Business Associates) to perform those operations. In those instances where we disclose your PHI to a third party acting on our behalf, we will protect your PHI through an appropriate privacy agreement.
Fundraising activities: MDH may use information about you to contact you in an effort to raise money for MDH and its operations. The information we release about you will be limited to your contact information, such as your name, address and telephone number and the dates you received treatment or services at MDH.
Your Rights
You have a right to:
Request restrictions: You have a right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information MDH uses or discloses about you. MDH will accommodate your request if possible, but is not legally required to agree to the requested restriction. Except as otherwise required by law, MDH must accommodate your request if the disclosure is to a health plan for purposes of carrying out payment or health care operations (and is not for purposes of carrying out treatment); and the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or service for which the health care provider involved has been paid out of pocket in full.
Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to ask that MDH send you information at an alternative address or by alternative means. MDH must agree to your request as long as it is reasonably easy for us to do so.
Inspect and copy: With certain exceptions (such as psychotherapy notes, information collected for certain legal proceedings, and health information restricted by law), you have the right to see your health information upon your written request. If you want copies of your health information, you may be charged a reasonable and cost-based fee for copying, postage, and preparing an explanation or summary of the PHI. You have a right to choose what portions of your information you want copied and to have prior information on the cost of copying. If MDH maintains your health information using electronic health records, we will provide access in electronic format and transmit copies of the health information to an entity or person designated by you, provided that any such choice is clear, conspicuous, and specific.
Request amendment: You may request in writing that MDH correct or add to your health record. MDH will respond to your request within 60 days, with up to a 30-day extension, if needed. MDH may deny the request if MDH determines that the health information is: (1) correct and complete; (2) not created by us and/or not part of our records; or (3) not permitted to be disclosed. If MDH approves the request for amendment, MDH will change the health information and inform you, and MDH will tell others that need to know about the change in the health information.
Require authorization: You have the right to require your authorization for most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes, for receiving marketing communication and for the sale of your PHI.
Receiving accounting of disclosures: You have a right to request a list of the disclosures made of your health information after April 14, 2003, and in the six years prior to the date on which the accounting is requested. Exceptions are health information that has been used for treatment, payment, and operations. In addition, MDH does not have to list disclosures made to you, based on your written authorization, provided for national security, to law enforcement officials or correctional facilities. There will be no charge for up to one such list each year. Additionally, MDH will provide an accounting for disclosures made through an electronic health record for treatment, payment, and health care operations, but information is limited to three years prior to the date of request.
Opt-Out: You have the right to receive fundraising communication and the right to request to opt-out of fund-raising communication. You also have a right to opt-out of a MDH facility’s patient directory, and you have the right to opt-out of Maryland’s Health Information Exchange (HIE), which is the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP).
Receive notice: You have the right to receive a paper copy of this Notice and/or an electronic copy by mail upon request.
Receive breach notice: You have the right to receive notification whenever a breach of your unsecured PHI occurs.
Receive protection of genetic information: If any of MDH’s health care components is considered a health plan, the health plan is prohibited from using or disclosing your genetic information for certain underwriting purposes.
Receiving protection of mental health records: If a medical record that is developed in connection with you receiving mental health services is disclosed without your authorization, MDH will only release the information in your record that is relevant to the purpose for which the disclosure is sought.
For More Information: This document is available in other languages and alternate formats that meet the guidelines for the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you have questions and would like more information, you may contact the St. Mary’s County Health Department HIPAA Coordinator at 301-475-4330.
To Report a Problem About Our Privacy Practices:
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint.
- You can file a complaint with the Maryland Department of Health, Division of Corporate Compliance at 1-866-770-7175.
- You can file a complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights. You may call the Maryland Department of Health for the contact information.
MDH will take no retaliatory action against you if you make such complaints.
Effective date: This notice is effective as of July 1, 2017.