Privacy Policy
Notice of Privacy Practices for Delta Regional Medical Center
Designated as an Affiliated Covered Entity and an Organized Health Care Arrangement under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice, making any revision applicable to all the protected health information we maintain. If we revise the terms of this Notice, we will post a revised notice at Delta Regional Medical Center and will make paper copies of the revised Notice of Privacy Practices available upon request.
Notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you may get access to this information. Please read it carefully.
Delta Regional Medical Center is dedicated to protecting your medical information. This Notice of Privacy 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. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your medical information and to provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your medical information. Delta Regional Medical Center is required by law to abide by the terms of this Notice.
Delta Regional Medical Center is affiliated with separately owned legal covered entities that have designated themselves as a single covered entity for the purpose of providing joint privacy practices under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Delta Regional Medical Center is also affiliated with other health care providers or physicians under an Organized Health Care Arrangement where your protected health information can be shared among the participants of the arrangement and also for the purpose of providing joint privacy practices to you.
How your medical information will be used and disclosed:
We will use and disclose your medical information as part of rendering patient care. For example, your medical information may be used by the doctor or nurse treating you, by the business office to process your payment for the services rendered, and by administrative personnel reviewing the quality of the care you receive.
Examples of Disclosures for Treatment, Payment, and Health Care Operations:
We will use and disclose your protected 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 the actions taken and his/her 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 various reports that should assist him or her in treating you once you are discharged from this hospital.
We will use and disclose your protected 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 and disclose your protected 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 healthcare and services we provide.
We may also use and/or disclose your protected health information in accordance with federal and state laws for the following purposes:
Appointment Reminders: We may contact you to provide appointment reminders.
Treatment Information: We may contact you with information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
Fund Raising: We may contact you to raise funds for Delta Regional Medical Center.
Disclosure to Department of Health and Human Services:
We may disclose your protected health information when required by the United States Department of Health and Human Services as part of an investigation or determination of our compliance with relevant laws.
Facility Directory: Unless you object, we will include your name, location in Delta Regional Medical Center, your condition described in general terms, and your religious affiliation in our directory of individuals. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, will be released to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to members of the clergy, even if they do not ask for you by name, unless you object.
Family and Friends: Unless you object, we may disclose your protected health information to family members, other relatives, or close personal friends when the information is directly relevant to that person’s involvement with your care.
Notification: Unless you object, we may use or disclose your protected health information to notify a family member, a personal representative, or another person responsible for your care of your location, general condition, or death.
Disaster Relief: We may disclose your protected health information to a public or private entity, such as the American Red Cross, for the purpose of coordinating with that entity to assist in disaster relief efforts.
Health Oversight Activities: We may use or disclose your protected health information for public health activities, including the reporting of disease, injury, vital events, and the conduct of public health surveillance, investigation, and/or intervention. We may disclose your protected health information to a health oversight agency for oversight activities authorized by law, including audits, investigations, inspections, licensure or disciplinary actions, administrative, and/or legal proceedings.
Abuse or Neglect: We may disclose your protected health information when it concerns abuse, neglect, or violence to you in accordance with federal and state law.
Legal Proceedings: We may disclose your protected health information in the course of certain judicial or administrative proceedings.
Law Enforcement: We may disclose your protected health information for law enforcement purposes or other specialized governmental functions.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors: We may disclose your protected health information to a coroner, medical examiner, or a funeral director.
Organ Donation: If you are an organ donor, we may disclose your protected health information to an organ donation and procurement organization.
Research: We may use or disclose your protected health information for certain research purposes if an Institutional Review Board or a privacy board has altered or waived individual authorization, the review is prepatory to research, or the research is on only decedent’s information.
Public Safety: We may use or disclose your protected health information to prevent or lessen a serious threat to the health or safety of another person or to the public.
Workers’ Compensation: We may disclose your protected health information as authorized by laws relating to workers’ compensation or similar programs.
Business Associates: There are some services provided in our organization through contracts 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 protected 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.
Authorizations: We will not use or disclose your protected information for any other purpose without your written authorization except as otherwise permitted or required by law. Once given, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time except to the extent that Delta Regional Medical Center has taken an action in reliance on the use or disclosure as indicated in the authorization. To request a Revocation of Authorization form, you may contact: Delta Regional Medical Center, 1400 East Union Street, Greenville, MS 38704, 1-662-334-2051. Contact: HIM Director.
You have the following rights with respect to your medical information:
• You may ask us to restrict certain uses and disclosures of your protected health information. We are not required to agree to your request, but if we do, we will honor it. If we do not honor your request you will be notified.
• You have the right to receive communications from us in a confidential manner.
• Generally, you may inspect and have a copy of your protected health information. We may deny your request for certain specific reasons. If we deny your request, we will provide you with a written explanation for the denial and information regarding further rights you may have at that point.
• You have the right to receive an accounting of the disclosures of your protected health information made by Delta Regional Medical Center following April 14, 2003, except for disclosures for treatment, payment or healthcare operations, disclosures which you authorized and certain other specific disclosure types. Following April 14, 2003, we are required to retain your protected health information for accounting purposes for six years. The right to receive this information is subject to certain exceptions, restrictions and limitations.
• You may request a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
• You have the right to complain to us, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, or the Office for Civil Rights if you believe that we have violated your privacy rights. If you choose to file a complaint, you will not be retaliated against in any way. To complain to us, contact: Delta Regional Medical Center, 1400 East Union Street, Greenville, MS 38704, 1-662-334-6029. Contact: Privacy Officer.
• If you would like further information regarding your rights or regarding the uses and disclosures of your protected health information, you may contact: Delta Regional Medical Center, 1400 East Union Street, Greenville, MS 38704, 1-662-334-6029. Contact person: Privacy Officer.
This notice is effective as of April 14, 2003 and applies to all protected health information as defined by federal regulations.
Privacy Statement
Delta Regional Medical Center is sensitive to privacy issues on the Internet. We believe that it is important you know how we treat the information about you that we receive via this website.
In general, you may visit the Site without telling us who you are or revealing any personally identifiable information about you. Our servers capture, but do not collect, the IP addresses, domain names, and network identifiers of our users. This information is aggregated to measure the number of visits, average time spent on the Site, pages viewed, etc. Delta Regional Medical Center uses this information to measure the use of our Site and to improve the content of our Site. E-mail addresses and other personally identifiable information such as first and last name, home or other physical address, telephone number, and other similar information are known only when voluntarily provided by a visitor during participation in available online interactive activities.
Unless otherwise disclosed during the collection, personally identifiable information that may be collected in connection with visitors to this Site is retained by Delta Regional Medical Center. Delta Regional Medical Center does not sell, transfer, or otherwise disclose this personally identifiable information outside of Delta Regional Medical Center, except where disclosure is required by law. We may use the personal information you provide for any of the following purposes: (1) to understand the use of our Site and make improvements; (2) to respond to specific requests from visitors; (3) to obtain parental consent from visitors under 18 years of age, where necessary; (4) to provide any necessary notices to our visitors or their parent or guardians, where necessary; (5) to protect the security or integrity of our Site when necessary; and (6) to send you notices regarding this Site and our business. These notices may take the form of mailings via U.S. mail or other couriers, telephone calls, e-mail, and other methods of contact. If you do not want to receive these notices from us using your personally identifiable information, you may specify this during online activities, or you may notify us by contacting:
Delta Regional Medical Center
ATTN: Information Services
1400 East Union Street
Greenville, MS 38703
It is our policy that visitors to our Site who are under the age of 18 should not post on or provide information to our Site without the consent of their parents. You should supervise the online activities of your children, and consider the use of parental control tools available from online services and software providers that help provide a kid-friendly Internet environment.
A technology called "cookies" may be used to provide you with tailored information. A "cookie" is a tiny element of data that a Web site can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive so we can recognize you when you return. You may be able to set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie.
This Site has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. When credit card information is transmitted we use industry standard, SSL (secure socket layer) encryption.
This Site may contain links to other sites of third parties. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those other sites.
We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. You are responsible for checking this policy when you visit our Site to review the current policy. If you do not agree with the policy, you should cease use of the Site immediately.
Joint Commission Statement
If you feel that our organization has not resolved your concerns for patient care and/or patient safety, you may contact the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations at:
Office of Quality Monitoring at (800) 994-6610
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Joint Commission Survey Announcement
Public Notice
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations will conduct unannounced accreditation surveys beginning January 1, 2006.
The purpose of these surveys will be to evaluate the organization's compliance with nationally established Joint Commission standards. The survey results will be used to determine whether, and the conditions under which, accreditation should be awarded the organization.
Joint Commission standards deal with organization quality, safety-of-care issues, and the safety of the environment in which care is provided. Anyone believing that he or she has pertinent and valid information about such matters may request a public information interview with the Joint Commission's field representatives at the time of the survey. Information presented at the interview will be carefully evaluated for relevance to the accreditation process. Requests for a public information interview must be made in writing and should be sent to the Joint Commission no later than five working days before the survey begins. The request must also indicate the nature of the information to be provided at the interview. Such requests should be addressed to:
Division of Accreditation Operations
Office of Quality Monitoring
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
One Renaissance Boulevard
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Or Faxed to 630-792-5636
The Joint Commission's Office of Quality Monitoring will acknowledge in writing or by telephone requests received 10 days before the survey begins. An account representative will contact the individual requesting the public information interview prior to survey, indicating the location, date, and time of the interview and the name of the surveyor who will conduct the interview.