Patient Confidentiality Policy
Patient Confidentiality
Effective Date: April 1st, 2023
Policy
At The Sleep Clinic, LLC, we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our patients’ personal and health information. This policy outlines our procedures for collecting, using, storing, and sharing patient information, in accordance with state and federal laws, including the Maryland Confidentiality of Medical Records Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
1. Collection and Use of Patient Information
We collect patient information, including personal and health information, in order to provide high-quality sleep medicine care. We use this information for the following purposes:
- To provide diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care
- The Sleep Clinic, LLC may use and disclose your personal health information to contact you and remind you of an appointment. The Sleep Clinic, LLC may use a sign-in sheet at the registration desk and call you by name in the waiting room when your provider is ready to see you. The Sleep Clinic, LLC may also use your PHI to contact you about test results. The Sleep Clinic, LLC may leave a message reminding you of an appointment of the results of certain tests, but will leave the minimum amount of information necessary to communicate this information.
- To communicate with other healthcare providers involved in the patient’s care
- To obtain payment from insurance companies or other third-party payers
- To obtain payment from insurance companies or other third-party payers
- To conduct quality assurance activities, such as monitoring the effectiveness of our services and identifying areas for improvement
2. Storage and Protection of Patient Information
We use electronic medical records to store patient information, and we take appropriate measures to protect this information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure We use encryption and password protection to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to patient information. We also train our staff on the importance of maintaining patient confidentiality and regularly review our security measures to ensure they are up-to-date and effective.
3. Sharing of Patient information
We only share patient information as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law. We may share patient information with other healthcare providers involved in the patient’s care, such as primary care physicians or specialists. We may also share patient information with insurance companies or other third-party payers for billing purposes. In some cases, we may be required by law to disclose patient information, such as in response to a court order or subpoena.
4. Patient Rights
Patients have the right to access and receive a copy of their medical records. Patients also have the right to request that we amend their medical records if they believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete. Patients may request restrictions on the use and disclosure of their information, although we may not be able to honor all requests. Patients also have the right to file a complaint if they believe their privacy rights have been violated.
5. Staff Training and Compliance
We train all staff members on the importance of patient confidentiality and the procedures outlined in this policy. We also regularly review our practices and procedures to ensure compliance with state and federal laws.
6. Additional Information
Patient Portal and Other Patient Electronic Correspondence.
The Sleep Clinic, LLC may use and disclose your PHI through various secure patient portals that allow you to view, download, and transmit certail medical and billing information and communicate with certain healthcare providers in a secure manner through the portal.
Your Contact Information: Home and Email Addresses/Phone Numbers
If you provide us with a home and/or email address, home/work/cell telephone number, or other contact information during any registration or administrative process, we will assume that the information you provided us is accurate and that you consent to our use of this information to communicate with you about your treatment, payment for service and healthcare operations. You are responsible to notify us of any change of this information. The Sleep Clinic, LLC reserves the right to utilize third parties to update this information for our records.
Email or Downloading PHI
If you email us medical or billing information from a private email address (such as Yahoo, Gmail, etc.), your information may not be secure in transmission. We therefore recommend you use your Patient Portal to communicate with us regarding your care and/or billing issues. If you request that The Sleep Clinic, LLC email your PHI to a private email address, we will send it in an encrypted manner unless you request otherwise. The Sleep Clinic, LLC is not responsible for the privacy or security of your PHI if you request that we send it to you in an unsecured manner or download or post it on a dropbox, unencrypted USB drive, CD or other unsecure medium. In addition, The Sleep Clinic, LLC is not responsible if your PHI is redisclosed, damaged, altered or otherwise misued by an authorized recipient. In addition, if you share an email account with another person (for example, your spouse/partner/roommate) or you shoose to store, print, or post your PHI, it may not be private or secure.
Sensitive Health Information
Federal and state laws provide special protection for certain types of health information, including psychotherapy notes, information about substance use disorders and treatment, mental health and AIDS/HIV or other communicable diseases, and may limit whether and how we may disclose information about you to others.
Substance Use Disorder Records and Information
The confidentiality of patient records maintained by federally assisted substance use disorder rehabilitation programs is protected by Federal law and regulations. Generally, such programs may not disclose any information that would identify an individual as having or being treated for a substance use disorder unless:
- the individual consents in writing;
- the disclosure is allowed by a court order
- the disclosure is made to medical personnel in a medical emergency or to qualified personnel for research, audit, or program evaluation; or
- as otherwise permitted by law.
(Notwithstanding the preceding, we may disclose certain information that could identify you as having a substance use disorder pursuant to the paragraph below.) Violation of these laws and regulations is a crime. Suspected violations may be reported to appropriate authorities in accordance with Federal regulations. Federal law and regulations do not protect any information about a crime committed by a patient either at the program or against any person who works for the program or about any threat to commit such a crime. Federal laws and regulations do not prevent any information about suspected child abuse or neglect from being reported under state law to appropriate state or local authorities.
Consent to Disclose Sensitive Health and Substance Use Disorder Information
The Sleep Clinic, LLC Authorization & Consent to Treat form you sign as part of the registration process includes your consent to the release of federally assisted substance use disorder information, information regarding treatment of communicable diseases and mental health information for the purposes specified in this notice. If you do not wish for this information to be disclosed, you must notify us in writing and we will determine if it is feasible for us to accept your request.
Incidental Disclosures
Despite our efforts to protect your privacy, your PHI may be overheard or seen by people not involved in your care. For example, other individuals at your provider’s office could overhear a conversation about you or see you getting treatment. Such incidental disclosures are not a violation of HIPAA.
Business Associates
Your PHI may be disclosed to individuals or entities who provide services to or on behalf of The Sleep Clinic, LLC. Pursuant to HIPAA, The Sleep Clinic, LLC requires these companies sign business associate or confidentiality agreements before we disclose your PHI to them. However, The Sleep Clinic, LLC generally does not control the business, privacy, or security operations of our business associates.
Authorization for Other Uses and Disclosures
The Sleep Clinic, LLC will obtain your written authorization for uses and disclosures that are not identified by this notice or otherwise required or permitted by applicable law. Any authorization you provide regarding the use and disclosure of your PHI may be revoked at any time in writing. After you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your PHI for the reasons described in the authorization. However, your revocation will not affect actions we have already taken; in other words, we are unable to take back any disclosures of PHI we have already made.
If you have any questions or concerns about our patient confidentiality policy, please contact us.
The Sleep Clinic, LLC
10110 Molecular Drive, STE 209
Rockville, MD 20850
P: 301-291-5671
hello@thesleepclinicmd.com