NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

Responsibility of Williamsburg County

Williamsburg County is required by law to protect the privacy of health information. This information is called "protected health information" which includes healthcare services that are provided to you, payment for those healthcare services or to other healthcare operations provided on your behalf.

This agency is required by law to inform you of our privacy protections through this NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES that explains our legal duties and practices with respect to your protected health information. This document describes the ways we may use and/or disclose this information. However, Williamsburg County reserves the right to change/amend/alter of our privacy practice to make the new notice provisions effective for all protected health information.

Questions or concerns about the information in this NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES, you may contact our agency privacy officials at 843-355-9321, ext. 110 or 843-355-5195.

Use & Disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI)

Williamsburg County Emergency management may use or disclose your PHI, as a need in order to produce, coordinate, or manage your healthcare-related services. This includes communications with other healthcare providers, both within and outside this agency, regarding your treatment when we need to coordinate and manage your healthcare.

Payment Services

Williamsburg County reserves the right to give your health information to other staff and health plans to bill and collect payment for services rendered to you. Such as billing services, insurance agencies, client services, collection agency, South Carolina Association of Counties Income Tax Division.

Healthcare Operations

Williamsburg County may use or disclose your PHI in performing a Verity of business activities that we call "healthcare operations". These operations allow us to improve the quality of care we provide to you.

Examples of the way we may use or disclose your PHI include the following:

• Reviewing the care you receive through our Quality Assurance (QA) program
• Reviewing PHI in our mandated training programs/Inservice Training
• Personnel treating other patients with similar problems
• Improving healthcare and cost for groups of clients who have similar problems
• Reviewing and evaluation of skills, qualifications, performance of personnel
• Providing training programs for students, trainees, healthcare providers, or non-healthcare providers
• Assisting with other providers, lawyers, law enforcement, SLED, Investigations Department, Coroner, etc.
• Planning for future operations
• Resolving Grievances within our agency, such as administration, council, personnel

Other Circumstances

Williamsburg County Emergency Services Management may use and/or disclose your PHI for a number of circumstances in which you do not have to give authorization or otherwise have an opportunity to agree or object. These are circumstances that the government has determined to be so important that PHI may be used/disclosed without the client’s permission.

• Disclosures by law
• Disclosures necessary for public health
• Disclosures regarding abuse, neglect, and domestic violence
• Disclosures for health oversight activities
• Disclosures for court proceedings
• Disclosures for law enforcement purpose
• Disclosures relating to death
• Disclosures relating to organ donation
• Disclosures relating to medical research
• Disclosures relating to the threat of personal/personnel safety
• Disclosures relating to specific governmental functions
• Disclosures relating to correctional/custodial situations
• Disclosures relating to Worker’s Compensation
• Disclosures to American Red Cross for Disaster purposes of disaster

Protected Health Information Allows You an Opportunity to Object

Williamsburg County Emergency Management will not disclose your protected health information without your authorization, except as stated above.

If you object to our disclosures about your PHI in any of the above-stated situations, please contact this agency’s PRIVACY OFFICIAL list in this NOTICE.

Privacy Policy Notice

Our Company wishes to inform you of your rights regarding your private healthcare information. You have the right to review our privacy policy prior to signing this Consent form. By signing t his notice you acknowledge that you have had the opportunity to review our Privacy Policy. If you want a copy of this policy or in the event that our policy changes you want a revised copy please contact us at:
205 Thurgood Marshall Boulevard
Kingstree, SC 29556

By signing this form, you expressly acknowledge our use and disclosure of your health information for purposes of your treatment, payment, or other healthcare operations. This notice will not expire and will apply to the services provided to you from this forward.

We will keep and record information about your medical condition. We may use this information or disclose this information to others as follows:

We may use or disclose your health information in order to treat you. For example, we may advise the healthcare provider which we are transporting you to of your medical condition, including your vital signs and medications we have administered to you. We may also disclose your condition to family or caregivers that are involved in your medical care.

We may use or disclose your health information in order to receive payment for the services we provided to you. For example, we may disclose your condition in order for your insurance company to understand why you received treatment so that they will pay your claim. We may also disclose your information to our billing department/billing company/attorney in order to seek payment for the services we provide to you.

We may use or disclose your health information for our operations. For example, we may review your information in order to evaluate your treatment and our services in order to ensure that our care for you now and in the future is the best that it can be.

Your Rights Regarding Your Medical Information

The Right to Inspect and Copy Your Information: You may review and copy your medical records and information. You should make such a request to us at:
205 Thurgood Marshall Boulevard
Kingstree, SC 29556

We have the right to charge $15 for all copying, faxing, and mailing expenses.

The Right to Amend: You may ask that we amend your health information if you believe that your information is incomplete or incorrect. A request for an amendment should be made in writing and should be sent to us at the above address. Your request must be accompanied by a statement from you regarding why you feel the amendment is proper. We may deny your request if it is not written or if you fail to state a reason for the proposed amendment. We may also deny your request if you ask us to amend information that is not part of the information we keep, was not created by us (unless the entity responsible is no longer available), is not part of the information available for you to inspect and copy, or is accurate and complete.

The Right to Know About Disclosures: You have the right to request an accounting of who we have disclosed your health information to. The request should be made in writing and sent to us at the above address. You must state a time period for your request, which cannot be longer than 6 years. Your first request every 12 months is free. After that, we may charge you for additional requests made within 12 months of your least request. Please contact us for the exact cost.

Right to Request Restrictions: You may request a restriction or limitation on how and what health information we disclose regarding you for treatment, payment of health operations, or to your family or caregivers. We do not have to agree to your request. Your request must include a statement of what information you want to limit, whether you want to limit its use, disclosure, or both and to whom you want the limits to apply.

Right to Confidential Communications: You may request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain format or at a specific location. You must request such a confidential communication or specific type or place of communication in writing submitted to us at the address on the reverse side. No reason for this request is necessary and we will honor all reasonable requests.

Right to Receive a Copy of This Notice: You may request and receive a written copy of this notice (or our current notice) at any time by contacting us at the address on the reverse side and requesting a copy of our "Privacy Policy Notice".

Please note that we retain the right to alter, amend, or change this Notice at any time. Any such revision may be effective on any information we obtain about you in the future or any information that we already have regarding you. A copy of our most current Notice will be on display in our offices.

Complaints

Complaints regarding the use of your health information should be made to us and/or the Department of Health and Human Services at:
205 Thurgood Marshall Boulevard
Kingstree, SC 29556

All complaints must be submitted in writing. There is no cost or penalty to you for filing a complaint. Print out the Complaint Form, fill it out and submit it to us to formally file your complaint.

Policies

Regulations set forth under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA). Williamsburg County has adopted the following policies in reference to patient confidentiality. These guidelines, along with the Williamsburg County Privacy policy, restrict the use and distribution of Patients PHI (oral, written, or otherwise). It is your responsibility to adhere strictly to these guidelines and become familiar with these regulations.

• All patients’ information is strictly confidential and can only be divulged to those individuals specified in the Williamsburg County Privacy Policy.
• Distribution of a patients’ health information, PHI (written, oral, electronic, or any other means) will conform to Policy.
• All patients’ information (DHEC reports, billing statements, hospital/nursing home face sheets, electronic media, etc.) will be secured from and unauthorized persons at all times.
• Daily paperwork will be placed in a secure location prior to the end of your shift. 
  • Oncoming crews/shift supervisors has permission to view only those documents pertinent to daily function (call logs/communications information, etc.).
• Personnel will restrain from speaking of individuals PHI/condition unless authorized by the County Policy.  
• Only authorized personnel will have access to a patients’ PHI (written, electronic, etc.).
• Computers/programs/files/offices/cabinets with PHI will be secured with locks/passwords/etc. at all times. Absolutely no unattended unauthorized personnel in these areas.
• No PHI will be distributed to any outside firms/agencies/individuals unless authorized by the County Policy.
• PHI will not be divulged to other agencies/firms/individuals on the scene unless County Policy allows it.