Notice of Privacy Practices
I. Uses and Disclosures of your Health Information
The following are examples of the types of uses and disclosures of your Health Information that Harvard Vanguard is legally permitted to make.
A. Uses and Disclosures of Health Information for Treatment, Payment and Operations
Your Health Information may be used and disclosed by your physician and Harvard Vanguard staff who are involved in your care and treatment. Your Health Information may also be used and disclosed as necessary for Harvard Vanguard to obtain reimbursement for care provided to you, and to support the operation of our practice.
- Treatment: Harvard Vanguard may use your Health Information
to provide and manage your health care. If we refer you for treatment
or consultation outside Harvard Vanguard - for example to another
clinician or hospital - we will provide that health care provider
with the necessary information to diagnose or treat you. In some cases,
these providers have a specific relationship with Harvard Vanguard,
such as physicians at area hospitals to which Harvard Vanguard refers
or admits its patients. Atrius Health providers can also review your
Health Information maintained in your Harvard Vanguard medical record
when they provide care to you. All of these providers must also take
steps to protect the confidentiality of your Health Information. We
believe this type of sharing is critical in providing you the very
best in health care and is necessary given the complexities of various
illnesses and health conditions.
- Payment: Harvard Vanguard may use and disclose your Health
Information, as needed, to obtain payment for health care services.
We may disclose information to your health plan or other third party
payer in order to make sure your treatment is approved, to verify
eligibility or coverage for insurance benefits, and to permit the
payer to review services provided to you for medical necessity. For
example, we may need to share relevant Health Information to your
health plan to obtain approval for a hospital admission.
- Health Care Operations: Harvard Vanguard may use or disclose
your Health Information in order to conduct its business of providing
health care. These "health care operations" may include
quality assessment, training of medical students, credentialing and
various other activities that are necessary to run our practice and
to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of the care that we
deliver to you. Some of these activities occur in conjunction and
cooperation with other Atrius Health groups. Other of these business
operations may be performed by outside parties ("Business Associates")
on Harvard Vanguard's behalf. Our Business Associates must agree to
maintain the confidentiality of your Health Information.
Unless you ask us not to, we will contact you to remind you of your appointments with us. We may also provide you with information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits, products and services that may be beneficial to you, again with the hopes of improving your health and welfare. In addition, Harvard Vanguard we may use your Health Information to contact you for fundraising to support Harvard Vanguard's programs and services and its charitable mission.
B. Other Permitted and Required Uses and Disclosures of Your Health Information:
In addition to treatment, payment and health care operations, there are other circumstances in which Harvard Vanguard is either permitted or required to disclose your Health Information, in accordance with applicable law.
- Involvement of Others in Your Health Care: Harvard Vanguard
will make an effort to ask you if we may share relevant Health Information
about you with family members or any other person you identify. If
you are not present, unable to communicate, or in an emergency situation,
Harvard Vanguard staff may exercise their professional judgment to
determine whether to share this information. In addition, we may need
to disclose Health Information to notify a family member or any other
person responsible for your care of your location, general condition
or death. Finally, Harvard Vanguard may disclose your Health Information
to an authorized public or private entity to assist in disaster relief
efforts, and to coordinate efforts to notify someone on your behalf.
Please be assured we will only do so if absolutely necessary and in
the event of an emergency or disaster.
- Public Health: Harvard Vanguard may disclose your Health
Information for public health activities, including the following:
- to report Health Information (e.g., infectious diseases, such as chickenpox) to prevent or control disease, injury, or disability
- to report births and deaths
- to report reactions to medications or problems with products
- to notify a person who may have been exposed to a communicable
disease, or may be at risk for contracting or spreading the disease
- Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence: If Harvard
Vanguard reasonably believes you are a victim of abuse, neglect or
domestic violence, Harvard Vanguard may disclose your Health Information
to an appropriate agency authorized by law to receive such reports.
- Health Oversight: Harvard Vanguard may be required to disclose
Health Information to a health oversight agency for audits, investigations,
inspections, and other health oversight activities. Oversight agencies
include government agencies that oversee the health care system, government
benefit programs, other government regulatory programs and civil rights
laws.
- Legal Proceedings: Harvard Vanguard may be required to disclose
Health Information in the course of any judicial or administrative
proceeding in response to a legal order or other lawful process, including
a subpoena.
- Law Enforcement: Harvard Vanguard may be required to disclose
Health Information for law enforcement purposes.
- Coroners, Funeral Directors, and Organ Donation: Harvard
Vanguard may be required to disclose Health Information to a coroner
or medical examiner to identify a deceased person or to determine
the cause of death. We may also disclose Health Information to a funeral
director or their designee, as necessary to carry out their duties.
Health Information may also be disclosed to organizations that facilitate
organ, eye or tissue donation and transplantation.
- Research: Harvard Vanguard may use or disclose Health Information
for research that is approved by an Institutional Review Board when
written permission is not required by Federal or State law. This may
include preparing for research or telling you about research studies
in which you might be interested.
- To avert a serious threat to health or safety: Harvard Vanguard
may be required to use and disclose Health Information to prevent
or lessen a serious threat to a person's or the public's health or
safety.
- Specialized Government Functions: Under certain circumstances,
Harvard Vanguard may be required to disclose Health Information to
units of the government with special functions, such as the U.S. military
or the U.S. Department of State.
- Workers' Compensation: Harvard Vanguard may use and disclose
Health Information as required to comply with workers' compensation
laws, and other programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries
or illnesses.
- Required By Law: Harvard Vanguard may be required to use or disclose your Health Information to the extent that the use or disclosure is required by federal, state or local law. This includes any other law not already referred to in the preceding categories. The use or disclosure will be made in compliance with the law and will be limited to the relevant requirements of the law.
C. Uses and Disclosures of Health Information Based upon Your Written Authorization:
Uses and disclosures of your Health Information, other than those described above, will be made only with your written authorization. For example, you will need to sign an authorization form before Harvard Vanguard can send your Health Information to your life insurance company. With limited exceptions, we will also obtain your written authorization prior to using your Health Information for marketing purposes. You may revoke your authorization at any time, in writing, except to the extent that Harvard Vanguard has taken any action in reliance on the authorization.
In addition, federal and Massachusetts laws require that we obtain your specific written authorization for the use or disclosure of certain information about you. This information includes psychotherapy "process notes" as defined by federal law; communications with certain behavioral health professionals; communications between domestic violence victims and domestic violence counselors, and between sexual assault victims and sexual assault counselors; and information related to substance abuse treatment, HIV testing or results, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and genetic testing or test results.