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Sunrise Medical Laboratories,
Inc.
250 Miller Place
Hicksville, New York 11801
800.782.0282
HIPAA 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 IT CAREFULLY.
Sunrise Medical Laboratories, Inc. (Sunrise) is required by the
Privacy Rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to maintain the privacy of protected health
information (PHI) and to provide individuals with notice of its
legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health
information. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how
we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry
out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other
purposes that are permitted or required by the Privacy Rule.
It also describes your rights to access and control your protected
health information. "Protected health information" is
information about you, including demographic information, that may
identify you and that relates to your past, present or future
physical or mental health or condition and the provision health
care services to you.
Uses and Disclosures of
Protected Health Information
For Which Your Authorization Is Not Required
Treatment:
Sunrise is permitted to use and disclose your protected health
information for your treatment without further notice to you and
without your authorization. For example, we are permitted to
disclose your laboratory testing results to the physician or other
authorized health care professional who ordered the testing and to
any other health care professional involved in your treatment.
Payment:
Sunrise will also use and disclose your protected health
information, as needed, to obtain payment for the laboratory
testing services performed for you. For example, in order to
be reimbursed for our services by a health insurer or other
payor, we are required to furnish that payor with specifics
regarding the services we provided and diagnosis information about
you furnished to us by the health care professional treating
you. In certain instances when it becomes necessary for us to
use the services of an outside agency to collect our fees, we
furnish that agency with the information about the services we
provided to the extent necessary for the agency to perform its
functions.
Healthcare
Operations: We may also use or disclose, as needed,
your protected health information in order to support the business
activities of Sunrise. These activities include, but are not
limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review
activities, legal and regulatory compliance functions, training of
students, licensing and accreditation, and conducting or arranging
for legal services and auditing functions. For example,
Sunrise may utilize actual patient laboratory specimens as part of
its quality control and assessment programs.
Other
Permitted or Required Uses and Disclosures:
We may also use or disclose your protected health information
without further notice and without your authorization in the
following situations:
When and to the extent required by law, as in
the case of court orders, subpoenas or other legal process in
connection with judicial and administrative proceedings or in
accordance with the express requirements of statutes and
regulations. The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services may, upon request, obtain access to protected
health information in our possession in connection with the
enforcement of the Privacy Rule.
For public health
activities, such as the requirement to report to public
authorities positive results of laboratory testing for certain
communicable diseases.
For health oversight
activities, such as licensing and governmental audits.
For example, Sunrise is required to maintain certain licenses and
approvals in order to function as a medical laboratory, and in that
connection, is required to submit to inspections and audits by
government agencies; your protected health information may be
used or disclosed in the course of, and incident to, such
inspections or audits.
For law enforcement
purposes.
For disclosure to medical examiners, coroners or funeral
directors about
decedents.
For certain approved research purposes.
To avert a serious threat to health or
safety.
To comply with the requirements of workers' compensation
laws.
Future Contact
with You:
Sunrise may contact you in the future regarding health-related
services and health care issues that may be of interest to you.
Other Uses and
Disclosures
No other uses and disclosures of your PHI will be made without
your written authorization. Any authorization given for these
purposes may be revoked at any time in writing, except to the
extent that Sunrise has taken action in reliance on the
authorization.
Access to Test Results
Under New York law, we are not permitted to give you your
laboratory testing results without the written consent of your
physician or other health care professional. However, you may
obtain a copy of your test report directly from your physician or
other health care professional.
Your Individual
Rights
Restrictions
on Uses and Disclosures:
You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and
disclosures of your protected health information. For
example, you may request that your protected health information not
be disclosed to family members, relatives or close personal friends
who may be involved in your care. Under the Privacy Rule, we
are not required to agree to any such requested restriction.
Alternative
Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that you receive
confidential communications of protected health information from us
by alternative means or at an alternative location. We are
only required to accommodate such requests if reasonable.
Amendments to
Protected Health Information
You have the right to request that we amend your protected health
information. We are permitted to deny any such request if
your protected health information is accurate and complete.
Accounting
You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures
of your protected health information that we make after April 14,
2003, the date the Privacy Rule went into effect. Under the
Privacy Rule, this accounting will not include disclosures made for
purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations.
Notice
If you are viewing this Notice on Sunrise's web site, you have the
right to request and obtain a paper copy from us. We are
required to abide by the terms of this Notice as currently in
effect. However, we reserve the right to change the terms of
this Notice at any time to reflect changes in our privacy practices
and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all protected
health information that we maintain, regardless of when such
information was created or received. Revised Notices will be
posted on Sunrise's web site and will be available at Sunrise
facilities upon request.
Complaints and
Further Information
If you believe that your privacy rights under the HIPAA Privacy
Rule have been violated, you may submit a complaint to Sunrise and
to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Sunrise will not retaliate against any individual
who submits a complaint. If you wish to register a complaint
with Sunrise, you may do so by writing to us at our principal
offices, 240 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, New York 11788, Attention:
Privacy Officer. If you would like further information about
the matters covered by this Notice, you may contact Sunrise's
Privacy Officer at 631.435.1515, Extension 118.
This Notice becomes effective on April 14, 2003.
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