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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.

Butte Home Health and Hospice is required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information and to provide you with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices. Butte Home Health and Hospice must abide by the terms of the notice currently in effect, but Butte Home Health and Hospice reserves the right to change the terms. If there is a change, Butte Home Health and Hospice will provide you with a written, revised notice as soon as practicable by mail or hand delivery.

As a patient of Butte Home Health and Hospice; information about you must be used and disclosed to other parties for purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations. These uses and disclosure require your consent, and include, but are not limited to, a release of information contained in financial records and/or medical records, including information concerning communicable diseases such as Human Immune Deficiency Viruses (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), drug/alcohol abuse, psychiatric diagnosis and treatment records and/or laboratory test results, medical history, treatment progress and/or any other related information, to:

Your insurance company, self-funded or third-party health plan, Medicare, Medicaid, or any other person or entity that may be responsible for paying or processing for payment any portion of your bill for services;
Any person or entity affiliated with or representing for purpose of administration, billing, and quality and risk management;
Any hospital, nursing home, or other health care facility to which you may be admitted;
Any assisted living or personal care facility of which you are a resident;
Any physician providing you care;
Family members and other caregivers who are part of your home care plan for service;
Licensing and accrediting bodies, including the information contained in the OASIS Data Set to the state agency acting as a representative of the Medicare/Medicaid program;
Contact you to provide appointment reminders or information about other health activities we provide;
Contact you to raise funds for Butte Home Health and Hospice.
Other health Care providers to initiate treatment.

Butte Home Health and Hospice is permitted to use or disclose information about you without consent or authorization in the following circumstances:

In emergency treatment situations, if Butte Home Health and Hospice attempts to obtain consent as soon as practicable after treatment;
Where substantial barriers to communicating with you exist and Butte Home Health and Hospice determines that the consent is clearly inferred from the circumstances;
Where Butte Home Health and Hospice is required by law to provide treatment and we are unable to obtain consent;
Where the use or disclosure is required by law;
For certain public health activities;
Where Butte Home Health and Hospice reasonably believes you are a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence to a government authority authorized to receive abuse, neglect or domestic violence;
Health care oversight activities;
Certain judicial administrative proceedings;
Certain law enforcement purposes;
To coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors, in certain circumstances;
For cadaveric organ, eye or tissue donation purposes;
For certain research purposes;
To avert a serious threat to health and safety;
For specialized government functions, including military and veteran's activities, national security and intelligence activities, protective services for the President and others, medical suitability determinations, correctional institution and custodial situations;
For Worker's Compensation purposes.

Butte Home Health and Hospice is permitted to use or disclose information about you without consent or authorization provided you are informed in advance and given the opportunity to agree to or prohibit or restrict the disclosure in the following circumstances:

The use of a directory of individuals served by Butte Home Health and Hospice.
To a family member, relative, friend, or other identified person, the information relevant to such persons involvement in your care or payment for care.

Other uses and disclosure will be made only with your written authorization. That authorization may be revoked, in writing, at any time, except in limited situations.

YOUR RIGHTS
You have the right, subject to certain conditions, to:

Request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of information about you. However, Butte Home Health and Hospice is not required to agree to the requested restrictions.
Receive confidential communication of protected health information.
Inspect and copy protected health information.
Amend protected health information.
Receive an Accounting of Disclosure under certain circumstances.
Obtain a paper copy of this notice, if you had agreed to receive this notice electronically.

COMPLAINTS
You may complain to Butte Home Health and Hospice and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you believe that your privacy rights have been violated. There will be no retaliation against you for filing a complaint. The complaint should be filed in writing with Butte Home Health and Hospice and should state the specific incident(s) in terms of subject, date, and other relevant matters. Contact the Privacy Officer, Butte Home Health and Hospice, 10 Constitution Drive, Chico, CA 95973, or (530) 895-0462, or (800) 655-0462.

To file a complaint with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, send your complaint to him or her in care of: Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20201.

This notice is effective 4/14/03