HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices – Hudson Valley Private Nursing

This Notice is separate from our website Privacy Policy, which covers general website data. This Notice describes how Hudson Valley Private Nursing handles your protected health information (PHI) once a care relationship begins.

Our commitment to your privacy

Hudson Valley Private Nursing (HVPN) is committed to protecting the privacy of your health information. We are required by law to:

Maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information
Provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices
Follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect
Notify you if a breach of your unsecured health information occurs

How we may use and share your health information

The following describes the ways we may use and disclose health information that identifies you. Not every use or disclosure will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the following categories.

Treatment. We may use your health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your nursing care. With your authorization, we may communicate with other providers involved in your care, such as your physician, specialist, or discharge planner, to coordinate services and report relevant clinical findings. We will not share your health information with other providers without your authorization except in limited circumstances described in this Notice.

Healthcare operations. We may use and disclose health information about you for our healthcare operations. These activities are necessary to run the practice and maintain quality care. Examples include reviewing clinical outcomes, training, quality assessment, and practice management activities.

As required by law. We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law, including mandatory public health and safety reporting obligations.

Public health activities. We may disclose health information for public health activities, such as reporting communicable diseases to public health authorities as required by law.

Health oversight activities. We may disclose health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, including audits, investigations, and inspections.

To avert a serious threat to health or safety. We may use or disclose health information about you when necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of another person or the public. Any disclosure would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

Law enforcement. Under limited circumstances and as permitted or required by law, we may disclose health information for law enforcement purposes, such as in response to a court order or warrant.

Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors. We may disclose health information to a coroner or medical examiner as necessary to identify a deceased person or determine cause of death. We may also disclose health information to funeral directors as necessary for them to carry out their duties.

With your written authorization. For any use or disclosure not described in this Notice, we will ask for your specific written authorization. Examples include most disclosures of psychotherapy notes, use of your information for marketing purposes, and sale of your health information. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already relied on it.

Uses and disclosures we will not make

HVPN will not:

Sell your health information
Use or share your health information for marketing purposes without your written authorization
Use or share psychotherapy notes (if maintained) without your specific written authorization, except as permitted by law
Share your health information with your employer without your authorization
Share your health information for fundraising activities

HVPN is a private-pay practice and does not bill health insurance or government payers electronically. Where documentation is provided to support a long-term care insurance reimbursement inquiry, it is provided only at your written request and authorization.

Minimum necessary standard

When we use or disclose your health information, we will make reasonable efforts to use, disclose, and request only the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purpose of the use or disclosure. This standard does not apply to disclosures made for treatment purposes or disclosures made to you about your own information.

Substance use disorder treatment records — 42 CFR Part 2

Federal law provides special protections for records relating to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment maintained by federally assisted SUD treatment programs (42 CFR Part 2). These protections apply in addition to, and may be more restrictive than, general HIPAA protections.

If HVPN receives records protected under 42 CFR Part 2 from a federally assisted SUD program on your behalf, those records retain their Part 2 protections in our hands. Such records may generally only be disclosed:

With your written consent that meets Part 2 requirements
In a bona fide medical emergency
For specific research, audit, or evaluation purposes permitted by Part 2
As required by applicable law
Pursuant to a court order that meets Part 2 requirements

Part 2-protected records may not be used to initiate or substantiate any criminal charges against you, or to conduct any criminal investigation of you, without your consent or a qualifying court order. Even if you authorize disclosure of Part 2-protected records to a third party, that recipient may not further disclose them without your additional written consent or other Part 2 authorization.

HVPN does not operate a federally assisted SUD treatment program and does not provide substance use disorder treatment. However, if we receive Part 2-protected records as part of coordinating your care, those records will be handled in accordance with 42 CFR Part 2.

Your rights regarding your health information

You have the following rights regarding the health information we maintain about you:

Right to inspect and copy. You may request to inspect and receive a copy of your health information that we use to make decisions about your care. To request access, submit your request in writing to the contact information below. We will respond within 30 days. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.

Right to request amendment. If you believe the health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend it. We may deny your request in certain circumstances, in which case we will tell you why in writing.

Right to an accounting of disclosures. You may request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your health information in the past six years. We will provide one list per 12-month period at no charge; we may charge for additional requests in the same period.

Right to request restrictions. You may ask us to limit how we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. We are not required to agree to your request except in limited circumstances (such as a request to restrict disclosure to a health plan for a service you paid for in full out of pocket). If we agree to a restriction, we will follow it unless the information is needed to provide emergency treatment.

Right to request confidential communications. You may ask us to communicate with you about your health matters in a specific way or at a specific location. For example, you may ask that we contact you only by phone or only at a specific address. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Right to a copy of this Notice. You may request a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive it electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy at the start of any care relationship and upon request.

Right to be notified of a breach. You have the right to be notified if your unsecured health information is involved in a breach. We will notify you without unreasonable delay and no later than 60 days after we discover the breach, as required by the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule.

Our responsibilities

HVPN is required to:

Maintain the privacy and security of your health information
Follow the duties and privacy practices described in this Notice
Not use or share your information other than as described in this Notice unless you authorize us in writing
Notify you promptly if a breach of your unsecured health information occurs

If you authorize a use or disclosure, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time. We will honor your revocation except to the extent we have already taken action in reliance on it.

Changes to this Notice

We reserve the right to change this Notice and to make the revised Notice effective for health information we already have as well as information we receive in the future. The current Notice will be posted on this page. We will provide you with a copy of the current Notice at the start of any care relationship.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with HVPN directly using the contact information below. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights:

Online: hhs.gov/ocr/complaints
By mail: Centralized Case Management Operations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 509F HHH Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20201
By phone: 1-800-368-1019 (TDD: 1-800-537-7697)

You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

Contact HVPN

For questions about this Notice, to exercise any of your rights, or to file a complaint:

Hudson Valley Private Nursing
Andreen Robinson, MSN, RN
Phone: 1-845-460-0889
Contact page

Important notice: This document was prepared as a professional practice standard and should be reviewed by a qualified healthcare attorney before being provided to patients or relied upon for HIPAA compliance purposes. Whether HVPN is a HIPAA covered entity, and whether this Notice satisfies applicable requirements for HVPN's specific practice model, requires a legal determination that this document does not provide.