Table of Contents

• Other Uses Of Medical Information.

This notice describes Noble Hospital’s practices and that of:

• Any health care professional authorized to enter information into your hospital chart.
• All departments and units of the hospital.
• Any member of a volunteer group we allow to help you while you are in the hospital.
• All employees, staff and other personnel associated with Noble Hospital.

All these entities, sites and locations follow the terms of this notice. In addition, these entities, sites, and locations may share medical information with each other for treatment, payment or hospital operational purposes described in this notice.

We understand that medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive at Noble Hospital. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated or maintained by Noble Hospital, whether made by hospital personnel or your personal physician. Your personal physician may have different policies or notices regarding the use and disclosure of your medical information. This notice will tell you about the ways in which we may use and disclose medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.

We are required by law to:

• Maintain the privacy of medical information that identifies you;
• Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to medical information about you and,
• Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE
MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU.

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose medical information. For each category of uses and disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

For Treatment. We may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to physicians, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other hospital personnel who are involved in taking care of you at the hospital. For example, a physician treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition, the physician will tell appropriate Dietary personnel if you have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different departments of the hospital also may share medical information about you in order to coordinate the services you need, such as prescriptions, lab work, and x-rays. We also may disclose medical information about you to people outside the hospital who may be involved in your medical care after you leave the hospital, such as other health care providers, family members, clergy or others we use to provide services that are part of your care.

For Payment. We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the hospital may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about surgery you received at the hospital so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.

For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose medical information about you for hospital operations. The uses and disclosures for "health care operations" relate to certain administrative, financial, legal and quality improvement activities that are necessary to run the hospital, and to support the core functions of treatment and payment. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine medical information about many hospital patients to decide what additional services the hospital should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to physicians, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other hospital personnel for review and educational purposes. We may also combine the medical information we have with medical information from other hospitals to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are.

Appointment Reminders. We may use and disclose information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care at the hospital.

Treatment Alternatives. We may use and disclose information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.

Health-Related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.

Fundraising Activities. We may use medical information about you to contact you in an effort to raise money for the hospital and its operations. We may disclose medical information to Noble Health Systems so that they may contact you relative to fundraising activities for the hospital or other subsidiaries. We only would release contact information, such as your name, address, and phone number and the dates you received treatment or services at the hospital. If you do not want Noble Hospital, Noble Health Systems, or any of its subsidiaries to contact you for fundraising efforts, you must notify the Development Director in writing.

Hospital Directory. We may include certain limited information about you in the hospital directory while you are a patient at the hospital. This information may include your name, location in the hospital, your general condition (for example, good, fair, etc.) and your religious affiliation. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may also be released to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest, minister, or rabbi, even if they don’t ask for you by name. This is so your family, friends and clergy can visit you in the hospital and generally know how you are doing. Please notify us if you do not wish to be listed in the hospital directory. Those patients receiving psychiatric services in our Fowler Wing should note that their information is not listed in our directory.

Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. We may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care. We may also tell your family or friends your condition and that you are in the hospital. In addition, we may disclose medical information about you to an entity assisting in disaster relief efforts so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location. If you are receiving psychiatric services in our Fowler Wing, we will only release information to the person you have specifically designated as a person to notify.

Research. Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes. For example, a research project may involve comparing health and recovery of all patients who received one medication to those who received another, for the same condition. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of medical information, trying to balance the research needs with patients’ need for privacy of their medical information. Before we use or disclose medical information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process, but we may, however disclose medical information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, for example, to help them look for patients with specific medical needs, so long as the medical information they review does not leave the hospital.

As Required By Law. We will disclose medical information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.

To Avert A Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use or disclose medical information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

Organ and Tissue Donation. If you are an organ donor, we may release medical information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.

Military. If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release information about you as required by military command authorities. We may also release medical information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate military authority.

Workers’ Compensation. We may release medical information about you for workers’ compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.

Public Health Activities. We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include the following:

• To prevent or control disease, injury or disability;

• To report births and deaths;

• To report child abuse or neglect;

• To report reactions to medications or problems with products;

• To notify people of recalls of products they may be using;

• To notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition;

• To notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights.

Lawsuits and Disputes. If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose medical information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose medical information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request.

Law Enforcement. We may release medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official;

• In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons, or similar process;

• To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person;

• About the victim of a crime if, under limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person’s agreement;

• About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;

• About criminal conduct at the hospital;

• In emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime.

Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors. We may release medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release medical information about patients of the medical facility to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties.

National Security and Intelligence Activities. We may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.

Protective Services for the President and Others. We may disclose medical information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.

Inmates. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of law enforcement official, we may release medical information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official. The release would be necessary (1) for the institution to provide you with health care; (2) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; or (3) for the safety, security and good order of the correctional institution and its employees, officers and related contractors.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING MEDICAL
INFORMATION ABOUT YOU.

You have the following rights regarding medical information we maintain about you.

Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually this includes medical and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes.

To inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to the Medical Records Director. The Medical Records Director’s contact information can be found at the end of this notice. If you request a copy of the information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying, mailing or other supplies associated with your request.

We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. To make such a request, you must send your request to the Medical Records Director in writing. Another licensed health care professional chosen by the hospital will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.

Right to Request an Amendment. If you feel that medical information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for the hospital.

To request an amendment, your request must be in writing and submitted to the Medical Records Director. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request.

We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that;

• Was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendments not part of the medical information kept by or for the hospital

• Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or

• Is accurate or complete.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." This is a list of exceptional disclosures we made of medical information about you. For example, disclosures such as public health reporting, child abuse reports, or for research purposes.

To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing to the Director of Medical Records. Your request must state a time period which may not be longer than six years and may not include dates before April 14, 2003. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for example, on paper, electronically). The first list you request within a 12 month period will be free. For additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time before any costs are incurred.

Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not use or disclose information about a particular surgery you had.

We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment, or as otherwise required by law.

To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to the Director of Medical Records. In your request, you must tell us (1) what information you want to limit; (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both; and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply, for example disclosures to your spouse.

To request confidential communication, you must make your request in writing to the Director of Medical Records or the Director of Patient Accounting, if related to payment or billing information. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. If you have received this notice electronically, you have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice.

Exceptions for Patients in the Department of Psychiatric Services

Information about you will be disclosed only when you sign individual releases of information to specific parties involved in your care. This includes information to outpatient health care providers, to family members, to clergy or to anyone else involved in your treatment. No information will be released and no discussions about your healthcare will occur with personnel outside Noble Hospital, until such releases have been obtained.

No information about you will ever be released for fundraising purposes.

To obtain a paper copy of this notice ask your nurse, or contact the Privacy Officer at (413) 572-5056

Medical Records Director
Noble Hospital
115 West Silver Street
Westfield, MA 01085
413-568-2811 x5557

We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make revised or changed notice effective for medical information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in the hospital. The notice will contain on the cover page, the effective date. In addition, each time you register at or are admitted to the hospital for treatment or health care services as an inpatient or outpatient, we will offer you a copy of the current notice in effect.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the hospital or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Noble Hospital, contact:

All complaints must be submitted in writing.

Other uses and disclosures of medical information not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission. If you provide us permission to use or disclose medical information about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided you.