HeartSafe has instituted this policy as part of its Compliance Program
to reflect its commitment to comply with applicable federal laws, including
but not limited to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), state and local laws and sound ethical business
practices. It is HeartSafe's policy to provide individuals with a Notice
of Privacy Practices prior to an individual's first date of service
and to make a good faith effort to obtain written acknowledgment that
the Notice was received by the individual.
Process. Staff must provide all individuals with a Notice of Privacy
Practices and make a good faith effort to obtain written acknowledgement
that the Notice was received. All individuals must receive the Notice
after April 14, 2003, the effective date of the Final Privacy Rule.
Individuals Who Receive the Notice.
All individuals who request treatment from the practice must receive
the Notice as well as those individuals who request a copy of the
Notice from the practice.
a. New patients must receive the Notice prior to their first date
of service. The practice may provide the Notice to the individual
in the office prior to his/her visit and is not required to send
the Notice via mail or facsimile prior to the visit.
a1. Existing patients must receive the Notice upon their first
office visit after the April 14, 2003 compliance deadline.
b. The Privacy Officer will be responsible for ensuring that an
updated version of the Notice is always present on the practice
website.
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Written Acknowledgment. Staff will take the following steps
to obtain written acknowledgement of receipt of the Notice : a.
Staff will ask patient to sign notice of privacy practice acknowledgement
b. Signed receipt will remain in record c. Staff is not required
to obtain written acknowledgement of the Notice in emergency situations.
2. Acknowledgment Not Obtained. Staff is not required to obtain
a signature from an individual. Patient treatment will not be affected
in any manner if an individual fails to provide written acknowledgement
of receipt of the Notice. An individual may refuse or fail to provide
their signature documenting they received the Notice. If a signature
indicating receipt of the Notice cannot be obtained, staff must:
a. Document that a good faith effort to obtain such acknowledgement
was made;
b. The efforts taken to obtain the written acknowledgement of
receipt of the Notice; and
c. The reason for the failure.
d. Documentation must be placed in the individual's medical file.
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Changes to the Notice. The practice is required
to abide by the terms of the Notice, which is currently in effect.
The practice reserves the right to change the terms of the notice
and to make the new Notice provisions effective for all personal health
information the practice already has about an individual and may obtain
in the future.
a. The practice must post any changes to the Notice thirty (30)
days prior to making the change effective.
b. All revised notices will be promptly posted and made available
to individuals in the practice waiting room.
c. Changes to the Notice will only be effective on the date that
is reflected at the bottom of the last page on the revised Notice.
d. Business Associates who handle PHI for or on behalf of the practice
must be provided with an updated Notice within seven business days
of the effective date of the updated Notice.
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Notice Requests. Individuals may request a current Notice
when he/she visits the office. A current Notice must be kept at
the reception desk and provided to individuals upon request.
Practice Contact. If an individual would like more information
about the Notice, The Office Manager will receive and process all
requests.
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Compliance. Employees have a duty to comply with the policies
and procedures set forth by the practice. Any employees found to
violate the practices' policies and procedures are subject to disciplinary
action or corrective measures, including but not limited to, education
and awareness training, reassignment, additional supervision, disciplinary
actions such as warnings, suspension or termination of employment.
