Patient Privacy Notice

Protecting Your Privacy

Utah Knee and Joint Clinic understands the importance and sensitivity of your health information. We protect the privacy of your health information not because we have to,  because it is the right thing to do. We also follow federal and state laws that govern your health information. We use your health information (and allow others to have it) only as permitted by federal and state laws. These laws give you certain rights regarding your health information.

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Your Health Information Rights

You may:

·    Inspect and obtain a copy of your medical or billing records (including an electronic          copy if we maintain the records electronically), as allowed by law, usually within 30          days of your written request.

·    Request and receive a paper copy of our current Notice of Privacy Practices.

·    Require us to communicate with you using an alternate address or phone number.

·    Require that we not send information about a healthcare service or related item to          your health plan if you or someone else pays in full for that service or item and if you        notify us in advance that you — and not your health plan — are going to pay for this        service or item (so we don’t automatically bill your health plan).

·    Request in writing that restrictions be placed on how your health information is used        or shared for treatment or other purposes.

·    Request an accounting of your identifiable health information shared outside of Utah        Knee and Joint Clinic  for a purpose other than treatment or payment.

·    Receive notice if we or our business associates have breached the confidentiality of          your health information.

·    Report a privacy concern and be assured that we will investigate your concern                  thoroughly, support you appropriately, and not retaliate against you in any way (you        may report any privacy concerns to the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of            Health and Human Services, Denver Office).

·    Request in writing that your health information be amended if you think there is an          error.

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How Your Health Information Is Used

​Common Uses of Health Information. When we care for you, we will gather your health information. The law allows us to use or share this health information to:

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·    ​Understand your health condition and treat you accordingly. For example, we may            look at your x-rays or share x-rays we take of you with your treating doctor, who may      be outside of Utah Knee and Joint Clinic , or we may receive your prescription                  information from other health services companies to help you avoid harmful drug            interactions.

·    Bill for your healthcare services and receive payment for our services; for example, we      share your health insurance information with other healthcare providers who treat            you — like your anesthesia doctor or a specialty laboratory — so they can bill for              those services.

·    Determine if a patient is eligible for Medicaid or other Insurance Program by                    submitting personally identifiable information to these state databases.

·    Improve our care. For example, we may contact you to understand what you thought      of our care and to learn how to enhance our services to you.

·    Improve our services to you by allowing companies with whom we contract, called            “business associates,” to perform certain specialized work for us. The law requires            these business associates to protect your health information and obey the same                privacy laws that we do.

·    Perform limited health-data research, where the researcher keeps patient-identifiable      information confidential. Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  reviews every research request        to make sure privacy is appropriately protected before sharing health information.          Law enforcement, but only as authorized by law.

·    Investigate a crime against Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  or any of its patients.

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​Required Uses of Health Information.

The law sometimes requires us to share information for specific purposes, with:

·    The Department of Health, for example reporting communicable diseases, traumatic         injuries, or birth defects, or for vital statistics, such as a baby’s birth.

·    A funeral director or an organ-donation agency, when a patient dies, or with a                  medical examiner when appropriate to investigate a death.

·    The appropriate governmental agency, if an injury or unexpected death occurs at an        Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  facility.

·    State authorities, to report child or elderly abuse.

·    Law enforcement, for certain types of crime-related injuries, such as gunshot wounds.

·    Governmental inspectors, who, for example, make sure our facilities are safe.

·    Military command authorities or the Department of Veterans Affairs, when we treat          patients who are in the military or are veterans.

·    A correctional institution, if a patient is an inmate.

·    The Secret Service or NSA, to protect the country or the President.

·    A medical device’s manufacturer, as required by the FDA.

·    Court officers, as required by law, in response to a court order or a valid subpoena.

·    Governmental authorities, to prevent serious threats to the public’s health or safety.

·    Governmental agencies and other affected parties, to report a breach of health-              information privacy.

·    An employer, but only if the employer contracts with us to help the employer meet          OSHA requirements about workplace and employee safety.

·    A worker’s compensation program, if a person is injured at work and claims benefits        under that program.

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Uses According to Your Requests.

Your preferences matter. If you let us know how you want us to disclose your information in the following situations, we will follow your directions. You decide:

·    If you would like us to share any health or payment information related to your care        with your family members or friends,  please  communicate  to our employees what          you would like us to share. If you are unable to provide us what health or payment            information you want us to share, we may use our professional judgment to decide          what to share with your family or friends for them to be able to help you.

·    Who we should contact in an emergency. If you are unable to tell us who to contact,        we may ask the public authorities to help. For example, we may ask the police to help      find your family, or in a disaster, we may help the Red Cross reconnect you with your        family.

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Uses of Health Information with Your Authorization.

Any sharing of your health information, other than as explained above, requires your written authorization. For example, we will not use your health information unless you authorize us in writing to:

·    Send copies of your health information to a life insurance company.

·    Send information to encourage you to buy a non-Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  product      if we are paid to send that information or make the communication.

·    Sell your identifiable health information.

If you authorize us to share your health information but then change your mind, please notify the appropriate Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  facility in writing that you revoke the authorization. We will honor your revocation, but we will not be able to rescind the health information that you authorized us to send prior to your revocation.

Special Legal Protections for Certain Health Information. Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  complies with federal and state laws that require extra protection of special records. 

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If You Still Have Questions

Our staff is trained to help you with any questions you may have about the privacy of your health information. They will address any privacy concerns you may have about your health information and help you fill out any forms that are needed to exercise your privacy rights. If you are in our office, please ask one of our staff members to help you contact a local Compliance or Privacy Coordinator.

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This privacy notice became effective March, 2023. We may change this privacy notice at any time. You can see our current privacy notice that affects all PHI maintained by Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  on our website, at www.utahkneeandjointclinic.com, or posted in our hospitals, clinics, and offices. You can also obtain a copy of this notice from any of our staff by asking for a copy, or by visiting our website.

This notice describes the privacy practices of Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  employees and volunteers working in our clinics, are required to abide by the terms of this notice. This notice also describes the privacy practices of associated healthcare providers — who are not Utah Knee and Joint Clinic  employees — while treating you in our facilities, unless they provide you with a notice of their own privacy practices. For more information about the specific privacy practices of associated providers, please contact them directly.