Privacy Notice

THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
School of Communication Sciences and Disorders
The Memphis Speech and Hearing Center

Notice of Privacy Practices

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.

This notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) for purposes of treatment, payment, health care operations, and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

The Memphis Speech and Hearing Center is required to:
• Maintain the privacy of your Protected Health Information
• Provide you with a copy of this Notice describing our duties and privacy practices as to the information we collect and maintain about you
• Abide by the terms of our current Notice
• Notify you if we cannot accommodate a requested restriction or request
• Accommodate reasonable requests to communicate with you about your Health Information
• Obtain written permission from you for any uses and disclosures not mentioned in this Notice

We reserve the right to change, amend or eliminate provisions in our privacy practices and to make the new provisions effective for all Health Information we keep. Should our privacy practices change, we will amend our notice. You are entitled to receive a copy of the amended notice by calling and requesting a copy of the amended notice or by visiting our office and picking up a copy.

We will not use or disclose your Private Health Information without obtaining a signed authorization from you except as described in this Notice or as otherwise permitted or required by law; for example, in emergency treatment situations.

To Request Information or to File a Complaint

If you have questions, would like additional information, or want to report a problem regarding the handling of your information, you may contact: The Privacy Officer, 4055 North Park Loop, Memphis, TN 38152, 901-678-2009.

Additionally, if you believe that your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a written complaint with The Privacy Officer, 4055 North Park Loop, Memphis, TN 38152, 901-678-2009. You may also file a complaint by mailing it to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington DC 20201.

• We cannot and will not require you to waive the right to file a complaint with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a condition of receiving treatment from this clinic.
• We cannot and will not retaliate against you for filling a complaint with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

HOW IS YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION USED

Each time you visit the Memphis Speech and Hearing Center a record of your visit is made. This information is commonly called your Medical Record; this and other information regarding your care is referred to in this Notice as Protected Health Information (PHI).

Your insurance company may request information that we are required to submit in order to provide and bill for your care, such as procedure and diagnostic information.

PHI is a valuable tool used by University researchers in finding the best treatment for communication problems. Your record may be used for such research, or for contacting you to participate in research studies, after protocols have been approved by the University committee for the protection of human research participants. Information that may identify you will not be released for research purposes to anyone outside the Memphis Speech and Hearing Center without your written authorization.

SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF HOW YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION MAY BE USED FOR TREATMENT, PAYMENT OR HEALTHCARE OPERATIONS

• Medical information may be used to justify needed patient care services.
• We may use your PHI to establish a treatment plan
• We will submit claims to your insurance company containing PHI
• We may contact your health insurance carrier to certify that you are eligible for benefits and to determine the range of benefits
• We may contact you to remind you of your appointment or need to make an appointment by calling you or mailing a postcard
• We may use your PHI to evaluate the quality of care you receive from us, train our students or to make business plans for our clinic
• Being an educational institution involved in teaching and research, we may use your PHI for research purposes and/or request your participation in research projects as a research participant.
• In consideration of our educational function, sessions or services may be observed or videotaped by faculty, staff, and graduate students for research or educational purposes. It is understood that these observers will consider any information revealed during such session or services as confidential and will not be published or distributed in any form in which you could be identified. Your case may be discussed as part of the educational process in classroom settings. In these cases only limited information will be used which could lead to your identification.
• We may use certain demographic information such as name, address, telephone number, age and gender to contact you to raise funds for our Foundation. If you do not wish to be contacted for fundraising efforts please contact: The School Development officer at 901-678-5800

YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION – PATIENT RIGHTS

• You may request a copy or summary of your PHI or you may inspect it
• You may request an amendment to you PHI if you feel there is an error
• You have the right to ask questions and receive answers
• You have the right of refusal to sign an authorization and it not be held against you
• You may change your mind and revoke your authorization, except where actions have already been taken by us relating to that authorization
• You have the right to an accounting of all entities with whom we have shared or disclosed you PHI unrelated to treatment, payment or healthcare operations.
• You may request a restriction on certain uses of your PHI (we will consider reasonable, appropriate requests but are not obligated to agree to them)
• You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices
• You may file a complaint if you believe that your privacy rights have been violated

Any requests or other communications about the rights listed above should be directed to: The Privacy Officer, Memphis Speech and Hearing Center, 4055 North Park Loop, Memphis, TN 38152