Disclosure of Medical Information

Federal law requires The Blessing System to maintain the privacy of individually identifiable health information and to provide you with notice of its legal duties and privacy practices with respect to such information. The Blessing System must abide by the terms and conditions of this Privacy Notice, as The Blessing System may revise this Privacy Notice from time to time.

The Blessing System may use your individually identifiable health information for treatment, payment and health care operations. Examples of treatment, payment and health care operations include:

• Treatment could include consulting with or referring your case to another health care provider. The type of health information that The Blessing System could use or disclose includes, but is not limited to, such health conditions as blood type, diagnosis of your condition or pregnancy status. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you. Information may be shared among departments and organizations to coordinate the different things you may need, such as prescriptions, lab work, meals, x-rays, home care, hospice, or medical equipment needs. We may also provide your physician or a subsequent provider with copies of various reports that should assist him or her in treating you once you are discharged from our care. We may disclose medical information about you to people outside the Blessing System who may be involved in your continuing medical care including other health care providers, transport companies, other health care facilities, family members or others that are part of your care.
• Payment could include The Blessing System's efforts to obtain reimbursement from you or a responsible third party for services that The Blessing System has provided to you.
• Health Care Operations could include activities such as quality assessment and improvement activities and audits of the process of billing you or a third party for health care services The Blessing System provides to you. As part of The Blessing System's treatment of you and operation of a health care organization, The Blessing System may contact you, by phone or by mail, to provide appointment reminders or to provide information about treatment alternatives or other health-related services that may be of interest to you. We may also use and disclose medical information to assess your satisfaction with our services, for future communications in newsletters, mailouts regarding treatment options disease management programs, wellness programs or other community based initiatives our facility is partnering. The Blessing System may also contact you for fundraising purposes. We will also use your information for conducting training programs and reviewing competence of health care professionals.

In addition to treatment, payment and health care operations, and unless this Privacy Notice recites a more stringent restriction in Section C, the law permits or requires The Blessing System to use or disclose individually identifiable health information without your written consent or authorization to:

• Comply with public health reporting and notification requirements, including reporting of adverse product events to the Food and Drug Administration,
• Report suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence, as required by law,
• Submit information to health oversight agencies for oversight activities, such as audits, authorized by law,
• Respond to a final order or subpoena of a court or administrative tribunal,
• Assist law enforcement personnel, as required by law, or to fulfill a law enforcement request for certain limited information for the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, witness, or victim in an investigation, or to report a potential crime
• Assist a medical examiner or funeral director,
• Assist an organ procurement organization or organ bank in facilitating organ or tissue donation and transplantation,
• Further research complying with federal requirements,
• Avert a serious and imminent threat to public health safety,
• Assist with government activities related to the military, veterans, or national security,
• Comply with workers' compensation or similar laws,
• Allow individuals responsible for your care to assist you in the event of your incapacity or an emergency, and as otherwise required by law.

With your oral agreement, The Blessing System may also disclose certain information for purposes of its patient directory or to inform relatives or other individuals directly involved in your care or payment for your care regarding your condition.

In addition, The Blessing System may use and/or disclose your individually identifiable health information as follows:

• Business Associates: There are some services provided by The Blessing System through contracts with business associates which are vendors, professionals and others who perform some treatment, payment or health care operations functions on behalf of the Blessing System or who otherwise provide services and have access to or use your protected health information. Examples include physicians at Illini Hospital, in the Emergency Department and radiology at Blessing and Illini, certain lab tests, and a copy service we use when making copies of your health record. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your health information to our business associates so that they can perform the job we have asked them to do and bill you or your third-party payer for services rendered. To protect your health information, however, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard your information by requiring that they enter into an appropriate agreement with the Blessing system organization.
• Directory: Unless you object, we will use your name, location in the facility, general condition, and religious affiliation for directory purposes. This information may be provided to members of the clergy and lay ministers assigned by your church or religious affiliation, or to other people who ask for you by name. If you are unable to object, we may use and disclose this information consistent with your prior expressed preference, if known, and the health professional's judgment.
• Notification: Unless you object, health professionals, using their best judgment, may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative, or any person responsible for your care, your location, and general condition. If you are unable to object, we may exercise our professional judgment to determine if a disclosure is in your best interest and disclose only information that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your health care.
• Communication with Family: Unless you object, health professionals, using their best judgment, may use or disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend or any other person you identify, health information relevant to that person's involvement in your care or payment related to your care. If you are unable to object, we may exercise our professional judgment to determine if a disclosure is in your best interest and disclose only information that is directly relevant to the person's involvement with your health care.
• Disaster Relief: We may use or disclose information for disaster relief purposes.
  Incidental Uses and Disclosures: We are permitted to use and disclose information incident to another use or disclosure of your protected health information permitted or required under law.
• Limited Data Sets: We may use or disclose a limited data set (i.e., in which certain identifying information has been removed) of your protected health information for purposes of research, public health, or health care operations. Any recipient of that limited data set must agree to appropriately safeguard your information