·          Give you this notice of your 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.  Explanations and examples will be provided for each category of uses or disclosures.  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 into one of the categories:

Ø        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 doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other hospital personnel who are involved in your care.  For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process.  In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietitian 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 different things 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 family members, clergy, or others we use to provide services that are part of your care.

Ø        For Payment:  We may use and disclose medical information about you so that treatment and services you receive at the hospital may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company, or a 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.

Ø        For Health Care Operations.  We may use and disclose medical information about you for hospital operations.  These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the hospital and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care.  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 doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other hospital personnel for review and learning 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. 

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

Ø        Treatment Alternatives:  We may tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.

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

Ø        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 a foundation related to the hospital so that the foundation may contact you in raising money for the hospital.  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 the hospital to contact you for fundraising efforts, you must notify the Privacy Officer in writing.

Ø        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 (e.g., fair, stable, etc.)  The directory information may also be released to people who 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.

Ø        Individuals Involved In Your Care or Your Payment.  We may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care unless you request a restriction to such releasing.  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 a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location.

Ø        Research.   Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes.  For example,  a research project may involve comparing the 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.  Before we use or disclose medical information for research, the project will have to be approved through a 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.  We will almost always ask for your specific permission if the researcher will have access to your name, address or other information that reveals who you are, or will be involved in your care at the hospital.

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

Ø        To Avert A Serious Threat To Health or Safety.  We may use and 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.

SPECIAL SITUATIONS:

Ø        Organ and Tissue Donation.  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.