Privacy Policy
We have created this statement to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy. We do not collect personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us. Providing such information is strictly voluntary. This policy is your guide to how we will handle information we learn about you from your visit to our Web site.
Use of Links
Throughout our Web pages, we provide links to other servers which may contain information of interest to our readers. We take no responsibility for, and exercise no control over, the organizations, views, or accuracy of the information contained on other servers. Creating a text link from your Web site to our site does not require permission.
Use of Text and Images
If you would like to publish information that you find on our Web site, please send your request to [email protected]. Where text or images are posted on our site with the permission of the original copyright holder, a copyright statement appears at the bottom of the page.
Accessibility
This Web site is designed to be accessible to visitors with disabilities, and to comply with federal guidelines concerning accessibility. We welcome your comments. If you have suggestions on how to make the site more accessible, please contact us at [email protected].
Reading or Downloading
We collect and store only the following information about you: the name of the domain from which you access the Internet, the date and time you access our site, the Internet address of the Web site from which you linked to our site and the type of device used (desktop, tablet, mobile).
We use the information we collect to measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, and to help us make our site more useful to visitors.
Online Profile Updates and Donations
If you complete the Profile update form and share your personally identifying information, this information will be used only to provide you with more targeted content. We may use your contact information to send further information about our organization or to contact you when necessary. You may always opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the “Opt Out” section below.
Sending us an Email
You also may decide to send us personally identifying information, for example, in an electronic mail message containing a question or comment, or by filling out a Web form that provides us this information. We use personally identifying information from email primarily to respond to your requests. We may forward your email to other employees who are better able to answer you questions. We may also use your email to contact you in the future about our programs that may be of interest.
We want to be very clear: We will not obtain personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us. Providing such information is strictly voluntary. Except as might be required by law, we do not share any information we receive with any outside parties.
If you sign up for one of our email lists, we will only send you the kinds of information you have requested. We won’t share your name or email address with any outside parties.
Children and Privacy
For children who visit our site, special rules apply. We do not request personal information about children, such as first and last name or street address and city. When minors send email to us, their online contact information (email address) will not be used to re-contact them.
Opt-Out or Change Your Contact Information
Our site provides users the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from us through a special online form. You may choose to receive only specific communications or none at all. You may also update your contact information previously provided to us through another online form. You can request to remove yourself from the database entirely by contacting [email protected].
Questions about our policies
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this Web site, you can contact us at: [email protected].
Notice of Information Practices
PRIVACY NOTICE
This notice describes how your health information and other confidential information may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.
PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
ABOUT THIS NOTICE
In this Privacy Notice, “Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans”, “CCANO”, “we” or “us” means all participating programs in the civil parishes served.
Timely, accurate and complete information, including confidential information that we compile in your client record to serve you, such as your name, address, phone number, social security number, diagnosis and treatment information must be collected, maintained and made available to members of your service team so that members of the team can accurately serve you. Most clients understand and have no objections to this use of their information.
Your Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) may also be used as:
• A legal document describing the care rendered, such as a client grievance
• Verification of services for which the individual of a third-party payer is billed
• A tool in evaluating the competence and appropriateness of care provided
• Training service professionals in their field
• A source of data for research and a source of information for tracking infections for public health purposes
• A source of data for facility planning and marketing
• Conducting accreditation, certification and licensing or credentialing activities
• Engaging in business management or the general administration of CCANO
CCANO is required to give you notice of our privacy practices for the information we collect and keep about you.
Notice of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans Information Practices
Understanding Your Case Record/Information
Each time CCANO provides a service, information is added to your client record. This information serves as a:
• Basis for planning your care, services and treatment
• Means of communication among the many health and social service professionals who contribute to your care
• Legal document describing the care you receive
• Means by which you or a third party payer can verify that services billed were actually provided
• A tool in educating health professionals
• A source of information for public health officials
• A tool with which we can assess and continually work to improve the care we render and the outcomes we achieve.
Understanding what is in your record and how your confidential information is used helps you to ensure its accuracy and better understand the why, what, when, where and why others may access your confidential information and for you to make more informed decisions when authorizing disclosure to others.
Your Information Rights
Although your case record is the property of CCANO, the information belongs to you.
Your Rights
You have the right to:
• Get a copy of your paper or electronic medical record
• Correct your paper or electronic medical record
• Request confidential communication
• Ask us to limit the information we share
• Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your information
• Get a copy of this privacy notice
• Choose someone to act for you
• File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated
Your Choices
You have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we:
• Tell family and friends about your condition
• Provide disaster relief
• Include you in a hospital directory
• Provide mental health care
• Market our services and sell your information
• Raise funds
Our Uses and Disclosures
We may use and share your information as we:
• Treat you
• Operate our organization
• Bill for your services
• Help with public health and safety issues
• Do research
• Comply with the law
• Work with a medical examiner or funeral director
• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
The information disclosed may be subject to disclosure by the recipient, thereby no longer protected by HIPAA. CCANO will not redisclose information regarding alcohol and substance abuse treatment, confidential HIV/AIDS related information, mental health information, psychotherapy notes, sexually transmitted infection information or other medical information without your special written permission.
Your Rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.
Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record
• You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.
• We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
Ask us to correct your medical record
• You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this.
• We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.
Request confidential communications
• You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.
• We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.
Ask us to limit what we use or share
• You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.
• If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information
• You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.
• We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide
one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.
Get a copy of this privacy notice
You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
Choose someone to act for you
• If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
• We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
Request more information or file a complaint if you feel your rights are violated
• If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, or are being violated, you may make a complaint in writing directly to CCANO’s Privacy Officer at P.O. Box 58009 New Orleans, LA 70158-8009 or by calling 504-523-3755 to speak directly to the Privacy Officer.
• You may also request more information by contacting CCANO’s Privacy Officer
• You may also file a complaint by contacting the following:
• Medicaid Hotline at 888-342-6207
• The U. S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, at 877-696-6775 or by mail to: 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C.20201
• You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.
• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Your Choices
For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share.
If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.
In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:
• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
• Share information in a disaster relief situation
In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:
• Marketing purposes
• Sale of your information
• Most sharing of psychotherapy notes
In the case of fundraising:
• We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.
Our Uses and Disclosures
How do we typically use or share your health information?
We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
- Treat you
We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you. - Bill for your services
We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.
How else can we use or share your health information?
We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.
Help with public health and safety issues
We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:
• Preventing disease
• Helping with product recalls
• Reporting adverse reactions to medications
• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence
• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety
Do research
We can use or share your information for health research.
Comply with the law
We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.
Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests
We can use or share health information about you:
• For workers’ compensation claims
• For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official
• With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law
Respond to lawsuits and legal actions
We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.
Our Responsibilities
• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.
For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html.
Changes to the Terms of this Notice
We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site.
