HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

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 CAREFULLY:

Critical Nurse Staffing, LLC, any subdivision of Critical Nurse Staffing, LLC as well as any entity related to Critical Nurse Staffing, LLC in any way (“CNSCares”), is required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information (“PHI”), to notify you of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information, and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured health information. This Notice summarizes our duties and your rights concerning your information. CNSCares’ duties and your rights are set forth more fully in 45 CFR part 164.

1. Uses and Disclosures We May Make Without Written Authorization. CNSCares may use or disclose your PHI for certain purposes without your written authorization, including the following:
   
   Treatment. CNSCares may use or disclose your PHI with any other individual or entity for purposes of treating you. For example, we may share your PHI with a doctor that is providing your healthcare services to you; CNSCares may share your PHI with a healthcare facility (i.e., a hospital) involved in meeting your healthcare needs.
   
   Payment. CNSCares may use or disclose your PHI to obtain payment for services provided to you.
   
   

   Healthcare Operations. CNSCares may use or disclose your PHI for certain activities that are necessary to operate our organization and ensure that our patients receive quality care. These operations may include, but are not limited to, audits, inspections, investigations, to train or review the performance of our staff or make decisions affecting our organization.

   Other Uses or Disclosures. CNSCares may also use or disclose your PHI for certain other purposes as allowed by 45 CFR 164.512 or other applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to the following:

   • To avoid serious and imminent threat to public health safety;
   • As required by state or federal law such as reporting abuse, neglect or certain other events;
   • As allowed by workers compensation laws for use in workers compensation proceedings;
   • For certain public health activities such as reporting certain diseases;
   • For certain public health oversight activities such as audits, investigations, or licensure actions;
   • In addition, such information can be shared by CNSCares with any governmental agency or third-party payor responsible for payment for treatment of you by CNSCares, regardless of the program under which the treatment was provided to you;
   • In response to a court order, warrant or subpoena in judicial or administrative proceedings;
   • To the extent the disclosure is required by law and the disclosure complies with and is limited to any requirements under which the disclosure is made;
   • For certain specialized government functions such as the military or correctional institutions;
   • For research purposes if certain conditions are satisfied;
   • In response to certain requests by law enforcement to locate a fugitive, victim or witness, or to report deaths or certain crimes; and
   • To coroners, funeral directors, or organ procurement organizations as necessary to allow them to carry out their duties.
2. Disclosures We May Make Unless You Object.Unless you instruct us otherwise, CNSCares may disclose your PHI as described below:
   • To a member of your family, relative, friend, or other person who is involved in your healthcare but, only after providing notice to you of the request being made on us. We will limit the disclosure to the information relevant to that person’s involvement in your healthcare.
3. Uses and Disclosures with Your Written Authorization. Other uses and disclosures not described in this Notice will be made only with your written authorization, for marketing purposes or if we seek to sell your information. You may revoke your authorization by submitting a written notice to CNSCares’ Privacy Officer, at the address listed below. The revocation will not be effective to the extent we have already taken action in reliance on the authorization.
4. Uses and Disclosures that are not authorized without your written consent. CNSCares shall not disclose certain PHI without your written consent. Under the law some PHI is protected from disclosure for certain purposes. In these circumstances, CNSCares will notify you of any request for information received for the purposes indicated below. The circumstances where CNSCares must notify you of a request for information include:
   • CNSCares may not disclose PHI in relation to a criminal, civil or administrative investigation or action involving a person seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care. If your health record contains information relating to reproductive health care, such as a notation of use of contraceptives, CNSCares may not disclose this information to law enforcement entities if they are using this information for a criminal or civil matter. CNSCares may disclose this information, only if you provide a written attestation to CNSCares indicating that you consent to the disclosure.
   • CNSCares may not disclose notes of the impressions of your mental health provider without your written consent unless they are being used for your treatment, for training programs, or for CNSCares to defend itself in a legal proceeding.
   • CNSCares may not disclose information related to the treatment of a substance use disorder to be used in a civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceeding against you. CNSCares may disclose this information with your written consent. If you do not provide this consent, CNSCares may only disclose these records if CNSCares receives a court order authorizing the disclosure and a subpoena or other legal requirement compelling disclosure.
5. Your Rights Concerning Your Protected Health Information. You have the following rights concerning your PHI.
   • Under certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we not use or share your PHI for treatment, payment or health care operations. This would include your right to request that we not share your PHI with persons involved in your care except when specifically authorized by you. Your request must be in writing to the Privacy Officer. We are not legally required to agree to the requested restriction but will consider your request.
   • You may request that CNSCares contact you in a specific way. For example, home or office phone, via email or sending mail to a different address. CNSCares will accommodate reasonable requests. Such a request must be in writing and must be sent to the Privacy Officer.
   • You may inspect and obtain a copy of records that are used to make decisions about your care, including an electronic copy. We may charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for providing the records. We may deny your request under limited circumstances, e.g., if we determine that disclosure may result in harm to you or others. Such a request must be in writing and must be sent to the Privacy Officer.
   • You may request that your PHI be amended. We may deny your request for certain reasons, e.g., if we did not create the record or if we determine that the record is accurate and complete. Such a request must be in writing and must be sent to the Privacy Officer.
   • You have the right to a list of those instances in which we have shared your PHI, other than for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, or other than when you specifically authorized CNSCares to share your information. You may receive the first accounting within a twelve-month period free of charge. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for all subsequent requests during that twelve-month period. Such a request must be in writing and must be sent to the Privacy Officer.
   • You may obtain a paper copy of this Notice upon request. You have this right even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically. Please contact the Privacy Officer to request a copy.
   • CNSCares is required by law to notify you following a breach of your PHI. This notice will describe the circumstances of what happened and the information that was inappropriately used or disclosed. You may receive this notice in the mail, or if you have elected to receive communications from CNSCares by email, through an email sent to the email address that we have on file 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. However, we will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
   • You may complain to us or to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. You may file a complaint with us by notifying our Privacy Officer. All complaints must be in writing. CNSCares will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
6. Changes to This Notice. CNSCares reserves the right to change the terms of this Notice at any time, and to make the new Notice effective for all protected health information that we maintain. If we materially change our privacy practices, we will post a copy of the current Notice in our reception area and on our website. You may obtain a copy of the current Notice from our Privacy Officer.
7. Contact Information. If you have any questions about this Notice, or if you want to object to or complain about any use or disclosure or exercise any right as explained above, please contact:Critical Nurse Staffing, LLCATTN: Privacy Officer9635 Maroon Circle, Suite 420, Englewood, CO 80112 Phone: 866-637-7852 or email at HIPAA@cnscares.com
8. Effective Date. This Notice is effective on November 13, 2024.