HIPAA: United States Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996  

This is a notice to you, our patient, describing how confidential medical information (Protected Health Information; PHI) about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can obtain access to this information.  Please review the following information carefully.  

HWCA Pledge - Hyperbaric & Wound Care Associates (HWCA), in association with Aurora Health Care® is committed to protecting medical and personal information about you.  This notice describes HWCA privacy practices and policies set forth to protect you and your privacy.  Our practices and policies may differ somewhat from those defined by Aurora Health Care® however, our pledge is the same.

In this notice we will describe the ways in which we may use and disclose medical information about you.  We will also explain your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your medical information.  HWCA is required by law to:

•  keep all medical information that pertains to you private
• offer to you this notice of our privacy practices and policies and legal responsibilities with respect to medical information pertaining to you
• follow the terms of the current notice

Need to Know - HWCA is required by law to protect your privacy by following the need to know rule, which states: Use only the minimum necessary information needed to do your job.

Use and Disclosure of Information Pertaining to Our Patients
Below you will find categories that describe different ways we may use and disclose your medical information.  Please be aware that not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed.

Treatment - HWCA may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment and services.  We may disclose, at the discretion of the Medical Provider, medical information about you to other doctors, medical students, nurses, technicians, or other personnel involved in your care.

Health Care Operations/ Training - The hospital may request medical information from HWCA about you for their operations and to ensure that all patients are receiving the best care possible.  HWCA is obligated to provide this information.  The information can also be compared to medical information from other hospitals and studies to see where they can make improvements, again to ensure that you are receiving the best care.  This information may also be disclosed to other doctors, medical students, nurses, technicians, or other personnel involved in your care for training/learning purposes.

Payment - HWCA may use and disclose medical and certain personal information about you to bill for treatment and services rendered to you while under our care.  This is so the treatment and services provided to you may be billed to the responsible party(s) and payment may be collected.

Research - We may, under certain circumstances, use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes.  All research performed by HWCA will need to be pre-approved through a strict approval process following guidelines established by/with Aurora Health Care^®.  Health-Related Benefits or Services   HWCA may use and disclose medical information to inform you of health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.

Others Involved in Your Care - HWCA may release medical information about you to a family member or a friend who is involved in your medical care.  We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care.  We may also inform your family or friends of your medical condition and if you are under our care.

Prevention of Threat to Health/Safety - HWCA 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.  However, this information can only be disclosed to someone able to help prevent the threat.  

Reporting - HWCA is permitted and required by law to disclose (report) certain medical information about you for special reasons.  Some examples are:

• Community and public health activities and reports: abuse or neglect, disease control, etc.
• Court order/legal processes: custody of inmates, national security, legal actions, etc.
• Organ/tissue donation/transplant reports: regulated by government organizations to perform organ or tissue donation and transplant.
• Military reporting: as required by military command authorities/US Government.
• Law Enforcement (if requested): information about the victim of a crime (special circumstances apply), death believed to be a result of a crime, identify a fugitive, criminal, missing person, witness to a crime, criminal conduct in our medical facility, etc.
• Administration: audits, investigations, determination of cause of death, licensure, etc.
• Worker's Compensation or rehabilitative: reporting required to provide benefits for work-related or victim injuries or illnesses.
• Coroners, funeral directors, medical examiners: HWCA may release needed information to these persons to perform their duties.
• National Security: we may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials.
• Inmates: we may release information about inmates to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials if the information is necessary to protect the inmate's health and safety or the health and safety of others and/or the correctional institution.  We may also release information to the institution where the inmate resides to provide the inmate with health care.

Patient Rights - You have the right to review or obtain a copy of your PHI, which includes any information that identifies you and that may be used to make a decision about you and your health care.  Examples include medical and billing records, photographs, videotapes, stored computer information, etc.  It is important to note not all source data is used to make decisions about your care.  For example, photos may be used solely for educational purposes.  In this case, HWCA would not be obligated to provide you access to the photos.  To request copies of medical information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing to HWCA, 2901 W. Kinnickinnic River Pkwy., Suite 311, Milwaukee, WI, 53215, Attn: Billing Coordinator.  HWCA can only provide you with medical records created while under our care.  If additional records are needed, please contact the appropriate Aurora Health Care^® facility medical records department.  

Right to Amend (change information) - You have the right to request a change or amendment to your PHI.  If the original information is determined to be accurate and complete, the request will be denied.   Simple demographic changes (change of address, phone number, etc.) may be made immediately upon request.  However, requests related to medical information must be in writing, following the steps required by Aurora Health Care^®_. 

Right to Request Confidential Communications - You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location (via cell phone, at work, by mail, etc.).  To request confidential communications, you must make your request in writing to HWCA, 2901 W. Kinnickinnic River Pkwy., Suite 311, Milwaukee, WI, 53215, Attn: Billing Coordinator.  HWCA will not ask you the reason for your request.

Accounting of Disclosures - You have the right to request an accounting of disclosures.  This is a written list of certain disclosures we made of medical information pertaining to you.  To request this list, you must submit your request in writing to the Aurora Health Care^® HIM/Medical Records Department, following their guidelines.

Right to Request Restrictions - You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information pertaining to you that is used or disclosed.  Certain restrictions apply.  Please contact Aurora Health Care^® HIM/Medical Records staff for any questions regarding this.

Complaints - If you feel, for any reason that your rights have been violated, or if you have a complaint about HWCA privacy policies and practices, you have the right to file a complaint with Aurora Health Care^®, HWCA Administration, or the Department of Health and Human Services.  To file a complaint with HWCA Administration, please submit your complaint in writing to HWCA, 2901 W. Kinnickinnic River Pkwy., Suite 311, Milwaukee, WI, 53215, Attn: Compliance Officer.  If you wish to discuss your complaint, you may call the Compliance Officer at 414-385-2844.  You will not be penalized in any way for filing a complaint.

Changes to This Notice - HWCA reserves the right to change this Notice.  We reserve the right to make the revised or changed Notice effective for medical information we already have about you (our patient) as well as any information we receive in the future.  We will keep a current copy of the Notice posted on our Internet Website.