HIPAA Policy

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you may get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital is dedicated to protecting your medical information. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected information and to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information. Jack Hughston Memorial Hospital is required by law to abide by the terms of this notice.

How your medical information will be used and disclosed:
We will use your medical information as part of rendering patient care. For example, by the doctor or nurse treating you, by the business office to process your payment for the services rendered and by administrative personnel reviewing the quality of the care you receive may use your medical information.

We may also use and/or disclose your information in accordance with federal and state law without your consent for the following purposes:

  • Appointment Reminders — May contact you to provide appointment reminders
  • Treatment Information — Other alternative treatments or health-related services that may be of interest to you
  • Law Enforcement — May disclose your information as required during as investigation
  • Legal Proceedings — May disclose your information in the course of certain judicial or administrative proceedings
  • Public Safety — May disclose your information to prevent or lessen serious threat to the health or safety to the public
  • Military Activity and National Security — May disclose information to military command for their military records or other federal officials conducting national security and intelligence activities for protective services for the President
  • Workers Compensation — May disclose information as authorized to workers compensation or similar programs
  • Inmates — May disclose information to the correctional facility or law enforcement official for your proper care
  • Abuse or Neglect — May disclose information when it concerns abuse, neglect or violence in accordance to federal or state law
  • Coroner Medical Examiner, or Funeral Director — May disclose information for identification of a body or to determine cause of death
  • Food and Drug Administration — May disclose information to report adverse events, product recalls to make repairs or replacements
  • Research — May disclose information for certain research purposes if an Institutional Review Board has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your information {GA Code Ann. 31-7-6(b)}
  • Disclosure to Department of Health and Human Services — May disclose information for public health purposes to help control disease, injury or disability, also to a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease or at risk of contacting or spreading a disease or condition
  • Others Involved in Your Healthcare — May disclose information to a family member, other relatives, close personal friends or other representative you authorize when medical information is directly relevant to that persons involvement in your care
  • Health Oversight Activities — May disclose information for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations and inspections. Oversight agencies seeking this information include government agencies that oversee health care systems, government benefit programs and other government regulatory programs and civil rights law
  • Disaster Relief — May disclose information to a public entity, such as the American Red Cross, for purpose of coordinating with that entity to assist in disaster relief efforts
  • Facility Directory — Unless you object, we will use and disclose in our facility directory your name, and the location at which you are receiving care. This information will be disclosed only when someone calls and asks for you by name
  • Business Associates — May disclose information to a business associate that we have a contract with to provide services on our behalf. We require our business associates to appropriately safeguard the health information of our patients.

Authorizations
We will not use or disclose your medical information for any purpose without your written authorization. Once given, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.