PATIENT PRIVACY RIGHTS

POLICY

Patient privacy rights will be presented to all patients at the time of admission with the Home Care Bill of Rights. All current patients will be given the information on privacy rights prior to the effective date of the regulation or within 30 days of regulatory changes. In 2024 HIPAA plans to increase patient access to personal health information and electronic health records.

PURPOSE

To inform patients of LEL of their rights of privacy.

To accommodate patient privacy rights as specified in the privacy rule of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulation.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

The refinement of HIPAA’s Privacy Rule includes:

• Individual rights to inspect, take notes and photograph their PHI and HER
• A patient’s ability to direct their information to a third-party business with a reasonable cost-based fee
• Better health-care provider response times for PHI and HER access requests with a maximum response delay of 15 days
• Standards that prevent health-care providers from imposing unreasonable procedures for PHI access, like notarization and in-person only requests

Patients receiving services from LEL have the following privacy rights:

1. To receive a copy of LEL’s notice Privacy Practices.
2. To request restrictions on the uses and disclosures of health information.
3. To request to receive confidential communication.
4. To access their protected health information for inspection or copying.
5. To amend their health care information.
6. To request an accounting of disclosures of health information.
7. The privacy policies of LEL will provide the detail for these rights and requirements for implementation.
8. Employees of LEL will receive initial and ongoing training on patient rights with respect to their health information.
   

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

POLICY

All patients of LEL will receive notice of the privacy practices. These practices are designed to protect the privacy, use and disclosure of protected health information in accordance with the federal requirements of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA regulations.

These practices include modifications to the privacy, security, enforcement, and breach notification rules under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act), and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

PURPOSE

To assure compliance with the regulations and to consistently inform patients/representatives of LEL’s policy and procedure in protecting their health information.

To identify and respect the patient’s request for who can receive information.

To respond to changes in the privacy and security requirements based on changed in HIPAA.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS 

1. LEL’s privacy practices are described in the notice.
2. The notice of privacy practices is given to all patients at the time of admission.
3. The notice of privacy practices is inserted into the Employee Handbook and is given to all business associates.
4. The notice of privacy practices is reviewed with all new employees during LEL orientation, and with all current employees annually.
5. LEL makes the notice available to all who request it.
6. The Notice of Privacy Practices will be revised as needed to reflect changes in LEL practice, state or federal regulations. When revisions are necessary all staff, patients, and business associates will be informed of the changes and given a revised copy of the notice.
7. The Privacy Officer or designated person will retain copies of the original Notice of Privacy Practices and any revisions for a period of six (6) years from the date of its creation or when it was last in effect.
8. All employees and business associates of LEL are required to adhere to the privacy practices as detailed in the Notice.  
9. The privacy practices and requirements of LEL are detailed further in the privacy policies in this manual.
   
10. Violations of LEL’s privacy practices will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment or contracts.
11. The Notice is posted in a clear and prominent location within LEL.
12. The Notice of Privacy Practices is prominently displayed and available electronically on LEL Web site at http://www.LELhomeservices.com