Civista Privacy Statement

 
 
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1. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE

Welcome to Civista Health’s Web site and Online Services, an online information and communications service provided by Civista Health, subject to your agreement with all of these terms and conditions. Civista may modify these terms and conditions at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting the modified terms and conditions on Civista Online Services. You agree to review the agreement periodically to be aware of such modifications, and your accessing or using the service constitutes your acceptance of the agreement as it appears at the time of your access or use. From time to time Civista may offer Web site visitors the opportunity to participate in additional features or services through Civista Online Services. You may be required to enter into additional agreements or authorizations before you can access such features or services.

2. MEDICAL EMERGENCIES

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR ALL HEALTH ISSUES, PARTICULARLY THOSE OF AN URGENT NATURE, AND CIVISTA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF ANY PARTICULAR RESPONSE TIME TO ANY INQUIRY YOU MAY MAKE. ACCORDINGLY, IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, YOU SHOULD NOT RELY ON THIS WEB SITE FOR ASSISTANCE, BUT SHOULD INSTEAD SEEK APPROPRIATE EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE.

3. PRIVACY POLICY

Who Will Follow This Notice

This notice describes Civista Medical Center's practices and that of: any health care professional authorized to enter information into your hospital chart; all facilities, departments and units of Civista Medical Center; any member of a volunteer group we allow to help you while you are in the hospital; and all employees, staff and other hospital personnel.

Civista’s Pledge Regarding Medical Information

Civista Medical Center (hereinafter referred to as Civista), understands that medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information about you. We create a record of the care and services you receive at the hospital. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by the hospital, whether made by hospital personnel or your personal doctor. Your personal doctor may have different policies or notices regarding the doctor's use and disclosure of your medical information created in the doctor's office or clinic. This notice will tell you about the ways in which Civista may use and disclose medical information about you. We also describe your rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information.

We are required by law to:

  • Make sure medical information which identifies you is kept private;
  • Give you this notice of Civista's legal duties and privacy practices with respect to medical information about you; and follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect.

How Civista May Use and Disclose Medical Information About You

The following categories describe different ways that Civista uses and discloses medical information. For each category of uses or disclosures we will explain what we mean and try to give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways Civista is permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

  • For Treatment: Civista may use medical information about you to provide you with medical treatment or services. We may disclose medical information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, or other hospital personnel who are involved in taking care of you at the hospital. For example, a doctor treating you for a broken leg may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. In addition, the doctor may need to tell the dietitian if you have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different departments of the hospital also may share medical information about you in order to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and x-rays. We also may disclose medical information about you to people outside the hospital who may be involved in your medical care after you leave the hospital, such as family members, clergy or others we use to provide services that are part of our care. Based on your medical needs, we may also disclose medical information about you to people outside the hospital for the purchase of drugs, supplies or equipment related to your care.
  • For Payment: We may use and disclose medical information about you so that the treatment and services you receive at the hospital may be billed to and payment may be collected from you, an insurance company or a third party. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about surgery you received at the hospital so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery. We may also tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval or to determine whether your plan will cover the treatment.
  • For Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose medical information about you for hospital operations. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run the hospital and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine medical information about many hospital patients to decide what additional services the hospital should offer, what services are not needed, and whether certain new treatments are effective. We may also disclose information to doctors, nurses, technicians, medical students, and other hospital personnel for review and learning purposes. We may also combine the medical information we have with medical information from other hospitals to compare how we are doing and see where we can make improvements in the care and services we offer. We will remove information that identifies you from this set of medical information so others may use it to study health care and health care delivery without learning who the specific patients are. The following represent examples of health care operations:
    • Appointment Reminders. We may use and disclose medical information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment for treatment or medical care at the hospital.
    • Treatment Alternatives. We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about or recommend possible treatment options or alternatives that may be of interest to you.
    • Health-Related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose medical information to tell you about health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
    • Fundraising Activities. We may disclose demographic information to the Civista Health Foundation so that the Foundation may contact you in raising money for the hospital. We would only release contact information, such as your name, address and phone number, and the dates you received treatment or services at the hospital.
    • Hospital Directory. We may include certain limited information about you in the hospital directory while you are a patient at the hospital. This information may include your name, location in the hospital, your general condition (e.g., fair, good, etc.) and your religious affiliation. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may also be released to people who ask for you by name. Your religious affiliation may be given to a member of the clergy, such as a priest or rabbi, even if they don't ask for you by name. This is so your family, friends and clergy can visit you in the hospital and generally know how you are doing.
    • Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care. We may release medical information about you to a friend or family member who is involved in your medical care. We may also give information to someone who helps pay for your care. We may also tell your family or friends your condition and that you are in the hospital. In addition, we may disclose medical information about you to an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location.
    • Research. Under certain circumstances, we may use and disclose medical information about you for research purposes. For example, a research project may involve comparing the health and recovery of all patients who received one medication to those who received another, for the same condition. All research projects, however, are subject to a special approval process. This process evaluates a proposed research project and its use of medical information, trying to balance the research needs with patients' need for privacy of their medical information. Before we use or disclose medical information for research, the project will have been approved through this research approval process, but we may, however, disclose medical information about you to people preparing to conduct a research project, for example, to help them look for patients with specific medical needs, so long as the medical information they review does not leave the hospital. We will almost always ask for your specific permission if the researcher will have access to your name, address or other information that reveals who you are, or will be involved in your care at the hospital.
    • Patient Satisfaction Survey. Under certain circumstances, to assure that patients receive quality care, the hospital, or a business associate of the hospital, may conduct quality improvement research. This may include sharing names, phone numbers and visit dates so patients can be contacted for their perceptions and concerns. Business associates are bound by written contract and implement appropriate safeguards to ensure that data remains secure.
    • As Required By Law. We will disclose medical information about you when required to do so by federal, state or local law.
    • To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We 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. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.

Special Situations

  • Organ and Tissue Donation. If you are an organ donor, we may release medical information to organizations that handle organ procurement or organ, eye or tissue transplantation or to an organ donation bank, as necessary to facilitate organ or tissue donation and transplantation.
  • Military and Veterans. If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release medical information about you as required by military command authorities. We may also release medical information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authority.
  • Workers' Compensation. We may release medical information about you for workers' compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
  • Public Health Risk. We may disclose medical information about you for public health activities. These activities generally include the following:
    • to prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
    • to report births and deaths;
    • to report child abuse or neglect;
    • to report reactions to medications or problems with products;
    • to notify people of recalls of products they may use;
    • to notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition;
    • to notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence. We will only make this disclosure if you agree or when required or authorized by law.
  • Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose medical information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with civil rights laws.
  • Lawsuits and Disputes. If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose medical information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose medical information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
  • Law Enforcement. We may release medical information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official:
    • in response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process;
    • to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person;
    • about the victim of a crime if, under certain limited circumstances, we are unable to obtain the person's agreement;
    • about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct;
    • about criminal conduct, and
    • in emergency circumstances to report a crime; the location of the crime or victims; or the identity, description or location of the person who committed the crime.
  • Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. We may release medical information to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release medical information to funeral directors as necessary to carry out these duties.
  • National Security and Intelligence Activities. We may release medical information about you to authorized federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities authorized by law.
  • Protective Services for the President and Others. We may disclose medical information about you to authorized federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of state or conduct special investigations.
  • Inmates. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may release medical information about you to the correctional institution or law enforcement official. This release would be necessary (1) for the institution to provide you with health care; (2) to protect your health and safety or the health and safety of others; or (3) for the safety and security of the correctional institution.

Your Rights Regarding Medical Information About You

You have the following rights regarding medical information we maintain about you:

  • Right to Inspect and Copy. You have the right to inspect and copy medical information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes. To the extent allowed by law, the hospital may charge for copies. We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances. If you are denied access to medical information, you may request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by the hospital will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.
  • Right to Amend. If you feel that medical information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for the hospital. We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:
    • was not created by us, unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment;
    • is not part of the medical information kept by or for the hospital;
    • is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or
    • is accurate and complete.
  • Right to an Accounting of Disclosure. You have the right to request an accounting of disclosures. This is a list of the disclosures we made of medical information about you, except to carry out treatment, payment, health care operations or as permitted under law.
  • Right to Request Restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the medical information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the medical information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, like a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not use or disclose information about a surgery that you had. All requests must be in writing to the Performance Improvement Department.
  • We Are Not Required to Agree to Your Request. If we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide your emergency treatment.
  • 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. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail.
  • Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice.

Changes to the Notice

We reserve 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, as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in the hospital. The notice will contain the effective date. In addition, each time you register at or are admitted to the hospital for treatment or health care services as an inpatient or outpatient, we will offer you a copy of the current notice in effect.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the hospital or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with the hospital, contact the Performance Improvement Department, phone 301.609.4310. All complaints must be submitted in writing. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

Other Uses of Medical Information

Other uses and disclosures of medical information not covered by this notice or the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written permission. If you provide us permission to use or disclose medical information about you, you may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your permission, we will no longer use or disclose medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission, and that we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you.

4. SECURITY

This security of any data you submit via this site is very important to us. This site uses encryption technology, and we constantly review our security practices to help ensure that your data is maintained securely. However, no system can perfectly guard against risks of intentional intrusion or inadvertent disclosure of information sent to us. Moreover, when you transmit information via the Internet, your information will be transmitted over a medium that is beyond our control, and therefore the security of the transmission may be compromised before it reaches us. Accordingly, Civista makes no guarantee as to confidentiality or security. IN ADDITION, YOU HEREBY EXPRESSLY AND SOLELY ASSUME THE RISK OF ANY UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OR INTENTIONAL INTRUSION, OR OF ANY DELAY, FAILURE, INTERRUPTION OR CORRUPTION OF DATA OR OTHER INFORMATION TRANSMITTED IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF CIVISTA ONLINE SERVICES. Your user name and password should be kept confidential. Failure to do so may also compromise the confidentiality of your information.

5. NO WARRANTIES

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT CIVISTA ONLINE SERVICES AND ANY SERVICES, CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED ON OR PROVIDED BY CIVISTA ONLINE SERVICES IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. CIVISTA DOES NOT MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR NONINFRINGEMENT, OR THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH REGARD TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MERCHANDISE, INFORMATION OR SERVICE PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE. IN ADDITION, CIVISTA DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT USE OF CIVISTA ONLINE SERVICES WILL BE FREE FROM TECHNOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, UNAVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION, DOWNTIME, SERVICE DISRUPTIONS, VIRUSES OR WORMS AND YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING SUFFICIENT PROCEDURES AND CHECKPOINTS TO SATISFY YOUR PARTICULAR REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCURACY OF DATA INPUT AND OUTPUT.

6. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

THE USE OF THIS SERVICE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL CIVISTA BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR ANY OTHER MONETARY OR OTHER DAMAGES, FEES, FINES, PENALTIES, OR LIABILITIES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THIS SERVICE, OR SITES ACCESSED THROUGH THIS SERVICE, AND/OR CONTENT OR INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN. YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SERVICE IS TO STOP USING THE SERVICE.

7. USER AGREEMENTS

You agree that you will not:

   1. Upload or transmit any communications or content of any type that may infringe or violate any rights of any party;

   2. Use this Web site for any purpose in violation of local, state, national or international laws;

   3. Use this site as a means to distribute advertising or other unsolicited material to any third party;

   4. Use this Web site to post or transmit material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, slanderous, hateful or embarrassing to any other person or entity;

   5. Attempt to disable, "hack" or otherwise interfere with the proper functioning of this Web site.

8. DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICES

Civista Online Services is being provided by Civista as a courtesy to you, and reserves the right to modify, discontinue, temporarily or permanently, this site, or any part thereof, at any time, with or without notice. In addition, your access to the site may be discontinued at any time if you violate the terms of this agreement or if we determine, for any other reason, that it is no longer appropriate for you to have access to the site.

9. Copyright and Trademark Information

The content and design of Civista Online Services are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. You may not copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, display, transmit, or frame any of these materials without prior written consent from the copyright owners, except that you may view, download, display and print a single copy of these materials on a single computer for personal, noncommercial use only, so long as: (1) you do not alter or modify the materials in any way; (2) you include all applicable notices and disclaimers (including copyright notices); and (3) you do not use the materials in a way that suggests an association with Civista or an affiliated Civista entity. You understand and agree that title to these materials shall not pass to you or any other user.

10. Social Media Policy

BY POSTING ON ANY CIVISTA HEALTH SOCIAL MEDIA SITE YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS. Civista has opened publicly facing pages on social media sites for viewing content and/or videos and posting comments about Civista. These social media sites include but are not limited to various blogs, bulletin boards, networks, multi-media and news media sites or other user generated content sites (“Civista Social Media Sites”). By accessing, viewing and/or posting any content to any Civista Social Media Site on the internet, you accept, without limitation or qualification, the following terms of use. If you do not agree to the terms of this Policy, you may not view or post any content to any Civista Social Media Site on the internet. Your use of Civista Social Media Sites is acceptance of this Policy and has the same effect as if you had actually physically signed an agreement.

1. If you are a Civista employee you must adhere to the Civista MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORKING POLICY posted on the Civista Intranet site.

2. You must be at least 18 years old to post any content on any Civista Social Media Site.

3. You are prohibited from posting any content that is personal health information including patient images on any Civista Social Media Site. You are also prohibited from using the Civista Social Media Site to provide medical advice or medical commentary by non-Civista physicians or to use the Civista Social Media Site to make, recommend or increase referrals to physicians who are not employed by Civista.

4. As a guest posting content to any Civista Social Media Site on the internet, you agree that you will not: violate any local, state, federal and international laws and regulations, including but not limited to copyright and intellectual property rights laws regarding any content that you send or receive via this Policy; transmit any material (by uploading, posting, email or otherwise) that is unlawful, disruptive, threatening, profane, abusive, harassing, embarrassing, tortuous, defamatory, obscene, libelous, or is an invasion of another's privacy, is hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable as solely determined in Civista’s discretion; impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; transmit any material (by uploading, posting, email or otherwise) that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships; transmit any material (by uploading, posting, email or otherwise) that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party; transmit (by uploading, posting, email or otherwise) any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising (including advertising of non Civista services or products), promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes" or any other form of solicitation; transmit any material (by uploading, posting, email or otherwise) that contains software viruses, worms, disabling code, or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; harass another; or collect or store, or attempt to collect or store, personal data about third parties without their knowledge or consent; or to share confidential pricing information of any party.

5. Civista reserves the right to monitor, prohibit, restrict, block, suspend, terminate, delete, or discontinue your access to any Civista Social Media Site, at any time, without notice and for any reason and in its sole discretion. Civista may remove, delete, block, filter or restrict by any other means any materials in Civista’s sole discretion. You understand and agree that Civista may disclose your communications and activities with Civista in response to lawful requests by governmental authorities, including Patriot Act requests, judicial orders, warrants or subpoenas, or for the protection of Civista rights. You agree that in the event that Civista exercises any of its rights hereunder for any reason, Civista will have no liability to you.

6. By posting any content on any Civista Social Media Site, you grant to Civista the irrevocable right to reproduce, distribute, publish, display such content and the right to create derivative works from your content, edit or modify such content and use such content for any Civista purpose.

7. You shall defend, indemnify, and hold Civista and its corporate affiliates and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, successors and assigns harmless from and against, and shall promptly reimburse them for, any and all losses, claims, damages, settlements, costs, and liabilities of any nature whatsoever (including reasonable attorneys' fees) to which any of them may become subject arising out of, based upon, as a result of, or in any way connected with, your posting of any content to a Civista Social Media Site, any third party claims of infringement or any breach of this Policy.

8. YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY RELATED TO THE SECURITY, PRIVACY, AND CONFIDENTIALITY RISKS INHERENT IN SENDING ANY CONTENT OVER THE INTERNET. BY ITS VERY NATURE, A WEBSITE AND THE INTERNET CANNOT BE ABSOLUTELY PROTECTED AGAINST INTENTIONAL OR MALICIOUS INTRUSION ATTEMPTS. CIVISTA DOES NOT CONTROL THE THIRD PARTY SITES AND THE INTERNET OVER WHICH YOU MAY CHOOSE TO SEND CONFIDENTIAL PERSONAL OR HEALTH INFORMATION OR OTHER CONTENT AND, THEREFORE, CIVISTA DOES NOT WARRANT ANY SAFEGUARD AGAINST ANY SUCH INTERCEPTIONS OR COMPROMISES TO YOUR INFORMATION. WHEN POSTING ANY CONTENT ON AN INTERNET SITE, YOU SHOULD THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT YOUR OWN PRIVACY IN DISCLOSING DETAILED OR PRIVATE INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY. FURTHERMORE, CIVISTA DOES NOT ENDORSE ANY PRODUCT, SERVICE, VIEWS OR CONTENT DISPLAYED ON THE CIVISTA SOCIAL MEDIA SITE.

9. You agree that any claim or dispute relating to your posting of any content on a Civista Social Media Site on the internet shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland without regard to its conflict of laws provisions and you agree to be bound and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the local, state or federal courts located in Charles County, Maryland.

10. You may not provide any content to a Civista Social Media Site that contains any product or service endorsements or any content that may be construed as political lobbying, solicitations or contributions or use the Civista Social Media Site to link to any sites or political candidates or parties or use the Civista Social Media Site to discuss political campaigns, issues or for taking a position on any legislation or law.

11. THIS POLICY MAY BE UPDATED AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND EACH TIME A USER ACCESSES A CIVISTA SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE, THE NEW POLICY WILL GOVERN, USAGE, EFFECTIVE UPON POSTING. To remain in compliance, Civista suggests that you review the Policy, as well as the other website policies, at regular intervals. By continuing to post any content after such new terms are posted, you accept and agree to any and all such modifications to this Policy.

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