HIPAA Privacy Policy

NOTICE OF HEALTH INFORMATION PRIVACY PRACTICES

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED OR DISCLOSED BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD/ORANGE & SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES, INC. (“PPOSBC”) AND HOW YOU CAN ACCESS THIS INFORMATION.  NOTICE EFFECTIVE JULY 19, 2024.  PLEASE REVIEW THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

If you have any questions about this notice, please contact PPOSBC at (714) 633-6373 and ask for the Privacy Officer. You may also contact the PPOSBC Privacy Officer at 801 E. Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92805.

OUR PLEDGE REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION

We understand that health information about you and your health care is personal. We are committed to protecting health information about you. We will create a record of the care and services you receive from us. We do so to provide you with quality care and to comply with any legal or regulatory requirements.

This Notice applies to all of the records generated or received by PPOSBC, whether we documented the health information or another health care provider forwarded it to us. This Notice will tell you the ways in which we may use or disclose health information about you. This Notice also describes your rights to the health information we keep about you, and describes certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of your health information. 

Our pledge regarding your health information is backed-up by federal and state law. The privacy and security provisions of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) require us to:

  • Make sure that health information that identifies you is kept private; 

  • Make available this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to health information about you; and 

  • Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect. 

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

The following categories describe different ways that we may use or disclose health information about you. Unless otherwise noted each of these uses and disclosures may be made without your permission. For each category of use or disclosure, we will explain what we mean and give some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, unless we ask for a separate authorization, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories.

For Treatment: We may use health information about you to provide you with health care treatment and services. We may disclose health information about you to doctors, nurses, technicians, health students, volunteers or other personnel who are involved in taking care of you. They may work at our offices, at a hospital if you are hospitalized under our supervision, or at another doctor’s office, lab, pharmacy, or other health care provider to whom we may refer you for consultation, to take x-rays, to perform lab tests, to have prescriptions filled, or for other treatment purposes. For example, a doctor treating you may need to know if you have diabetes because diabetes may slow the healing process. We may provide that information to a physician treating you at another institution. 

For Payment: We may use and disclose health information about you so that the treatment and services you receive from us may be billed to and payment collected from you, an insurance company, a government program such as Medicare or a state Medi-Cal/Medicaid agency, or a third party. For example, we may need to give your health insurance plan information about your office visit so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you for the visit. Alternatively, we may need to give your health information to the state Medi-Cal/Medicaid agency so that we may be reimbursed for providing services to you. In some instances, we may need to 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 health information about you for operations of our health care practice. These uses and disclosures are necessary to run our practice and make sure that all of our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our staff in caring for you. We may also combine health information about many patients to decide what additional services we should offer, what services are not needed, whether certain new treatments are effective, or to compare how we are doing with other health care providers and to see where we can make improvements. We may remove information that identifies you from this set of health information so others may use it to study health care delivery without learning who our specific patients are.

Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment. Please let us know in writing if you do not wish to have us contact you concerning your appointment, or if you wish to have us use a different telephone number or address to contact you for this purpose.

To Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care: Unless you have told us in writing that you do not want us to do so (see also Special Protections for Minors below), we may release medical information about you to family members or others involved in your medical care. We may also give medical information to someone who helps pay for your care. In the rare situation of a natural or similar disaster, we may disclose medical information about you to an organization assisting in disaster relief efforts so that your family can be notified about your status, location and condition.

Special Protections for Minors: In California, there are certain circumstances in which minors are given special protections from disclosure of their medical information. If you are a minor, you must provide us with written authorization to disclose information in certain circumstances. For example, we may not provide your medical information to your parents or guardians without your signed written authorization in most circumstances in which the care involves pregnancy, contraception, abortion, contagious or sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS/HIV, mental health care, and drug and alcohol abuse treatment.

Special Categories of Information: In some circumstances, your health information may be subject to restrictions that may limit or preclude some uses or disclosures described in this notice. For example, there are special restrictions on the use or disclosure of certain categories of information (e.g., tests for HIV or treatment for mental health conditions or alcohol and drug abuse). Government health benefit programs, such as Medi-Cal, may also limit the disclosure of beneficiary information for purposes unrelated to the program.

Research: There may be situations in which we want to use and disclose health information about you for research purposes. For example, a research project may involve comparing the efficacy of one medication over another. For any research project that uses your health information, we will either obtain an authorization from you or ask an Institutional Review or Privacy Board to waive the requirement to obtain authorization. A waiver of authorization will be based upon assurances from such a Board that the researchers will adequately protect your health information.

Fundraising Activities: We may use health information about you, including any information related to substance abuse treatment, to contact you in an effort to raise money for our not-for-profit operations. You have the right to opt out of receiving these communications. Please let us know if you do not want us to contact you for such fundraising efforts. 

As Required By Law: We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.

Victims of Abuse and Neglect: We may disclose health information about you to a local, state or federal government authority. This includes social services or a protective services agency authorized by law to have these reports. We will do this if we have a reasonable belief of abuse, neglect or intimate partner violence.

To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use and disclose health information about you when necessary to prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat. This includes threats to the health and safety of any person or the public. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat. 

Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces or are separated/discharged from military services, we may release health information about you as required by military command authorities or the Department of Veterans Affairs as may be applicable. We may also release health information about foreign military personnel to the appropriate foreign military authorities.

Workers' Compensation: We may release health information about you for workers' compensation or similar programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.

Public Health Risks: We may disclose health 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 abuse or neglect of a child, vulnerable elder, and/or dependent adult; 

  • To report reactions to medications or problems with products; 

  • To notify people of recalls of products they may be using; 

  • 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 that you have 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 health 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. Please note that records obtained in an audit or evaluation of a Part 2 program (defined below) cannot be used to investigate or prosecute a patient, absent written consent of the patient or a court order that meets Part 2 requirements.

Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose health information about you in response to an order issued by a court or administrative tribunal. We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only after efforts have been made to tell you about the request and you have time to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

Law Enforcement: We may release health information to law enforcement officials:

  • In response to a court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process;

    • If you have not provided consent, we may release this health information as requested or to a Special Master under seal who will present it to the court to determine if the need for the information outweighs your privacy interests in the information;

    • We will not provide information related to abortion, contraception, other reproductive health care services, or gender-affirming care or services in response to an out-of-state court order, subpoena, warrant, summons or similar process unless legally required by California or Federal law to do so;

  • To identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person when asked by law enforcement officials or those assisting them (e.g., missing persons announcements on TV, radio, newspapers, Amber alerts); 

  • If you are the victim of a crime and (1) you consent or (2) we are unable to obtain your consent because of your incapacity or other emergency; 

  • About a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct; 

  • In an instance of criminal conduct at our facility; 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. 

Inmates: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official, we may release health 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, including but not limited to information related to whether or not any follow-up care is required; (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.

Coroners, Health Examiners and Funeral Directors: We may release health information as otherwise required or allowed by law to a coroner or health examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also release health information about patients to funeral directors as necessary to carry out their duties. 

FDA Reporting: We may disclose patient identifying information to medical personnel of the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) who assert a reason to believe that the health of any individual may be threatened by an error in the manufacture, labeling, or sale of a product under FDA jurisdiction, and that the information will be used for the exclusive purpose of notifying patients or their physicians of potential dangers.

USES OF HEALTH INFORMATION REQUIRING AN AUTHORIZATION

The following uses and disclosures of health information will be made only with your written permission:

  • Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes 

  • Uses and disclosures of protected health information for marketing purposes; 

  • Uses and disclosures that constitute the sale of your protected health information; 

  • Other uses and disclosures of health information not covered by this Notice or the laws that apply to us. 

If you provide us permission to use or disclose health 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 health 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 prior to such revocation, and that we are required to retain the records of the care that we provided to you.

Immunizations: The following disclosures of health information will be made only with the written or oral permission of you, or if you are a minor under applicable law, your parent, guardian, or other person in loco parentis for you (unless you are an emancipated minor):

  • Our disclosure of proof of immunization to a school where applicable law requires the school to have such information prior to admitting you as a student. 

You, or as applicable your parent, guardian, or other person in loco parentis for you (unless you are an emancipated minor), may revoke that permission, in writing, at any time. If such permission is revoked, we will no longer disclose such health information about you in this manner. Please note, however, that this may affect your admittance to any applicable school. You understand that we are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made prior to such revocation, and that we are required to retain the records of the care that we provided to you.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE RECORDS

For the purposes of this section, “reproductive health care” includes but is not limited to: contraception, including emergency contraception; preconception screening and counseling; management of pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, including pregnancy screening, prenatal care, miscarriage management, treatment for preeclampsia, hypertension during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, molar or ectopic pregnancy, and pregnancy termination; fertility and infertility diagnosis and treatment, including assisted reproductive technology and its components (e.g., in vitro fertilization (IVF)); diagnosis and treatment of conditions that affect the reproductive system (e.g., perimenopause, menopause, endometriosis, adenomyosis); and other types of care, services, and supplies used for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions related to the reproductive system (e.g., mammography, pregnancy-related nutrition services, postpartum care products).

Prohibited Uses and Disclosures

Your protected health information may not be used or disclosed for any of the following activities: 

(1) To conduct a criminal, civil, or administrative investigation into any person for the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care.

  • For example, a state health agency wherein that state access to contraceptives is restricted is seeking records of those state residents who received contraceptives at a PPOSBC Health Center to investigate the healthcare provider who provided those contraceptives for violation of that state regulatory agency’s rules. 

(2) To impose criminal, civil, or administrative liability on any person for the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care.

  • For example, law enforcement is seeking records of a resident in a state where abortion is not legal who traveled to a PPOSBC Health Center to receive an abortion in order to criminally prosecute that resident.

(3) To identify any person for the purpose of conducting such investigation or imposing such liability.

  • For example, when any individual or entity is seeking records to identify a person in order to conduct a criminal, civil or administrative investigation or to impose criminal, civil or administrative liability. 

Attestation Requirement: Effective on or before December 1, 2024 when PPOSBC receives a request for protected health information potentially related to reproductive care, a signed attestation that the use or disclosure is not for a prohibited purpose under the law shall be required.

The signed attestation is required when the request is for protected health information for any of the following: 

  • Health oversight activities

  • For example, California Department of Public Health is seeking records pertaining to its investigation related to a rise in pregnancy related deaths.

  • Judicial and Administrative proceeding(s)

    • For example, a subpoena for a patient’s records in a civil personal injury lawsuit is served on PPOSBC which may contain protected health information potentially related to reproductive care. 

  • Law enforcement purposes(s)

    • For example, law enforcement is investigating a missing person and is seeking information as to when a patient was last seen at a PPOSBC Health Center. 

  • Disclosure about Decedent(s) to coroners and medical examiner

    • For example, when records are requested by the Medical Examiner who is performing an autopsy on a decedent who was pregnant

For example, if law enforcement serves a subpoena to PPOSBC for protected health information potentially related to reproductive care of a patient, the law enforcement representative will need to sign an attestation that the use or disclosure is not for a prohibited purpose, that it is for one or more of the above bulleted purposes, that the use or disclosure is not for a criminal, civil, or administrative investigation into or proceeding against any person in connection with seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care, that the use or disclosure is not to identify any person for the purpose of initiating a criminal, civil, or administrative investigation into or proceeding against any person in connection with seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care, that the use or disclosure is not primarily for the purpose of investigating or imposing liability on any person for the mere act of seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care, and that the representative understands that knowingly falsifying an attestation can subject the representative to criminal penalties. 

REDISCLOSURE 

Notice is hereby given that protected health information produced pursuant to the uses and disclosures outlined in this Notice may be subject to redisclosure by the recipient and upon initial production is no longer protected by the HIPAA Privacy Rule.  

SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER (SUD) PATIENT RECORDS

The provisions and protections contained within this notice apply to all of PPOSBC’s records about you, and PPOSBC protects the privacy and security of any substance use disorder patient records in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 290dd–2 and 42 C.F.R. Part 2, the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records (“Part 2”), as well as HIPAA and applicable state law.

Records that are disclosed to a Part 2 program, covered entity, or business associate pursuant to the patient’s written authorization/consent for treatment, payment, and health care operations may be further disclosed by that Part 2 program, covered entity, or business associate, without the patient’s written consent, to the extent the HIPAA regulations permit such disclosure. 

Civil, Administrative, Criminal, or Legislative Proceedings: Substance use disorder treatment records or testimony relaying the content of such records, shall not be used or disclosed in any civil, administrative, criminal, or legislative proceedings against the patient unless based on written consent or a court order. Records shall only be used or disclosed based on a court order after notice and an opportunity to be heard is provided to the patient or the holder of the record as provided in 42 C.F.R. Part 2. A court order authorizing use or disclosure must be accompanied by a subpoena or other legal requirement compelling disclosure before the requested record is used or disclosed. 

Substance Use Disorder Counseling Notes: Substance Use Disorder (“SUD”) counseling notes means notes recorded (in any medium) by a Part 2 program provider who is a SUD or mental health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of conversation during a private SUD counseling session or a group, joint, or family SUD counseling session and that are separated from the rest of the patient's SUD and medical record. SUD counseling notes excludes medication prescription and monitoring, counseling session start and stop times, the modalities and frequencies of treatment furnished, results of clinical tests, and any summary of the following items: diagnosis, functional status, the treatment plan, symptoms, prognosis, and progress to date. Substance abuse counseling notes cannot be disclosed under a broad consent for disclosure related to treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes. Pursuant to your authorization, PPOSBC may disclose substance use disorder counseling notes, except your authorization is not necessary to carry out the following treatment, payment, or health care operations: use by the originator of the substance use disorder counseling notes for treatment; use or disclosure by PPOSBC for its own training programs in which students, trainees, or practitioners learn under supervision to practice or improve their skills in group, joint, family or individual SUD counseling; or use or disclosure by PPOSBC to defend a legal action or proceeding brought by the patient

Use or Disclosure with Your Authorization:  In certain situations, your protected health information may be used or disclosed only when you provide your written authorization. PPOSBC will request and/or obtain your authorization when it is required by applicable privacy laws as described within this Notice.  You may provide a single authorization for all future uses or disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations purposes

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

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

Right to Inspect and Copy: You have certain rights to inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes health and billing records, but does not include psychotherapy notes. To inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing on a form provided by us to the PPOSBC Medical Records Clerk at 801 E. Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA 92805. If we use or maintain your health information in an electronic format, you also have the right to obtain your health information in an electronic format or to have it transmitted directly to another person or entity. If you request a copy of your health information, we may charge a fee for the costs of locating, copying, mailing or other supplies and services associated with your request. California law provides quicker access to records than under HIPAA. Under California law, you may review your health information within five business days of our receipt of your request. If you request a copy of your health information, we must furnish the copy within 15 days of our receipt of the request.

Limits on Information: We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain very limited circumstances. For example, if we believe supplying you with certain information could lead to physical harm to you or someone else, we will withhold that information. If you are denied access to your health information, you may in certain instances request that the denial be reviewed. Another licensed health care professional chosen by our practice will review your request and the denial. The person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your initial request. We will comply with the outcome of the review.

Right to Amend: If you feel that health 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 we keep the information. To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing on a form provided by us and submitted to the PPOSBC Privacy Officer.

We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not submitted on the form provided by us and 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 health information kept by or for our practice; 

  • Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy; or 

  • Is accurate and complete. 

Any amendment we make to your health information will be disclosed to those with whom we disclose information as previously specified.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request a list (accounting) of any disclosures of your health information we have made, except for uses and disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations, as previously described. To request this list of disclosures, you must submit your request on a form that we will provide to you.

Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request restrictions or limitations on certain otherwise permitted uses or disclosures of your health information by a written or verbal request specifying what information you want to limit, and what limitations on our use or disclosure of that information you wish to have imposed. If you tell us not to disclose information to your commercial health plan concerning health care items or services for which you paid for in full out-of-pocket, we will abide by your request, unless we must disclose the information for treatment or legal reasons. We reserve the right to accept or reject any other request, and will notify you of our decision. You also have the right to request a limit on the health information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care. For example, you could ask that access to your health information be denied to a particular member of our workforce who is known to you personally. Although we will try to accommodate your request for restrictions, we are not required to do so if it is not feasible for us to ensure our compliance with law or we believe it will negatively impact the care we may provide you.

Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about health matters in a certain manner or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail to a post office box. During our intake process, we will ask you how you wish to receive communications about your health care or for any other instructions on notifying you about your health information. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. 

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice: You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this Notice at any time upon request, even if you have received the Notice electronically.  You may also obtain a copy of this Notice at our website www.pposbc.org

Right to Receive Notice of a Breach: We are required by federal and state law to notify you following a breach with respect to your unsecured protected health information.

CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

We reserve the right to change this Notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed Notice effective for health 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 our health centers and on our website. The Notice contains the effective date on the first page.

COMPLAINTS

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us by contacting the PPOSBC Privacy Officer at the telephone number and address at the beginning of this Notice. All complaints must be submitted in writing. 

You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.

You may also contact the following agencies: 

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) with a complaint. Please visit http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/ for up to date contact information for the OCR.

  • The California Office of Privacy Information at: http://oag.ca.gov/privacy

  • The California Department of Health (CDPH) at: www.cdph.ca.gov or General Information at (916) 558-1784

You can also file a complaint (including complaints of Part 2 violations) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775 or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

You acknowledge that you have received the Notice of Privacy Practices for Planned Parenthood/Orange and San Bernardino Counties, Inc./Melody Health (the “Notice”), and you consent to the use and disclosure of your protected health information as described in the Notice. The Notice describes in detail how we might use or disclose your protected health information. The Notice also discusses your rights and our duties with respect to your protected health information.