PRIVACY NOTICE
The
SurgiCenter of Baltimore recognizes the importance of maintaining
secure and confidential personal information that we receive
and maintain about our patients. Keeping our patients' personal
information secure and confidential is required of all SurgiCenter
employees. We do not disclose any personal information about
our patients or former patients to anyone, except as permitted
by law.
In
providing health care to you, the SurgiCenter of Baltimore collects
the following types of personal information provided to us or
our physicians or other health care providers: name, address,
telephone number, date of birth, Social Security number, health
care coverage, medical history, results of physical examinations,
results of laboratory tests, radiology studies, pathology reports,
clinical diagnoses, surgical procedures performed, documentation
of care, billing, claims payment and account balance information
. We may disclose this information to our affiliates without
prior authorization, as permitted by law. The SurgiCenter of
Baltimore will post its Privacy Notice and any changes to the
Privacy Notice in the lobby of the Center and on its web site
for public inspection.
We
may, from time to time, disclose personal information without
prior authorization, as permitted by law, to a third party to
perform services or functions on our behalf. If we make such
a disclosure, we will at the same time enter into a contract
with the third party that prohibits the third party from disclosing
or using the information other than to carry out the purposes
for the disclosure, except as permitted by law.
We
restrict access to personal information about you only to those
employees who need to know that information to provide services
to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards
that comply with federal regulations to guard your personal
information. Employees are required to abide by the following
standards: 1. To safeguard and secure confidential personal
information as required by law; 2. To limit the collection and
use of patients' information to the minimum necessary to deliver
our services; 3. To permit only trained, authorized employees
to have access to confidential information; 4. As a condition
of employment, all employees are required to sign a confidentiality
agreement. Employees who violate the policy will be subject
to our established disciplinary process.
The
patient has the following rights: 1. to receive a paper copy
of the notice upon request 2. to inspect and copy protected
health information, 3. to receive an accounting of disclosures
of protected health information. 4. request restriction on certain
uses and disclosure of protected health information. (the Center
is not required by law and reserves the right not to agree to
a requested restriction) 5. To receive confidential communication
of protected health information by an alternative method and
6. To request amendments to be made to their medical record.
It
is the practice of the SurgiCenter of Baltimore to contact individuals
by phone regarding pre-operative instructions, health history,
billing information and post-operative follow-up. It is also
the practice of the Center to address the patient by name while
at the Center to assure proper identification and to confirm
operative procedure and surgical site. If you do not wish to
be contacted by phone or by name, it is your responsibility
to notify the Center and request an alternative method of contact
or identification.
Concerns
regarding privacy issues may be directed to the SurgiCenter
of Baltimore's Patient Comment line at the following phone number:
410-356-8656 ext. 250
Written complaints may be addressed to: SurgiCenter
of Baltimore
c/o Privacy Officer
23 Crossroads Drive
Owings Mills, MD 21117
