Privacy Policy

Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective Date: April 14, 2003
What patients should know about
their medical information

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

• To help diagnose, treat and coordinate your care, we may disclose your medical information within Loyola to the physicians, nurses, technicians and students who are taking care of you. 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. The doctor may need to tell the dietitian if you have diabetes so that we can arrange for appropriate meals. Different departments may share your medical information to coordinate the different things you need, such as prescriptions, lab work and X-rays. We may disclose your medical information to people outside Loyola who are or will be involved in your medical care.
  
• To obtain payment for our services. We may use and disclose your medical information so we can collect payment from you, an insurance company or a third party (including collection agencies) for the services you receive. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about your surgery at Loyola so it will pay us or reimburse you for the surgery. We also may tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain prior approval for your plan to cover the treatment.
  
• To conduct our health-care operations. We may share your medical information between the Loyola entities, our workforce or business associates to run Loyola’s operations and to provide quality care to our patients. For example, we may use medical information to review our treatment and services, to evaluate the performance of our staff, to decide what additional services Loyola should offer, or to
  teach students. We also may share a limited amount of your medical information with other health-care providers to compare Loyola with others so we can make improvements in the care and services we offer.
  
• To business associates that perform services on our behalf. Examples include vendors who provide us with copy service or departmental personnel within Loyola University of Chicago who provide services to us.
  
• To you at your request unless denial of access is required or permitted by law.
  
• To send you appointment reminders.
  
• To tell you about other treatments, health-care related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
  
• To use your demographic information to enlist your support of our fundraising programs unless you object. If you want to have your name removed from our fundraising mailing lists, write to the Department of Healthcare Development at the address on the back of this Notice.
  
• To include you, as an inpatient, in the LUMC Directory. We may include your name, room number, general condition (e.g., stable) and religious affiliation in the directory. The directory information, except for your religious affiliation, may 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 visiting priest or rabbi or a member of the LUMC Pastoral Care Department. This directory is available so your family, friends and clergy can visit you, send flowers and generally know how you are doing. To opt-out of the directory, contact the Admitting Department by dialing x65115 within Loyola or 708/216-5115. If you opt-out, you will need to give your LUMC room and phone numbers to anyone you want to visit or call you because we will not be able to disclose that information.
  
• To a friend or family member involved in your care or to someone who helps pay for your care.
  
• To an entity assisting in a disaster relief effort during an emergency so that your family can be notified about your condition, status and location.
  
• To be included in research projects. As an academic medical center, Loyola has active research programs that include studies that may involve your current care or a review of your medical history. We generally ask for your written authorization before using your medical information or sharing it with others in order to conduct research. Under limited circumstances, we may use and disclose your medical information without your authorization. Information is only used without your approval if we obtain an independent review to ensure that research conducted without your authorization poses minimal risk to your privacy. Otherwise, only limited information, falling within the government privacy protections guidelines, are used.
  
• To avert a serious threat to health or safety to you, another person or the public.
  
• To carry out your request to donate organs or tissue, we provide information to organizations that handle organ and tissue procurement, donations or transplantations.
  
• To military command authorities if you are in the armed forces.
  
• To entities as required by workers’ compensation laws.
  
• To public health and government agencies.
  
• To health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law.
  
• To social service or protective service agencies or departments to report abuse, neglect or domestic violence.
  
• To an officer of the court, a member of an administrative tribunal or an attorney in response to a court order, an administrative order or a subpoena.
  
• To law enforcement officials.
  
• To coroners, medical examiners and funeral directors.
  
• To the government for national security and intelligence activities.
  
• To authorized persons for special government functions such as for protective services for the President.
  
• If you are an inmate, to correctional institutions in certain situations.
  
• To others as required by federal, state or local law.
  

• You have a right to inspect, copy and to request amendments to your medical information (as permitted or required by law). Requests should be made as follows: 1) For medical records to the Medical Records Department; 2) For LUMC hospital billing records to the Patient Financial Services Department; and 3) For LUPF physician billing records to the Central Business Office. These requests should be sent to the appropriate department’s attention at the address at the end of this Notice. There may be a charge for copies.
  
• You have a right to request restrictions or limitations on the medical information we use or disclose about you and a right to confidential communications (i.e., that we only contact you in a certain manner or at a certain location). We will not ask the reason for your request. We are not required to agree to any particular request but if we do agree, we will comply with your request unless the information is needed to provide you emergency treatment or to comply with the law. To make these requests, write to the Corporate Compliance Department at the address at the end of this Notice.
  
• You have a right to an “accounting of disclosures” (i.e., a list describing how we have shared your medical information with various parties on and after April 14, 2003). To obtain an accounting, write to the Patient Relations Department at the address listed at the end of this Notice. Reports will only list disclosures made since your last request. Only one request per year will be honored free of charge.
  
• You have a right to a copy of this Notice. You may obtain a copy of this Notice (and any revised Notices) by visiting one of our locations, or at (http://www.LoyolaMedicine.org) or by writing to the Corporate Compliance Department at the address at the end of this Notice. We are required to abide by the terms of the Notice currently in effect. Therefore, we reserve the right to change the terms of our Notice and to make new Notice provisions effective for all the medical information that we maintain.
  
• You have a right to complain if you believe your privacy rights have been violated. You may file a complaint by writing to the Loyola Patient Relations Department at the address listed at the end of this Notice. You also may file a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate or take action against you for filing a complaint.