HIPAA
Fox Valley Women's Healthcare, S.C. may share confidential information with a third party for the same purpose of performing the services for which we were engaged, provided that the information shall remain confidential at all times and shall be shared with only those persons that have authority to receive such information. An authorization to release the patient's medical records will be signed by the patient prior to disclosure. The records will be released only to the specific party listed/requested by the patient.
If a patient needs their medical records for second opinions, transferring of care or any other need, an authorization to release medical records form will need to be completed and faxed or mailed to us. Patients will not be charged for their medical records unless immediate retrieval from storage is necessary.
Any insurance company or attorney requesting records will be charged. Any patient, insurance company or attorney needing records immediately will be charged an additional $75 fee, which is the rate to retrieve records from our storage facility (only if your medical chart is in our storage facility).
PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OF PATIENTS' HEALTH INFORMATION
The privacy of all medical records and other individually identifiable health information must be protected at all times. Information relating to a patient's health care history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, or evaluation shall be considered individually identifiable health information. Confidentiality of this health information must be maintained at all times, and may only be disclosed with the express written consent of the patient.
BOUNDARIES ON HEALTH INFORMATION USE AND RELEASE.
An individual's health information can be used for health purposes only. Patient information can be used or disclosed only for purposes of health care treatment, payment, and operations. Health information cannot be used for purposes not related to health care without explicit authorization from the patient.
All individually identifiable health information shall be maintained by Fox Valley Women's Healthcare, S.C., in a confidential manner, which prevents unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure to third parties.