Family or Friends Involved in Your Health Care
Before we disclose your health information to a member of your family,
a relative, a close friend, or any other person you identify that is involved
in your health care, we will provide you with an opportunity to object
to such uses or disclosures. If you are not present, in the event of your
incapacity, or an emergency treatment situation exists, we will only disclose
your health information to others involved in your health care based on
our professional judgment of whether the disclosure would be in your best
interest. We may use or disclose health information to notify or assist
in notifying a family member, personal representative, or any other person
that is responsible for your care of your location, general condition,
or death. We will also use our professional judgment and experience with
common practice to allow a person involved in your health care to pick
up filled prescriptions, medical supplies, x-rays, or other forms of health
information. In these situations, on the minimum necessary health information
that is relevant to your health care will be disclosed.
Disclosures Permitted or Required That May Be Made Without Your
Authorization or Opportunity to Object
We may use or disclose your health information in the following situations
without your consent or authorization. These situations include:
- Required
By Law:
We may use or disclose your health information to the extent that Federal,
State, or Local law requires the use or disclosure. The use or disclosure
will be made in compliance with the law and will be limited to the relevant
requirements of the law. You will be notified, when required by law,
of any such
uses or disclosures.
- Public
Health:
We may disclose your health information for public health activities
and purposes to a public health authority that is permitted by law to
collect or receive the information. The disclosure will be made for
the purpose of controlling disease, injury, or disability. We may also
disclose your health information, if directed by the public health authority,
to a foreign government agency that is collaborating with the public
health authority.
- Communicable
Diseases: We may disclose your health information, if authorized
by law, to a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease
or may otherwise be at risk of contracting or spreading the disease
or condition.
- Health
Oversight: We may disclose health information to a health oversight
agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations,
and inspections. Oversight agencies seeking this information include
government agencies that oversee the health care system, government
benefit programs, other government regulatory programs, and civil rights
laws.
- Abuse or
Neglect: We may disclose your health information to a public
health authority that is authorized by law to receive reports of child
abuse or neglect. In addition, we may disclose your health information
to the governmental entity or agency authorized to receive such information,
if we believe that you have been a victim of dependent adult abuse or
neglect. In this case, the disclosure will be made consistent with the
requirements of applicable federal and state laws.
- Serious
Threat to Health or Safety: We may, consistent with applicable
law and ethical standards of conduct, use or disclose your health information
if we believe, in good faith, that such use or disclosure is necessary
to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or
safety or to the health or safety of the public.
- Food and
Drug Administration: We may disclose your health information
to a person or company required by the Food and Drug Administration
to report adverse events, product defects or problems, biologic product
deviations; to track products; to enable product recalls; to make repairs
or replacements, or to conduct post-marketing surveillance, as required.
- Specialized
Government Functions: We may disclose your health information
when it relates to specialized government functions, such as military
and veterans’ activities, national security and intelligence activities,
protective services for the President, and medical suitability or determinations
of the Department of State.
- Legal Proceedings:
We may disclose health information in the course of any judicial or
ad-ministrative proceeding, in response to an order of a court or administrative
tribunal (to the extent such disclosure is expressly authorized), in
certain conditions in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or
other lawful process.
- Law Enforcement:
We may also disclose health information, so long as applicable legal
requirements are met, for law enforcement purposes. These law enforcement
purposes include: 1) legal processes and otherwise required by law,
2) limited information requests for identification and location purposes,
3) suspicion that death or serious injury has occurred as a result of
criminal conduct, 4) in the event that a crime occurs on the premises
of the UNI health care components, and 5) on the occurrence of a medical
emergency, when it is likely that a crime has occurred.
- Coroners,
Funeral Directors, and Organ Donation: We may disclose health
information to a coroner or medical examiner for identification purposes,
determining cause of death or for the coroner or medical examiner to
perform other duties authorized by law. We may also disclose health
information to a funeral director, as authorized by law, in order to
permit the funeral director to carry out his/her duties. We may disclose
such information in reasonable anticipation of death. Health information
may be used and disclosed for cadaveric organ, eye, or tissue donation
purposes.
- Research:
Although in most cases health-related research is conducted only after
you have provided authorization to disclose your protected health information
to the researcher, in certain circumstances when the research proposal
has been approved by an institutional review board or is preparatory
to research, your health information may be used or disclosed for health-related
research without your authorization.
- Workers’
Compensation: We may disclose you health information as authorized
to comply with workers’ compensation laws and other similar legally
established programs.
- Disaster
Relief: We may use or disclose your health information to an
authorized public or private entity, such as the American Red Cross,
to assist in disaster relief efforts and to coordinate notification
of your location with family or other individuals involved in your health
care.
- Required Uses and Disclosures: Under the law, we must make disclosures when required by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate or determine our compliance with the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy Regulations and other Federal or State laws.