The Home Care Network - Privacy Statement

The Home Care Network has created this statement to demonstrate our commitment to on-line privacy. It discloses our information-gathering and dissemination practices for this website.

You may visit our website without submitting any information about yourself. If you send us e-mail or subscribe to one of our on-line publications, you will be asked to submit information about yourself. We will use this information for replying to your message or forwarding the requested material. We do not share this information with any other partners, affiliates or members of JHS. Our website may log the IP addresses of visitors, but only to administer the site and diagnose problems with our server. IP addresses are not used to identify individuals.

This site contains links to other sites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices or content. You will be asked to "accept" or "decline" a statement dealing with this.

Please note that HCN will not respond to any question concerning a specific medical or health condition. If you submit such a request you will receive a standard response that you should consult with your own health care professional. Of course, we will not intentionally share the contents of this type of an e-mail with any third party. However, due to the nature of electronic communications, we cannot and do not provide any assurances that the contents of your e-mail will not become known or accessible to third parties. WE URGE YOU NOT TO PROVIDE ANY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU OR YOUR HEALTH TO US VIA ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION. If you do so, it is at your own risk.

PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT –
HEALTH CARE RECORDS
HOME HEALTH AGENCY

This statement gives you advice required by law (The Privacy Act of 1974).

This statement is not a consent form. It will not be used to release or to use your health care information.

I. Authority for collection of your information, including your social security number, and whether or not you are required to provide information for this assessment. Sections 1102(a), 1154, 1861(o), 1861(z), 1863, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1871, 1891(b) of the Social Security Act.
Medicare and Medicaid participating home health agencies must do a complete assessment that accurately reflects your current health and includes information that can be used to show your progress toward your health goals. The home health agency must use the “Outcome and Assessment Information Set” (OASIS) when evaluating your health. To do this, the agency must get information from every patient. This information is used by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS, the federal Medicare & Medicaid agency) to be sure that the home health agency meets quality standards and gives appropriate health care to its patients. You have the right to refuse to provide information for the assessment to the home health agency. If your information is included in an assessment, it is protected under the federal Privacy Act of 1974 and the “Home Health Agency Outcome and Assessment Information Set” (HHA OASIS) System of Records. You have the Right to see, copy, review, and request correction of your information in the HHA OASIS System of Records.

II. Principal purposes for which your information is intended to be used
The information collected will be entered into the Home Health Agency Outcome and Assessment Information Set (HHA OASIS) System No. 09-70-9002. Your health care information in the HHA OASIS System of Records will be used for the following purposes:

support litigation involving the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services;

support regulatory, reimbursement, and policy functions performed within the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services or by a contractor or consultant;

study the effectiveness and quality of care provided by those home health agencies;

survey and certification of Medicare and Medicaid home health agencies;

provide for development, validation, and refinement of a Medicare prospective payment system;

enable regulators to provide home health agencies with the data for their internal quality improvement activities;

support research, evaluation, or epidemiological projects related to the prevention of disease or disability, or the restoration or maintenance of health, and for health care payment related projects; and

support constituent requests made to a Congressional representative.

III. Routine Uses
These “routine uses” specify the circumstances when the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services may release your information from the HHA OASIS System of Records without your consent. Each prospective recipient must agree in writing to ensure the continuing confidentiality and security of your information. Disclosures of the information may be to:

the Federal Department of Justice for litigation involving the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services;

contractors or consultants working for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to assist in the performance of a service related to this system of records and who need to access these records to perform the activity;

an agency of a State government for purposes of determining, evaluating, and/or assessing cost, effectiveness, and/or quality of health care services provided in the State; for developing and operating Medicaid reimbursement systems; or for the administration of Federal/State home health agency programs within the State.

another Federal or State agency to contribute to the accuracy of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ health insurance operations (payment, treatment and coverage) and/or to support State agencies in the evaluations and monitoring of care provided by HHA’s;

Peer Review Organizations, to perform Title XI or Title XVIII functions relating to assessing and improving home health agency quality of care;

an individual or organization for a research, evaluation, or epidemiological project related to the prevention of disease or disability, the restoration or maintenance of health, or payment related projects;

a congressional office in response to a constituent inquiry made at the written request of the constituent about some the record is maintained.

IV. Effect on you, if you do not provide information.
The home health agency needs the information contained in the Outcome and Assessment Information Set in order to give you quality care. It is important that the information be correct. Incorrect information could result in payment errors. Incorrect information also could make it hard to be sure that the agency is giving you quality services. If you choose not to provide information, there is no federal requirement for the home health agency to refuse you services.

NOTE: This statement may be included in the admission packet for all new home health agency admissions. Home Health agencies may request you or your representative to sign this statement to document that this statement was given to you. Your signature Is NOT required. If you or your representative sign the statement, the signature merely indicates that you received this statement. You or your representative must be supplied with a copy of this statement.

Contact Information

If you want to ask the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to see, review, copy, or correct your personal health information which that Federal agency maintains in its HHA OASIS System of Records call Call 1-800-MEDICARE, toll free, for assistance in contacting the HHA OASIS System Manager. TTY for the hearing and speech impaired: 1-877-486-2048.

NOTICE ABOUT THE PRIVACY FOR PATIENTS WHO DO NOT HAVE
MEDICARE OR MEDICAID COVERAGE

Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS)

As a home health patient, there are a few things that you need to know about our collection of your personal information.

Federal and State governments oversee home health care to be sure that we furnish quality home health care services, and that you, in particular, get quality home health care services.

We need to ask you questions because we are required by law to collect health information to make sure that you get quality health care services.

We will make your information anonymous. That way, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees this home health agency, cannot know that the information is about you.

We keep anything we learn about you confidential.