Individual Rights

Your Rights Regarding Health Information About You

Right to Inspect and Copy
You have the right to inspect and copy information in your medical record. This right does not extend to any psychotherapy notes. To inspect and/or get a copy of your medical record you must submit your request in writing to the Medical Records department at the applicable Affiliated Entity. You may be required to pay copying costs.

Right to Amend
If you feel that information about you is incorrect, you may ask us to amend the record. To request an amendment, the request must be made in writing to the Medical Records department at the applicable Affiliated Entity. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. We are not obligated to comply with your request to amend your record.

Right to Request Restrictions
You have the right to request limits on the use of your medical information for either treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to request a limit on medical information we disclose to someone who is involved in your care or the payment of your care such as a family member or friend. For example, you could ask that we not disclose information about a surgery you had. To request restrictions, the request must be made in writing to the Medical Records department at the applicable Affiliated Entity. We are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree we will comply with your restrictions unless the information is needed to provide emergency treatment.

Right to Request Confidential Communications
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we only contact you at work or by mail. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. To request restrictions, the request must be made in writing to the Medical Records department at the applicable Affiliated Entity.

Right to Revoke your Authorization
If you provide us with authorization to use or disclose medical information about you, you may revoke that authorization, in writing, at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose medical information about you for the reasons covered by your written authorization. We are unable to take back any disclosures we have already made with your permission and we are required to retain our records of the care that we provided to you. A form of written revocation is available upon request from the Affiliated Entity's Medical Records Department.

Right to a Paper Copy of this Notice
If you view this Notice on our Web site or by electronic mail (e-mail), you are entitled to receive a copy of this Notice in written form. Please contact us as directed below to obtain this Notice in written form.

Breach Notification
In certain instances, you have the right to be notified in the event that we, or one of our Business Associates, discover an inappropriate use or disclosure of your health information. Notice of any such use or disclosure will be made in accordance with state and federal requirements.

Disposal of Medical Records
You have the right to know that your medical records may be destroyed ten (10) years after you were last treated in the hospital or, if you were younger than eighteen (18) years of age when you were last treated at the hospital, on your 20th birthday or on or ten (10) years after the date you were last treated, whichever date is later. St. Joseph may not destroy medical records that relate to any matter that is involved in litigation if St. Joseph knows the litigation has not been finally resolved. Such records may be destroyed upon final resolution of the litigation.