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.
Where this applies
OneOme operates a laboratory located at 807 Broadway Street NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413 and is thus considered a Covered Entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
OneOme’s duties
By law, OneOme must keep protected health information private. The federal government defines protected health information as any information, whether oral, electronic or paper, which is created or received by OneOme and relates to a patient’s physical or mental health or condition, or payment for the provision of medical services. This includes not only the results of tests and notes written by doctors, nurses and other clinical personnel, but also certain demographic information (such as your name, address and telephone number) that is related to your health records.
OneOme is required by law to give you this notice and to follow the terms and conditions of the notice that is currently in effect. OneOme will report breaches of your unsecured protected health information as required by law.
How OneOme fulfills these duties
- OneOme takes necessary precautions against inappropriate use or disclosure of protected health information.
- OneOme employees are expected to access protected health information only as necessary to perform their jobs.
- OneOme employees who violate these rules and policies are subject to sanctions, including discipline and termination.
The Healthcare Providers Covered By This Notice
This notice covers OneOme and OneOme personnel, volunteers, students, and trainees.
A Word about Federal and State Law
Federal and state laws require OneOme to protect your medical information and federal law requires OneOme to describe to you how we handle that information. When federal and state privacy laws differ, and the state law is more protective of your information or provides you with greater access to your information, then state law will override federal law. For example, where we have specifically identified additional applicable state law requirements in this notice, OneOme will follow the more stringent state law requirements.
Part I - Most Common Uses and Disclosures
This section describes the most common circumstances in which OneOme may use or disclose protected health information.
Treatment
OneOme will use and disclose protected health information to assist those that are providing, coordinating or managing your care. This includes communication and consultation between healthcare providers - doctors, nurses, technicians and other members of your medical team. This applies to disclosures for treatment purposes to healthcare providers both within and outside of OneOme.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota Law generally requires patient consent for disclosures of protected health information by OneOme in Minnesota for treatment purposes, unless consent is not possible due to a medical emergency.
Payment
OneOme will use and disclose protected health information to create bills and collect payment from insurance companies, Medicare and other payers. This may include providing information such as dates of service, symptoms, and diagnosis to your insurance company to show that OneOme provided diagnostic services to you. OneOme also may disclose protected health information to healthcare providers if such information is needed by the healthcare provider to obtain payment for medical services provided to you.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires patient consent for disclosures of protected health information by OneOme in Minnesota for payment purposes.
Healthcare operations
OneOme will use and disclose protected health information if it is necessary to improve the quality of care we provide to patients or to run our healthcare facilities. These include activities to monitor and improve patient care, license staff to care for patients, prepare for state and federal regulatory reviews, train healthcare and non healthcare professionals, manage healthcare operations, and improve healthcare services.
OneOme may also disclose protected health information to healthcare providers who have treated you, or to your insurance company, if such information is needed for certain healthcare operations of the healthcare provider or insurance company, such as quality improvement activities, evaluations of healthcare professionals, and state and federal regulatory reviews.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires patient consent for disclosures of protected health information by OneOme for healthcare operations purposes.
Patient contacts
At times, OneOme may access information, such as your name, address and general medical condition to contact you to:
- Provide information that may be of interest to you; or
- Disclose health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.
Medical Research
Medical research is vital to the advancement of medical science. Federal regulations permit use of protected health information in medical research, either with your authorization, when your name and most other identifiers have been removed and the recipient of the information signs a data use agreement, or when the research study is reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board before any medical research study begins. In some situations, limited information may be used before approval of the research study to allow a researcher to determine whether enough patients exist to make a study scientifically valid.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires patient consent for disclosures of protected health information by OneOme to outside researchers for medical research purposes. OneOme will obtain such consent from their patients or refusal to participate in any research study, or will make a good faith effort to obtain such consent or refusal, before releasing any identifiable information to an outside researcher for research purposes.
Part II Other Potential Uses and Disclosures
This section describes the less common circumstances in which OneOme may use or disclose protected health information.
Health Oversight Activities
OneOme may disclose protected health information to health oversight agencies that oversee our operations or personnel. These agencies need such information to monitor our compliance with state and federal laws.
Lawsuits and Other Judicial Proceedings
OneOme may disclose protected health information in response to a valid court or administrative order. OneOme also may disclose protected health information in response to certain types of subpoenas, discovery requests, or other lawful processes.
Law Enforcement Activities
OneOme may disclose protected health information to law enforcement officials. For example, we may release protected health information to law enforcement officials in response to a valid court order, grand jury subpoena, or search warrant.
Additional Applicable State Law Requirements
Minnesota law generally requires patient consent for disclosures of protected health information by OneOme for law enforcement purposes, unless the disclosure is in response to a valid court order or warrant.
Required by Law
OneOme will use or disclose protected health information when required by federal, state, or local laws.
Permitted by Law
OneOme may use or disclose protected health information when permitted by federal, state, or local laws.
Uses and Disclosures Pursuant to an Authorization
Except as described in this notice or specifically required or permitted by law, OneOme will not use or disclose your protected health information without your specific written authorization. At times, OneOme may ask you to provide specific written permission to allow OneOme to use or disclose protected health information about you. OneOme generally will not use or disclose your protected health information for marketing purposes, in exchange for remuneration, unless OneOme receives your authorization to do so. A valid authorization may be revoked in writing at any time. Written revocation of authorization must be submitted to OneOme and addressed to the Health Information Management Services. Once the authorization is revoked, the OneOme will no longer be allowed to use or disclose protected health information for the purposes described in the authorization except to the extent OneOme has already taken action based upon the authorization.
Information with Additional Protections
Certain types of protected health information may have additional protection under federal or state law. For example, protected health information about mental health, HIV/AIDS and genetic testing results is treated differently than other types of protected health information under certain state laws. To the extent applicable, OneOme would need to get your written permission before disclosing that information to others in many circumstances.
Part III Patients’ Rights with Respect to Protected Health Information
This section describes the rights of OneOme patients to protected health information.
Right to Inspect and Copy
You have the right to inspect and to request a copy of information maintained in OneOme’s designated record set about you.
To obtain or inspect a copy of your protected health information, submit a written request to OneOme and address the request to the attention of the Health Information Management Services. OneOme generally may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee to cover the expense of providing copies.
Most patients have full access to inspect and receive a copy of the full medical record. On rare occasions, OneOme may deny a request to inspect and receive a copy of some information in the medical record.
For example, this may occur if, in the professional judgment of a patient’s physician, the release of the information would be reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety of the patient or another person.
Right to Request Alternate Methods of Communication
You have a right to request that OneOme communicate with you in certain ways (such as a letter or by phone) or at a certain location. For example, you may ask that we contact you only at home or only at your place of business. In this situation, you may submit a written request to OneOme specifying the communication method or alternative location being requested. The request should be addressed to the attention of the OneOme Privacy Officer. OneOme will accommodate reasonable requests.
Right to Request Amendment
You have the right to request that your protected health information in OneOme designated medical record for you be amended. If you wish to request amendment of the information in your record, submit a written request to the applicable OneOme and address the request to the attention of the Health Information Management Services. The request must include a reason to support the amendment.
OneOme may deny a request for amendment based upon any of the following circumstances:
- The request is not in writing or does not include a supporting reason;
- The information you want to change was not created by OneOme, and the originator of the information is available to make the amendment;
- The information is not part of the designated medical record; or
- The information in the record is accurate and complete.
If OneOme denies your request for an amendment, OneOme will give you a written explanation of the denial. If you still disagree with the explanation provided, you can submit your written disagreement to OneOme as referenced above, or you can ask that your request for amendment and explanation of the denial, or an accurate summary of such information, be included in any future disclosure of the pertinent protected health information. If you submit a statement of disagreement, OneOme may include a rebuttal statement addressing your statement of disagreement in the designated medical record.
Right to a List of Certain Disclosures
You can ask OneOme for a list of the persons or organizations to which OneOme has disclosed your protected health information. This list would provide you with a summary of certain disclosures OneOme has made that you would not otherwise be in a position to know about. The following are examples of disclosures that would not be included in the list:
- Disclosures to carry out treatment, payment and healthcare operations;
- Disclosures made directly to you (the patient) or disclosures that you have specifically authorized;
- Disclosures to persons involved in your care;
- Disclosures incident to a use or disclosure that is otherwise permitted or required by law;
- Disclosures made for national security or intelligence purposes;
To obtain a copy of the list, submit a written request to OneOme and address the request to the attention of the OneOme Privacy Officer. Your request must state a time period. The first list requested within a 12-month period shall be provided at no charge. For additional lists requested during the same 12-month period, OneOme may charge for the costs of providing the list.
Right to Request Restrictions
You can ask OneOme to restrict the use or disclosure of protected health information about you for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. Your request must be in writing and submitted to OneOme. The request should also be addressed to the attention of the OneOme Privacy Officer. OneOme will carefully consider all requests.
Right to Notice of Privacy Practices
You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this notice upon request, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. To obtain a paper copy of this notice, submit a written request to OneOme. The request should be addressed to the attention of the OneOme Privacy Officer.
Complaints
If you want to file a complaint or express concerns about OneOme’s use or disclosure of Protected Health Information, please contact OneOme as follows:
OneOme Laboratory and Headquarters:
807 Broadway Street NE, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Phone: 1-844-663-6635
You also may file a written complaint with the United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office for Civil Rights. OneOme honors your right to express concerns regarding your privacy. OneOme would not – nor could it legally or ethically – take action against you for filing a concern or complaint regarding the use, disclosure, and rights of your protected health information.
Key Information about this Notice
- The effective date of this revised notice is June 30, 2020.
- From time to time, OneOme may change its practices concerning how we use or disclose protected health information, or how we will implement patient rights concerning their information. OneOme reserves the right to change the terms of this notice and make the new notice provisions effective for all protected health information maintained by OneOme. OneOme will follow the terms and conditions of the notice that is currently in effect.
- When the notice is revised, it is posted on OneOme’s website at http://www.oneome.com/notice-privacy