(602) 279-5262

Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW THE DOCUMENT CAREFULLY.

I. NATIVE HEALTH («NH») Responsibilities

We are required to:

  • Maintain the privacy of your health information;
  • Provide you with this notice of our legal duties and information practices with respect to information we collect and maintain about you;
  • Notify you if we learn there has been a breach of your unsecured information; and
  • Abide by the terms of the notice in effect.

NH reserves the right to change its privacy practices and to make the new provisions effective for all protected health information (PHI) it maintains. NH will post any revised Notice of Privacy Practices at public places within its healthcare facilities and on its website at www.nativehealthphoenix.org and you may request a copy of the Notice.

NH understands that health information about you is personal and is committed to protecting your health information. NH will not use or disclose your health information without your permission, except as described in this notice and as permitted by law.

II. Entities Covered Under This Notice

Native Health and Native American Community Health Center, Inc.

III. Your Rights

You have several rights regarding your health information. Those include the right to:

  • Inspect and receive a copy of your information. This right covers your medical records or billing records or other written information that may be used to make decisions about your care, subject to some limited exceptions. Such records will be provided to you in the time frames established by law. We may charge a reasonable fee for our costs in copying and mailing your requested information Your request should be submitted in writing to the Compliance Officer at the address listed below If you are denied access to personal health information, in some cases you will have the right to request a review of the denial.
  • Request a restriction on certain uses and disclosures of your health information.  This right includes restrictions on our use or disclosure of your personal health information for treatment, payment or health care operations. You also have the right to restrict the personal health information we disclose about you to a family member, friend or other person who is involved in your care or the payment of your care. Your request should be submitted in writing to the Compliance Officer at the address listed below.  We are not required to agree to your request unless your request is to not share your health information with your health insurer about a service which you (or someone other than your insurer) has paid us in full, where the disclosure is for the purpose of carrying out payment or health care operations, and where the disclosure is not otherwise required by law.  If we do agree to accept your requested restriction, we will comply with your request except as needed to provide you emergency treatment.
  • Request an amendment to your health information.  If you believe that any health information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. We may amend your record or include your statement of disagreement.
  • Request that that we communicate with you using a different means of communication or to an alternate location.  You can request that we contact you only at a certain address or phone number or by alternative means. We will accommodate your reasonable requests.
  • Receive an accounting of certain disclosures Native Health has made of your health information. This is the listing of certain disclosures of your personal health information made by us or by others on our behalf, but does not include disclosures for treatment, payment and health care operations or certain other exceptions.  Your request should be submitted in writing to the Compliance Officer at the address listed below.  The first accounting provided within a 12-month period will be free; for further requests, we may charge you, our costs.
  • Obtain a paper copy of the NH Notice of Privacy Practices. You may request a copy a paper copy of this Notice even if you have received an electronic copy.

IV. How NH may use and disclose Health Information about you.

The following categories describe how we may use and disclose health information about you.

For Treatment. We will use and disclose your personal health information to provide you with treatment and services. For example, we may disclose your personal health information to physicians, nurses, physical therapists, counselors, medical assistants or outside providers who are caring for you.

For Payment Purposes. We may use and disclose your personal health information so that we can bill and receive payment for the treatment and services you receive. For example, we may disclose your personal health information to your representative, an insurance or managed care company, Medicare, Medicaid or another third-party payer to obtain payment, to confirm your coverage or to request prior approval for a proposed treatment or service.

For Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose your health information for our regular health care operations, for example, to evaluate your care and treatment outcomes with our quality improvement team.

Business Associates. We use outside people and entities to provide services for us.  Examples include medical transcription companies, consultants, billing companies and attorneys. We may disclose your health information to business associates so that they can perform their jobs. We require our business associates to protect and safeguard your health information in accordance with all applicable Federal laws.

Notification. We may use or disclose information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative or another person responsible for your care, of your location and general condition.  This may include disclosures to a public or private entity assisting in disaster relief efforts.

Communication with Family. We may disclose to a family member, other relative, close personal friend, or any other person involved in your care health information that is relevant to that person’s involvement with your care or payment for such care.

Research.   We may disclose information to researchers when certain conditions have been met.

Organ Procurement Organizations. Consistent with applicable law, we may disclose your health information to organ procurement organizations or other entities engaged in the procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs for the purpose of facilitating organ, eye, or tissue donation and transplant.

Uses and Disclosures about Decedents. We may disclose your health information to funeral directors, coroners or medical examiners to carry out their duties consistent with applicable law.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We may disclose to the FDA, or to a person or entity subject to jurisdiction of the FDA, health information relative to adverse events with respect to food, supplements, product and product defects, or post marketing surveillance information to enable product recall, repairs or replacement.

Appointment Reminders. We may contact you with reminder that you have an appointment for medical care at a NH facility or to advise you of a missed appointment.

Workers Compensation. We may disclose your health information for workers compensation purposes as authorized or required by law.

Public Health. We may disclose your health information to public health or other appropriate government authorities charged with preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability.

Correctional Institution. If you are an inmate of a correctional institution, we may disclose to the institution or its agents, health information necessary for your health and the health, safety and security of other individuals such as officers or employees or other inmates.

Law Enforcement. In some circumstances, we may need to disclose health information to law enforcement officials.  For example, we may disclose your health information in response to a search warrant or a grand jury subpoena, or to assist law enforcement officials in identifying or locating an individual, to report deaths that may have resulted from criminal conduct, and to report criminal conduct at one of our offices.  We may also disclose health information necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.

Judicial Proceedings. We may be ordered to disclose health information by a judge in a court or administrative proceeding or in response to a subpoena.

Health Oversight Authorities. We may disclose your health information to a government agency that oversees our operations or our personnel, such as state Department of Health Services, the federal or state agencies that oversee Medicare and Medicaid, and professional licensing boards that license and investigate medical and nursing professionals. These agencies need health information to monitor our operations and its personnel’s compliance with state and federal laws.

Military, Veterans, National Security and Other Government Purposes. We may disclose health information about members of the armed forces, as required by military command authorities or to the Department of Veterans Affairs. If requested to do so, we may also provide information to federal officials for intelligence and national security purposes or for presidential protective services.

Disclosure Required by Law.  Federal, state, or local laws sometimes require us to disclose your health information. For instance, we are required to report child abuse or neglect and must provide information to law enforcement officials in domestic violence cases.

Charitable Contributions. We may contact you in the future to raise donations for us or our programs. You have the right to opt out of receiving such communications.  If you do not want to be contacted for fundraising please call (602) 279-5262, ext. 11009 or e-mail: fspencer@nachci.com

Information with Additional Protection. Certain types of medical information have additional protection under federal and state law.  In some circumstances, we will require your consent to disclose information about communicable disease and HIV/AIDS, genetic testing, and mental health treatment.  Substance use disorder (SUD) information held by our substance use disorder treatment program is subject to protection under 42 USC 290gg-2 and its regulations and such information is subject to use and limited disclosure.  We will comply with federal law when using and disclosing your SUD information.

Psychotherapy Notes.  Our counselors may maintain psychotherapy notes, which are not part of your medical record.  We will not use or disclose psychotherapy notes without your authorization, unless the use is by the person who wrote the notes for purposes of treatment, for training of medical or counseling professionals, or for us to defend ourselves in a legal proceeding brought by you.  In addition, any other disclosure or use of psychotherapy notes must be to the Department of Health and Human Services; required by law; for the health oversight of the practitioner that wrote the notes; to the coroner or medical examiner; or to avert a serious threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.

Disclosure by Whistleblowers. A Native Health employee or contractor (business associate) who in good faith believes that we have engaged in conduct that is unlawful or otherwise violates clinical and professional standards, or that the care or services provided by us has the potential of endangering one or more patients or members of the workplace or the public, may disclose your information to an appropriate government agency and/or to an attorney to determine his or her legal options.

Disclosure by Workforce Member Crime Victim. Under certain circumstances, a NH workforce member who is a victim of a crime on or off a NH facility’s premises may disclose limited information about the suspect to law enforcement officials.

Using or Disclosing Your Information for Marketing. We may not use your personal information to market goods or services to you without your written authorization, except for face-to-face communications about goods and services, to give you a promotional gift of nominal value, to provide certain refill reminders, to notify you of treatment alternatives, to recommended providers or health care settings, or for case management and care coordination.

Selling Your Information.  We may not sell your health information without your written authorization. 

Any other uses and disclosures will be made only with your written authorization, which you may later revoke in writing at any time. Such revocation would not apply where the health information already has been disclosed or used or in circumstances where NH has taken action in reliance on your authorization, or the authorization was obtained as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage and the insurer has a legal right to contest a claim under the policy or the policy itself.

To exercise your rights under this Notice, to ask for more information, to report a problem or submit a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, contact the NATIVE HEALTH HIPAA Compliance Officer at (602) 279-5262, ext. 11028 or email: mterry@nachci.com

To file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights you may submit a complaint online at: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html or to the OCR at:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
Centralized Case Management Operations
200 Independence Ave., S.W.
Suite 515F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201

Customer Response Center: (800) 368-1019

Fax: (202) 619-3818 TDD: (800) 537-7697
Email: ocrmail@hhs.gov

We will not penalize you or retaliate against you in any way for filing a complaint with the federal government.

Reviewed July 2023